Area Profiles - Caithness and Sutherland

The counties of Caithness and Sutherland at the far north of mainland Scotland encompass a vast and diverse area with many distinct communities. Here, there are hundreds of businesses, each with plans for the future, constraints and possibilities.

There are almost 40,000 people with their own skills and potential and there are many highly committed voluntary and community groups. Together they make a powerful combination.

Being a relatively flat and exposed part of the Highlands and Islands, Caithness and Sutherland have attracted the attention of a number of wind farm developers. Currently there are three wind farms operational but a further dozen or so have been approved and are awaiting construction or are the subject of planning consent applications.

With decommissioning of Dounreay underway, energy workers in the area are now turning their sights to alternative energy as a source of employment. In the longer term this is likely to include not just wind power but a whole raft of alternative energy technologies like wave and tidal energy, the Pentland Firth having some of the most powerful tidal surges in the world..

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