Electric-vehicle hotspot Orkney to drag Scotland into the green industrial revolution? – Scotsman comment

Orkney has the highest rate of electric vehicle ownership in Scotland and the second-highest in the UK

In the transition to a net-zero economy, there will be leaders and there will be followers. Those who embrace electricity over fossil fuels sooner rather than later will find themselves at the forefront of the new industrial revolution.

Step forward Orkney, where islanders have the second-highest rate of electric vehicle ownership in the UK, at 16.2 EVs per 1,000 motorists (1.62 per cent), just behind Elmbridge in Surrey, with 16.9.

However, look outside this country’s borders and such figures do not look so impressive. In 2022 in Norway, nearly 80 per cent of all the new cars sold were electric, and battery-powered EVs now account for more than 20 per cent of all cars on the road.

Orkney councillors recently agreed to look into the possibility of leaving the UK to become part of Norway, so perhaps islanders are embracing Nordic attitudes in preparation for the big day. They may still have a long way to go but, wherever they end up, hopefully the people of Orkney will help drag Scotland and the UK into a future that we all know is coming.