The Isle of Islay could soon be entirely powered by renewable energy if Scottish Power’s plans for a tidal energy project are given the green light.

According to the Guardian, Scottish Power is poised to submit a planning application for a 10MW tidal project which will provide enough electricity for Islay’s 3,500 inhabitants for 23 hours a day.

The company is in talks with drinks giant Diageo, to provide electricity from the project to power eight distilleries and malting plants on Islay.

The £50m project will be one of the world’s largest. If granted planning approval, the ten 30m underwater turbines could be operational by 2011. The Scottish government will have the final say on whether the project is approved.

The news comes as the Marine Energy Group (MEG) urged the Scottish government to allocate more funding to tidal energy projects in a report published today.

The MEG report states that, with large scale deployment, by 2020 the marine energy industry could provide more than 12,000 jobs and contribute £2.5 billion to Scotland's economy.

Source

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