Funding for Orkney and Caithness renewables projects

Projects aimed at boosting efforts to generate electricity from marine energy have been offered funding from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).

Scrabster Harbour Trust in Caithness has been awarded £5m to help upgrade its site so it can handle work in the renewables industry.

HIE also plans to invest £2.95m to create new units at Hatston Industrial Estate, in Kirkwall, on Orkney.

These would be offered to tidal energy developers using a test site at Eday.

A third project to redevelop Lochboisdale harbour and the surrounding land on South Uist is to receive £5m from HIE.

At a total cost of £9.9m, the scheme aims to make the area more attractive to tourism, help fishing business and open up sites for social housing.