Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters Strategic Area

The Crown Estate has awarded 11 lease agreements to marine energy developers in the Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters. This is the world's first commercial leasing round for wave and tidal renewable energy generation. 11 agreements were signed for six wave and five tidal projects with a potential capacity to generate 1.6 GW of marine energy, sufficient capacity to power over one fifth of Scottish households. The capital investment required within the Pentland Firth and Orkney waters is estimated to be between £2-3 billion between 2010 and 2020. The Crown Estate has also estimated that this could build up to £300 million per annum of operation and maintenance service requirements by 2020. The award of leases was an important milestone for the global sector and shows Scotland's position at the forefront of marine energy development. The Pentland Firth and Orkney waters projects will be an important contribution to UK and European renewable energy targets. Scottish Ministers are responsible for licensing and consenting the projects, utilising the new streamlined marine planning and consenting regime in the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010.