Praise for community renewable energy efforts

Orkney has won an award recognising the success of community energy projects across the islands.

The award , from the Scottish National Renewable Energy League, was presented at a ceremony in Glasgow by MEP Alyn Smith.

In the league, local authority areas in Scotland are placed in divisions that reflect the take-up of a range of renewable energy technologies.

The Orkney Islands Council area picked up the award for the greatest amount of community-owned wind generation in a district with a population of under 100,000 people.

Orkney heads the smaller-community wind energy division of the Scottish National Renewable Energy League with a combined capacity of 4.3 megawatts (MW) for community wind projects. In second place is Stirling (2.5 MW), with Argyll and Bute (1.7 MW) in third place.

This was at the time the competition was assessed and, according to the OIC, it is now estimated that community owned wind energy projects in the county have the capacity to generate up to 8 MW of electricity.