Up to 30 candidates have been nominated for a new awards programme in which they will compete for a range of top prizes.

Scottish Renewables' Young Professionals Green Energy Awards has been launched to showcase the enormous range of fresh talent in the industry.

The candidates were selected on their ability to discover 'invisible energy' and produce biofuel from whisky waste.

More than 100 entries from newcomers to Scotland's renewable energy sector were shortlisted down to 30.

No fewer than 4 employees from Muirhall Energy, a wind farm developer based in Carnwath, Lanarkshire, have been nominated for their work on projects across central Scotland.

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Sean McDougall, a shortlisted candidate in the Academic catergory, worked on a project to convert 'invisible' light not seen by solar cells into 'visible' light, increasing efficiency and reducing cost. Sean won 2 research prizes and a scholarship to the acclaimed Chinese Academy of Sciences while studying at Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh.

Dr Eve Bird of Celtic Renewables, is shortlisted in the Achiever award for her work in purifying waste residues from the whisky industry into an advanced biofuel.

Other award categories are leading Innovator, Entrepreneur, Pioneer and Professional. There will also be a special judges award for an outstanding entry from across all categories.

Jillian McKenna, Director of Marketing said: "We were delighted by the quantity and the quality of the entries to these new awards, which proved what we all knew; that there is a fantastic wealth of young talent out there in the renewable energy sector."

Ms McKenna went on to say that this exciting new generation coming through will make the breakthroughs and tackle the challenges which will create jobs, reduce carbon emissions and help secure a stable energy future for Scotland.

The Young Professional Green Energy Awards ceremony is to be held on May 28th 2015 at the Glasgow Science Centre.

(LM/CD)