First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will travel to the Highlands today to unveil the world’s first ever large scale tidal energy scheme.
She will visit the Nigg Energy Park on the Cromarty Firth to see the first turbines built for the MeyGen tidal stream farm in the Pentland Firth.
The project, led by Atlantis Resources Ltd, aims to produce 398MW of offshore tidal energy for the National Grid by early next decade.
It is hoped that it will cement Scotland’s reputation as a world leader in marine renewables, and generate £275million for the nation’s economy.
The first phase will consist of 86 turbines producing 86MW, and is backed by £23million from the Scottish Government.
Marking her visit to Nigg, Ms Sturgeon said: “I am incredibly proud of Scotland’s role in leading the way in tackling climate change and investment in marine renewables is a hugely important part of this.
“MeyGen is set to invigorate the marine renewables industry in Scotland and provide vital jobs for a skilled workforce, retaining valuable offshore expertise here in Scotland that would otherwise be lost overseas.
“Highly skilled operation and maintenance jobs will also need to be carried out locally, providing strong local employment opportunity for rural areas.”
The SNP leader added: “There is no doubt that the eyes of the world are on this project which is why the Scottish Government’s investment is so crucially important.
“But it is absolutely vital that the UK Government honours its earlier commitment to provide a ring-fenced allocation for marine energy in its renewables support scheme.
“They must tackle the current uncertainty that exists before they cause irreparable damage to the long term prospects for the sector.”
Tim Cornelius, chief executive of Atlantis Resources, said: “Today marks a historic milestone not just for Atlantis and our project partners, but for the entire global tidal power industry.
“It gives me enormous pride to have reached this juncture after 10 years of tireless work, preparation and planning by everyone associated with this project.
“This is the day the tidal power industry announced itself as the most exciting new asset class of renewable, sustainable generation in the UK’s future energy mix.
“This is an industry that is creating jobs and Scotland is the undisputed world leader of this high growth sector.”
