Scotland’s first Marine Energy Park

Energy Minister Greg Barker has confirmed that the Pentland Firth looks set to become Scotland’s first marine energy park.

The news comes a week after an area off the south-west of England was named as the first such energy park in the UK.

Councillor Ian Johnstone, chairman of the OIC’s development and regeneration committee, said: “The proposal is for a Marine Energy Park for the Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters — the area in which the Crown Estate carried out the world’s first leasing round for commercial-scale wave and tidal energy projects.

“We will be working together over the next few months to ensure that the proposed Marine Energy Park brings real benefit to the region as a whole – and to jointly co-ordinate planning for any future launch of the park.”