Originally published September 23, 2013<br /><br />Scotland plans to build Europe's largest tidal energy project in the Pentland Firth, between Orkney and the Scottish mainland.<br /><br />According to Reuters, "MeyGen Limited, a joint venture between investment bank Morgan Stanley, utility International Power and tidal technology firm Atlantis Resources Corporation, will install the 86-megawatt (MW) tidal array in stages, starting with a 9 MW demonstration project.<br /><br />"'When fully operational, the 86 megawatt array could generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of 42,000 homes - around 40 per cent of homes in the Highlands,' said Fergus Ewing, Scotland's energy minister.<br /><br />"'This exciting development in the waters around Orkney is just the first phase for a site that could eventually yield up to 398 MW,' he added.<br /><br />"Due to the strength and speed of its tides, the firth was once called the "Saudi Arabia of tidal power" by Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond.<br /><br />"However, research in July showed that the proposed tidal turbines in Pentland Firth would generate much less power than previously estimated.<br /><br />"The University of Oxford said the maximum that Pentland Firth could produce would be 1.9 gigawatts, with 1 GW a more realistic target - far below previous estimates of 10-20 GW.<br /><br />"The Scottish government also said on Monday that tidal power developers Aquamarine Power Limited and Pelamis Wave Power will share 13 million pounds ($20.6 million)of funding from the Scottish government's marine renewables commercialization fund.<br /><br />"This will enable the firms to develop their technologies so they can successfully deploy the first wave arrays."<br /><br />--------------------------------------------------------<br /><br />TomoNews is your daily source for top animated news. We've combined animation and video footage with a snarky personality to bring you the biggest and best stories from around the world.<br /><br />For news that's fun and never boring, visit our channel:<br />https://www.youtube.com/user/TomoNewsUS<br /><br />Subscribe to stay updated on all the top stories:<br />http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=TomoNewsUS<br /><br />Stay connected with us here:<br />Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TomoNewsUS<br />Twitter @tomonewsus http://www.twitter.com/TomoNewsUS<br />Google+ http://gplus.to/TomoNewsUS
