An Economic Approach to Size of a Renewable Energy Mix in Small Islands

Abstract

The importance of renewable energy exploitation reduces the energy dependence on fossil fuels. Despite technological progress, in several remote areas and small islands the energy production is nowadays dominated by the utilization of fossil fuels. With new, increasingly stringent laws on polluting emissions and the need to lower production costs, it is necessary to exploit as many renewable sources as possible. In order to implement these considerations, it was decided to study renewable energy production. The study was carried out by estimating the energy production on a monthly and annual basis considering a mix of three plants, namely marine, solar, and wind. Simulations on wave production were carried out on a new device developed by the research team at the University of Palermo. In order to be able to perform these simulations, input climate data are required. These data are normally available in literature or obtainable by using specific GIS tools. As criterium, the Levelized Cost of Energy, normally applied to a single technology, is extended to the entire energy mix. Minimizing this parameter, the best solution is individuated, and capable of supplying 50% of the summer electrical load with renewable energy sources. The results carried out from a case study based in aeolian islands show that the solar production reaches 10.2%, the wind production reaches 45.47% and sea wave production reaches 3.04%. In this way, the diesel production decreases to 41.29%. This method can be easily applied for several small islands, estimating for several sites the ability to reduce the energy production from fossil fuels.