Integrated regional energy planning for islands : Development of a decision-aiding methodological framework and application

• Clear and inclusive planning guidance for island planners seeking transitions away from traditional fossil fuel based energy systems is currently needed. At present, the guidance from the scientific community has largely been provided piecemeal and with significant focus on the specifics of single islands and, more often than not, on proposed energy systems’ techno-economics. To address these gaps in applicability and encourage a more balanced energy project analysis the REACT-DECARB integrated energy planning and decision-aiding platform has been developed. REACT-DECARB seeks to work as a comprehensive planning platform for island energy transition and this thesis investigates the ability of the platform to provide the support to planners needed to facilitate their transition planning. To do so the core concepts, descriptions and applications of decision making as well as a number of energy planning tools are presented. The platform is then described and its individual steps are applied to eight geographic islands within the EU. These applications of the platform identified key opportunities for the islands, such as significant RES potential, while also finding potential obstacles, such as land use conflicts. Further, it highlighted the high economic cost of seeking full electricity autonomy and of using substantial battery capacities. The platform additionally identified the importance local preferences can potentially have on the ranking of future energy scenarios as well as the impact lifetime project environmental costs can have on overall system environmental impacts. In summation, the REACT-DECARB platform is found to be an effective tool in directing island energy decarbonisation efforts by guiding local energy planners in what should be included in their planning and how these key elements can be incorporated in the decisions made. Further, the platform is found to be flexible enough to be applied to more than the specific circumstances of a single island and allows planners to adjust their approaches to its different steps as needed and to better match their capabilities.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Miljövetenskap (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Environmental Sciences (hsv//eng)

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Naturresursteknik -- Energisystem (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Environmental Engineering -- Energy Systems (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Natural Resources and Sustainable Development

Naturresurser och hållbar utveckling

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

lic (subject category)