First commercial marine energy sites named

Ten project agreements for Scotland’s Pentland Firth and Orkney waters have been signed that combined would have 1.2GW of wave and tidal energy capacity. The schemes are intended to be up and running by 2020 and would provide enough electricity to meet the needs of up to 750,000 homes, the Crown Estate said.

The developers have signed agreements with the Crown Estate, which owns the seabed around Britain’s coast, to develop their wave and tidal energy installations. This will allow developers to enter the statutory consenting process for their sites with security of access to the seabed, the Crown Estate said.

First Minister Alex Salmond said: "These waters have been described as the Saudi Arabia of marine power and the wave and tidal projects unveiled today – exceeding the initial 700 MW target capacity – underline the rich natural resources of the waters off Scotland."

Scotland has as much as a quarter of Europe’s tidal and offshore wind resource and a tenth of the continent’s potential wave capacity, Salmond said.

The Crown Estate said it received bids from 20 companies for 42 sites within the leasing area.

Click here for a list of the developers who have signed a total of ten agreements for lease and the location of the wave and tidal projects.