Highland Council members met with the first minister, Alex Salmond, in Caithnesss this week, to discuss plans for a major new tidal energy farm in the area. The plans for 60 underwater turbines, driven by the power of the tides, focus on the Pentland Firth and the Sound of Islay in Scotland, and the Antrim coast in Northern Ireland. Mr Salmond said the firth could become the ‘Saudi Arabia of marine energy'. Highland Council is hoping to regenerate an area about to be hit by the reduction of jobs at the former nuclear power complex, Dounreay. It estimates the tidal energy farm could generate 60 megawatts of power for up to 40,000 homes.
