Islanders enjoying cheaper power

Islanders have been enjoying reliable power

A renewable energy supply designed to give Eigg power 24-hours-a-day has worked "brilliantly", according to the island's trust secretary.

The £1.6m system for the island in the Small Isles between Skye and the Ardnamurchan peninsula uses a mix of hydro, wind and solar power.

It went online for the first time in February.

Maggie Fyffe said it was working out far cheaper than diesel generators, which they previously relied on.

However, the generators were required for charging batteries in June when a spell of dry weather affected the productivity of hydro power schemes.

High voltage

Ms Fyffe, secretary of Isle of Eigg Heritage Trust, said: "Everything is working brilliantly and we are all overjoyed about how it has gone."

She said among the benefits were reliability, not having the "rigmarole" of running generators and dealing with high fuel costs.

The operation of the project will be fully accessed around the point of the first anniversary of its launch.

It has been designed to generate more than 95% of Eigg's annual energy demand and is backed up by a battery storage system and two diesel generators.

Residents previously depended on diesel generators and hydro schemes.

About 45 households, 20 businesses and six community buildings on the island are linked together by six miles of buried cable that forms a high voltage network.