Plot Synopsis

ISLANDS OF THE FUTURE is a five-part documentary series that reveals how islands off the coast of Spain, Scotland, and other European countries demonstrate solutions to the world's energy crisis. Farmers, business people, engineers and scientists on these islands have taken on the challenge or revolutionising energy provision -- without oil, coal, gas or nuclear power. The people who live on these islands have been battling against the forces of nature for centuries. Now they intend to use the power of water, the waves, the tides, the wind, geothermal energy and the sun for a better future. These islands are laboratories of hope that are showing the rest of the world how climate protection can be achieved and, above all, that it works. The sun-drenched Canary island of El Hierro produces most of its electricity from wind. In order to have electricity on calm days, the island came up with an ingenious solution: an inactive volcano crater is now a pumped-storage power plant. The Orkney Islands provide a unique place to study the energy potential of tides and waves. A local institution has set up power stations off the rugged coast to investigate the clean energy source on behalf of the European Union. Other featured islands include: the Danish island of Samso; Madeira; and Iceland. As part of its Earth Month programming event, Pivot broadcast the U.S. premiere of this series on Friday, April 1, 2016 at 7:30pm ET/PT.