Net Zero ambitions accelerate at Orkney Harbour
Although the Islands may have the UK'S smallest local authority population, the council-owned Harbour Authority's objectives to reduce emissions are on a grand scale, reveals
Orkney has a fantastic opportunity to help accelerate Scotland and the UK’S move to renewable power
WITH North America and parts of Asia suffering dangerously high, record-breaking temperatures this summer, the fight against climate change is becoming ever more critical. It is a struggle that requires global cooperation but is also one where every innovation counts as we move towards a net-zero carbon footprint.
Orkney Islands Council might have the country's smallest council population, but as the councilowned Harbour Authority business development manager, Paul Olvhoj notes, its carbon reduction and innovation plans are hugely ambitious.
The Council recently agreed a master plan for Orkney Harbour with the potential for a £230 million infrastructure build, which includes the construction of the new Scapa Deep Water Quay, in Scapa Flow as well as extensions to existing facilties.
The Harbours Masterplan is designed to put the Harbour in an excellent position to help with the development of the next wave of offshore wind farms. As Olvhoj notes, Scotland's Crown Estate is expected to announce which consortia have been successful in their bids for blocks of offshore sites in the first quarter of 2022.
“We know that the various consortia are already hard at work in the planning and supply chain development process. They will need access to deep water facilities and plenty of hard laydown areas and the masterplan provides for exactly this,” he comments.
The build-out of offshore wind farms that will follow the Crown Estate announcements next year will dominate renewables activities over the next decade or so.
“Orkney has a fantastic opportunity to help accelerate Scotland and the UK'S move to renewable power. We are on a very tight timeline here to have everything ready when it is needed,” he comments.
In early July, the Council signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Crown Estate Scotland, which commits the two to work together on the deepwater quay project. Scapa Flow is already Europe's largest natural harbour and is ideally placed to serve as a renewables hub, supporting the next wave of offshore renewables off Scotland's coastline. As Olvhoj explains, the new quay will have an obvious role to play in the construction and assembly of wind turbines, and as a base for the operations and maintenance aspects of the developments as well as marshalling and storage of components.
Designed for use by large vessels involved in the construction of wind farms, it will have a water depth of 15 metres for vessels tying up to the quay. Council Leader James Stockan, commenting on the MOU, said that the Council was very encouraged by the number of wind farm developers who have expressed strong interest in getting involved in the project.
“We are delighted that Crown Estate Scotland will be working closely with us as the project develops,” he said.
The Council is also pushing forward with plans to further extend its shore-to-ship power infrastructure. The main benefit of this project, which has been developing since 2018 and which received funding the following year, is that it will enable ships to use landbased mains power instead of keeping their engines running overnight.
“Clearly, if ships can use the surplus power that our renewables infrastructure provides on Orkney, instead of their own engines, they are saving fuel and making a significant reduction in their carbon emissions,” Olvhoj notes.
Orkney is grid constrained as to the amount of renewable generated power that it can send to the Scottish mainland. Putting in place the infrastructure to bring that surplus power to the quayside so that vessels berthing overnight can tap into it, is hugely beneficial. The Northlink Ferry service will soon be able to use shore power at night when berthed at Stromness. We have ambitious plans to include shore power and infrastructure for carbon free future fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia at our facilities. Grid issues will also be a central concern for many of the offshore wind farms that are scheduled to be developed. One solution that Orkney has been in the forefront of pioneering is the idea of using surplus renewable power to produce hydrogen or ammonia through the electrolysis that can be used locally, for shipping and export..
In a successful pilot project, two power sources, the communityowned wind turbine on the island of Eday, which often produces more power than can be exported to the UK grid, along with a tidal power generator, provide green power to produce green hydrogen.
“We have successfully validated the “Surf n' Turf project. The European Marine Energy Centre's electrolyser uses power from the Eday turbine and from the tidal turbines at its marine energy test site to produce hydrogen. This is stored and transported to Kirkwall,” he comments.
In a related move, EMEC and the Council are involved in an innovative pilot project to test the viability of hydrogen as a fuel source for the Scapinsay Ferry. In July last year, a course developed in Orkney to equip ship crews with the knowledge and expertise needed to work alongside hydrogen-powered engines was approved by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
The approval was a huge milestone in the HYDIME project, HYDIME being short for Hydrogen Diesel Injection in a Marine Environment. The course was developed by Orkney College UHI'S Maritime Studies department in Stromness.
“The next step is for marine engine manufacturers to make the breakthroughs that will be required to bring about efficient hydrogen or ammonia-powered engines for maritime vessels. That is still some way off, but the innovative work that has already gone on in Orkney is undoubtedly playing a role in transforming maritime travel's dependence on oil, or even on
LNG,” he comments.
“We are seeing so many different ideas around hydrogen as a replacement energy source, helping the transition away from fossil fuels. There is a huge amount for us to do here in Orkney to keep up the pace of innovation. We are punching well above our weight in the fight against climate change. We have a hardearned reputation for being at the forefront of things in the renewable energy market and we are looking to build on this,” he concludes.