isle of eigg

The Challenge

In 1997 the Isle of Eigg Heritage Trust, a partnership between the residents of Eigg, the Highland Council, and the Scottish Wildlife Trust took control of the Island in what was at the time a groundbreaking arrangement.

The Trust quickly identified that in order to improve quality of life on the island they had to become less dependent on diesel generators and instead look to an electrification programme.  They also had the foresight to look at renewable solutions for this.

The Solution

When considering wind turbines it became apparent that there was only one machine which had been expressly designed to operate in regimes like Eigg where the terrain is rugged, the weather fierce and most of all the wind regime is one of the best in Europe.

Proven Energy wind turbines are downwind machines which enables them to work with nature and not against it.  This unique feature means that when other turbines have to shut down in high winds the Proven Energy machine keeps on generating power.

The installation of four Proven 11 wind turbines was carried out by Energy Renewed Ltd who worked closely with the community and other renewable system providers to identify the best solutions to to their project.

A load management system was installed to provide optimal use of the renewables. This combination of solar, wind and hydro power will provide a network that is self sufficient and powered 98% from renewable sources. The Heritage Trust has formed a company, Eigg Electric Ltd, to operate the new the £1.6 million network, which has been part funded by the National Lottery and the Highlands and Islands Community Energy Company.