HARVESTING THE WINDS AND TIDES
Looking at a map, Orkney appears remote and small — but don’t let that fool you, the archipelago is at the centre of a global revolution. Orkney is a true world-leader in the renewable energy sector, and attracts companies and developers from across the globe, all seeking the expertise, knowledge and skills developed in the isles.
A journey through the islands will show energy innovation is in abundance, with many homes having their own wind turbine, solar panels, or electric vehicles.
Renewable energy has a long history here. Orkney was the site of the world’s first grid connected wind turbine in the 1950s, and then in 1987, a huge turbine, the precursor to many modern windfarms, was built at Burgar Hill in Evie.
At the time, this was the largest grid connected turbine in the world and operated for ten years until 1997, before being demolished in 2000.
These days, over 100 per cent of Orkney’s electrical demand is met through renewable generation. However, in recent years, attention has turned from the skies to the seas.
In 1947, the great playwright and intellect George Bernard Shaw wrote a letter to The Times, urging British engineers to study how to harness the “monstrous excess of power” available in the seas between the Scottish mainland and Orkney, and use it to electrify the nation.
Now, over 70 years later, Orkney-based engineers are helping turn his prophecy into reality.
Almost 20 years ago, Orkney was home to the world’s first floating wave energy device.
Since then, more and more marine energy devices have taken up residency in our seas, including the “world’s most powerful” tidal turbine, Orbital Marine Power’s 2MW O2 device, which commenced grid generation in 2021.
A year later, it was announced it would be joined by the “world’s largest” wave device — the OE35 floating wave energy converter.
Then, in December 2023, it was announced that Orkney would host a tidal farm, of up to 16 turbines — which will also be the world’s largest.
These are just some projects currently in Orkney’s waters that hopefully will help the world move forward for in development, a more sustainable, zero carbon future.
This green revolution has not happened overnight. It is the result of decades of planning, investment and hard work.
Much of this work is based in Stromness, home of the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) which supports wave and tidal developers. As well as EMEC in Stromness, you will find a cluster of world-leading renewable companies turning the town into an international centre of scientific excellence.
This work continues to hold international significance. Recently, Stromness-based Aquatera, which has experience working on over 350 projects at home and around the world, has helped to “retrofit” the diesel engines in outrigger boats in the Philippines with replacements that are powered by renewable power.
This is just one example of the technology developed in Orkney being exported around the world.
Another area Orkney is looking to pioneer is the creation and use of green hydrogen.
Ground-breaking initiatives using excess electricity from tidal and wind turbines to generate hydrogen are already in place.
This has then been trialled as a heating source and fuel for transportation.
The first aircraft fuelled by this green hydrogen was flown in Orkney, and there have been moves to test the feasibility of using hydrogen to power the distilling process of some of the islands’ award-winning gin.
Major offshore wind developments, scheduled for construction in the next few years, could be transformational, and floating wind or solar farms have even been proposed.
As the oil terminal in Flotta eyes diversification from processing carbon to green energy, plans have been proposed to turn it into a hydrogen or synthetic fuel hub, powered by a mammoth offshore windfarm to be built to the west of Orkney.
Alongside all this innovation and success, there are major energy challenges in Orkney. The region has one of the highest rates of fuel poverty in the UK, despite over ten per cent of the population generating their own power.
Constraints on Orkney’s ability to export the power generated to the nation’s electrical grid also forms a barrier to further development.
Although Orcadians are very proud of the work being done in their isles, they know there is still a long way to go before the revolution grows to a level that could tackle the net-zero targets set by world leaders.
Steps have been and are being taken though, to ensure Orkney plays a central role in this pioneering and cutting edge industry.