Scotland will play a key role in the development of the North Sea Energy Grid (NSEG), the government announced last week.

The electricity grid, identified as a European infrastructure priority, will be constructed below the North Sea and will create a network allowing all connected countries to share electricity.

The NSEG aims to share wind, wave and tidal power between countries to increase Europe's renewable energy.

NSEG co-ordinator Georg Adamowitsch met with First Minister Alex Salmond early this month and asked Scotland to participate in the NSEG project. Mr Adamowitsch praised Scotland’s renewable energy targets. He said: “We need a network of ideas to be at the end of the process, together, successful. You have excellent renewable targets and we need your experts in our working group.”

Scotland aims for 50 per cent of energy to come from renewable sources by 2020, compared to EU overall targets of 20 per cent. The grid would allow Scotland to send electricity to mainland Europe using the power lines.

Mr Salmond said: "Scotland has the capacity and capability to become the green energy capital of Europe. We have a clear, competitive advantage across the range of renewable technologies, with up to 25 per cent of Europe's offshore wind, wave and tidal energy potential."

He added: "the new Scottish European Green Energy Centre, based in Aberdeen and operational from April 2009, will provide a focus for Scottish-based industry and research to be at the forefront of European and world developments in the green energy field.”

The centre will promote offshore wind development and currently supports two subsea grid projects – the NSEG project and the Irish Scottish Links on Energy Study (ISLES).

Energy Minister Jim Mather has emphasised Scotland’s unique position in helping achieve EU renewable energy targets: “Harnessing our unrivalled renewable energy potential a quarter of Europe's potential tidal and offshore wind and ten per cent of its potential wave power will boost economic growth and help meet tough European climate change targets.”

Offshore wind power is expected to make up a significant part of the EU’s 20 per cent renewable energy target, following a Greenpeace report showing that the construction of 10,000 offshore wind turbines in the North Sea could be feasible if supported by an electricity supergrid.

Potential NSEG partners include Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands.

A similar project, known as EuropaGrid, has already started to develop renewable energy links between Ireland and the UK, and the UK and France.