IT IS a quiet and picturesque parish in the Scottish Borders, but Ayton is on the cusp of a revolution in the way renewable energy can be used to run our homes.
Building work begins today on the town's Beanburn Road, to create what it is believed will be Europe's first hydrogen-fuelled, zero-carbon home.
It will be the house of the future - a home completely independent from the national grid, which will make Scotland a worldwide centre for excellence in renewables. It will be equipped with a wind turbine and solar cell and generate hydrogen from water.
Berwickshire Housing Association (BHA), which is behind the project, thinks it is the first of its kind in Europe and says it will make Scotland a world leader in the renewables industry.
The pilot will be in social housing, with a family recruited to live in it before it is completed in March 2008, but if the technology proves successful it could be rolled out to private homes
The scheme will see a photovoltaic - or solar power - system added to the house, along with a wind turbine. The energy produced by these will be used to electrolyse water to split it into oxygen and hydrogen.
The hydrogen will be stored in underground tanks - each of which will be capable of producing a month's worth of electricity and heat.
"In effect, you end up with a power station within the home," said Mr Brown.
LINDSAY MCINTOSH
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