The final report for the Orkney Energy Landscapes project is now available to download.
The project, led by the Orkney Research Centre for Archaeology (ORCA) in partnership with the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) and the Department of Social Anthropology at the University of St Andrews, explored the past, present and future of energy production and its role in shaping the identity of islands communities.
A group of six contemporary renewable and non-renewable energy sites and landscapes in Orkney were visited and recorded using archaeological and anthropological methods. Themes of Peat, Oil and Uranium, Wind and Wave were used to explore the sites and landscapes, with a series of public recording days and school workshops.
Written and photographic records with scaled plans were produced for sites with surviving remains of energy devices. Energy transitions were explored and recorded at all the sites, where historical energy developments have been reused by contemporary energy developments.
In addition, a new method for recording contemporary energy sites has been developed, with observations and recommendations for future work and priorities and which contributes to the development of an Orkney Energy Trail.
The Orkney Energy Landscapes project received a £10,000 National Lottery Heritage fund grant in February 2020, but work had to be postponed due to the pandemic.
