Scottish Salmon Company wins award for work with Outer Hebrides energy hub

The Scottish Salmon Company enjoyed success at the 2020 Aquaculture Awards.

Created to encourage collaborative solutions to waste management and energy challenges, the OHLEH project is a unique initiative and the first of its kind in Scotland.

The initiative focuses on the creation of a local circular economy and is delivered by SSC in partnership with Pure Energy Centre (PEC), Community Energy Scotland and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (CnES) and funded by the Scottish Government Local Energy Challenge Fund.

Su Cox, director at The Scottish Salmon Company, said: “We are really honoured to have won the Community Initiative title at this year’s Aquaculture Awards.

“This win not only recognises the dedication and innovation of the OHLEH project partners but also showcases an excellent example of how businesses can work together to achieve greater sustainability.”

The project involves the transfer of fish waste from SSC’s processing plant on the Isle of Lewis, which is integrated with other local household and garden waste in an anaerobic digester, based at the CnES Household Waste and Recycling Centre at Creed, and broken down to produce biogas.

The biogas fuels a Combined Heat and Power Plant with some of the electricity generated used to drive an electrolyser supplied by the PEC.

This in turn produces green hydrogen and green oxygen for use at SSC’s hatchery as well as providing fuel for CnES’s hydrogen powered bin lorry.

The Aquaculture Awards recognise excellence in worldwide aquaculture, celebrating innovation, talent and cutting-edge advances in technology.

Highlighting achievements in the sector, the awards are judged by a panel of experts from across the industry.

Due to ongoing coronavirus restrictions there was no physical ceremony this year, with winners announced during a virtual ceremony.

Cheri Arvonio, event director at the Aquaculture Awards, said: “Standing out from the crowd is no mean feat in such an innovative and dedicated industry, but our 2020 winners do just that.”

The Comhairle has welcomed the success of Scottish Salmon Company, and said it follows on from the VIBES award win in 2019, reflecting the strong partnership that has been developed behind a ground breaking, innovative circular economy project, maximising the benefits to the local economy.