An electric vehicle charging station using tidal energy has been put into operation, offering road users on an island north of mainland Scotland a new, renewable option to run their cars.
The facility is located on Yell, which is part of Shetland, an archipelago of about 100 islands. The charge point gets its electricity from Nova Innovation’s Shetland Tidal Array, a four-turbine installation in Bluemull Sound, a strait between Yell and another island called Unst.
In an announcement on Monday, Nova Innovation described the project as “the very first electric vehicle … charging point where drivers can ‘refuel’ directly with a tidal energy source.” A battery storage system has also been deployed to ensure a constant supply of vehicles.
The Scottish Government is one of many around the world who want to move away from combustion engine vehicles. It wants to phase out the need for new diesel and gasoline cars and cars by the year 2030. Funding for the project at Yell comes from Transport Scotland, the country’s transport organization.
Scotland’s Strengths
Among those who responded to Monday’s announcement about the project at Yell was Fabrice Leveque, head of policy at WWF Scotland.
“It is great to see tidal technology being used to decarbonise some of the Scottish transport sector in the islands,” he said, adding that Scotland was “well placed to stay at the forefront of the development of this technology. , which will help to reduce climate emissions and create skilled, green jobs. ”
“Our islands have an abundance of renewable resources, including wind, tidal and solar energy, which, when handled with care, can bring multiple economic and social benefits to remote and rural communities across Scotland,” said Leveque.
The waters around Scotland are home to a number of interesting tidal energy projects. This includes the first phase of the development of the MeyGen tidal current, which uses four 1.5 megawatt turbines. The largest owner of the project is London-listed Simec Atlantis Energy.
While there is excitement about the potential of marine energy, its current footprint remains small. Recent figures from Ocean Energy Europe (OEE) show that only 260 kilowatts (kW) of tidal power capacity was added in Europe last year, while only 200 kW of wave energy was installed. In contrast, according to the trade association WindEurope, 14.7 gigawatts of wind energy capacity was installed in Europe in 2020.
While tides have a long way to go to catch up with other renewable resources like wind and solar, it has one potential advantage: predictability. Tidal currents, says OEE, “are caused by the gravitational pull of the sun and moon.” The fact that tidal power generation is affected by “known cycles of the moon, sun and earth” rather than by weather means “it is predictable hundreds of years in advance.”
The importance of infrastructure
If countries want to expand their range of electric vehicles in the coming years and move away from petrol and diesel, a reliable and sufficient charging infrastructure is crucial.
Adequate charging options will also help challenge the perception of ‘range anxiety’, a term that refers to the idea that electric vehicles cannot go on long journeys without losing power and getting stranded.
Although the project at Yell is small-scale, it is part of a broader shift focused on the development of charging infrastructure.
For example, the UK’s first forecourt for charging electric vehicles was opened last December, while the Volkswagen group wants to significantly increase the number of charging points in Europe, North America and China.