Magnus Gardham, Political Editor
ALEX Salmond’s £10million wave power prize should be scrapped, critics have
claimed, amid fresh evidence of it sinking into chaos.
The Saltire Prize, an ambitious international contest designed to make
Scotland a world leader in wave and tidal power development, was launched
with great fanfare in 2008.
Earlier this year it was revealed none of the competitors could meet the
qualifying criteria by the 2017 deadline.
Despite that, the Scottish Government remained committed to awarding the
prize, though it has now emerged that new rules to make it winnable will
not not be drawn up until next year, just months before the close of the
contest.
Of the four remaining competitors, one, Aquamarine Power, called in
administrators last month.
A fifth, Pelamis, pulled out after going into administration a year ago.
Murdo Fraser, the Scottish Conservative MSP, said the prize had become a
“white elephant” and called for the money to put to better use.
However it has been defended by Scottish Renewables, the industry body
tasked with redesigning the contest, which said it would drive innovation
in the offshore renewables industry.
When he launched the prize seven years ago, then-First Minister Mr Salmond
described Scotland as “the Saudi Arabia of tidal power” and claimed it had
the potential to match the wealth created by North Sea oil.
Originally, the prize was to be awarded to the company which generated the
most electricity above a minimum thresh-hold of 100 gigawatt hours.
The power had to be generated over a continuous two year period within the
challenge period running from June 2012 to June 2017.
But in a sign of how far the competitors are from achieving the target, the
firm seen as the frontrunner has yet to generate any power at all.
Edinburgh-based MayGen, which is installing underwater turbines in the
Pentland Firth, is still constructing onshore facilities and will only
begin generating power next year.
Lindsay Roberts, Scottish Renewables’s offshore renewables policy chief,
said: “A prize will help generate innovative change in the industry.
“There is a will and determination in the industry to compete for a prize
but we realise we need to restructure it.
“We’ve been consulting with our members at the request of the Scottish
Government
“We all still think a prize would be a really good idea and the Scottish
Government is quite happy to continue to support it.
“We need to rethink the parameters to make it more achievable. That’s far
from the prize being dead.”
She added: “We have not been led to believe there should be any changes to
the prize money.
“All options for redesign are on the table.
“I don’t think we would be happy to see the value of the prize reduced but
all these decisions are up to the Scottish Government.”
It is understood one option being considered is to award a number of
smaller cash prizes recognising difference achievements, rather than a
single £10million payout.
Mr Fraser, the Scottish Conservative economy spokesman, said: “It appears
that yet another of Alex Salmond’s big ideas is being exposed as little
more than a PR stunt.
“Rather than wasting £10million on a jackpot nobody is going to win, the
Scottish Government would have been far better off focussing on an energy
policy which boosted research and development in renewables and helped
firms develop projects into a commercial concern.
“That, however, would not have generated the headlines Mr Salmond wanted.
“It’s time the SNP government binned this white elephant and put this money
to better use.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We are absolutely committed to the
developing marine energy sector which has the potential to offer
significant economic and environmental benefits.
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“The Saltire Prize Challenge Committee is considering options for reshaping
the prize to better reflect the circumstances of the wave and tidal sectors.
“Scottish Renewables has convened industry representatives and other marine
energy experts to discuss revised prize options which will be considered by
the Committee in the new year.”
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