A new renewable energy device has been launched by the First Minister who said the development is a major step towards commercially competitive wave power generation.

The new Oyster 800 can, at one third of the cost, generate 250% of the power of the first full-scale Oyster device which was installed and grid-connected at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney in late 2009.

Alex Salmond unveiled Aquamarine Power's next-generation 800kW hydro-electric device at Burntisland Fabrications yard in Methil in Fife.

He said: "Today is a significant day for Aquamarine Power and for Scotland's wider offshore renewables sector which continues to develop a wide range of low-carbon energy technologies to enable us to fully harness the huge energy resources around our own coast and contribute to global efforts to expand clean, green electricity generation.

"Aquamarine Power has made huge progress in less than two years since its first Oyster device was connected to the grid at EMEC, proving the technology and driving down costs, a testament to the vision, commitment and expertise throughout the company."

He added: "BiFab is another Scottish success story which, by successfully delivering the Oyster 800 device, has underlined once again the skills of its workforce and its capability to manufacture a wide and diverse range of fabrications for offshore energy developers.

"Scotland is in the rapids of a renewables revolution and the delivery of the new, more efficient and powerful Oyster 800 device represents a new surge towards the deployment of commercially competitive wave power arrays to deliver clean, green energy."

Martin McAdam, chief executive officer of Aquamarine Power, said: "Our goal is to make future Oysters cost-competitive within the next few years. The Oyster 800 will help us gather the data that we need to deliver on that.

"A farm of just 20 Oyster 800 devices would generate sufficient power for up to 15,000 homes."

John Robertson, managing director of Burntisland Fabrications, commented: "We are very impressed with the team at Aquamarine Power and their proactive approach in development, design engineering and the manufacturing of the Oyster 800.

"We are confident that Aquamarine will be a leading supplier of wave energy devices in the UK and internationally."

Dr Stephen Wyatt, head of technology acceleration at The Carbon Trust, said the UK could capture just under a quarter of the global marine energy market.

He added: "Our new report launched this week shows that marine energy has a bright future and is one of the UK's most exciting green growth sectors and one where the UK has a real lead.

"Wave and tidal stream could provide a fifth of our electricity needs and be a major made-in-Britain success."