The Grid has previously been identified as a European infrastructure priority and will be a key building block in exporting Scotland's renewable energy to the UK and the rest of Europe.
The First Minister and Georg Adamowitsch met in Edinburgh yesterday. First Minister Alex Salmond said: "I have been delighted to welcome Mr Adamowitsch to Scotland and through this partnership, we have been asked to participate in a pan-European working group on offshore grid planning.
"That presents a significant opportunity to develop the infrastructure to export the massive quantities of green energy Scotland is capable of producing, and stands alongside our own efforts to upgrade our transmission infrastructure within the UK."
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The FM said the government are already working at UK and EU level. The North Sea Offshore Grid has given significant impetus to our efforts to understand, develop, and deliver Scotland's offshore renewable energy potential.
"And the new Scottish European Green Energy Centre, based in Aberdeen and operational from April 2009, will provide a focus for Scottish based industry and research to be at the forefront of European and world developments in the green energy field.
"Scotland is taking a global lead in the fight against climate change and we will work with EU and UK Governments, and our energy industry, to develop the right opportunities for our renewables industry and for Scotland's economy," he said.
The EU North Sea Grid Co-ordinator, Georg Wilhelm Adamowitsch (working on behalf of Commissioner Piebalgs, the Commissioner for Energy) is visiting Scotland to discuss opportunities and possible programmes around developing offshore grid in the North Sea.
Born in Hameln in 1947, Mr Adamowitsch has worked as State Secretary and head of the Prime Minister Chancellery of North-Rhine Westphalia as State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Economics.
(GK/JM)
