Colin Risbridger
Colin Risbridger has been the energy behind stunning achievements on the Island of Westray in the Orkneys which he lives with his young family. With a falling population, a group of residents formed the Westray Development Trust to reinvigorate the community. Colin developed the 100% Renewable Energy Plan for the Trust. Together with Sam Harcus, an equally committed and enthusiastic colleague and a former Development Officer with the Trust, Colin set about a number of renewable energy projects to generate all the island’s energy needs by 2012. They feature a number of ground source heat pumps and small free-standing wind turbines supplying heat and power for community properties on the island. In addition, 20,000 litres of waste vegetable oil fuels a number of bio-diesel cars and the wind generates power for a community electric car. Westray is now also a ‘Zero Waste’ Community and a ‘Fair Trade’ Community which aims to use all its waste as a valuable resource and sources fair trade products for resale locally, creating environmental jobs and small businesses on the island.
After finishing his contract with the Trust, Colin started using cow slurry and grass silage to produce biogas, and applied to patent a new design of anaerobic digestion facility which reduces greenhouse gases. Colin’s invention has now reached the marketplace thanks to local investment in his new company Heat and Power Limited in 2007. The result is cleaner, cheaper energy with a fertiliser by-product for use on local farms that is virtually odourless. His other developments include working on a gas compression facility to produce a biomethane road fuel. He is also involved in a research project with the Environmental Research Institute in Thurso, Caithness on the fertiliser benefit of digestate in comparison to conventional cow slurry.