H₂RES, ENERGY PLANNING TOOL FOR INCREASING THE PENETRATION OF RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES IN ISLAND ENERGY SUPPLY

Due to high energy costs the islands are proving to be excellent test beds for introduction of new technologies, and some islands are trying to become so called renewable islands, to satisfy their energy demand mainly or entirely from indigenous and renewable sources, thus increasing the security of supply, and employment opportunities, without necessarily increasing the costs. Advanced energy planning, integrating different intermittent and constant resources with demand for energy, water and fuel for transport, taking into account security of supply on different time scales and necessary supply storage, cannot be done with traditional methods. Time series analysis methodology is a requirement. The most promising storing technologies are reversible hydro, where geography permits, and storing hydrogen where it does not, allowing in the first case integration of the water system, and in the second case the integration of the future hydrogen based transport system. This paper describes the new developments in H2RES model, and its application on the example of an isolated island in Madeira archipelago, Porto Santo. It shows that it is possible to significantly increase the penetration of renewable energy sources, albeit at a relatively high cost, with hydrogen storage technology. The H2RES model, which includes reversible hydro and batteries as storage technologies, can serve as a valuable tool for island energy planning.