Labour leader Iain Gray has warned the First Minister that the Saltire Prize does not go far enough and called on him to set a £40m fund to Scotland's wave and power industry as recommended by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
 
"Alex Salmond must listen to the IMechE who made clear in their report that a single prize for a single project will not be enough.
 
"Alex Salmond sets great store by the Saltire Prize, which will be appreciated by the company that wins it, but we need to do a lot more than back one company.
 
"The IME report on our marine energy future calls for the Scottish Government to set up a £40 million fund to support the next stage of Scotland's leading-edge wave and tidal power technologies, following the winding-up of the scheme set up by Labour in 2006-07.
 
 "The Wave and Tidal Energy Scheme (WATES), launched in October 2006, provided £13.5m to nine Scottish marine power developers to get their projects underway.
 
"So far, SNP Ministers have given no indication of when or indeed whether they intend to provide funding support for the next stage of technology development by these companies.
 
"If a range of new marine renewable technologies is to come to market in Scotland, we will need something like a WATES 2 scheme to support the next development stage.
 
"I do not expect the First Minister to accept all of the funding proposals by the IMechE but hope he and his ministers will consider them very seriously. However, I am certain that these issues will be considered by the Scottish Parliament's Economy Committee when we take forward our Energy Inquiry into the New Year."
 
1 December 2008