Tapping an island’s renewable energy potential
Life on an island may have many advantages, but access to energy isn’t one of them. Isolated and often not connected to a grid, islands are highly dependent on imported fossil fuels. As a result, according to some estimates, energy costs on an island can be up to 400 % higher than on the mainland. But islands are also a treasure trove of renewable resources, from tidal to wind, solar, hydro, geothermal and biomass. “There is a clear opportunity to leverage islands’ rich renewable energy to develop a more sustainable energy model,” says Silvia Jané, project manager at Veolia Serveis Catalunya. With the support of the EU-funded REACT project, Veolia has demonstrated the potential of large-scale deployment of renewable energy sources (RES) and storage assets on geographical islands to bring economic benefits, contribute to decarbonising local energy systems, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. “Our goal was to help islands achieve energy independence through renewable energy generation and storage, a demand response platform, and promoting user engagement in a local energy community,” adds Jané, who served as the project coordinator.
Integrating technology to deliver results
To achieve this goal, the project developed a range of innovative technologies and tools, including high-efficiency photovoltaic systems, power-to-hydrogen storage solutions, an electric vehicle charger, and battery energy storage systems, to name only a few. However, individual technologies alone won’t deliver complete energy autonomy to islands. To do that, these technologies must be fully integrated. That’s why the project also delivered a scalable and adaptable cloud-based ICT platform for managing the technology systems using a holistic cooperative demand response (DR) strategy. “If coupled with energy storage technology and a greater share of renewable energy, then islands can enjoy greener, stable and more resilient electrical grids,” explains Jané. A DR system acts based on the forecast of energy demand, with the incorporation of innovative, high-efficiency technologies for generating and storing energy, generating energy savings and decarbonising an island.
A focus on user engagement
Regardless of how high-tech or integrated a technology is, it will only work if people use it. Knowing this, the REACT project also included an intense user engagement strategy. “Potential users were initially reluctant to implement the systems and the platform,” notes Jané. “However, through workshops, meetings and ongoing communication, they became more open to our ideas.” Following a series of pilot projects, many of those once-reluctant users are now looking to become even more active. “We conducted pilot programmes on the Canary Islands, Sardinia, and the Aran Islands of Ireland, which were an opportunity for us not only to test our solutions, but to give users a chance to see the potential benefits first hand,” adds Jané. Amongst those benefits: a 10 % increase in energy savings, a 60 % reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and energy costs, and the potential to become 100 % energy-autonomous. “These results show that, by harnessing their vast renewable energy potential, islands can become energy-independent in a way that benefits businesses, citizens and the environment alike,” concludes Jané.
Keywords
REACT, renewable energy, renewable energy sources, RES, energy, island, renewable resources, fossil fuels, energy independence, greenhouse gas emissions, energy storage
