Orkney’s energy expertise, developed over decades, has made the islands a hub of innovation. The perfect place then to lead the drive towards decarbonisation.
As part of Scotland’s net zero push, the Islands Centre for Net Zero (ICNZ) brings together the natural resources, skills, and assets of Orkney, Shetland, and the Outer Hebrides to start a community-driven energy transition.
ICNZ is essentially an innovation centre supporting the island groups in becoming lighthouse communities spearheading routes towards decarbonisation. Based in Stromness, it's led by the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) with partners Heriot-Watt University, Aquatera, Community Energy Scotland, Orkney Islands Council, Shetland Islands Council, and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar.
Funded by the UK and Scottish Governments as part of the Islands Growth Deal, the centre will support the development, trialling and acceleration of new decarbonisation ideas that could be reproduced worldwide.
Its key aims are:
- Acceleration of a just decarbonisation across the three island groups
- Green job creation and transition in the islands
- Generation of new enterprise and revenue streams
- Support Islands Deal projects’ achievement of decarbonisation goals
- Development of internationally recognised islands transition expertise and capabilities, transferable beyond Orkney, Shetland, and Outer Hebrides.
Tools provided by ICNZ include:
Empowering island communities - the Islands Community Action Network (ICAN) connects community organisations interested in decarbonisation and climate action and provides them with resources and expertise to launch their own projects.
Making emissions data accessible - an interactive dashboard which shows greenhouse gas emission data for the three island groups.
Helping households cut carbon - the Household Carbon Calculator which can be used to calculate your own carbon footprint and get recommendations on how to reduce it.
Supporting local businesses reach net zero - financial and non-financial business support to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and other organisations.
Unlocking funding and partnerships - highlighting local funding oopportunities for organisations, along with potential opportunities to work in partnership with ICNZ.
Solving climate challenges through research - ICNZ's transition engineering function undertakes locally relevant research to help solve problems where solutions are not yet known.
Find out more about the Islands Centre for Net Zero on the official website, or follow its work on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. You can also get in touch using the General Enquiries or Expressions of Interest forms, and community groups can also join the ICAN Network for free using the online membership form.
