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The Crown Estate is inviting initial proposals from developers for the UK's first commercial marine power sites, located in the Pentland Firth and surrounding waters.
The Round 1 leasing programme is aimed at delivering 700MW of new offshore wave and tidal power by 2020 and is expected to bring significant economic benefits to north Scotland.
Unlike some other forms of renewable energy, the energy supply from tidal machines is predictable. The opening up of the Pentland Firth and surrounding waters - which contains six of the top ten sites in the UK for tidal power development - is central to meeting Scottish Government green energy targets.
The Crown Estate will look closely to see what local benefits each developer can incorporate into their scheme and all commercial development will be subject to a comprehensive environmental impact assessment.
Rob Hastings, The Crown Estate's Director of the Marine Estate, said: "In this country we are widely recognised as having both the technological lead and some of the best wave and tidal resources in the world. It is essential that this technology is given every opportunity to thrive here, in our waters, for the benefit of the environment, the energy industry, and the wider Scottish economy.
"Working alongside a number of agencies, The Crown Estate is committed to playing a key role in generating investor confidence and supporting regeneration in communities in north Scotland."
The process will take into account the wide range of stakeholder interests including international shipping routes, ferry traffic, fishing, defence, environment and ecology.
The initial devices to be installed are expected to be full size demonstration devices deployed in small arrays. Larger scale development may well require improvements to the grid; full scale commercial development will almost certainly require significant investment in the grid.
The announcement is a result of work by the Pentland Firth Tidal Energy Project which works to develop the marine energy industry. The project partners are The Crown Estate, Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), Highland Council, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and the Scottish Government.
(GK/JM)
