Pentland Firth tidal energy generation to draw £5 billion investment

The Crown Estate has let it be known that it expects to see £5 billion investment in the development of tidal flow energy generation in Scotland’s Pentland Firth.

It is also anticipating investment of £100 billion in offshore wind projects across the UK, which will include some in Scotland.

The breakdown of this figure indicates £60-70 billion on offshore wind turbines with £10-20 billion on power transmission systms and £10-20 billion on supply chain elements.

Three leases to be  let by The Crown Estate are intended to see 25 gigawatts of offshore wind farms installed, alongside a further 8 gigawatts already in development. The first turbine for this round of development is expected to be in the water by 2014.

The winning tenders for these three leases are to be announce by The Crown Estate in February 2010.

The Pentland Firth is expected to deliver 1 gigawatt by 2020.

Note: The Crown Estate owns the sea bed around the UK’s coast to a distance of 12 nautical miles. It levies fees for all uses of the sea bed, including moorings – as the Rothesay Bay Moorings Association knows from its interesting challenge to the body.

Although the body turns its surpluses over to the Treasury, it is an uncomfortable and potentialy controversial anachronism typical of the UK’s historical make-do-and-mend approach to constitutional matters.