Search

A systematical effort is made in this paper to present a thorough review, through an up to date literature survey, regarding the electrical power system of Crete island (EPSC) located in Greece. The EPSC is a large autonomous power system and its main characteristic is that, the load demand presents high seasonal variations and also increases rapidly. The annual increase rate is approximately 8% and the peak load demand has been doubled the last 12 years. Electricity generation is produced by conventional units (diesel units, steam and gas turbine generators and combined cycle) and also with the aid of renewable energy sources (RES). The installation of wind turbines (W/Ts) in Crete started on 1992 and up to now the wind power has a great percentage of penetration in the EPSC. There are primarily three main reasons that have caused the interest of many researchers to study the EPSC the last 15 years and subsequently produce quite large research work until today: a) The significant increase of the load demand in the island, b) the great percentage of W/Ts' penetration in the EPSC and c) the old technology conventional units with which the EPSC is mainly composed and which in turn have a high running cost. An attempt is made by the author to present the EPSC in detail, giving an overall view of the system (data for the generation units, substations, wind parks and the grid), as well as the total relevant research concerning the EPSC, since something analogous has not been done yet in the literature. Many aspects concerning the EPSC are presented such as; load forecasting, RES and their connection to the grid, dynamic stability, economic operation, reliability, protection and dynamic security. It is an author's expectation that researchers in the future who are interested in the EPSC can draw data from this paper and keep up with the up to date research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an integrated framework for the design of an electricity supply system for an isolated grid, promoting renewable energy sources (RES) in the context of distributed generation (DG) is developed. To this end, eight (8) alternative scenarios are developed with different percentage of RES penetration and several evaluation criteria considered that included economic, environmental, technical, social, and legislative issues. The scenarios are comparatively evaluated by means of the weighted summation method where the relevant criteria weights are determined through the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Special attention is given in the optimal placement of RES facilities using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and the way to model the criteria via related environmental software. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The decision-making process regarding the choice of alternative energy technologies is multidimensional, made up of a number of aspects at different levels, economic, technical, environmental and social. This paper uses a multicriteria decision making model, PROMETHEE II, to determine the best fuel mix for electricity generation in an isolated Greek island, Lesvos. Having analyzed the energy profile of the island, a set of 7 energy policy scenarios are determined and assessed against economic, technical, environmental and social criteria. The energy policy scenarios include the use of conventional fuels, wind energy and natural gas, in its liquid form, liquefied natural gas (LNG). Weighting of criteria is carried out according to three different perspectives, each one focusing on sustainability, economic and environmental/social benefits. Two sensitivity analyses are performed taking into account the fluctuations of the electricity demand and the fluctuations of the fuel prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses monthly data from Aug. 2004 to Feb. 2014 and employs the Autoregressive Distributed Lag bounds test approach to study the short and long-run relationship of renewable and non-renewable electricity with economic growth in Greece. Dummies reveal most of the major energy policy adaptations taking place in Greece to overcome the economic crisis and reach stipulated renewable energy targets. Results show that in the short-run, fossil sources play the baseload role in electricity production and there is a clear substitution effect between sources, while in the long-run, fossil sources contribute to the development of renewable energy sources as backup energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The key policy analyzed in this paper, is the achievement of a significant decarbonization of the Greek Energy System by the year 2050 through the decarbonization of the two sectors presently responsible for the highest levels of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) emissions, namely power and transport. The objective is to reduce GHG emissions by 2050, through the maximization of renewable energy sources (RES) penetration in electricity, with a simultaneous intensive electrification of the transport sector and the electrical interconnection of non-connected islands. An important parameter considered in the present work is that expansion planning of power systems under environmental constraints leads to a rather complex techno-economic analysis involving large scale penetration of Renewable Energy Sources. The penetration level of variable renewable electricity is subject to a number of restrictions implied by the need for (a) storage capacity to decrease the energy curtailment which can occur when the customer load is low and RES electricity generation is high (b) fast reserve capacity to deal with variations of variable RES or combined heat and power (CHP) electricity generation (c) transmission system expansion related to the penetration of areas with high RES potential. New methodologies are developed and a number of novel scenarios are formulated in conformity with the European energy strategy towards 2050. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The capacity expansion planning is a crucial process taking into account multiple aspects and various parameters of the examined power sector in order to optimally satisfy the future electricity demand. In the case of Greece, the long-term energy planning of the electricity supply sector faces a lot of challenges deriving from the peculiarities and geomorphology of the country mainly referring to the large number of islands. This paper explores the feasibility and the consequences of interconnecting Greek islands to the mainland grid by establishing two alternative scenarios of least cost electricity planning for the period 2009–2020. Namely, the reference scenario assumes isolated electric systems of islands and is compared against the alternative option of their interconnection to the mainland. The main purpose of the present study is to illustrate the great importance of islands’ interconnection on the development of renewable energy sources (RES) to generate electricity while pointing out the consequent economic and environmental benefits. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Most medium and small islands of the Aegean Archipelagos face serious infrastructure problems, strongly related with the limited electrical energy available at extremely high cost. On the other hand, the area is characterized by very high wind speeds and abundant solar energy, thus the exploitation of the available renewable energy sources (RES) may significantly contribute to the fulfillment of the local societies energy demand at minimum environmental and macroeconomic cost. However, the stochastic availability of wind energy and the variable availability of solar energy, the daily and seasonal electricity demand fluctuations, as well as the limited local electrical network capacity result in serious restrictions concerning the maximum renewable power penetration. In this context, the present paper investigates the possibility of creating a combined electricity generation facility based on the exploitation of wind or/and solar potential of an area as well as on the utilization of an appropriate energy storage configuration in order to replace the existing thermal power stations with rational investment requirements. For this purpose, the major parameters of the proposed integrated configuration are firstly calculated and its financial viability is accordingly analyzed. One of the main targets of the proposed solution is to maximize the RES exploitation of the area at a minimum electricity generation cost, while special emphasis is given in order to select the most cost-efficient energy storage device available. According to the results obtained the proposed solution is not only financially attractive but also improves the quality of the electricity offered to the local communities, substituting the expensive and heavily polluting existing thermal power stations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The efficiency of fiscal support for electricity generation from renewable energy sources (RES-E) is a multifaceted notion that cannot be adequately described by a single metric. Efficiency is related to the ability of a policy measure to support deployment without creating negative feedback effects. These negative effects may stem from saturation of the grid's ability to absorb an increased amount of RES-E power, the inability of regulatory bodies to cope with the larger workload due to the increased number of projects requesting permits or from rent-seeking behavior. Furthermore, the primary rationale for feed-in tariffs (FITs) and other fiscal support schemes is that increased deployment of RES-E technologies will lead to reductions in costs and increases in efficiency. As a result, the efficiency of an RES-E support policy should be also judged by its ability to capitalize on cost reductions. Overall, we present an approach to facilitate ongoing assessments of the efficiency of support measures for RES-E deployment. We demonstrate the proposed approach using the FIT support policy in Greece as a case study. In particular, the RES-E support policy in Greece has been recently revised through tariff cuts and a moratorium on new production licenses. We aim to demonstrate that if publicly available data are appropriately monitored, a policy revision can take place in a timelier and less disruptive manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores a taxation framework for energy production from Renewable Energy Sources (RES) in Greece. It discusses how the framework may contravene the general principles of the European Union's policy on RES development. The promotion of renewable energy generation through a guaranteed feed-in tariff system in the country is noted. Also mentioned is the incompatibility of retroactive taxation measures in the EU.

Renewable energy sources (RES), excluding large hydroelectric plants, currently produce 4.21% of total electricity production in Greece. Even when considering the additional production from large hydroelectric plants, which accounts for some 7.8%, the distance to be covered towards the objective of 20% electricity produced from RES by 2010 and respectively towards 20% of total energy production by 2020 is discouraging. The potential, however, does exist; unfortunately so do serious barriers. On the other hand, solid waste management (SWM) is an issue that generates continuously increasing interest due to the extra amounts of solid waste generated; the lack of existing disposal facilities with adequate infrastructure and integrated management plans, also often accompanied by legislative and institutional gaps. However, socio-economic and public awareness problems are still met in the planning and implementation of RES and SWM projects, together with the lack of a complete national cadastre and a spatial development master plan, specifying areas eligible for RES and SWM development. Specific barriers occur for individual RES and the on-going inclusion of waste-derived renewable energy in the examined palette further increases the complexity of the entire issue. The consolidated study of this broad set of barriers was a main task of the present study which was carried out within the frame of a Hellenic—Canadian research project; the main results will be discussed herein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European policy target of substantially increasing the share of renewable energy in electricity generation, in combination with national subsidization support schemes, has strongly motivated private investors towards this business sector. In Greece, this interest is particularly apparent in the case of wind energy exploitation, due to a favourable legislative framework and the important wind potential available in several Greek regions. In such endowed regions, a very high number of applications were submitted to the competent authority, most of which compete for the same most attractive (windy) sites. The selection among these applications is a multicriteria problem that has been solved with the support of a Decision-Aid tool combining the multicriteria classification method ELECTRE-TRI with Integer Linear Programming. The developed approach takes into account both, the performances of the applications to the evaluation criteria, as well as a number of technical and policy constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]