Abstract
Small Mediterranean islands are typically served by mini-grids based on inefficient, polluting and costly diesel generators that provide electricity and freshwater through desalination plants. The study focuses on the case study of the Italian island of Ustica, for which the actual consumption and generation load profiles for 2018 have been used to simulate different scenarios through HOMER Pro software. The scenarios tested the possible integration of renewable energy sources (photovoltaic, small wind turbines) and electrochemical storage in the system, based on a techno-economic, financial, and environmental analysis. In addition to generation-side interventions, demand-side management strategies have been evaluated by considering the desalter as a deferrable load and by introducing energy efficiency measures. Finally, a sensitivity analysis on the most influential parameters (diesel price, discount rate) has been conducted on the base case scenario. The proposed technical solutions are compatible with the environmental and regulatory constraints of the island and lead to reduced emissions and long-term savings. The savings would enable a reduction in the cross-subsidy that the mainland electricity users pay to cover the higher costs incurred for diesel generation in non-interconnected small islands.
Highlights
There is a pressing need issued by the international community to transform the global energy system to contrast climate change, reducing carbon emission by mainstreaming renewable energy sources and increasing energy efficiency [1]
Energy is closely related to access to water, as it can be produced in place with clean, electricitypowered desalination processes, such as reverse osmosis [4]; otherwise, in the absence of natural sources or underwater pipelines connected to the mainland, water has to be delivered with tankers
A Base Case (BC) scenario was developed by simulating the current system, with the generation assets described in Table 1, in order to reproduce the 'business-as-usual' scenario to be used as a benchmark
Summary
There is a pressing need issued by the international community to transform the global energy system to contrast climate change, reducing carbon emission by mainstreaming renewable energy sources and increasing energy efficiency [1]. One of the typical challenges of small islands with a touristic vocation, like Tilos, is the huge seasonal variation of the population [6], causing spikes in electricity and water consumption during summertime, requiring the installation of oversized and redundant generation facilities [7]. These obstacles characterize the twenty noninterconnected Italian small islands, with a total resident population of 56,000 inhabitants. A sensitivity analysis on economic and financial parameters is performed
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