TEN YEARS AGO Friday March 28, 2014
Turning the tide
Kintyre is set to be promoted as a potential hot spot for tidal energy, the Courier can reveal.
Still a fledging industry, it could bring skilled jobs and boost the local economy.
“The Pentland Firth has been heavily promoted for the past 10 years and we are in danger of missing a trick here,” said Councillor Rory Colville, chairman of South Kintyre Development Trust.
“We need to promote this area with the energy. We have tidal power, local engineering expertise and one of the few sheltered ports in the West of Scotland.”
Councillor Colville revealed this week that the trust was hoping to secure funding to employ a university graduate to promote the area’s potential.
He spoke after an Argyll and Bute Council meeting which considered a proposal to install a tidal energy demonstrator off the Mull of Kintyre.
This follows a similar project announced in 2011 to build a quarter-scale tidal stream turbine in the Sound of Sanda, which is still under development.
The latest proposal, from renewable energy company Nautricity, would see a 500kw tidal demonstrator installed 800 metres off the west coast of the Mull of Kintyre.
An export cable would go underground on the Mull, leading to a newly-built substation. Electricity generated would connect to the national grid, with the first power from the site targeted for 2015.
The application is still under consideration. Mr Colville said it was very exciting Kintyre had two tidal energy projects on its doorstep.
He added: “This is a real opportunity for Kintyre and Argyll to be at the forefront of tidal energy. The North Channel between the Mull and Northern Ireland has huge potential.
“There’s a very strong tidal flow there. It’s just about how we try and get the maximum benefit from it.
“With wind power reaching its capacity in Kintyre, we must look at other alternatives such as tidal power.”
Campbeltown is also ideal for these projects, according to the councillor.
The demonstrators can be easily taken into the harbour to be worked on before being returned to their locations.
He said in order for Kintyre to make the most of its strong tides, it had to follow the example of Orkney. Through a large amount of promotion, the Pentland Firth is to become the site for a huge commercial tidal energy project, which could generate electricity to power the equivalent of 42,000 homes.
Scotland has been described as a Saudi Arabia of renewable energy potential, but offshore tidal streams are still being researched.
“The technology will come and we want to be in place to benefit from it,” added Mr Colville.