 Private equity investors are showing fresh interest in the renewables industry and playing an increasing role in plugging the funding gap.  Investment in renewables projects in the first half of the year has risen almost tenfold to GBP585 million compared with 2010, according to research by law firm McGrigors.  McGrigors' analysis of statistics, compiled by investment data firm Preqin, has shown that the trend in the UK is reflected across Europe, where more than ???2 billion (GBP1.7bn) has been raised for investment in renewable energy projects.  McGrigors released the data to coincide with the Scottish Low Carbon Investment (SLCI) conference, which kicks off in Edinburgh today. It will be addressed by former US vice-president al Gore tomorrow.  Euan McVicar, a partner in the energy and infrastructure practice at the firm, said: "These figures clearly demonstrate that private equity is well-placed to fill the project finance vacuum."  In addition to signs of increasing investment, Scottish Enterprise produced a report yesterday which said that the knowledge and expertise of Scotland's oil and gas supply chain could help reduce the costs of offshore wind operations by at least 20 per cent.  Some of the biggest players in the energy sector will convene at the SLCI conference over the next two days to discuss how the country can meet the Scottish Government's ambitious target of having 80 per cent of Scottish electricity consumption come from renewables by 2020. Jorge Calvet, chairman and chief executive of Spanish wind turbine manufacturer Gamesa, will be at the conference to launch its GBP14 million research and design Centre at Strathclyde Business Park.