Edinburgh would be an ideal home for the Green Investment Bank (GIB) being set up by the UK government, ministers have heard.
Business Secretary Vince Cable and Scottish Secretary Michael Moore met business leaders in Westminster to discuss the Edinburgh proposal.
Supporters argue it has the necessary expertise to be the bank’s HQ.
The GIB is being set up with £3bn of public money to help firms finance early-stage renewable energy schemes.
The bank would use the money markets in a similar fashion to regular banks but would utilise the profits to invest in low-carbon energy resources.
The alliance of Scotland’s finance sector, power and renewable energy firms and universities claims Edinburgh has the required expertise and the GIB would lack impact and openness if it were located in London.
Only about 40 jobs are envisaged with the headquarters, but the campaign group argued that many more would be brought to Edinburgh as it established itself as the centre for building up expertise in the financing of renewable energy.
Ron Hewitt, of Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, commented: “Ministers should feel confident that by opting to locate the bank in Edinburgh, they are delivering best value and providing greater opportunity in this vital sector across the UK.
“Successful commercialisation depends on effective collaboration and partnership, not simply within the complex and extensive supply chains that are a key feature of the industry, but also between industry, technology and know-how and finance.”
Nathan Goode, of Grant Thornton, who prepared the business case, said the right headquarters location could create a “virtuous circle” in which “finance can be used to drive the industry towards commercialisation”.
ACQ Magazine