Orkney - Island of the Future | Fully Charged

My recent trip to Orkney was a genuine eye opener. It's an amazing place that is, I believe, pointing the way to how we power ourselves in the future.
Find out more at www.oref.co.uk/
And also eco-cars.net/

[@JonathanPorterfield]

Pleasure to meet you Robert and good to see you 'get ' Orkney ! Come back soon

[@EthanfromEngland-]

Hey!

[@SupeDefy]

Fantastic. Orkney is truly showing the rest of the world what can be done with renewable energy. It makes sense environmentally, socially, and economically. Wave power converters and tidal turbines. Mind blown.

[@chrismarshall25]

The best fully charged episode yet. WOW! I want to visit.

[@knoxieman]

The longest and possibly the very best yet Robert! super super job and totally fascinating from start to finish, I loved the shots of the old oil fired power station all desolate and switched off, your actually quite good at this TV presenting thing ;-)

[@premghinde5560]

The Orkney islands show the rest of us how renewables really aren't the future, they're the now.

[@_DixonCider]

*If the conditions are perfect. Not everyone has the available wind/water/solar resources needed to make it cost effective or feasible.

[@TecnamTwin]

@@_DixonCider But many places do, just choose not to.

[@osdias]

Excellent episode. Very informative, interesting and good length. Thank you and more please.

[@philiprowney]

I have my 81 year-old Dad plugged into YT and he seems to love your shows.

[@alloam]

Excellent piece, Robert. I spent a week in Orkney with my daughter in March and was blown away (sic) by the superb use of renewables. The cottage we stayed in had a wind turbine for power and used ground source heat pump for the central heating system. Sadly, and to my shame, we were in a real rush to get up to catch the ferry from Thurso so we took our diesel motor rather than our Renault Zoe. Next time we'll do it right.

[@TecnamTwin]

Well in the last seven years, EVs have greatly increased the range including the Zoe. No need to ever take the diesel now.

[@sundjolle]

This was fascinating. we used to live up there and did not know half of this. You are very easy to watch and to be honest show up the loud and noisy tv presenters on tv at the moment. Your quiet and gentle attitude is calming to watch and you are obviously more interested putting the subject over than yourself. Superb.

[@roodick85]

I had a thought about this a few years ago,I'm so happy it's come into fruition. I'd love to visit one day

[@LancePickup]

Like, like like! Thank you ***** for bringing us to this incredible place and showing us what is possible. You are doing a ton of good for this world!

[@paultaylor701]

This has been a fantastic series of videos. This should be on BBC2 prime time. Well done to all involved.

[@DavidDeLuge]

Fantastic video. I, probably like many others, had no idea all of this is going on and the amount of energy being produced.

[@thumper1747]

Been watching these shows for months now and spreading the word. Love the humility, clarity and transparency. A breath of fresh air in every respect. Am embracing the electrification of everything and feel optimistic about the future...

[@publicitytheory]

Love that little old barn with the EV charging station on the side for the Leaf.

[@megamef]

Really eye opening episode. I had no idea Orkney of all places would be so forward thinking, can't wait till the rest of the UK enters the future.

[@DavidEaton]

Fantastic. Thank you for a very educational and entertaining 18 minutes. Just subscribed and looking forward to the next.

[@rosscudlipp7627]

Fantastic video as usual, been watching since the beginning, keep up the good work!

[@andytheghosthunter]

It's mind blowing whats going on. Gives faith for the future!

[@RaveTracks]

What a great video. I hope this our future!

[@tombrandt8137]

Gives me great hope for the future of our planet...many thanks

[@MrDgm80503]

Great video! Well done Orkney - leading the way for the UK.

[@EthanfromEngland-]

There appears to be hope :) A really interesting video, thank you!

[@stephen_101]

Great show, very informative and a very polished performance there Robert. Keep up the excellent work :)

[@michaelrmonk]

Be nice to keep up to date with these projects Robert. Very interesting and informative.. many thanks!

[@markw4263]

Might actually go there in the next few years - this provides a fascinating backdrop to the original trip!

[@EVguru]

***** The biggest grid tied battery system in Europe is in Leighton Buzzard. I'm booked in to visit the facility in July. It's a 10MWh capacity battery with a 6MW inverter. My friend who lives just down the street from it has already noticed the improvement, the local grid was prone to dips and brownouts.

[@EVguru]

Paul Compton Link to the website for booking a tour ukpn-sns-sitetours.eventzilla.net/web/event?eventid=2139066794

[@JRo250]

I thoroughly enjoyed this episode, Bob. Really amazing to see how a small island has converted to 100% renewables. No whining on how much research and development it would cost, how many jobs would be lost and the rest of the bogus claims. A no-nonsense approach - clean renewable generators in, dirty diesel generators out. Orkney should now export that knowledge elsewhere, and make money from their innovations and initiatives.

[@ProgressiveVegan]

I love how they are pioneering in a number of different forms of wave energy. Wave energy is more steady than wind and solar. Much of the world's population is near oceans, and seas. Great video. Thanks.

[@ORKNEYCOM]

Great episode - even though we live here, it's still fascinating to see all that goes on behind the scenes. Hopefully there will be continue to be more innovation into the future as well.

[@DeanRead]

Excellent episode, really enjoyed the way it was put together and I hope you have plans to do more of this length. let's hope the rest of the UK catch up with Orkney very soon, then we can all have an EV and wave goodbye to the old fossil.

[@msyin9]

Another fantastic video. Robert, have you ever considered asking people who live in areas like Orkney if they have noticed any positive health benefits with all the clean air, and decreased lack of exposure to the hazards that come with harmful chemicals. Imagine how clean the air is and the lack of oil slick roads, fumes and pollutants in the air and water. Given some time, there should be a knock on positive effects for the entire environments flora, fauna and people. It would be great to hear what positive effects going green has on more than just the budgets of the people who adopt the technology.

[@quantum12b]

Very inspiring! Thanks for posting Robert ;0)

[@georgepelton5645]

Great Video Robert. It must be wonderful to visit Orkney. It looks like a beautiful island.

[@99dndd]

If solar panels work in Orkney, they can work anywhere! Great video, you'd imagine this would exist off the coast of Japan or Germany, not here in the UK!

[@neilellison3356]

Brilliant! Many thanks Bob.

[@01wcutle]

What a fantastic place definitely an island I'd love to visit. Incredible to see people in the UK totally accepting renewable energy as the only power generation. What an example for the rest of us. (not that i needed convincing)

[@pengchan37]

This is really an eye opener, Good on you U.K Especially Scotland

[@TorstenSchommer]

This video was truly enjoyable. It shows exactly how I want to live energy-wise. Hats off to Orkney!

[@btechsol]

More please.. best video yet! The inner workings of the wind turbine was too short.. I'm hungry for more!

[@deephack]

Really enjoyed this piece. Keep up the great work Robert!

[@skipsteel]

This video makes me wish I caught on to Fully Charged much earlier, this is truly one of your best. I've decided to wade through more as they are always quality with a positive message. Great show.

[@tonyheffernan6235]

Excellent, there is hope for the future

[@d_s_ctube]

Fascinating stuff. Thanks for this.

[@MedEighty]

Well done Orkney.

[@jackolantern7342]

favourite episode yet.

[@chrisgavin]

Great episode, a story I'd not heard before, really fascinating.

[@Hmax28]

Great video Robert - if this little collection of islands in the North can do it, why not the bigger one to the South!

[@gug1970]

Its always a relief to leave Aberdeen.

[@lovelyfloorcoverings]

Getting heat out of the sea was the mind blow for me

[@johnbenton4488]

When on holiday in the Scottish Highlands a couple of years ago, I was told by a 'native' that there will never be wind turbines on the West Coast of the Highlands because the wind up there is so strong it would blow the turbines down. As far as he could see, it's wave-power all the way, because they have lots of coast up there, and the tides are very predictable and invariably strong. (Do not expect to holiday in the Highlands and come home with a sun tan. It just ain't gonna happen!)

[@sl1kr1ky]

A great episode *****. This really demonstrates what can be achieved, I really hope that the UK begins to lead the way in renewables

[@Joe90V]

Richard Cronshaw Unfortunately, under the tories, they've missed the boat - lots of other countries are way ahead.

[@sl1kr1ky]

Joe90V let us not give up all hope

[@blue280485]

@FullyChargedShow Amazing presentation! You should do a video about Eco Wave Power Gibraltar, Europe's only grid connected Wave Power Station. Keep up the good work!

[@misterwon]

Heartwarming.

[@pangrac1]

Best episode ever!

[@jonathanburford]

Absolutely fascinating to watch! If only the mainland UK could do it on a larger scale. I'm still a believer that solar roads are potentially the way forward. Turn major trunk roads and motorways into drive on solar panels, which in themselves will be a grid. Built in digital road markings, heated to prevent freezing and making gritting redundant in the winter. A massive up front cost but the long term savings (and other benefits) would be something else!

[@Timstravels01]

Fantastic episode and I'm delighted to see that you enjoyed your time on Orkney. Are there any plans to upload the Electric Cars Are Rubbish, Aren't They? lecture you gave in Kirkwall?

[@Grumpy_old_Boot]

Heh, this reminds me of when the European Renewables Directive set a mandatory target at 20% share of energy from renewable sources by 2020 (EU combined). And then the Danish government decided that they would have 50% wind power in the electricity system by 2020. And they have already reached 39%. I just couldn't help but imagine the danish energy minister holding up a fist, saying : "Challenge f*cking accepted!!!!1!" ... my mind is a strange place sometimes.

[@asteitur777]

Iceland is 100% renwable Hydro 75% Geothermal 25%

[@thekaxmax]

"Udfordring f*cking accepteret!"

[@tombarron8741]

That was a very interesting conversation on wether it's green to manufacture and install wind turbines. Well it depends on how green the energy is that was used to make it IMHO So maybe if wind turbines were manufactured in Orkney they would be very green....

[@fullychargedshow]

Tom Barron What we didn't explain in detail was that the wind turbines are manufactured in a plant in Germany which, because they build wind turbines is powered by wind turbines. They included the entire costs (in CO2 emissions) of extracting the raw materials, transportation, smelting, rolling, pressing, building the actual turbine and the eventual transport and installation, including 500 tons of concrete, and after all that was very methodically taken into consideration, the turbiner produced so much electricity in the forst 45 days that it had 'paid back' the CO2 released in it's creation in that time. Important to remember that over 50% of all electricity in Germany is from renewables, there are days when it's up to 70%, so we are way, way behind in the UK with 10-15%.

[@tombarron8741]

fullychargedshow That's brilliant! Thankyou :)

[@Mayhemm007]

Tom Barron Arguments about the energy required to produce things like wind turbines or Li-ion batteries always seem like dodging the issue to me. "There's no point in pursuing any of this alternative energy garbage because it actually takes ENERGY to make it. I mean, because how green is it REALLY? In the meantime, let's just keep on using this old dirty technology we've always used while we wait on something that takes absolutely no energy to produce." Just strikes me as totally asinine.

[@johnbenton4488]

Mayhemm007 If the calculations of cost/energy per Mw hour for construction are similar, it comes down to cost/energy per Mw of generating electricity. Contrary to popular belief, conventional power stations are not immortal: they wear out like all things mechanical. So the absolute cost in terms of power generated comes down to lifetime capacity. You can work it out, if you have all the figures. It's simple arithmetic.

[@tombarron8741]

My understanding is that converting to green energy will actually increase CO2 output initially then CO2 emissions will decline. I read somewhere last year that all aspects of solar panels are now carbon negative. .i.e the electricity generated worldwide by solar panels is offsetting the CO2 created by their manufacture. There is a difference between 1 facilty being carbon negative as with Orkney and a whole industry being carbon negative including the use of the products. Wind turbines will not be carbon negative until 2020

[@jmurkz]

Another excellent episode Robert, thank you.

[@chris-vn6sw]

Another great video Robert...

[@JamesGander]

Very interesting demonstration of renewable energy production.

[@dauterive]

Best Episode ever for me, after studying energy and the environment I lost faith that things like this can exist in the UK. This is shows it's possible and actually happening, this video should be part of the Open University.

[@stephen_mcateer]

Good vid Robert. Nice images and very interesting.

[@tubeengineer]

Absolutely fascinating... Best video yet!

[@VinayKumar-db4qz]

I think the whole world should be this way.

[@roander1337]

Absolutely fantastic, Robert. Hopefully we'll see you down under once the new Tesla battery in South Australia is complete (largest battery system in the world) and being charged from a wind farm. Australia has the largest number of residential solar per capita than anywhere else in the world but we've still got a veryyyyy long way to go especially with our government fighting to keep our coal power stations open to keep the coal mines going to keep people employed! It's terrible.

[@markokuniewski8842]

Hi Robert, Loving the channel, you sparked my interest when i came across the channel by accident, and i have been an avid viewer since. Have you ever done a show about geothermal electricity generation? I cant see one but it seems such a great power source and i would be interested in seeing more.

[@sketchpro12]

It's great to see this being used NOW, too bad it's not being used more in larger cities or states. With all it's 'pride' of being a leader in tech, San Francisco is SO FAR behind the ball in this area.. and many other basic infrastructures. I can only see greed as being the main hold back to new renewable tech... there's LOTs of money in the bay area, and yet most of it seems to be for show and not GO... sad...

[@SolarizeYourLife]

Awesomeness!

[@kassistwisted]

When this video was being filmed, I was living on the US Virgin Island of St Croix. Despite 300 8-hour periods of sunshine per day and a constant 11mph wind all year round, energy on STX is generated 100% by burning oil, all of which has to be imported. It was cheap when the Venezuelan government was partnering with Hess Oil at the Hovensa facility on island. But when Venezuela pulled out and Hess Oil decided it was too expensive to bring the plant into compliance, half the island lost their jobs and the price of energy went through the roof. The local energy company, WAPA, would remove their wires from your house if you fitted solar panels or wind turbines because they didn't want to deal with monitoring the return of energy to the grid. There were daily power cuts. Many people went without power because they simply couldn't afford it. Businesses closed because they couldn't afford $2000 monthly electricity bills. I hope it's changed. It's insane that they were buying oil (and LP gas) when they had sunlight and wind in crazy abundance!

[@daniele_go]

fantastic and very informative video....thanks Robert!

[@hunghuge7717]

Ok I understand that Orkney is a bit of a one off because of it's geography and resultant weather patterns but I can't help thinking the rest of the UK is so far behind it's embarassing. If Orkney can do 104% why can't we even manage 20%? Infact why are we even aiming that low in the first place? Trouble is people keep going on about wind turbines being a blot on the landscape but fail to notice motorways, skyscrapers, etc which do nothing toward cleaning up the country.

[@johnbenton4488]

hung huge I'm with you there. Wind turbines (which should really be called 'windmills' for PR reasons) are accused of being noisy (which they aren't), ugly (which they're not) and the best one of all, they 'suck in the birds' (which is absolute cobblers as anyone with even the most basic knowledge of propellers should know!), so the old fall-back statement is 'they spoil the view' (which is also cobblers). There is only one downside to windmills, and that is their 'production envelope' (they require the right amount of wind to work). My usual response to all these criticisms is 'Go, live by an 'ordinary' power station then!'

[@hunghuge7717]

John Benton That's exactly what I don't understand. They're happy to sit there with coal burning away merrily into the air they have to breathe while looking at a power station/airport/other building/whatever but don't want a clean, quiet propeller within eyesight. I'm not about to say I like the look of them because I'm not really bothered either way but if it's lose a bit of a view here and there or half the population getting loads of illness I can't see how the view is even a consideration.

[@Wookey.]

+John Benton That's all true, but there is a difference insofar as one power station is roughly equivalent to a very large number of turbines (e.g. Hickley C is ~ 3200 turbines), so only a very small number of people need to look at the side of the power station, whereas a very large number of people need to look at turbines. Clearly the fossil stations shave to go, but replacing them with nuclear ones is a reasonable approach, which reduces the arguments with the wierdos that resent turbines above all the other stuff we built.

[@johnbenton4488]

In the medium term, nuclear power stations make sense but in the long term we will have to 'make do' with renewables. And also, what do we use to replace oil? The fertiliser industry is among the ones who would like to know.

[@Wookey.]

+John Benton I think that in principle you can use coal for many of the things oil is currently used for. It contains somewhat similar hydrocarbon feedstock. I don't know how well this works in practice. Also if we stop just burning oil, then there will be a huge amount left for use as feedstock for quite some time to come.

[@Ginogizio]

Fantastic I want to go there to spend the rest of my life! That's the future!

[@adrianharvey3501]

Amazing. it can be done!

[@amartyaroy3754]

It's obvious that on a small island with few people where and how much can you store non renewal sources to power things. Renewables are your only option and you have to learn how to use it to keep the island afloat.

[@zapfanzapfan]

Next stage could be to use electric ferries, they can soak up quite a bit of excess electricity.

[@gnomaedh]

A vision of the future... Fantastic! The future is now!

[@grandpaseed]

Nice one enjoyed it very much, would like to see a follow up on experimental projects on site visits

[@Kylehudgins]

Great video!

[@Dunkelzeitgeist]

There’s a reason this place is my favourite in the world, I can’t wait to live out my days with a “technically” Orkadian family 😅 Jeg elsker Orkneyjar! 😍

[@Pottery4Life]

Great video. Well done, Robert!!

[@shadowblack1987]

Meanwhile in Maryland "More than you can imagine", a whopping 3% of our energy is renewable! Wow...

[@michaelgoode9555]

It's also worth a visit to Eigg Robert though I have to say I didn't see one electric car. I was surprised by that.

[@willdatsun]

you may not be able to avoid recording the wind noise but if you could filter out the bass frequencies it would remove most of it and stop my subwoofer exploding !

[@Ryzomadman]

Scotland has 790 offshore islands can you imagine the potential for energy generation from a even a fraction of that number the future could be very bright indeed just need a governement to embrase the potential Scotland could be lighting up a large part of the uk and further a field..

[@waynewilliamson4212]

way too cool.....keep posting these.....

[@DopeSauceBenevolence]

I've seen this video a hundred times and I only just noticed that Lisa is wearing a scarf from H&M.

[@steelnerve762]

wow , knew UK was leading in renewables, but that it is so ahead is enlightening.

[@benpaynter]

Great show. My only question/slight disagreement is around the statement that they are 100% renewable. My interpretation, and please correct me if I'm wrong is that they're still connected to the mainland grid and with such small battery back up I presume that on a still night when neither solar or wind are producing that they're pulling power from the national grid on the main land. So whilst cumulatively over the year they may produce 104% renewable electricity, in reality they are still to a small degree reliant on the national grid. And this gets to the heart of why it's so hard to truly get to 100% renewables, because you have to have sufficient back up to be able to provide enough power to cover the entire demand on the occasions when very little renewable power is being produced.

[@Hmax28]

Ben Paynter Yes you need back up, but you do on the national grid as well. If a nuclear power station (or two) unexpectedly goes off line (as they do from time to time) you need a large amount of back up to deal with that. The point is the less time you use the back up, the less fossil fuel you need and the lower the emissions.... we've some way to go before this is an issue in the UK...

[@Joe90V]

I've added this video to my favourites. I love this place and I love the people with their forward thinking attitudes and pragmatism. It would be interesting to compare cancer rates in a few years time. #dieselgate It's a mystery to me why anybody living on an island such as Isles of Wight, Jersey, Guernsey, Shetlands, Scilly, etc would want an ICE car as opposed to electric. Range just isn't an issue.

[@maikydb]

This is a great example that every country can go 100% renewable if they really want to!

[@pluginhybridde]

Brilliant! There are many folks who argue about carbon emission pros and cons. These guys have a net over production of power, carbon emissions arguments are hijacking the issue about producing energy locally.

[@Jezzak101]

Very inspiring stuff, thank you. I live in the Middle East and get so frustrated with the amount of window dressing that goes on here to tick a box when there is so much solar energy on Tap.... Guess they will not do anything while oil is still so cheep here.. great show Robert, thanks. JK p.s How many KWH would Kryton use per day??

[@markwellington1254]

We have a lot to learn from them as they seem to have it all down to the simplest ideas for generating that clean electricity! I wonder if they like Americans moving there.

[@DJCloudPirate]

I'm confused... how does this relate to Bosch? :) In all seriousness, it's good to see Fully Charged back on form. Excellent video.

[@lst1nwndrlnd]

excellent.

[@frankstocker5475]

The Bristol channel has 15Mt tides enough energy to feed all of Wales & Cornwall.

[@scottpowell6145]

I have been watching the episodic version of your energy needs on Netflix and it seems to me your problems can be solved with a simple screw propeller for the wave power mounted on a base anchored to the floor obviously your 4 meters/second works out to be 8.9 mph. current not so difficult to deal with. Especially if you mount a vane on the pedestal. I don't know if you have sorted out the research already then I am happy for you. Take care

[@jdrecords]

Great dude thanks