Scotland's First Fully Community-Owned Renewable Energy Grid

After buying their island from a private landowner in a landmark 1997 community buyout, the residents of the Isle of Eigg built Eigg Electric, a self-contained micro-grid combining small hydro turbines, wind turbines, and solar panels with battery storage and diesel back-up. Switched on in 2008, it was the world's first community-owned electricity grid to run predominantly on renewables, replacing noisy household diesel generators that once supplied only a few hours of power a day. By 2025 the system was meeting roughly 93% of the island's annual electricity needs from wind, water, and sun, distributed to homes and businesses via 11km of underground cable. The Trust caps household demand at 5kW to keep the system balanced, and proceeds from the scheme help fund the island's housing, tree nursery, and crofting economy.