Is it possible to develop a green management strategy applied to water systems in isolated cities? An optimized case study in the Bahamas

Abstract

• Calibration optimized strategy to increase the sustainability. • Renewable energy systems working with LCOE values equal to 0.12 €/kWh. • Making decision tool to reduce 32% of the consumed energy. • Sustainable solutions to reduce 40% CO2 emissions. The inclusion of new strategies is crucial to achieve the different targets of the sustainable development goals for the guarantee of supply in the different cities and reduction the consumption of non-renewable resources. The development of these strategies implies the improvement of the sustainability indicators and green rating systems of the city. This research proposes a decarbonisation strategy, which includes different optimization procedures based on a self-calibration process according to recorded flow values over time. These stages are integrated into one tool to define the best making decision in the management of the supply system, analysing whether self-consumption of energy is feasible. It was applied on the Bahamas. The application of the strategy enabled the decrease of the annual consumption of energy equal to 32%. The self-consumption could represent 30% of the consumed energy of the pump station. The making decision to define the best operation strategy, establishing a Levelized Cost of Energy around 0.12 €/kWh when the feasibility of using photovoltaic systems combined with micro hydropower was done. It implies the reduction of 40% of the tCO2 emission, getting a cost of carbon abatement values around 400 €/tCO2 for different discount rates and scenarios.