Atlantis drops tidal energy project at Kylerhea in Skye

An agreement to lease seabed near Kylerhea has been returned to the Crown Estate

Renewable energy developer Atlantis has dropped its plan to develop a tidal project near Kylerhea in Skye.

The company said it had returned an agreement for lease (AFL) for an area of seabed to the Crown Estate following a review of its portfolio.

It has also handed back an AFL for a site at Anglesey Skerries in Wales. The Crown Estate manages areas of seabed around the UK.

Atlantis said it wanted to focus on its "most developed" sites.

It has been pushing ahead with MeyGen, another project in Scotland.

Late last year, four subsea cables were laid for this tidal energy scheme in the Inner Sound of the Pentland Firth.

Cables for the MeyGen project were laid last year

About six miles (11km) of cable in total were put down to allow electricity generated by four tidal turbines to reach the nearby shore.

Atlantis, the majority owner of the project, eventually plans to have up to 269 turbines on the seabed.

The Pentland Firth is a stretch of water separating the north Caithness coast and Orkney.