Scottish marine energy projects on track, says Crown Estate

Pentland Firth is estimated to have up to 2GW of potential wave and tidal power in total

The Crown Estate yesterday issued a statement confirming that the timetable for the installation of wave and tidal devices in the Pentland Firth and Orkney Islands area by 2020 is still on schedule.

Earlier this year, the Crown Estate received 42 bids from 20 bidders to install projects in the Pentland Firth area.

The projects range from 10MW demonstration sites all the way up to 200-300MW commercial wind farms.

The Crown Estate hopes to install at least 700MW of wave and tidal capacity in the area by 2020, potentially providing enough power for more than 500,000 homes.

Bidders who have reached provisional preferred bidder status are now able to speak to third parties – including grid suppliers and power companies – to ensure that projects can move ahead swiftly when approved.

Legal agreements will be formally signed by the end of March next year. The Crown Estate says this date will ensure that leases for wave and tidal projects are appropriate, and that as many bidders as possible can obtain lease options, as well as complying with obligations under European law.

"Shortly, the successful bidders will start their detailed work programme to implement their plans and further announcements are planned as the commercial negotiations are concluded," the Crown Estate said in a statement.

The Pentland Firth is estimated to have up to 2GW of potential wave and tidal power in total.