Successful bidders for the world’s first commercial wave and tidal leasing round were revealed by The Crown Estate on 16 March for 10 sites in Scotland’s Pentland Firth and Orkney waters.

The 1.2GW of installed capacity proposed by the wave and tidal energy developers for 2020, 600MW each from wave and tidal, is four times the peak output of Dounreay power station and enough to meet the needs of up to three quarters of a million homes.

The developers have signed Agreements for Lease with The Crown Estate to take forward the development of their wave and tidal energy installations, allowing them to enter the statutory consenting process for their sites with security of access to the seabed.

The Crown Estate, which owns the UK seabed out to the 12 nautical mile territorial limit and over 55% of the foreshore, has been working closely with its partners, Scottish Government, Highlands & Islands Enterprise, Orkney Islands Council and the Highland Council, to maximise the benefits to the local area and the rest of Scotland from investments such as the offshore renewable energy programme.

The developers who have signed a total of 10 Agreements for Lease are:

Wave

Tidal

Roger Bright, Chief Executive of The Crown Estate, made the announcement during a visit to Wick and Kirkwall and said: “This announcement demonstrates the UK’s position as the leader in wave and tidal technologies. Through our experience and some of the best natural resources in the world we have been able to launch the first wave and tidal energy projects on a commercial scale.

"This emerging industry has a bright and promising future, with vast amounts of untapped energy in the seas all around us, and The Crown Estate looks forward to working with partners in Wick and Kirkwall to realise the area’s marine energy potential.”

The First Minister, Alex Salmond, said the announcement marked a major milestone in the global journey towards a low carbon future, with the commercial-scale deployment of marine renewables set to power our economies and help safeguard the planet for generations to come.

“These waters have been described as the Saudi Arabia of marine power and the wave and tidal projects unveiled today – exceeding the initial 700MW target capacity – underline the rich natural resources of the waters off Scotland,” he said. “Leading international energy companies and innovators continue to be drawn to Scottish waters, which boast as much as a quarter of Europe’s tidal and offshore wind resource and a 10th of the continent’s potential wave capacity.

“Together with some 11GW of planned offshore wind developments, these latest marine renewables projects show that Scotland is powering ahead in the development and deployment of clean, green energy. The Scottish Government is working with The Crown Estate, developers and key partners to support this rapidly-growing industry, to ensure communities such as those in Caithness and Orkney are well-placed to reap the benefits and to secure Scotland’s position as the green energy powerhouse of Europe.”

The Secretary of State for Scotland Jim Murphy said it was a welcome ‘world-first’ for Scotland. “Scotland is naturally placed to make the most of this green revolution and we will continue to work with others to ensure the potential of Scottish waters, alongside wind power, is fully met. It is encouraging to see the number of successful bidders for the Pentland Firth and Orkney waters. There is no doubt we are set to see a significant expansion in the commercial development of wave and tidal energy in the near future and the UK government will continue to put a low-carbon and energy-secure future at the heart of its priorities.”