HIE welcomes report of £8bn wave and tidal energy potential
11th February 2025
Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has welcomed a new report into the economic potential of wave and tidal energy for Scotland.
The study was carried out by the Policy and Innovation Group, part of the Institute for Energy Systems at the University of Edinburgh (UoE).
Published on Monday 10 February 2025 the report entitled The Future Economic Potential of Tidal Stream and Wave Energy in Scotland was commissioned by HIE subsidiary Wave Energy Scotland (WES), and Scottish Enterprise.
It concluded that wave and tidal energy could deliver up to £8bn to Scotland's economy by 2050, and support more than 15,000 jobs, including high-value employment in coastal communities in the Highlands and Islands.
Welcoming the new report, HIE chief executive Stuart Black said, "We've known for some time that the economic potential of marine energy for our economy is huge, and it's great to have this quantified in a meaningful way by this University of Edinburgh report.
"Scotland, and particularly the Highlands and Islands region, has been at the forefront of renewable energy development over the past 20 years or more.
"We will continue to work hard and with our partners in the public sector and industry to make sure we stay ahead of the game and secure these economic gains for our region and our country."
The report combines the findings of separate reports on tidal stream and wave energy wave energy commissioned by SE and WES respectively. It presents a scenario where there is an estimated Scottish market for up to 8.8GW of marine energy by 2050, with potential deployments of up to 12.6GW throughout the UK and up to 300GW globally.
This could deliver up to 62,000 jobs in Scottish companies in 2050, comprised of 15,600 jobs in the UK, plus a further 46,000 jobs from worldwide exports.
The global export market for marine energy over the same timeframe could be worth as much as £28bn to Scotland's economy.
The full report is available at Future Economic Potential of Tidal Stream and Wave Energy in Scotland
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