ALEX Salmond, the First Minister, is to meet Jens Stoltenberg, the Norwegian prime minister, over plans to create a subsea "supergrid" to take green energy from Scotland to Europe.

Proposals have been previously mooted to connect renewable schemes in the Highlands and Islands to an underwater grid in the North Sea to export power to the Continent.

Yesterday, Mr Salmond told the Highlands and Islands Convention that Scotland's natural resources held considerable potential as sources of power.

He added: "We have six to seven times the power Scotland needs, but we have to figure out how we take that power to market. It would have to go subsea in a supergrid to take the power to energy-poor areas."

Mr Salmond plans to meet Mr Stoltenberg and European officials early next year. The First Minister said he also hopes to make progress on reducing National Grid connection charges.

30 October 2007