Scotland’s seas have been further opened up for wave and tidal energy development to support the £10m Saltire Prize.

The Crown Estate is running a new leasing round for projects up to 30 Megawatts (MW) capacity to support developers hoping to win the Saltire Prize.

Marine Scotland has also today published guidance on the areas of Scotland’s seas most suited to development. The guidance highlights the areas considered as most appropriate for wave and tidal energy - reflecting potential power output, limited environmental and technical constraints and development possible within the Saltire Prize timescales.

These five areas are:

* West of Hebrides (wave)

* West of Shetland (wave)

* South West of Shetland (wave)

* West of Mull of Kintyre (tidal)

* South West of Islay (tidal)

Energy Minister Jim Mather said: “The Saltire Prize is our £10m challenge to the world to push back the boundaries of marine energy innovation. With two confirmed applicants and over 150 registrations of interest from around the world, the Saltire Prize will accelerate the commercial development of wave and tidal energy technology.

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"This new leasing round supporting Saltire Prize applicants will open up Scotland’s seas for further development and sends a global signal that Scotland is the place to invest in marine renewables. Marine Scotland’s regional locational guidance underpins this process and helps competitors choose the areas most suited to wave and tidal development.

"We greatly value our strong working relationship with The Crown Estate as it helps us ensure that Scotland leads the UK in giving wave and tidal energy developers the best opportunities to harness the power of our seas."

Johanna Yates, Marine Policy Manager at Scottish Renewables, said: “There’s still huge demand from industry to develop and deploy wave and tidal devices around Scotland, which is why it’s important to continue opening up areas of our seas for business.  The Saltire Prize aids Scotland’s global lead in marine energy, encouraging developers to break new ground through innovation and demonstration of technologies. 

"We look forward to considering the locational guidance in detail, which should help to make the best use of our assets by helping the industry site projects in the right areas. Industry will continue to work with government to find ways to secure sustainable finance and improve grid connections."

(GK)