A new deal to combine a large tidal project and a nearby wind farm has been announced for Scotland.

The part of the grid the Atlantis-owned MeyGen tidal project uses is constrained, meaning there is a limited amount of electricity that can flow through it at one time. When MeyGen isn’t at maximum output, Lochend’s nearby wind farm will deliver back-up power.

The project will mean usage of the existing grid network can improve without affecting MeyGen’s generation.

Tim Cornelius, CEO of Atlantis, said: “We believe this to be a world first and to show that the predictability of generation from the tides can also benefit other forms of renewable energy by allowing those generators to accurately forecast and access spare grid capacity.

“Sharing transmission assets in this way and capitalising on the predictability of tidal power will ensure that, in the long term, our energy needs are better served whilst also maximising access to a constrained network in the immediate future.”