Orkney Energy Landscapes Project recording days #1

The first event of the new Orkney Energy Landscapes project takes place next Saturday, June 26, at Burgar Hill in Orkney’s West Mainland.

Burgar Hill was initially a wind energy research site in the early 1980s and home to a number of experimental turbines. These are long gone but evidence of them remains in the landscape.

Saturday’s recording day, from 10am until 4pm, is open to anyone interested in helping survey and record the old turbine bases.

A week later, on Saturday, July 3, the focus shifts to Costa Head, the site of an early wind turbine in the 1950s, followed by Billia Croo, Stromness, on Friday, July 23. This recording day will include a tour of the wave energy test site by the EMEC team.

Anyone interested in learning some new skills and taking part in any, or all, of the recording days should email enquiries.ORCA@uhi.ac.uk. No previous experience is necessary.

The Orkney Energy Landscapes project is led by the Orkney Research Centre for Archaeology (ORCA), part of the University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute, in partnership with the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) and the Department of Social Anthropology at the University of St Andrews.

Its aims are to explore the past, present and future of energy production and its role in shaping the identity of Orkney’s communities.