Objectives and target audience

Project’s objectives: The project will have significant impact on the environment and on the socio-economical situation of the island.
Target audience: The benefiting island community totals in winter 7,500 inhabitants growing to 20,000 in summer.

Financial Resources and Partners involved

Financial Resources : European Commission
Partnership : A number of partners co-operate to develop the project, each one with its specific know-how and resources. The partners are: PPC (Public Power Corporation), ENERIN  (Consorzio Ansaldo Energie Rinnovabili), Orengine Ltd., Istituto Tecnologico delle Canarie, Ikarian Co. for Development of Energy, Tourism and Water.

Process

• Local renewable energy sources available on the island, namely water, wind and solar power shall cover nearly 50% of total electricity demand.
• Create the basic infrastructures for future solar- and wind-power expansions allowing to reach the most cost-effective energy-mix totalling approximately 6 MW of wind-power allowing to cover 90% of the islands electricity demand from renewables
• Creation of an integrated hybrid (renewables + diesel) public power supply network on an island allowing for compensation between seasonally counter-phased renewables (hydropower available during winter, solar- and wind-power in summer).
• High penetration rates in a power grid of stochastically behaving, i.e. not-dispatchable(*) renewables (wind- and solar power) by exploiting the energy storage capacity of the system
• Development and divulgation of reference standards, best practices and modularity requirements favouring the replicability of the technology in other applications and areas of the world.
• Outcomes and lessons learned shall focus on the management of the energy storage facility serving to allow for high grid-penetration of non-dispatchable RE sources, independent from the type of energy storage adopted, i.e. whether it be a water storage adopting fresh water, brackish or sea-water, or else an electrochemical accumulator or any other type.

Results

The following table summarises the substantial environmental benefits expected to be produced by the project:

In addition the project will result also in quiet nights for the islanders (and for tourists), since generally it will become possible to stop all diesel (and the related noise) generators during most nights of the year, and to cover the night electricity demand only from renewables, namely hydro- and wind-power.
The following table presents the quantifiable socio-economic benefits to Ikaria Island expected to be generated by the project:

In addition the project is expected to generate a series of non-quantifiable socio-economic benefits such as:

• Ikaria will become an important candidate for “sustainable tourism”
• The project will introduce modern up-to-date technology on Ikaria Island
• training possibilities for islanders in sectors related to the project, and the local industries / enterprises will benefit from the availability of such qualified technicians
• The project will lay the foundations for future expansions of renewable energy capacities, which in turn will generate further income, employment and economic development.

Critical Success Factors / Challenges