EDINBURGH, Scotland, Nov. 22 (UPI) -- Scotland will play a major role in the regional energy community as cross-border cooperation increases, the country's energy minister said.
Scottish and other regional ministers are to meet Wednesday to discuss integration of offshore grid infrastructure. Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said he expected significant benefits in working with his regional partners on things like renewable energy.
"In reality, as our countries move toward a greater reliance on renewable energy, cross-border cooperation will only increase," he said in a statement.
Scotland has pushed aggressively to develop wind, marine and hydropower to reach a goal of getting all of its electricity needs from renewable energy resources by the end of the decade.
London said it was exploring a wide array of options in order to secure its energy future. British Energy Minister Charles Hendry said moving toward a single European market for energy could be beneficial to the region.
"This 'all islands approach' to optimize our use of low carbon energy resources around these islands will encourage and enable developers to harness as much of our renewable energy sources as cost-effectively as possible, increasing the integration of our markets, and improving our security of supply," he said.
