A £28.5m project on the archipelago is working to combine technology with renewable energy to provide intelligent heat, power and transport services. Orkney ‘is at the forefront of a green energy revolution’ as the world moves towards a carbon-neutral future.

The programme aims to create the world’s first large-scale ‘smart local energy system’ by combining technology with renewable energy to provide intelligent heat, power and transport services.

ReFLEX Orkney, a European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) project, brings together a host of partners including Heriot-Watt, Aquatera, Solo Energy, Community Energy Scotland, Orkney Islands Council, and Doosan.

Led by Prof. David Flynn, the ReFLEX (Responsive Flexibility) Orkney project is currently being trialled on the archipelago off Scotland’s north coast.

ReFLEX builds on Heriot-Watt University’s critical mass in national and international energy system research. The University has an international reputation in embedded intelligence in energy systems and on delivering large scale and complex multidisciplinary projects.

These include ORCA, HOME Offshore, the Heriot-Watt Smart Systems Research Group and the Heriot-Watt Energy Academy.

Sources: Future Net Zero, Heriot Watt University News