Editing Pentland Firth (section)

==Tidal power==
Currents of up to {{convert|5|m/s|mph}} make the Pentland Firth potentially one of the best sites in the world for [[tidal power]].<ref name=Connor20130710>{{cite news | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/wave-goodbye-to-hope-of-tidal-energy-exports-scots-politicians-told-8698504.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220525/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/wave-goodbye-to-hope-of-tidal-energy-exports-scots-politicians-told-8698504.html |archive-date=25 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live | title=Wave goodbye to hope of tidal energy exports, Scots politicians told | first=Steve | last=Connor | date=10 July 2013 | newspaper=The Independent}}</ref> This has taken on a political dimension. The [[Scottish National Party|SNP]] Energy Review of July 2006 claimed that the Firth could produce "10 to 20 GW of synchronous electricity"<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.snp.org | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061203055559/http://www.snp.org/ | archive-date=2006-12-03 | format=pdf | title=Scottish Energy Review: Scotland's opportunity – Scotland's challenge | first1=Stephen | last1=Salter | author-link1=Stephen Salter | first2=Kerr | last2=MacGregor | first3=Clifford | last3=Jones | date=July 2006 | publisher=Scottish National Party }} [http://www.see.ed.ac.uk/~shs/SNP%20Energy%20review/SNP%20Energy%20review.pdf Alt URL] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014125909/http://www.see.ed.ac.uk/~shs/SNP%20Energy%20review/SNP%20Energy%20review.pdf |date=14 October 2013 }}</ref> and [[First Minister of Scotland|First Minister]] [[Alex Salmond]] claimed that the Pentland Firth could be "the Saudi Arabia of tidal power"<ref name=SRF32 /> with an output of "20 gigawatts and more than that".<ref name=SRF32>{{cite journal|url=http://www.scottishrenewables.com/MultimediaGallery/aeeb2c12-2406-47e1-977e-67518467f39b.pdf|first=Alex | last=Salmond | author-link=Alex Salmond |title=Small Country Thinks Big | journal=Scottish Renewables Review | number=32 |date=November 2006|publisher=Scottish Renewables|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326084759/http://www.scottishrenewables.com/MultimediaGallery/aeeb2c12-2406-47e1-977e-67518467f39b.pdf | archive-date=2009-03-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/salmond-hails-pentland-firth-europe-s-powerhouse-1-1134345 | title=Salmond hails Pentland Firth Europe's powerhouse | date= 29 September 2008 | newspaper=The Scotsman}}</ref> In July 2013 Thomas Adcock of Oxford University stated that the Firth "is almost certainly the best site for tidal stream power in the world"<ref>Carrington, Damian (10 July 2013) [https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/jul/10/tidal-power-penland-firth-scotland-electricity "Tidal power from Pentland firth 'could provide half of Scotland's electricity' "]. London: ''The Guardian''.</ref> although a peer-reviewed study he led suggested that the maximum potential of the Firth was 1.9 [[Gigawatt|GW]] of tidal power, with one GW being a more realistic figure.<ref name=Connor20130710 />

In October 2008 tidal power developer Atlantis Resources Corporation (ARC) announced it was considering a site near the [[Castle of Mey]] for a computer data centre that would be powered by a tidal scheme in the Firth.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/7675510.stm "Major tidal power plan revealed"] BBC News. Retrieved 26 October 2008.</ref> In October 2010 [[MeyGen]], a consortium of ARC, [[Morgan Stanley]] and [[International Power]], received operational lease from the [[Crown Estate]] to a 400&nbsp;[[Megawatt|MW]] project for 25 years.<ref name="nceT">[http://www.nce.co.uk/news/energy/major-scottish-tidal-project-unveiled/8607525.article Major Scottish tidal project unveiled] ''New Civil Engineer'', 28 October 2010. Retrieved: 4 November 2010.<!--many related articles--></ref> Consent was granted in September 2013 for MeyGen to build a 9&nbsp;MW demonstration project of six AR1000 turbines commissioning in 2015<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.meygen.com/2013/09/meygen-secures-consent-for-86mw-tidal-energy-project/ | title=MeyGen secures consent for 86MW tidal energy project | date=16 September 2013 | publisher=MeyGen Ltd | access-date=12 October 2013 | archive-date=14 October 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014214711/http://www.meygen.com/2013/09/meygen-secures-consent-for-86mw-tidal-energy-project/ | url-status=dead }}</ref> with 86&nbsp;MW planned for phase 1 by 2020. The second phase would install up to 400 turbines generating 398&nbsp;MW.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-24100811 | date= 16 September 2013 | title=Pentland Firth tidal turbine project given consent | work=BBC News}}</ref>

MeyGen completed the longest-ever run of continuous tidal electricity generation in 2019 with 25 GWh produced, enough to power nearly 4,000 homes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://electrek.co/2020/02/04/egeb-tidal-energy-hit-a-major-milestone-in-scotland-in-2019/|title=EGEB: Tidal energy hit a major milestone in Scotland in 2019|last=Lewis|first=Michelle|date=2020-02-04|website=Electrek|language=en-US|access-date=2020-02-04}}</ref>