The lease was finalized after MeyGen satisfied the development obligations as per the five-year agreement for lease, which was signed in October 2010.
The first phase of the MeyGen project might exceed £50m. The company has announced recently that it has agreed on a deal with a syndicate to fund the first phase of the project.
This is the largest marine energy lease to be awarded by The Crown Estate and the first in the Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters region.
The construction on the project is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2014 and the first power to the grid and revenues will be earned in the first half of 2016.
Commenting on the signing of the lease, MeyGen chief executive Dan Pearson said, "Signing the Lease with The Crown Estate is a significant achievement being the first of its kind and demonstrates how a commercial scale energy project can be designed, consented, engineered and funded within four years.
"This is the culmination of a talented and committed team working alongside stakeholders and governments who are determined to launch a new energy sector within Scotland and the UK. We are thankful to all who have helped us along the journey and look forward to delivering the first phase."
The Crown Estate ocean energy head Ronnie Quinn said: "Our commitment to invest in and agree a lease for the Meygen project continues our strategy to explore tidal stream energy on a commercial scale and its potential to help unlock the nation’s tidal energy resources over the long-term."
