Graduates get chance to make waves - graduate jobs

Graduates wishing to make waves in the engineering world might want to get involved in a huge tidal project in Scotland.

The scheme in the Pentland Firth Inner Sound, at the northern tip of Scotland, will have the potential to generate up to 400 megawatts - enough energy to power 400,000 homes.

A 25-year operational lease for the site has been granted to a consortium of companies by the Crown Estate. The successful bidders were MeyGen, which is a joint venture between power generator International Power, investment bank Morgan Stanley and tidal technology provider Atlantis Resources Corporation.

The first stage of the project will involve deploying test turbines to assess their environmental impact and help plan for later phases, with construction occurring on a phased basis up to 2020. Up to 400 submerged turbines will be installed by the time of completion.

The area is the first to be made available for commercial scale development of wave and tidal energy in the UK and up to 1,600MW of power generating capacity could be installed.

Dan Pearson, chief executive of MeyGen, said: "The MeyGen project will be seen as a flagship marine power project.

"In cooperation with the local community, the Crown Estate and all levels of Government, we are committed to making tidal power a success not only for our shareholders, but for Scotland as well."