One of the world's first tidal energy generators was being installed off the coast of a Scottish island today.
The prototype tidal generator was being fitted in the Shetland Islands as part of research to test new forms of renewable energy
The 180-tonne underwater generator is being installed off the Yell Sound area of Shetland over the weekend and could be deployed around the Britain's shoreline if successful.
The £1.8 million Stg Stingray project is being run by Northumberland-based The Engineering Business and co-financed by the Government.
Officials at the Department of Trade and Industry, which gave the company a £1.1 million Stg grant in January, say projects like Stingray will help the Government meet promises on the environment.
Under the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change, the UK Government agreed to ensure that 10% of mains electricity came from renewable sources by 2010. Energy Minister Brian Wilson said it was in the country's best interests to support research into new forms of renewable energy.
He said: "It is the first major step which will take this potentially huge technology from the laboratory to large-scale power generation.
"The Stingray project shows that knowledge developed in the oil and gas industry can also be applied to innovative schemes which harness the power of the sea, provide electricity and go a long way to reducing greenhouse gas emissions
"All too often, clever British inventors lose out when it comes to the final manufacture and distribution of the finished product. I am determined not to let this happen again."
Tidal energy is seen as having advantages over hydroelectric energy or wind farms as generators have little environmental impact, being largely invisible above the waterline and producing no sound.
The firm says the pilot programme will prove the reliability and energy output of the equipment while allowing engineers to practise maintaining and controlling the technology.
The generator will be operated for a period of up to one year and then decommissioned for further analysis
PA