The North of Scotland strengthened its reputation as the hub of the global marine energy industry this week, with the announcement of £14m investment for energy-related skills development and research projects.

The projects will be based at the North Highland College UHI in Thurso. Positioned beside the Pentland Firth, one of Europe's principal marine energy resources, the college will be developing a research project into marine energy and the environment, a new Centre for Engineering Skills and a Centre for Energy and the Environment.

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond said: "The Pentland Firth, Scotland's Saudia Arabia of tidal power, has been opened up for development in clean, green energy. The interest, the capacity and the opportunity in these waters is vast. Already, the Crown Estate has been approached by 42 developers to put wave and tidal test devices into the Pentland Firth.

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"The Scottish Government is happy to support this £14m investment to develop new training and research facilities at the North Highland College UHI in Thurso. It is imperative that we continue to support the development of skills, research and infrastructure to ensure we exploit Scotland's full potential in renewable energy and help, building on our strengths, to support a strong economic recovery. This project will significantly strengthen Scotland's well established reputation as the European leader in clean, green energy."

Funders include the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), UHI, the prospective University of the Highlands and Islands, the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and Highland Council.

(GK/NS)