£6.9m funding boost for green initiatives

Renewable energy and low- carbon economy projects in Scotland are to receive a £6.9 million European funding boost.

The package includes 1.05m for the Energy Technology Partnership of Scotland's universities to enable the partnership to expand and consolidate its position as a leading energy research hub in Europe.

It will enable the universities to work more closely with industry to turn academic research into commercial products for low-carbon initiatives.

As part of the multi-million package, 299,000 will go to improve infrastructure in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, for the offshore wind, wave and tidal industries.

The Scottish Government said the funding represents a strategic intervention to support the development of the low-carbon economy. Energy minister Jim Mather said: "The breadth of projects being supported - from academic-led initiatives to local authority and enterprise agency programmes - demonstrate how the development of a low carbon economy has become central to our growth strategy."

Other projects to benefit include Fife's Adam Smith College which will receive 800,000 to help companies develop new and innovative products, and Edinburgh Napier University which will be handed 582,000 for its National Biofuel Resource Centre.