The Crown Estate has announced that is has awarded an agreement for lease for the Inner Sound tidal project to MeyGen, a joint venture between Atlantis, International Power and Morgan Stanley.

With a capacity of up to 400 MW, the project is one of the world’s largest planned commercial tidal stream energy developments. This concludes the re-tendering process we have been running since April and the end of the first round of leasing in the Pentland Firth and Orkney waters.

With the addition of the Inner Sound, there are now 11 Pentland Firth and Orkney waters projects. The total potential capacity is 1.6 GW, up from the 1.2 GW announced in March. The Crown Estate will now increase the enabling actions fund, intended to accelerate and reduce risks in development, from its current level of £4.0m to £5.6m.

MeyGen will be joining the Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters Developers Forum, through which The Crown Estate works closely with all of the developers with agreements for lease. MeyGen will also be attending the local information events being hosted by The Crown Estate in Caithness and Orkney in November 2010.

Scottish Government Energy Minister Jim Mather said: “This agreement, for one of the world’s largest commercial-scale tidal energy developments, further confirms Scotland as natural home for marine renewables. With 1.6 GW of planned green energy deployment, the Pentland Firth is the undoubted jewel in the crown of our wave and tidal resources. We will continue to work with The Crown Estate to support low carbon developments, ensure communities can reap the benefits and secure Scotland’s position as the green energy capital of Europe.”


Commenting on the announcement, Rob Hastings, Director of the marine estate at The Crown Estate said: “This is an excellent outcome to the re-tendering process. The addition of a major commercial tidal stream project to the existing Pentland Firth and Orkney waters programme marks a further step forward for the emerging wave and tidal energy industry. We look forward to working with the MeyGen team to advance development of the Inner Sound site.”

Dan Pearson, CEO of MeyGen commented: “The Inner Sound is known as the crown jewel of the Pentland Firth and MeyGen has the potential to be a flagship marine energy project. The challenge now is to transform that potential into reality. We’re looking forward to working with the community, The Crown Estate and the Government, employing local people and business, for an entirely new industry.”

The Inner Sound lies within the Pentland Firth and Orkney waters strategic area, between Caithness on the Scottish mainland and the island of Stroma. It is one of the most energetic tidal areas in the Pentland Firth.

The Crown Estate announced the decision to re-tender the site on 31 March 2010, following withdrawal of the preferred bidder during the Pentland Firth and Orkney waters leasing round. Since then, several companies made expressions of interest, pre-qualified and submitted tenders. MeyGen was selected on a number of criteria, including commitment to health and safety, technical and commercial plans, resources and financing.

As owners of the UK seabed out to the 12-nautical mile territorial limit and around half of the foreshore, The Crown Estate is continuing to work closely with partners, the Scottish Government, Highlands & Islands Enterprise, Orkney Islands Council and the Highland Council, to maximise benefits to the local area and the rest of Scotland from investments in offshore renewables.

(GK)