THE First Minister has called on the UK Government to end uncertainty around subsidies for wave and tidal stream projects.
Nicola Sturgeon made the plea ahead of a visit to the MeyGen project in the Pentland Firth, which will be the world’s first ever large-scale tidal stream farm.
The project is expected to supply up to 400MW to the grid by 2020 – enough to power 175,000 homes with predictable electricity.
“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," said Sturgeon.
“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 opportunities.
“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.”
The first phase of the MeyGen project was developed in part thanks to £23 million of Scottish Government funding. MeyGen and the Sound of Islay tidal energy project are expected to generate about £275m for the Scottish economy.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here