High connection charges could result in Scotland losing its place at the forefront of research into wave and tidal energy according to a leading industry body.

Scottish Renewables revealed that projects in the north of Scotland face charges of £56m annually to feed in to the electricity grid and the UK's transmission charging regime is designed to encourage companies to produce power close to centres of population.

The north of Scotland has the highest charges anywhere in the UK and Scottish Renewables said the proposed 1600MW of wave and tidal projects in the Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters face an annual grid charge of £56m.

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This compares with an £11m subsidy if they were sited off the south west coast of England.

The figures come as the Scottish Renewables Marine Energy Conference gets under way in Inverness.

According to Scottish Renewables chief executive Niall Stuart any slowdown in development could jeopardise significant potential economic benefits and threaten efforts to meet green energy targets.

He stated: "Scotland has long been recognised internationally as the leader in pioneering wave and tidal research and development and is home to 25% of Europe's tidal resource and 10% of its wave resource.

"However, these charges could actually result in development going elsewhere, despite Scotland's fantastic wave and tidal resource."

(JG/BMcC)