The MeyGen tidal energy project in the Pentland Firth has produced enough electricity so far this year to meet the annual consumption needs of 2,200 UK homes.

In total, it has supplied 17.5GWh of electricity to the national grid (eclipsing the previous record of around 11GWh), according to Simec Atlantis Energy (www.simecatlantis.com), which is the company behind the project.

Chief executive Tim Cornelius said the project’s performance this year represents the longest period of uninterrupted generation from a multi-MW tidal-turbine array ever achieved.

"He also said that MeyGen has registered for the Contract for Difference programme, which encourages investment in renewable energy by giving developers of projects with high costs protection from volatile wholesale prices, and is currently assessing bidding strategies for the next stage of the Meygen development.

He said: “We are delighted to report the continued strong performance of the turbines at MeyGen.

Uninterrupted production generates large volumes of performance data, which can be used to optimise future system design — and provide confidence to those who will be called upon to fund our plans to expand this world-renowned project.

"Future phases will use the new AR2000 turbine that we are developing with GE — and our new sub-sea hub — which will further reduce costs and enhance efficiency.”