£14m boost for Caithness tidal energy skills centre

Published on Thursday 18 June 2009 23:13

A CAITHNESS college yesterday received a £14 million funding boost as part of the Scottish Government's drive to transform the Pentland Firth into the "Saudi Arabia" of tidal energy production.

The massive investment at the North Highland College UHI in Thurso, announced by Highland and islands Enterprise, will be used to develop a new Centre for Engineering Skills and a Centre for Energy and the Environment at the campus.

The European Regional Development Fund, the Scottish Funding Council, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Highland Council and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority have all contributed towards the 14 million funding package.

First Minister Alex Salmond welcomed the investment. He said: "The Pentland Firth, Scotland's Saudi Arabia of tidal power, has been opened up for development in clean, green energy.

"The interest, the capacity and the opportunity in these waters is vast. Already, the Crown Estate has been approached by 42 developers to put wave and tidal test devices into the Pentland Firth.

"This project will significantly strengthen Scotland's well-established reputation as the European leader in clean, green energy."

A spokesman for HIE said the Centre for Energy and the Environment would be built at the campus of the North Highland College UHI to be used as a teaching facility offering postgraduate qualifications, such as MSc in environmental management and renewable energy.