Tidal power in the Pentland Firth has the potential to power almost half of Scotland's electricity demands, according to new research.
The report, from Oxford University, calculates that tidal turbines in the currents between the Scottish mainland and the Orkney Islands could generate up to 1.9 Gigawatts of power.
Entitled 'The available power from tidal stream turbines in the Pentland Firth', the report was commissioned and supported by the Energy Technologies Institute.
Lead author of the report Dr Thomas Adcock said: "Our study provides the first robust data about how much energy it would be feasible to extract.
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