The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has agreed in principle to invest up to £2.95 million in the Smart Islands renewables initiative on the Isles of Scilly.
The LEP’s contribution would come from the government’s Local Growth Fund, which is investing over £70 million through the ‘Growth Deal’ program to improve infrastructure and grow the economy of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
The Smart Islands project on the Isles of Scilly aims to meet 40% of the isles’ energy demand through renewable generation by 2025, and cut 40% of electricity costs by that time, among other objectives.
As reported earlier in November, the Swedish wave energy developer Waves4Power said it is considering the establishment of a full-scale wave energy park off the isles, located 28 miles off the coast of Cornwall in South West England.
Mark Duddridge , Chair of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly LEP, said: “Smart Islands is creating a learning laboratory that we hope will serve as a model for the rest of the UK and beyond. It is melding cutting-edge digital technology with renewable energy generation and storage to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing the world today. It will bring huge benefits to the island community in terms of reduced costs and carbon emissions, and cater for future sustainable growth.”
Smart Islands project is being delivered through a partnership that includes Hitachi Europe, Tresco Estate, the Council of the Isles of Scilly, the Islands’ Partnership and the Duchy of Cornwall, with UK smart energy businesses, Moixa Technology and PassivSystems, as project partners.