UK: AWS Secures Funding for Its Wave Energy Project

AWS Ocean Energy is one of five Scottish marine energy developers to benefit from £7.9 million funding, to further develop testing of new wave and tidal prototypes in the seas around Scotland.

The company was awarded a £3.9 million grant towards the cost to design, build and launch a project to prove its AWS-­‐III Wave Energy Converter at full scale.

Simon Grey, chief executive of AWS, said, “We are delighted to be awarded this grant for work which will follow on directly from the full-­‐scale cassette demonstration funded by the WATERS 1 programme. This continued support provides further endorsement of our technology and development.”

Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced the second round of WATERS (Wave & Tidal Energy: Research, Development & Demonstration Support) funding to enable Scottish developers and supply chain firms to capture an increased share of the growing international marine energy market, which could be worth up to £4 billion to Scotland’s economy by 2020.

The Deputy First Minister said, “Ambitious clean-­‐tech developers such as AWS Ocean Energy and the prototypes they are developing are testament to how far the marine renewables sector has progressed in just a few years”.

WATERS is a collaborative venture between the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, with funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

[mappress]
Press Release, October 16, 2012