David Miller, a Science Correspondent and BBC Scotland Environment has had a visit to the Green Island of Scotland known as “Isle of Eigg” The environment at Eigg is wonderful and the inhabitants are willing to safeguard it as it is.
Nowadays, there is only a particular noise that can be heard on the island. It is the sound of the four wind turbines, which have been erected on a nearby cliff as they spin to produce electricity. The Wind turbines are the first signs of the potential capacity of energy that can be harnessed on the island.
Recently, the island did only rely on diesel generator to deliver energy. It was an expensive, polluting and noisy source of energy. Now much has changed, renewable energy provides as much as 92% of the electricity required.
Eigg does today, have photovoltaic cells, hydro electric power as well as wind turbines. The aim is to go even further and become very reliable on clean energy. This would enable inhabitants to refrain absolutely from using diesel generators.
The director of the power company, Eigg Electric, on the island, John Booth is deeply focusing on energy conservation. There is a large disposal of yellow panels as well as a chamber of red batteries. The yellow panels are inverters whereas the battery system is used to assure constant supply of power for 24 hours a day.
John Booth stated that it is the first time that three different types of renewable energy sources are added to the electricity grid on the island. The electricity grid is of around 11 Km, covering the island with high voltage. It is a great achievement according to Eigg Electric.
Electricity System
The system is highly advanced and complex. This explains why Eiggs was the first runner for an environmental competition. The competition entitled “Big Green Challenge were provided by The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (Nesta). Eigg Electric was awarded a total sum of £300,000, which is to be used on similar projects.
According to Nesta, the community of Eigg has accomplished remarkable progress. It has decreased the emission of CO2 gases by 32 percent in only a year. The Scottish government is targeting a total cutback on greenhouse gases of 42 percent for 2020 while Eiggs is almost there.
The award money of £300,000 is a gigantic sum for a population having less than 100 inhabitants. Yet, there the spur towards new projects is already in the pipeline. Many possible candidate projects will be launched within the years according to Lucy Conway an Islander who worked for the Eigg and bet that the island would win the price. .
According to Lucy Conway, the money will be used to purchase some more photovoltaic panels and probably augment the dependence on renewable energy. The aim is to go from 92% to 99 or 100 %.
In the range of possible projects, an electric community bus is envisaged, as there is an absence of public transport in the area. The ambition and aims are high. However, the islanders here have access to more natural resources compared to towns and cities in inner Scotland.
Yet, towns and villages are all small communities just like Eigg. They can all tend towards a similar approach in providing electricity to the population, according to Simon Helliwell who is the director of the Isle of Eiggs Heritage Trust.
Source: BBC
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