THE world's first electric bus to be powered by wave energy took to the road yesterday, not on Islay, its eventual home, but at Leith docks.
Greenpeace, the environmental campaign group, donated the (pounds) 60,000 community bus to the island and the captain of its flagship, Rainbow Warrior, currently on a UK tour, smashed a bottle of the finest Islay malt over a hubcap to mark the handover.
The 16-seater, noiseless and pollution-free, operates in the same way as a golf cart or a milk float, using an electric engine driven by battery packs under the floor. Its running costs are 8p a mile, compared with 23p for an equivalent diesel bus. The major costs were in the one-off conversion.
When the batteries are recharged each night after 40 or 50 miles of running, the electricity will have been specially ''set aside'' by the island's main supplier, Scottish and Southern, at Portnahaven.
Michael MacRae, development manager of Islay Development Company, partner with Greenpeace and Argyll and Islands Enterprise in the bus project, said it was a stepping stone on the way to the ultimate aim of the Islay Energy Project - a sustainable hydrogen economy with the ultimate clean fuel for vehicles, homes and businesses generated from green electricity. The company is, with Scottish Natural Heritage and RSPB Scotland, trying to identify suitable sites for windfarms.
It is also seeking funds to establish an energy centre at the old Portnahaven school building.
''There is great interest on our island. Hopefully the wave bus will be an inspiration for other communities and will make these technologies more accessible for everyone,'' Mr MacRae said.
Developed by Wavegen, an Inverness-based company, Limpet is the world's first wave-powered facility to supply green electricity to the grid.
Laura Yates, of Greenpeace, said: ''This is a turning point. Millions of vehicles will be powered by renewable energy in the future, but this small bus will prove how viable that vision is at a local level.
''There has been a lot of hand wringing from politicians about how hard it is to make clean energy work on the ground, but this shows what can be done with ambition. To make our transport more environmentally sustainable, we just need the government to raise its sights on green energy. Electric technology is ideal for buses whether they are operating on remote islands like Islay or polluted city centres like Glasgow or Edinburgh.''
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