> Three hydroelectric generators produce electricity from running water. The biggest hydro above at Laig on the west side of the island is 100kW, with two smaller 5-6kW hydros on the east side.
> Four small 6kW wind turbines below An Sgurr
> 50kW Photovoltaic array producing electricity from the sun.
> Although the capacity of the scheme is around 184kW, not all renewable resources produce their maximum output all the time or at the same time.
I think this means that solar would provide 27% of their total coverage if everything was running at full capacity (which never happens). Long summer days with low cloud coverage at time of low wind makes solar an important part of their summer mix.
They're also experimenting with using solar on homes to heat water to see how much much less fuel they burn.
>The sun can be used to heat water instead of fuel. Solar panels are being installed by islanders on three homes on Eigg to test how much less fuel is being burnt, and how much money is saved.
Renewable, but mostly as hydro.
Things are easier when you have large hydro (relative to your needs), Iceland's electrical production has been 100% renewable since 2008 (and was 99.9% renewable before that) because they have a ton of hydro (80% of total capacity), and a fair amount (and growing) of geothermal (geothermal is 2/3rd of their energy consumption but the vast majority is direct use for heating, not electricity generation). And note that ~70% of Icelandic electricity generation is solely for aluminum production.