Sustainability economic study of the islands of the Azores archipelago using photovoltaic panels, wind energy and storage system

Inês Melo,João Paulo Neto Torres,Carlos Alberto Ferreira Fernandes,Ricardo A Marques Lameirinhas

doi:10.1186/s40807-020-00061-8

Inês Melo, João Paulo Neto Torres + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s40807-020-00061-8

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Abstract

Currently, the nine islands of the Autonomous Region of the Azores have fossil fuel-fired power stations as the main source of electric power. Each island has an independent electrical system classified as an isolated micro-system, given its size and location. The aim of this paper is to analyse the best set of technologies to have nine sustainable hybrid systems. For this purpose, some factors will be considered, such as actual data production of the island, economic scenarios, growth perspectives of consumption and reliability of supply. The results of these studies will allow us to conclude on the applicability of these systems and to quantify the consequent socio-economic, environmental and fossil energy-saving benefits. A system is projected to the archipelago, in order to reduce the energy production due to non-renewable energies, budgeted on 783.28 million euros, which intend to instal wind farms and photovoltaic parks (using polycrystalline and cadmium telluride technologies).

Highlights

The Azores archipelago is geographically located in a region where three lithospheric plates are connected: the American, the Eurasian and the African
The main goal of this article is to find a solution of a hybrid energy system, gathering wind and photovoltaic energy, and an energy storage system that can reduce the energy production based on non-renewable sources (Melo and Torres 2019)
The actual energy systems on the islands depend mainly on the use of fossil fuels, which is not the most environment friendly energy source, beyond of it has a serious disadvantage of having to be transported to the islands, leading to high costs and an enormous environmental footprint associated to an endless list of negative impacts (Melo and Torres et al 2019; Durão et al 2020; Curto et al 2020; Alves et al 2019; Gils et al 2017)

Summary

Introduction

The Azores archipelago is geographically located in a region where three lithospheric plates are connected: the American, the Eurasian and the African. The actual energy systems on the islands depend mainly on the use of fossil fuels, which is not the most environment friendly energy source, beyond of it has a serious disadvantage of having to be transported to the islands, leading to high costs and an enormous environmental footprint associated to an endless list of negative impacts (Melo and Torres et al 2019; Durão et al 2020; Curto et al 2020; Alves et al 2019; Gils et al 2017). All resources currently installed in the islands and the characteristics of each network will be evaluated in order to observe the current power of renewable sources, so that it is possible to manage the necessary sizing for each island (EDA 2016)

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