Agreement reached over Pelamis

Development agency Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has reached agreement with administrators KPMG to acquire intellectual property and a range of physical assets previously owned by Pelamis, which went into administration in November of last year.

HIE has obtained the assets on behalf of Wave Energy Scotland (WES), a new body which is being established to support Scotland’s wave energy sector.

WES is part of HIE and is fully funded by the Scottish Government. According to the government, the deal means that valuable intellectual property which could otherwise have been lost to international competitors in the wave energy market will now be available to support the growth and development of the wave energy in Scotland.

Plans to set up WES were announced by Fergus Ewing MSP, Minister for Business, Energy and Tourism, in the Scottish Parliament on November 22 last year.

WES is said to be tasked with bringing together the best engineering and academic minds to collaborate on innovative projects that will accelerate the development of wave technologies in Scotland.

The Energy Minister and HIE chief executive Alex Paterson met industry representatives in Edinburgh yesterday, Monday, to discuss the plans for WES, answer questions and outline progress to date.

Commenting on the announcement, Orkney MSP Liam McArthur said: “While it is welcome to hear confirmation that these assets have been secured, we are far from out of the woods yet. With no clarity yet around what Wave Energy Scotland will do or what its budget will be, these remain very troubling and uncertain times for the wave energy sector in this country.

“It is increasingly clear that without significant investment, the chances of making the breakthrough we need to unlock our wave energy potential are vanishing slim. This must be driven by industry, but can only happen if government shows the necessary courage and ambition.”