Enterprise area status a boost for Dundee's renewable energy hopes

By Graham Huband, business editor
Published in the Courier : 18.01.12
Published online : 18.01.12 @ 05.06pm

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Three other enterprise areas covering the life sciences, the green energy sector in the north of Scotland and general manufacturing and growth industries were also declared as part of the announcement but none of those will operate in Tayside or Fife.

Mr Swinney said he hoped the east and north low-carbon/renewables enterprise areas — which will come on stream in April — would further open the door to a new multi-billion pound industry.

He said £750 million of new green electricity projects started generating power in 2011 and there was a further pipeline of work with an estimated value of £46 billion.

''We have worked closely with our enterprise agencies to select sites which can exploit opportunities in growth sectors,'' said Mr Swinney. ''In many cases, these will help create jobs in areas of Scotland that are facing challenging economic conditions. They represent the strategic locations in our key sectors with clear, achievable opportunities for development in the short term.

''We are taking this innovative sectoral approach as it will make better use of resources and target investment where it will be most effective. It will also allow us to build on the momentum that Scotland has been generating in life sciences, renewables and the creative sector as well as promote partnership working.''

Scottish Enterprise operations director Jim McFarlane said: ''The new enterprise area programme is great news for Scotland and will be key to encouraging greater business growth and investment.

''We particularly welcome the focus on manufacturing and anticipate that all the designated areas will offer significant potential to stimulate and deliver new jobs in some of Scotland's leading industry sectors such as renewable energy, life sciences and creative industries.

''Enterprise area status will further enhance each location's offering and help give a competitive edge in today's current challenging investment environment.''