Congratulations to the Isle of Eigg who have jointly won the NESTA Big Green Challenge along with two other community groups from other parts of the UK. Evidence that small is beautiful. They now have £300,000 to further their endeavours and spread the word.
Those who attended the event we held at Sconser over a year ago were inspired by the commitment and down to earth approach of the community of Eigg. We heard about how they have moved to almost 100% renewable energy - and of how the whole island had agreed to a cap of 5 kw per household. Step over it and you have a reconnection fee to pay. In addition Householders’ lives have been transformed through insulation projects, lift sharing has increased massively and other measures taken to cut the amount of fossil fuels shipped onto the island.
Often I hear people say - but they are an island - it is easier to do - they are a small set up. However, what is most inspiring I think about what they have done is to engage with everyone on the island and far beyond. Their ' islands going green' project has inspired thousands beyond the island to take action - including the John Muir Trust. At a recent gathering of John Muir Trust staff we looked amongst other things at what Eigg had done and their simple approach was used to prompt discussion which is following through into action - more of which will be reported later. The key seems to be that by working at a 'human scale' and having fun on the way, it is easier to get buy in.
Small can indeed be beautiful though not without its difficulties. Communities are often subjected to the same rigorous processes as large companies as various communities have experienced. This means a lot of time and effort can go into getting something off the ground and sometime to no avail. It is disappointing for North Harris to have concluded after their long and diligent work that the wind turbines they have both secured permission and funding for will not be viable because of the weather conditions -ironically too much wind hampers production as well as too little.
Meantime the large scale developments look set to proceed with Muaitheahal Wind Farm in South Lewis being approved as well as the Beauly Denny line. It is interesting to note that Schumacher's well known book - 'Small is Beautiful' - is subtitled 'The Study Of Economics As If People Mattered'. Now that would be a novel approach to development. Time will tell if the Eigg approach or the big company approach is the better for us all. I know where my betting would lie.
