Question reference: S3W-33308
- Asked by: Shirley-Anne Somerville, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 21 April 2010
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Current status: Answered by Jim Mather on 6 May 2010
Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what specific measures it has in place, or plans to put in place, to assist small businesses to take advantage of future opportunities in the renewables and low-carbon sector.
Answer
The transition to a low carbon economy presents major opportunities for Scotland to develop new industries, skills and jobs, and the Scottish Government works through the enterprise agencies to realise those opportunities.
For instance, this year, in conjunction with the Crown Estate, we have hosted three very well attended offshore wind supply chain share fair events in Scotland. These events highlighted both the range and scale of the market opportunity to Scottish firms associated with the planned expansion of the offshore wind sector.
In addition, the Scottish Government is developing a Low Carbon Strategy to maximise Scotland''s economic potential in the global low carbon market.
More generally, The Carbon Trust and Energy Saving Trust are funded by the Scottish Government to provide energy efficiency advice to all sizes of business. This advice ranges from site surveys to identify where energy savings can be implemented, to training events which raise awareness of the business benefits from introducing low carbon practices in the workplace.
Through our Energy Saving Scotland small business loans scheme, SMEs can access interest-free loans for a range of energy efficiency and renewables measures, offering business opportunities through mechanisms such as the Feed-in Tariff for electricity generation.