Onshore construction of the largest planned tidal energy project in the world is expected to begin off the coast of Scotland this month, according to developers.

The project, which is based on the coast of Caithness, is expected to power nearly 175 000 homes through a network of 269 turbines situated on the seabed at Ness of Quoys in Caithness, according to The Guardian.

Construction on the first phase will cost Atlantis Resources Ltd, the project’s developer, US$85 million (Approximately R992 158 250).

Clean Technology Business Review reports that the first phase will have an 86-megawatt capacity and include construction of onshore infrastructure such as a substation, a grid connection and the installation of power export cables.

MeyGen Limited, the development company and project sponsor, hopes that once completed the project will provide 398MW of renewable energy to power 40 000 Scottish homes by the early 2020s.

Tidal energy is a form of hydropower that makes use of tidal energy generators.

These large underwater turbines are placed in areas with high tidal movements, and are designed to capture the kinetic motion of the ebbing and surging of ocean tides in order to produce electricity.

The Sihwa Lake tidal power station located on Lake Sihwa in South Korea is the world’s biggest tidal power plant with an output capacity of 254MW.

The US$355.1 million tidal power project was built between 2003 and 2010 and it has an annual generation capacity of 552.7GWh.