More than £164 million has been invested in the Scottish economy through the offshore wind sector, according to new figures.
Industry body Scottish Renewables asked its members in developing projects in Scottish waters how much they had invested to date.
The results showed that £164.5m of investment has been made, with £65m in 2012 alone.
The figure represents all contracts awarded by developers with Scottish companies in advance of any consents being awarded to their projects.
Lindsay Leask, senior policy manager at Scottish Renewables, said: “This level of investment, made in advance of their projects gaining consents, shows the considerable level of confidence developers have in Scotland’s offshore wind sector.
“Most of this current investment has been made in research, such as environmental surveys, technical engineering surveys and project demonstration.
“However, this flow of private finance is also generating huge opportunities for the supply chain, and once consents for projects are granted this will both motivate new entrants and strengthen those existing companies who are already reaping the benefit of diversifying into this emerging sector.”
Some of the investments have begun, with jobs already created, while other proposals are at an earlier stage of development.
Energy minister Fergus Ewing said: “Offshore wind is an exciting emerging energy sector, still in its infancy but with great potential to transform how we power modern economies while reducing harmful emissions from electricity generation.”