A new report carried out by the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) and the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult on behalf of Crown Estate Scotland, Scottish Enterprise, and Highlands and Islands Enterprise has looked at using power generated locally by tidal energy projects.

The report examined how tidal power could help businesses and homes around Scotland’s coastline become less reliant on expensive and polluting oil and diesel sources of power, by removing the need to wait for greater grid capacity.

Carolyn MacPhee, Development Manager at Crown Estate Scotland, said:

“Scotland has an enviable natural resource in the form of tidal power, which provides a consistent and predictable source of renewable energy. However, securing a connection to the national grid is an acknowledged obstacle to making full use of the tidal stream power available.

“This report sets out the opportunities to make greater use of our country’s natural power. In so doing it highlights the potential to provide clean energy within local communities, create jobs, and help reduce the costs of generating a range of energy types.”

The study examined 30 tidal stream locations around Scotland’s coast, of which 20 were identified as being close enough to potential end users. Various off-take routes were considered viable, including:

• The Islay Project, where green hydrogen company Protium is helping whisky distilleries to be carbon-neutral by 2040.
• Using the Pentland Firth’s tidal energy potential to produce green hydrogen to develop synthetic fuels on the Orkney island of Flotta.
• Replacing diesel generators on Barra and Vatersay with a battery storage system to utilise tidal generated electricity.

The study emphasises that accessing tidal-derived energy in this way is not a substitute for a connection to the national grid, but an additional way to maximise the use of such energy resources.

Eileen Linklater, Corporate Affairs Director at EMEC, said: 

“The report highlights the potential of tidal stream energy to drive net zero goals, bolster energy security, and promote green growth across the UK.

“Alternative offtake routes for tidal stream generation across Scotland could play an important role in enabling the sector’s development, given existing grid constraints.

“To realise this potential, key recommendations focus on strategic planning around best use of resources adjacent to industries in need of decarbonisation, reducing risk for community scale projects, and increasing thresholds for consenting requirements to better support projects at different scales.

“These insights aim to inform future leasing design and identify practical approaches to resolving deliverability constraints.”

Click on this link to access Alternative offtake routes for tidal stream energy powerpoint presentation summary of report.

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