Blount Boats in Rhode Island recently reached agreement with South Boats Special Projects to build US-flagged catamarans to service offshore wind facilities.
Rev Blount said while he welcomed the Scottish Government's Energy Assistance Package designed to help reduce fuel poverty, it would not deliver the government's target of eradicating fuel poverty by 2016.
MSPs then quizzed Charles Gallacher, David Pimm and Maine Frerk from Ofgem, Alizeh Hussain from Citizens Advice Scotland and Rev Graham Blount from the Scottish Fuel Poverty Forum on Scotland's fuel poverty targets.