The first construction work on what will become the UK's first offshore tidal power array started in Scotland today (21 January).
Contractors started work on a 340m access road for the MeyGen tidal stream project, says Atlantis Resources, majority owner of the project.
The announcement marks the start of all onshore construction at the site, a preparatory stage which will pave the way for the 398MW tidal array to be built offshore.
Image: Artists' impression from Xodus.
ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, is the principal contractor for all onshore construction of the MeyGen project and has appointed local business John Gunn & Sons to construct the access road.
The road will enable horizontal directional drilling to start close to the foreshore as well as prepare the ground for the Power Conversion Unit Building foundations (PCUB).
The road is expected to take three months to build, with all onshore construction expected to be completed over the next 12 months.
The MeyGen project is the largest planned tidal development project in the world at 398MW of total installed capacity when fully constructed.
Situated in Scotland's Pentland Firth, the MeyGen array will consist of 269 submerged tidal turbines, enough to power 175,000 Scottish homes.
In Phase 1A of the project, four submerged turbines generating 6MW will be installed in the Inner Pentland Firth, just north of Caithness, with first power expected to be delivered in 2016.
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