The project, the first tidal farm planned for Kyle Rhea, is likely to have a maximum power generating capacity of 8MW, and MCT aims to deploy the tidal farm by 2014.
The total cost of the Kyle Rhea project is estimated to be £40m ($64.53m).
The securing of the agreement for lease from the Crown Estate follows MCT’s recent passing of the UK Government’s operating performance criteria for the country’s emerging tidal and wave energy technologies.
MCT expects to submit a planning application to Marine Scotland, part of the Scottish Government, in early 2012 once the project’s baseline surveys and impact assessments have been completed.
MCT CEO Martin Wright said that securing the Crown Estate’s approval is a vital part of the process to deliver Scotland’s first tidal farm and set the UK on the path towards having a significant marine energy industry within the next decade.
MCT is the developer of the SeaGen offshore tidal energy turbine.
