Life on Eigg

Nora Barnes uses a solar water heater to help her organic produce to grow.

The island’s climatic conditions allow it to generate power from hydroelectric generators, wind turbines and photovoltaic panels.

Between 85 and 95 percent of the energy it consumes comes from renewable resources, according to locals.

Before the switch to renewables, the island relied on diesel generators for power. Locals described them as noisy, inconsistent and said there used to be a lot of scrambling around in the dark.

Eddie Scott, team co-ordinator of Eigg Electric’s maintenance team, checks the batteries at the company’s control station.

Conditions only improved on the island when the community took control over its assets in a 1997 buyout.

With the financial support of various trusts, a milestone was reached in 2008, when Eigg Electric provided 24-hour power for the first time.

Renewable energy is a key topic in the debate over Scottish independence. Scotland will vote whether or not to end the 307-year-old union with the rest of the United Kingdom in a referendum on September 18.

Scottish nationalists say that the best way to harness Scotland’s renewable energy potential is to vote for independence, although an independent Scotland would also benefit from large oil reserves in the North Sea.

However, campaigners to keep Scotland in the United Kingdom argue that the growing renewables sector would suffer with independence, as the cost of new infrastructure would not be spread out across the whole of Britain.