Twenty years ago the world’s first marine energy test centre was established in Orkney, taking advantage of the islands’ challenging sea conditions for evaluating new wave and tidal power devices in action. EMEC continues today as a world leader, and has brought further developments in its wake, including a move to a green hydrogen economy, with an onshore production plant in Eday generating hydrogen from wind and tidal energy.
Johan Daelman, Lead Floating Foundations Engineer, from Thistle Wind Partners (TWP), describes the engineering challenges of developing an 18MW-25MW floating turbine, the advancing technology of offshore wind, and its potential applications for the future.
Orkney’s ferries are ageing and fuel-prodigal – but what can replace them? Could it be new energy-efficient ships, or bridges or tunnels or causeways – or a mix of all the various options? Roy Pedersen, former head of transport for HIE, joins Prof. Alf Baird to set out the options.
Engineer Bill Graham shows how bringing together people from varied backgrounds into creative dialogue can open a rich range of ideas for industries and communities – from a different type of ladder to an alternative container ship format, from a safety system for tower blocks to a modular design for an affordable house.
The immense amount of carbon dioxide that green plants absorb is far outweighed by the amount of carbon lost from soil, due to the continuing depletion of organic matter. But, says Prof. Karen Johnson of Durham University, we can rebuild our soils and the local economy at the same time.
Dave Craig takes time out from the Festival’s schools programme to describe the mysterious and spectacular solar alignment of Maeshowe. Using the latest Stellarium software, he reappraises the 3000 BC alignment; with, he says, unexpected results. Numbers are limited to 24, and booking is essential. Admission free, with a collection for Orkney Archaeology Society.
… and meet a wizard, four cowboys, and a show that’s come direct from the Royal Institution in London. Dr Steven ‘Jake’ Jacobs, aka Wizard IV, former chief scientist for the Discovery Channel, has brought the four members of the legendary country group Riders in the Sky to help him tell stories of science. It may be about lighting a campfire in his home state of Kansas, or blowing up a balloon in an Orkney school on his latest visit, but it’s the simple things that show up science best, he says.
Slovenia lies on the crossing point of four great routes across Europe, including the ancient Amber Route from the Baltic to Italy and Greece. It lived on the edge of empires like Rome, and was later the contact zone between the German and Hungarian kingdoms. What has that crossroads position meant for trade and culture over the centuries? Archaeologist Dr Tina Milavec of the University of Ljubljana gives a picture of a central European land of mountains and forests between the Alps and the Mediterranean, the Pannonian Plain and the Balkans.
The Driftwood Cowboys pick up musical flotsam from the Orkney shores and build something unique from it, connected by stories, reflections and conversation. Country, blues, swing, bothy ballads and traditional fiddle combine in humorous and heartfelt tales of island life. The four members of the band have travelled the world playing music in multiple groups, not least across the USA. Singer/songwriter Duncan McLean has written extensively about Western Swing, including his prize-winning book, Lone Star Swing: On the Trail of Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys. Also featured are three other familiar Orcadian names – Iain Tait (double bass), Brian Cromarty (guitar) and Douglas Montgomery (fiddle).