In a bid to reduce carbon emissions, Orkney was given £15m of the £80m Zero Emission Vessel and Infrastructure (ZEVI) fund to deploy two fully electric ferry boats for a three year trial. The ferries will remain under the ownership of Orkney Ferries upon the completion of the trial period.

The islands are separated from the Scottish mainland and can take about an hour and a half to reach by ferry, depending on the route. Once in the main town of Kirkwall, a number of inter-island ferries shuttle inhabitants around the archipelago.

With the funding, Orkney will add two ferries to its fleet. One will be 12 meters and go between the main town of Kirkwall and the islands of Shapinsay, Rousay, Egilsay, and Wyre on a year-round daily service. 

A larger, 24-meter vessel, with room for light cargo will go between Kirkwall and the islands of Westray, Ebay, Sanday, and Stronsay up to five times a day. 

Both service trials are expected to begin in 2024, with the smaller vessel launching in March and the larger vessel later in the year. The ‘Electric Orkney’ project includes the installation of essential charging infrastructure and a collaborative partnership between the Orkney Islands Council, Artemis Technologies, and the European Marine Energy Centre. 

The £15m from the ZEVI funding is from the UK Government, aimed at promoting economic growth and assisting the country’s decarbonisation efforts. 

According to the environmental assessment of Orkney’s inter-island ferries back in 2007, all together the inter-island ferries emitted 7,266 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year. That is equivalent to roughly 18,165,000 miles driven by an average gasoline powered vehicle. 

Since that time, Orkney has taken on a number of decarbonisation efforts — notably, it declared a climate emergency in May of 2019, and committed to full decarbonisation. However, some groups, like the Orkney Renewable Energy Forum (OREF) accused the efforts made in decarbonising the inter-island ferries of not going far enough. 

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According to them, the Orkney Islands Council opted for ferries with ‘greener fuel’ in 2021, which was only 20% better than the fuels used at the time. Prompting the OREF to push for fully electric ferries, as the only way to meet the Islands’ ambitious decarbonisation goals. 

“Whilst this is tremendous news, this latest development must not be confused with our drive to secure funding for replacement ferries,” said James Stockan, council leader. 

“This work is about looking at how we can, in the future, decarbonise our fleet – a key point of discussion with the Scottish Government. 

“Securing two vessels of this smaller size is the first stage in that process, allowing us to see how electric vessels might work, with a view to potentially upscaling in the future when further funding packages are in place.”