Whiting Bay Hall and Auchrannie Spa and Country House, in Brodick on Arran, are open for residents with power, heat and refreshments, while Lamlash fire station is also open all day with power available through a local generator.

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IMechE says this process is only 25% efficient but it is massively improved by co-siting the cryo-generator next to an industrial plant or power station producing low-grade heat that is currently vented and being released into the atmosphere.

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Such a grid is being tested at the army's model forward operating base (FOB) in Fort Irwin, California, along with prototypes of a mobile, hybrid power station that combines solar panels and wind turbines with a conventional generator.

ECONOMIST: Monitor

"After 10 years developing significant knowledge and experience in all aspects of using sustainable biomass in place of coal at our power station, we now have the mandate, means and expertise to transform the business into a predominantly biomass-fuelled generator, " said Drax chief executive Dorothy Thompson.

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