Shetland.org

Renewable Energy

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The PURE energy project in Unst has pioneered the use of hydrogen fuel cell technology.

Shetland is one of the most promising locations in the world for the development of renewable energy. Winds and tides offer the opportunity to generate very large amounts of electricity, far more than the islands alone could ever use. At the moment, though, there is no electrical connection between Shetland and the UK mainland, which means that most of Shetland’s electricity has to be generated in Lerwick by a diesel power station. However, some electricity – sometimes up to about 20% of demand – is generated either by the five turbines at the small Burradale wind farm just west of Lerwick or by those that increasingly provide power to community halls and some houses.

There are proposals for a very large wind farm, which - if permission is granted - would be built in the north of Shetland’s central mainland, the preferred area for this type of development in the islands. It would generate around up to 457mW of power, about half as much as a typical nuclear power station. The electricity  would be exported via a sub-sea cable to the UK mainland.  127 large turbines are proposed. The project is a partnership between Viking Energy Ltd (of which the Shetland Charitable Trust owns 90%) and a subsidiary of Scottish and Southern Energy, which would share the profits.

There’s a lot of interest in other aspects of renewables in Shetland. Electricity generation from wave and tidal power has great potential, since Shetland has an abundance of marine energy.  The PURE project, on the island of Unst, has carried out research on the use of wind power to create hydrogen. Also on Unst, a zero carbon house has been built and other examples of self-sufficient housing are under consideration. All of this activity is supported by a number of qualified people and specialist firms based in Shetland.