Scotland's first wave power company is facing closure for the second time in eight years, putting 18 jobs at risk.

Wavegen, established in 1990, built the world's first grid-connected wave power station, the Limpet, on Islay.

Most of the firm's staff were saved after the Inverness firm was bought by Germany's Voith in 2005.

Voith has now announced it plans to close the Inverness operation. The move affects 18 workers who are currently being consulted on the plans.

Voith Hydro said the closure was part of its plan to pool its wave power engineering knowledge in Heidenheim, Germany.

Last year, the company shelved plans for a 20 megawatt wave power project off the coast of Lewis.