A £6 million investment in the development of wave and tidal energy in the seas around Scotland has been announced.
The money comes from the Waters (wave and tidal energy) fund aimed at new technology and improving the operation of marine renewables devices.
Scottish Enterprise is launching a second round of the remaining competitive funding from the initial £13 million fund launched in March 2010.
Lena Wilson, chief executive of Scottish Enterprise said: "With £6 million to award, we can help advanced wave and tidal technologies reach the next stage of commercial exploitation - creating new technologies with global potential, research and development jobs, and secure the fabrication and deployment of wave and tidal stream technologies in Scotland."
"Over the past couple of years we have committed over £19 million from Scottish Enterprise to marine energy development - through our Waters and Waters 2 calls, and working in partnership with other public bodies, such as our investment in the Technology Strategy Board's Marine Energy collaborative research and development call last month."
First Minister Alex Salmond said: "Scotland is leading the world in the development of marine renewable energy.
"A wide range of both Scottish firms and major overseas companies such as Alstom, ABB, E.ON, Vattenfall and Kawasaki are investing in the development and testing of wave and tidal generation technologies in Scottish waters.
"It is increasingly clear that Scotland rules the waves."
The first round of funding has seen four marine energy projects across Scotland progressing towards construction including Aquamarine's Oyster 3 project at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney. The project received £3.15 million in 2010.
Alex Paterson, chief executive of Highlands and Islands Enterprise, said: "The announcement of Waters 2 today will enable developers to further their research and development towards the deployment of arrays, particularly in the Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters."
