Renewable energy resources utilization planning for sustainable energy system development on a stand-alone island

Abstract

The potential of energy resources on islands that can be used for self-sufficiency and sustainable energy supply and demand systems has led to a challenge in energy planning in these areas. Due to Iran's dependence on fossil fuels, there are several challenges and concerns related to the reduction of fossil fuel reserves. Therefore, in order to transition from non-renewable to renewable energy sources, the maximum potential of the country should be utilized, which is one of the most promising areas of the islands. As a result, this study aims to provide approaches that reduce dependence on renewable energy sources in a short period of time and to create the conditions for the implementation of a 100 % renewable energy system. First of all, the basic energy supply system for the island in 2020 will be modeled in the EnergyPLAN software. As a next step, two different scenarios are presented for combining new renewable technologies with fossil fuels to meet the demands for electricity, heating, cooling, and transportation in 2030. As a result of this research, it was determined that by utilizing the potential of local renewable resources, the consumption of fossil fuels would be reduced by 36 %. Also, applying policies for the use of renewable resources can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 0.7 million tons per year. Further, in the technical analysis of the scenarios, it was found that reducing the consumption of fossil fuels in the field of transportation was the most challenging aspect of achieving the goal of 100 % renewable islands.