Pentland Firth turbines could generate 1.9GW

Tidal turbines in the Pentland Firth could generate up to 1.9GW of power, according to research by leading academics.

A new study, led by Oxford University researchers, estimates that turbines in the Pentland Firth, which separates the Orkney Islands from mainland Scotland, could generate up to 1.9GW, which is equivalent to 16TWh per year.

This estimate is significantly lower than previous estimates for the generating capacity of the firth, which had been as high as 10GW.

The dramatic drop in the estimated generating capacity of turbines in the firth is due to the study taking into account how feasible the turbines are to build, how they would interact with each other, and the fortnightly and seasonal tidal variations.

The study suggests that extracting the first 500MW of power from the firth is “very promising”, although due to the increasing difficulty of extracting more power towards the maximum 1.9GW estimate, it predicts a “realistic” total of 1GW.

The author of the report, Dr Thomas Adcock of oxford University’s department of Engineering science, described the Pentland Firth as “one of the best sites in the world for tidal power” but added the arrangement of the turbines would be crucial.

He said: “Building handfuls of turbines in plots of ocean leased out to individual developers is not going to extract the maximum energy from the Pentland Firth.

“To make the most of this unique site the placement of turbines would need to be carefully planned.”