Installation in the Inner Sound of the Pentland Firth of the pilotdevelopment’s six turbines, being supplied by Atlantis Resources, would beginearly next year, with switch-on in 2015.

The 3.5 sq km development site, located in water depths of 20-40 metres offthe north coast of Caithness where currents rip through at some five metres persecond, is seen as the “crown jewel” in Scotland’s tidal resource.

The