Cash generated by Scotland's offshore wind boom could be used to create a sovereign wealth fund, according to the cabinet secretary for net zero.
Energy Voice reports that Michael Matheson told Scottish Renewables' Offshore Wind Conference in Glasgow that discussions about creating a national reserve are ongoing as ministers plan for an influx of green energy money.
The recent ScotWind offshore wind leasing process, in which 17 projects were given the go-ahead, yielded almost £700million for the public purse.
Mr Matheson said: “There are the rental incomes that we secure from these ScotWind projects and we want to make sure that the income from them is secured for long-term benefit.”
A proportion of that will go towards tackling climate change and the loss of biodiversity, Mr Matheson said.
Numerous suggestions have been put forward on how best to use the cash, as well as millions of pounds in rentals generated from wind farms in the coming years.
One possibility would be to use the rental money to create a sovereign wealth fund similar to the one created by Norway in 1990 to ensure long-term management of oil and gas revenues.
Mr Matheson said: "I can't think of a better time, given the instability we have in the energy markets and particularly in oil and gas, for a country to have something like an oil fund that could be deployed to help support people that are experiencing fuel poverty."
Norway's oil fund is currently worth more than £1trillion.
Its aim is to ensure responsible and long-term management of revenue from Norway's oil and gas resources, so that this wealth benefits both current and future generations.
The fund has a small stake in more than 9,000 companies worldwide, including the likes of Apple, Nestle, Microsoft and Samsung. On average, the fund holds 1.3% of all of the world's listed companies.