Scottish mainland gets electricity from tidal power for first time
Atlantis, the company behind project MayGen, hopes to eventually deploy up to 269 turbines
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Scotland's mainland has received electricity from tidal power for the first time ever.
A 1.5MW tidal stream turbine off the Caithness coast started operating last week, sending power back to the shore.
Atlantis, the company behind project MayGen, hopes to eventually deploy up to 269 turbines, which will generate around 400MW of electricity, the BBC reported.
A single megawatt can potentially power hundreds of homes, opening up the possibility of hundreds of thousands of homes in Scotland being powered by the North Sea.
The successful launch follows the laying of sea cables from the tidal power site back to the shore in 2015, and the construction of four foundations in the sea for the turbines earlier this year.
Tim Cornelius, chief executive of Atlantis, said: "This is the moment we have been working towards since we first identified the MeyGen site back in 2007.
“It's especially exciting to be making this announcement on the morning after the first 'super moon' in 68 years.
“Last night, those of us with clear skies were able to get a good view of the powerhouse behind tidal energy, and be reminded that even in times like these there are still predictions we can rely on."
The Scottish Government provided £23m in funding to help develop what is being hailed as the world’s first large-scale tidal energy farm.
The development comes just months after turbines off the coast of Shetland became the first to deliver electricity to the grid.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments