Orkney Cloud (Mozilla Research Grant)

First stage towards deployment of a novel community-based cloud systems, powered by local renewable energy.

We are creating community-led managed cloud services at the edge, where the internet is thin, but the social networks are thick – and the environmental resource to power data processing is huge.
Orkney is a northern archipelago of Scottish islands at the edge of Europe, and on the green energy frontline. The islands are a global leader in wave and tide energy, hydrogen fuel, smart grids, and community-led innovation. Here, at the edge, infrastructure, such as energy and data, is never taken for granted. Local organisations need to move data around the islands, but connectivity to remote servers is limited. So a local, community-led solution is needed. This project will determine the possibilities for such locally-led and renewable-powered cloud services.