On the island of Yell, situated in the Shetland Islands off the coast of Scotland, electric cars can now be fueled completely by tidal energy. Nova Innovation’s tidal turbines are making this possible. The large, revolving turbine machines are anchored to the seafloor and thereby not visually impacting the landscape or act as a navigation hazard. The turbines offer accurate and long-term predictability when it comes to powering Shetlands grid.
A company spokesperson told EcoWatch that the tidal array has been powering local homes and businesses on Yell for more than five years. Now that tidal energy is also fed into an electric vehicle charge point the whole island is fueled entirely by the sea. The CEO of Nova Innovation, Simon Forrest told EcoWatch:
“We now have the reality of tidal powered cars, which demonstrates the huge steps forward we are making in tackling the climate emergency and achieving net-zero by working in harmony with our natural environment.”
In a statement emailed to EcoWatch Forrest said that the new technology is a first for the UK and can be deployed around the world. The country has many islands and in order to obtain as much energy as possible from the many tidal currents, there are many different tidal energy technologies applied in Scotland. The goal is to reduce the dependence on traditional combustion engine vehicles.
Scotland has been at the forefront of fighting climate change for years. They are a global leader in renewable energy sourcing as well. They have met many goals on their way to a net-zero community and they aren’t satisfied just yet.
- In 2013, the country set a goal of being 100 percent renewable by 2020.
- In 2016, the world’s largest tidal energy farm launched in Scotland.
- In 2018, the country’s record-breaking wind power output was enough to power five million homes.
- By 2019, wind power produced enough to power two Scotlands.
- In 2020, the country boasted the world’s largest tidal array of underwater turbines.
At the beginning of 2020, Scotland was on track to meet its incredibly ambitious goal of being 100% renewable by 2020, according to BBC. In November last year (2020), Scotland had overstepped 90% renewables. More recent calculations can even show that Scotland has met its target.
Besides the goal and the tidal energy, the Scottish government has banned selling new cars solely powered by diesel or gas by 2032 as an extra push towards net-zero. The government supported many new sources and innovations of clean energy as part of its renewable, clean energy transition and fight against climate change. Michael Matheson, Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity, said to EcoWatch:
“It’s fantastic to see that Nova Innovation is demonstrating yet again that Scotland remains at the forefront of developments in zero-emission transport solutions… This type of innovation is key in responding to the global climate emergency and highlights the opportunities that can be realized here in Scotland as we transition to a net-zero economy.”
Picture: Nova Innovation
