Greig Cameron
Deputy Business Editor

A GATHERING of renewable energy experts is predicted to inject around
£350,000 into the economy of a Scottish island.

Around 220 people from around the world will go to Stornoway, on Lewis, to
take part in the Environmental Interactions of Marine Renewables (EIMR)
international conference.

The event, which starts on April 30 and runs for two days, is being held in
the An Lanntair Arts Centre in the town but also includes workshops and
field trips.

Visitors, from the likes of North America, China and Australia, will be
shown the findings of the Hebridean Marine Energy Futures project as well
as offered the chance to see the site on the north west coast of the island
which may one day host the world’s largest wave farm.

Neil Brownlee, head of VisitScotland’s Business Tourism Unit (BTU), said:
“Events such as the EIMR international conference are hugely important to
Scotland’s visitor economy, providing a boost for accommodation providers
and restaurants.

“I am sure the event will help to highlight the appeal of Lewis and Harris
as a fantastic leisure destination and place to do business.”

Arne Vogler, senior research engineer at the University of the Highlands
and Island’s Lews Castle College, is the organiser of the conference.

Mr Vogler said: “This conference will allow the international research
community to exchange experiences and findings from marine energy
developments around the globe. “It is a great opportunity, not just for the
Hebrides, but for Scotland to showcase its expertise in the renewable
energies industry.”

Support to put the conference on was provided by the VisitScotland
Conference Bid Fund and it forms part of the Homecoming programme for this
year.

Organisations such as Scottish Natural Heritage, the Natural Environment
Research Council, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Marine Scotland
Science have also provided backing.

Scottish renewable energy firms Aquamarine Power and Pelamis Wave Power are
also involved as is as the European Marine Energy Centre on Orkney.

Andrea Copping, based at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in
Washington in the United States, is among the delegates coming to Lewis and
said: “From the perspective of the marine energy research community in the
United States, this is the foremost conference that specifically addresses
potential environmental effects of wave and tidal development worldwide.”

The Conference Bid Fund has been used to secure 46 events in Scotland which
have a predicted spend of £106 million. VisitScotland said the fund has so
far invested £936,000 with conferences stretching to 2021


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