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    Orkney Surf 'N' Turf
    Tide | Wind | Hydrogen
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    Objective
    Enable Orkney to make and use more electricity locally.
    Reduce imports of fossil fuels and emissions of carbon dioxide.
    Help Orkney communities and companies to harness locally-sourced energy.
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    Concept
    On the island of Eday, electricity from wind and tidal turbines generates hydrogen.
    The gas is transported to Kirkwall, where a fuel cell uses it to make electricity and heat.
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    Training
    The fuel cell is on dry land but designed to marine specifications.
    The Orkney College can use it to train people to work with hydrogen, on land or at sea.

SURF 'N' TURF

An innovative community project in Orkney that uses surplus electricity
generated from renewable energy to split water,
making hydrogen gas as a fuel.

INNOVATIVE

First community project to take excess electricity from two renewable energy sources and convert it to hydrogen.

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RENEWABLE ENERGY

Electrical energy generated from tidal and wind turbines on the island of Eday is stored as hydrogen gas.

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HYDROGEN

The compressed hydrogen is transported by ship to a fuel cell in Kirkwall where it makes electricity on demand.

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TRAINING

Hydrogen training will be available through Orkney College UHI, to promote job opportunities.

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HOW DOES IT WORK?

Tidal power devices located at the European Marine Energy Centre test site at the Fall of Warness, in the sea just west of the island of Eday, and the Eday Renewable Energy community-owned onshore wind turbine, route their surplus electricity to a 500kW electrolyser, which generates hydrogen by splitting water.

The hydrogen is stored as compressed gas then transported on a trailer by road and sea to Kirkwall, the capital of Orkney. There it powers a fuel cell to generate clean electricity on demand.


Meet the team Project detail

THE SURF 'N' TURF PROJECT

Surf 'n' Turf attracted £1.46m of support from Local Energy Scotland and the Scottish Government's Local Energy Challenge Fund.
The project is led and managed by Community Energy Scotland, alongside partners EMEC, Orkney Islands Council, Eday Renewable Energy and ITM Power.
We work closely with the European Commission's Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking, who have funded the €10.9m BIG HIT project to build upon Surf 'n' Turf's hydrogen network.

Renewable Energy

Thanks to its location where the Atlantic meets the North Sea, Orkney is surrounded by abundant renewable energy resources.

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Hydrogen generation

A 500kW electrolyser can absorb power generated by tidal energy devices and a wind turbine that the normal electricity grid cannot handle.

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Electricity on Demand

A fuel cell is sited on Kirkwall Pier to provide electricity on demand for operations within the harbour.

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Partners and funders