The project is being planned for the sea just off Murlough Bay - an area of special scientific interest.
But the energy company said the bay is just one of two options for bringing the cables ashore.
It said if the bay is chosen there will be conditions to the planning approval.
Patrick Casement is amongst those opposed to the cable plan at Murlough Bay.
He said laying an underground cable to a sub-station some distance away would create a "scar on the landscape that will take years to heal".
DP Energy want to build the first commercial tidal scheme in Northern Ireland and have identified an area near Fair Head.
It said it can generate enough power for 70,000 homes.
The company has two options for getting the power ashore.
The first is a cable run of 2km to Murlough Bay.
The second is a longer route covering 10km and coming ashore near Ballycastle.
DP Energy has not yet decided which it will choose.
Clodagh McGrath from DP Energy said if it gets the go-ahead the project would "have a range of conditions that have to be complied with".
So far the company has only applied for permission for the off-shore element of the project.
A range of turbines options are being considered.
Some are totally submerged, but others would have service pods protruding above the waves.
DP Energy said there will be a separate planning application for the onshore work, including the cabling, in due course.
Residents living near a picturesque bay in County Antrim have said they are against the landing of power cables from a proposed tidal energy scheme there.