Agreement to progress Marine Renewable Energy in the Atlantic Area Signed
Today (Tuesday 20th May) sees the penultimate event of the Atlantic Power Cluster (APC), a European funded project set to develop a strategic approach to marine renewable energy in the Atlantic Area.
Held in Aberdeen ahead of the annual All-Energy conference, the seminar will bring together delegates from at least six EU member states, and further afield. They will hear about the outcomes of the project, including a demonstration of the online stakeholder mapping tool, regional business and collaboration opportunities.
The culmination of the seminar and the project will be the signing of the Atlantic Power Cluster Accord. The APC Accord is a working agreement between clusters and forums active in the marine renewable energy industry to work collaboratively and share opportunities to ensure the timely and successful realization of the sector in the Atlantic Area.
Following the seminar, delegates will take part in a facilitated networking event at the All-Energy sharefair on Wednesday, where companies and organisations from the partner regions will meet to discuss mutually beneficial business opportunities. After All-Energy the APC Accord will travel through the partner regions ending up in Santander, for the last signatures, at the projects final conference.
Johanna Yates, SEGEC Ocean Energy Manager at Scottish Enterprise said “the Atlantic Power Accord is a great opportunity to show not just the level of interest and ambition for marine renewable energy in the Altantic Area, but also the potential for real collaboration and economic and social benefits for the whole area.”
Ignacio Abiatua, Project Manager at SODERCAN and Atlantic Power Cluster Project Coordinator said “The Atlantic Power Cluster project has succeeded in setting up a framework for establishing an active and real cooperation amongst 15 Atlantic regions in business opportunities, training activities, R&D projects and social acceptance.”
The Atlantic Power Cluster is an Interreg funded project running from February 2012 to August 2014. The project seeks to develop cooperation and joint approaches to facilitate the identification of new market niches and redefine educational and training programs as per the needs of the offshore and marine energy sector in the Atlantic Area (encompassing the entire territory of Ireland and the Atlantic regions of Spain, France, Portugal and the United Kingdom).
There are 17 partners from 15 regions of Ireland, France, Spain, Portugal and the UK.
The project is coordinated by SODERCAN, the energy agency of Cantabria, Spain.
SEGEC, the Scottish European Green Energy Centre team which was integrated into Scottish Enterprise last July 2013, are the Scottish partner and lead the work package on building the cluster.
For further information visit http://www.atlantic-power-cluster.eu/index.php/en/