Hong Kong, India and Maldives
The agreement in early 2010 between Edinburgh Napier University and City University, Hong Kong to form a partnership to establish Hong Kong's first Biofuel Research Centre focused on research and development of renewable energy via second generation biofuels from a diverse range of non-food crops and waste matter. 

A similar agreement with India in October 2010, involved a scholar exchange programme between the Indian Institutes of Technology and the University of Strathclyde, with academics working together on a variety of renewable energy research initiatives.

India is another attractive market for Scottish companies and an important existing investor in Scotland. The Scottish Development International organisation doubled its presence in India, in response to growing partnership opportunities.

With over 7,000km of coastline India has huge potential for offshore wind energy and may be able to generate almost five times more wind energy capacity than the government's estimate by 2030, if it is able to tap the offshore wind resources.

Scotland also claims research leadership in second generation biofuels (biofuels derived from waste), also of great potential to India, with its large agriculture industry.

In December 2010, Scotland teamed up with the Maldives to (left) develop the renewable marine energy to go carbon neutral by 2020 with a Robert Gordon University assessment study of Maldives wave, tidal and ocean thermal energy potential.

EMEC and China
In December this year, experts from Scotland's world-leading wave and tidal testing hub the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) broke the news they are to collaborate with their marine energy counterparts from the Ocean University of China (OUC ) in Shandong Province under a new partnership.

China already dominates the global commercial solar photovoltaic market. In 2006, two companies from China in the list of top 10 cell producers. By 2010, that became six, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Now only two non-Asian manufacturers are in the top ten, and those, First Solar and Q-Cells, have moved much of their production to Asia.

In 2010 alone, the Chinese Development Bank bank made $30bn low-cost loans to the top five manufacturers in the country. enabling China's solar producers to grow to GW scale in a very short period of time, becoming a leading solar exporter pushing down prices dramatically.

OUC, based in the eastern coastal city of Qingdao, has agreed a contract with EMEC which will see staff from the Orkney-based facility assist the university to develop a wave test centre in Shandong. A Memorandum of Understanding has also been signed to foster closer working relationships between EMEC, the University and Qingdao Municipal Science and Technology Commission.

First minister Alex Salmond said Scotland and China shared an ambition to harness natures resources to create plentiful clean renewable energy. “Wave and tidal energy developers from around the world are bringing their pioneering technologies to Scotland's world-leading European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney - creating a critical mass of expertise in this exciting sector.

“This new partnership between EMEC and the Ocean University of China can help accelerate the development of marine energy technologies that will play an increasing role in powering the major economies of China, Europe and elsewhere, while reducing harmful emissions to tackle climate change."

Masdar, Abu Dhabi
The latest MOU will have Scottish universities partnering with academics in Abu Dhabi’s renewablesgiant Masdar  to produce new technologies to power wind, solar, wave and tidal machines.
Industry analysts also hope the partnership could eventually lead to massive investment from Abu Dhabi into Scotland, where new renewables firms trying to get investment for prototypes.

The deal is a major boost for a joint venture by Scottish universities' Energy Technology Partnership (ETP)  already the largest energy research link-up in Europe. Masdar, owned by the city of Abu Dhabi, was established five years ago to move it from oil dependence to investment in renewable energy projects. Along with a university, the firm is building an entire city outside Abu Dhabi for 40,000 people, designed to be reliant on renewable energy. It has a multi-million pound capital fund for investment in projects across the world.

Alex Salmond said: “It is clear that the work Masdar is taking forward on leading us to a low-carbon society is in perfect synchronisation with the work we are doing here in Scotland.

The deal will see researchers from Scottish universities working alongside experts from Abu Dhabi. Scottish projects include designing generators to boost wind turbine efficiency, testing tidal energy machines, and research into ultra-thin solar cells.

Concentrator Solar Power: India & South Africa

Concentrator Solar Power is rather ignored in Scotland and uncertainty over cuts in  feed-in tariffs has left Napier University  to nurse solar power  through the Scottish Institute for Solar Energy Research  SISER and the Centre for Advanced Energy Storage and Energy Recovery CAESER.  

But two global conferences early this year, located in Johannesburg, South Africa and in New Delhi, India will focus on existing CSP plants, strategies for building them,  viable feed in tarifs and new developments.  

There's  the  Concentrated Solar Thermal Power Conference and Expo from 7-8 February at Johannesburg Sandton Hilton, in South Africa, with the 3rd Concentrated Solar Thermal Power Summit India 2012 being held in New Delhi from 27 Feb - 01 Mar 2012. 

With both influential local and international players in the CSP industry will come together with experts from Torresol Energy, Abengoa Solar, Reliance Power, Lanco, Godawari Power & Ispat, ACS Cobra, Lauren CCL, Bechtel and many others sharing their experience in successfully executing CSP plants in time and on budget.  

Courtesy: CSP Today