The First Minister celebrated the continuing success of Scotland's renewable energy sector at the official opening of SgurrEnergy's HQ in Glasgow on Friday afternoon.

SgurrEnergy is the latest success story in Scotland's vibrant renewables sector. Launched by Ian Irvine and Steve McDonald in 2002, SgurrEnergy is an independent engineering consultancy specialising in renewable energy technologies.

Since establishing in Ian's attic in Glasgow's southside, the firm has rapidly grown over the past six years. SgurrEnergy now employs 85 staff, has a range of international clients, five overseas offices, and a new city centre HQ.

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First Minister Alex Salmond said: "Scotland's renewables sector is going from strength-to-strength and SgurrEnergy is another great example of this success.

"The official opening of SgurrEnergy's Glasgow HQ reflects the rapid success of this innovative Scottish enterprise and the worldwide demand for renewable energy technologies and expertise."

The First Minister believes tackling global climate change presents huge opportunities for Scotland and said despite the current economic slowdown our renewable energy sector is booming.

"Since last year's election the Scottish Government has approved 14 applications for major renewable energy projects and in the past few weeks alone there has been substantial investment in renewable energy in across the country.

"The Scottish Government is currently processing a further 34 renewable energy applications. Obviously every single one can't be approved for perfectly legitimate reasons, however, we are on course to exceed our 2011 target of generating 31 per cent of Scotland's electricity from renewables, and the 2020 target of 50 per cent is rapidly coming into reach," he said.

(GK/JM)