A tidal farm off the coast of Orkney is set to be home to what a company claims is the largest number of turbines anywhere in the world.
Nova, experts in marine renewables, has won European Union (EU) funding for a four megawatt tidal energy farm off the coast of Orkney which will be called Seastar.
The project will kick start the manufacture of turbines at the company’s headquarters in Edinburgh.
It will mark a crucial step in the unlocking a new global source of renewable energy in the battle against climate change.
First Minister Humza Yousaf during a visit to tidal energy company Nova Innovation in Edinburgh (Lesley Martin/PA)
First Minister Humza Yousaf visited Nova earlier this year. He said: “Scotland is a world leader in marine renewable energy as a result of consistent and committed support from the Scottish Government together with the expertise, investment and innovation of the industry.
READ MORE: Plans for West of Orkney works submitted
“Nova’s project at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney will accelerate the development of a new industry and helps to show how Scottish ingenuity is helping us to capture the immense potential of renewable energy from our seas and oceans.”
Nova hope the project will build on the Shetland Tidal Array, the world’s first offshore tidal farm, which has been powering homes in the archipelago since 2016.
Nova say they have enhanced technology and slashed the cost of tidal energy by 40%.
The ambitious project is funded by the EU’s Horizon Europe programme, which is dedicated to fostering innovation and technology.
Simon Forrest, chief executive of Nova Innovation, said: “This is a huge win for Nova and a huge vote of confidence for the tidal energy sector.
“To be awarded the EU’s flagship tidal energy project with turbines made and deployed here in Scotland, using a pan-European supply chain, is testament to our track record of success.
READ MORE: SSE and ScottishPower welcome increased renewables support
“The Seastar project will see more turbines installed than all other current deployments worldwide combined. This will enable Nova to start mass manufacturing, deploy at scale and continue to drive down the cost of tidal energy.”
Nova say tidal energy in the UK could meet 11% of the current electricity demand while the global market could be worth about £125 billion by 2050.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel