 Orkney and Shetland have significant wind and marine energy resources , and renewable energy has recently come into prominence . The European Marine Energy Centre is a Scottish Government @-@ backed research facility that has installed a wave testing system at Billia Croo on the Orkney Mainland and a tidal power testing station on the island of Eday . This has been described as " the first of its kind in the world set up to provide developers of wave and tidal energy devices with a purpose @-@ built performance testing facility . " 
