PRISMI- Promoting RES Integration for Smart Mediterranean Islands

Most of the Mediterranean islands are heavily dependent on imported fossil fuels and have to deal with specific problems such as small scale generation of electricity, high distribution costs and an underutilization of their Renewable Energy Source (RES) potential. These challenges result in high energy costs and elevated levels of CO2 emissions. In order to promote a shift towards cleaner energy systems, islands have to invest on RES and smart solutions for sustainable energy supply. The present study examines the feasibility of RES introduction in the Maltese energy system through the application of the methodology developed by PRISMI project to the island of Gozo. The research firstly assesses the island's RES potential, the environmental constraints and the energy consumption. Secondly it simulates energy scenarios in order to analyse the feasibility of increasing the RES penetration in the local energy grid. For the simulation of the energy system and feasibility study, HOMER and EnergyPLAN software have been used. The outcomes of the simulated energy scenarios presented in this paper, takes into account different energy mix layouts and the environmental and technical constraints. Lastly, the study analyses the possibility of achieving the ambitious target of 100% RES share.

In order to facilitate the successful decarbonisation of geographical islands in the Mediterranean region, PRISMI proposes the use of a methodology toolkit which, among the other energy planning tools, includes a Load-Flow (LF) analysis tool. This tool is used in order to assess the impact of selected RES on the power grid of islands. The proposed tool is advantageous compared with other solutions because it combines features useful for the proposed methodology in a simple and straightforward way. Its minimal requirements in terms of input parameters and algorithmic implementation make the tool user-friendly to non-experts who require a quick assessment of the impact a RES scenario can have on a selected island grid. To this purpose, the proposed tool is in the form of a stand-alone executable application, and uses grid, generation, and consumption data as inputs from the previous steps of the methodology to calculate the grid voltages and currents. This calculation is done by using the Newton-Raphson solving method. The tool is equipped with a Graphical User's Interface (GUI) that allows the user to perform a number of actions such as selection of the grid to be analysed among preset or custom models, specification of the timeframes for the LF calculation, simplified drawing of the selected grid in order to check the correctness of the input data, and capability of modification of the operating voltage and capacity limits. Also, with its output the tool provides the user with information about the voltage and capacity limits violation as well as a graphical illustration of all the problematic and normal parts of the grid. In the specific work the basic features of the proposed tool are presented together with the implementation results for two selected reference power systems. These results are used to show the effectiveness in the use and calculation results of the proposed tool.