Remote and rugged, a refuge from modern life – the cultural myths surrounding islands and their inhabitants have a fierce hold over our imaginations. Reality is often more prosaic, but could we learn how communities on islands – awash with wind, sunshine, wave and tidal energy – are pioneering use of natural resources? As the global energy supply tightens and the world grows ever hotter, the need to muster clean energy becomes acute.
We look at creative approaches of two award-winning islands: Ærø in Denmark, and Orkney, off the north coast of Scotland.
You can literally feel the energy in the Orkney Islands – apart from the few days a year the wind doesn’t blow. From his home desk on a blustery Orkney Mainland (the principal island in the archipelago), Neil Kermode, managing director of the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) can see his garden wind turbine spinning vigorously. With average winter winds of 36km/h, the device produces 16,000 kilowatt...