The Sound of Islay will be home to the world’s first tidal energy project. The Sound of Islay lies between the Island and Jura, and was selected because of its powerful sea and predictable tides. By harnessing these tides, this project will generate enough electricity to power 5000 homes. Bigger projects are already planned for the Pentland of Firth off Caithness, as well as for the waters off Orkney.

And don’t worry about big platforms and rigs. This system will be sitting on the sea bed, fully submerged. Scottish Power Renewables expects to be producing electricity commercially in 2012.

Scotland has the best tidal power resources in the world.  John Swinney, Finance Secretary, noted this unique potential.  “With around a quarter of Europe’s potential tidal energy resource, and a tenth of the wave capacity, Scotland’s seas have unrivalled potential to generate green energy, create new low-carbon jobs, and add billions of pounds of investment to Scotland.”  For more information, go to: www.Scotsman.com