Isra-Mart srl:"World's largest" tidal array gains approval from Scottish government

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A giant £40m tidal energy project planned for the Islay Sound has today received planning permission from the Scottish Government, delivering a major step forward for the UK's nascent renewable marine power sector.

Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth, John Swinney, today approved ScottishPower Renewables' 10MW tidal stream project, which is expected to be the largest tidal energy project in the world once built. The facility should generate enough electricity to power at least 5,000 houses, more than double the number of homes on Islay.

The project will consist of ten 1MW tidal energy devices, which will be fully submerged on the seabed just south of Port Askaig between the islands of Islay and Jura off Scotland's west coast. Construction work is scheduled to take place during 2013.

The preferred device is the HS1000, which is made by Hammerfest Strøm – a Norwegian firm in which ScottishPower is a major shareholder.

Engineering firm Burntisland Fabrications has already secured a £4m contract to build a prototype sub-structure for the turbine at its yard at Arnish, which will be installed at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney this year.

Commenting on the approval, Swinney said the project marks a major milestone for Scotland's goal of supplying 80 per cent of its electricity demand from renewables by 2020.

"ScottishPower Renewables array will work in harmony with the environment and use the power of the tides in the Sound of Islay to generate enough green energy to power double the number of homes on Islay," he said. "There is simply nothing like it consented anywhere else in the world."

Beyond this project, ScottishPower is developing a 95-turbine tidal array at Ness of Duncansby in the Pentland Firth as part of The Crown Estate's first marine energy leasing round.