 Businesses in Scotland, particularly those involved in the energy sector are set to benefit from the government’s plan to seek support from Middle East sovereign wealth funds to boost its robust renewable energy programme. To effect this strategy, the Scottish government hosted a Low Carbon Investment Conference late September (2011) where the First Minister Alex Salmond highlighted measures the government is taking to boost Scotland’s fast growing Low Carbon economy. Businesses in Scotland are already positioning themselves to take advantage of the government’s determination to make Scotland a zero waste, 100% renewables powered economy. A spokesman for Scottish Enterprise, an investment agency for Businesses in Scotland, said the government will make efforts to attract British investors and banks as it looks overseas particularly in the Middle East. Businesses in Scotland and developers with interest in the renewable energy sector are said to be very keen on working with sovereign wealth funds especially now that lending conditions are tightening in the UK, coupled with predictions that the much anticipated Green Investment Bank may not after all be successfully operational in the near future. |