Modeling of an autonomous renewable energy production system in Astypalaia - Check in reliability and economical evaluation

The vast majority of the Aegean islands are not connected to the electricity network of the mainland and as a result they use fossil fuels exclusively and specifically diesel to meet the energy demand. However, in order to produce energy in a sustainable and economically viable way, it is a necessity for the Aegean islands to be independent of fossil fuels for electricity production. This necessity arises due to the high import and distribution cost of diesel on the Aegean islands, the energy dependency on countries which export it and the pollution caused from gases such as sulfur and nitrogen oxides (SOx, NOx), which are products of the hydrocarbons combustion. In this diploma thesis the remote island of Astypalaia has been chosen for the investigation of the energy autonomy and economic evaluation of an energy production system, based exclusively on renewable energy sources. This has been achieved through modeling the multiple renewable energy system operation in an hourly scale for 100 - year operational time. The renewable energy sources, which have been chosen for the energy production system of the island, are wind energy, solar energy, wave energy, energy from biogas, hydroelectric energy and energy from biomass. Finally, a sea water pump - storage system has been chosen to save part of excessive energy, for the purpose of increasing the reliability of the energy system.