Pentland Firth could generate 'almost half of Scotland's electricity'

Tidal turbines stretched across Pentland Firth, which separates the Orkney Islands from mainland Scotland, could generate up to 1.9 gigawatts (GW) of power - equivalent to almost half of Scotland's electricity needs. A new study, led by Oxford University researchers, provides the first reliable estimate of the maximum energy that could be generated from Pentland Firth. The 1.9GW figure is considerably lower than some early estimates as it takes into account factors such as how many tidal turbines it would be feasible to build, how a series of turbines would interact with each other, and averages out variations caused by the fortnightly and seasonal cycle of the tides. The new calculations suggest that the prospects of extracting the first 500 megawatts (MW) of energy are very promising. Due to the increasing difficulty of extracting more and more energy towards the maximum of 1.9GW, the researchers believe that a target of extracting 1GW is realistic. A report of the research appears in Proceedings of the Royal Society A . Dr Thomas Adcock of Oxford University's Department of Engineering Science, lead author of the report, said: 'Pentland Firth promises to be one of the best sites in the world for tidal power.