Scotland will be Europe's renewables powerhouse, says Salmond

First Minister Alex Salmond has pledged to move "still faster and further" to secure Scotland's place as the green energy powerhouse of Europe.

In an address to delegates at All Energy 2011, the UK's renewables showcase in Aberdeen, he announced ambitious plans for Scotland to produce 100 per cent of its electricity needs from green energy sources by 2020.

Mr Salmond, speaking in a video message to the opening conference of the two-day event, said the pace of development in wave, tide and wind power resources had been so rapid that the 2011 target had already been exceeded.

"We can now commit to generating the equivalent of 100 per cent of Scotland's own electricity demand from renewable resources by 2020," he said. "By then, we intend to be generating twice as much electricity as Scotland needs - just over half of it will come from renewables and just under half from other conventional sources.

"We will be exporting as much electricity as we consume. So we will continue to work with industry and governments at local, UK and European level to build on what we have achieved. We will now move still further and faster to secure our place as the green energy powerhouse of the continent of Europe."

Mr Salmond, who also launched an online portal for the burgeoning offshore wind sector, told delegates: "We have the unique natural endowment of an estimated quarter of Europe's offshore wind and tidal energy and a tenth of its wave energy potential. We intend to develop that extraordinary resource in terms of its full potential."