Management of energy and water resources by minimizing the rejected renewable energy

Abstract

Energy and water independence and reduction of the consumption of fossil fuels can be achieved by the exploitation of the rich wind potential of the Greek islands and the optimal management of water resources. Produced wind energy can be either sent directly to the Local Production Station or can be used for pumping and storing water in the upper reservoir, for use when low winds prevail. However, a percentage of produced wind energy cannot be utilized immediately but neither can be stored and is being rejected. The objective of this paper is to provide the methodological framework for a Hybrid Renewable Energy scheme, where the rejected energy is minimized, while the hybrid system contributes satisfactorily to electricity and water and irrigation coverage. The proposed framework can be used as a planning tool for energy managers and decision and policymakers to determine the operation plan of a hybrid system in terms of minimum rejected energy. The methodology is applied, as a case study, on a Mediterranean island, in the Aegean Sea, in Greece. Direct wind energy equal to 30% leads to the minimization of rejected energy, while coverage of drinking, irrigation and electricity demands is 60%, 21% and 31% respectively.