MeyGen (full name MeyGen tidal energy project) will be the world's largest

tidal energy Tidal power or tidal energy is harnessed by converting energy from tides into useful forms of power, mainly electricity using various methods. Although not yet widely used, tidal energy has the potential for future electricity generation. Ti ...

plant, which is currently in construction. The first phase of the project uses four 1.5MW turbines with rotor diameter turbines submerged on the

seabed The seabed (also known as the seafloor, sea floor, ocean floor, and ocean bottom) is the bottom of the ocean. All floors of the ocean are known as 'seabeds'. The structure of the seabed of the global ocean is governed by plate tectonics. Most of ...

. The project is owned and run by Tidal Power Scotland Limited and

Scottish Enterprise Scottish Enterprise is a non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government which encourages economic development, enterprise, innovation and investment in business. The body covers the eastern and central parts of Scotland whilst similar ...

. The high speed of currents in the area, reaching up to , made the chosen site in the

Pentland Firth The Pentland Firth ( gd, An Caol Arcach, meaning the Orcadian Strait) is a strait which separates the Orkney Islands from Caithness in the north of Scotland. Despite the name, it is not a firth. Etymology The name is presumed to be a corruption ...

well suited to this type of energy generation. In October 2010, the newly named "MeyGen" tidal project from the nearby

Castle of Mey The Castle of Mey (also known for a time as Barrogill Castle) is located in Caithness, on the north coast of Scotland, about west of John o' Groats. In fine weather there are views from the castle north to the Orkney Islands. History The lands ...

and "Gen" for generation was created by a consortium of Atlantis Resources Limited,

Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment management and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in more than 41 countries and more than 75,000 employees, the fir ...

and received operational lease from the

Crown Estate The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom belonging to the British monarch as a corporation sole, making it "the sovereign's public estate", which is neither government property nor part of the monarch's priva ...

to a 400MW project for 25years. Phase 1 (formerly called Phase 1a) began operations in April 2018. In July 2022, MeyGEN plc was awarded a contract for 28MW in the Contract for difference (CFD) Allocation Round 4, which will be used to support the construction of Phase 2 which is now due to be commissioned in 2027. The site has consent for a further 52MW, to be developed as Phase 3, supported by future CFD Allocation Rounds. The site has the potential for a further 312MW to be deployed beyond that, subject to expanding the consent. In December 2016 it was announced that the first turbine had begun full power operations, and all four turbines were installed by February 2017. Atlantis plans for 400MW. , the four turbines have produced 8GWh. In 2019, they produced 13.8 GWh. The project received £1.5million Scottish Government grant in 2020.

References

{{stack, {{Portal, Scotland, Water, Renewable energy Tidal power stations in Scotland