The Isle of Yell may be separated from the mainland, but it isn’t cut off from much else in the 21st Century. In fact, the second largest of the Shetland Islands is now surging ahead of the rest of Britain on a wave of innovation.
As reported in Shetland News, this week saw a new electric vehicle (EV) charging point installed on Yell that is powered by the tide. Thought to be the first of its kind, the charging point has been installed by marine energy specialist Nova Innovation, at Cullivoe Harbour on the shores of Bluemull Sound.
The tidal energy company, which operates a number of tidal turbines in Bluemull Sound, has been powering homes and businesses for over five years before moving on to power electric vehicles. Nova Innovation received grant funding through Transport Scotland for the project.
Now the first ever wave powered charger in the UK is live on Zap-Map. EV drivers on Yell can now plug directly into the power of the Atlantic Ocean to recharge their cars.
Cullivoe Harbour’s new charging point joins 14,613 public charging locations and 22,846 charging devices across the UK now registered on Zap-Map. At the time of writing, it was one of 808 new devices added to the Zap-Map database over the last 30 days.
While Zap-Map users can already filter for chargers by connector type, network, location type, payment method and access restrictions, the new charger is the first to be powered by the ocean. Part of the ChargePlace Scotland network, the device itself sports two Type 2 22kW connectors, as shown in the image below.
The new device at Cullivoe Pier is the first on Zap-Map to be powered by the sea.
Simon Forrest, CEO at Nova Innovation, said:
“Our technology generates electricity from the immense power of the seas, and it is changing the way we power our lives – from how we make a cup of tea to how we travel.
“We now have the reality of tidal powered cars, which demonstrates the huge steps forward we are making in tackling the climate emergency and achieving net zero by working in harmony with our natural environment.”
Michael Matheson, MSP and Transport minister, said:
“It’s fantastic to see that Nova Innovation is demonstrating yet again that Scotland remains at the forefront of developments in zero-emission transport solutions.
“I’m pleased that Scottish Government funding is enabling the installation of a new charge point in Shetland which operates entirely on renewable tidal energy.”
