Supporting Renewables’ Penetration in Remote Areas through the Transformation of Non-Powered Dams

Thomas Patsialis, Ioannis Kougias, Nerantzis Kazakis, Nicolaos Theodossiou and Peter Droege
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Thomas Patsialis: Chair of Sustainable Urban Design, Institute for Architecture and Planning, University of Liechtenstein, 9490 Vaduz, Liechtenstein
Ioannis Kougias: Directorate for Energy, Transport and Climate, Energy Efficiency & Renewables Unit, Joint Research Centre (JRC), European Commission, 21027 Ispra, Italy
Nerantzis Kazakis: Lab of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology, Department of Geology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Nicolaos Theodossiou: Division of Hydraulics and Environmental Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Peter Droege: Chair of Sustainable Urban Design, Institute for Architecture and Planning, University of Liechtenstein, 9490 Vaduz, Liechtenstein

Energies, 2016, vol. 9, issue 12, 1-14

Abstract: Supplying power to remote areas may be a challenge, even for those communities already connected to the main grid. Power is often transmitted from long distances, under adverse weather conditions, and with aged equipment. As a rule, modernizing grid infrastructure in such areas to make it more resilient faces certain financial limitations. Local distribution may face stability issues and disruptions through the year and—equally important—it cannot absorb significant amounts of locally-produced power. The European policy has underlined the importance of energy production in local level towards meeting energy security and climate targets. However, the current status of these areas makes the utilization of the local potential prohibitive. This study builds on the observation that in the vicinity of such mountainous areas, irrigation dams often cover different non energy-related needs (e.g., irrigation, drinking water). Transforming these dams to small-scale hydropower (SHP) facilities can have a twofold effect: it can enhance the local energy portfolio with a renewable energy source that can be regulated and managed. Moreover, hydropower can provide additional flexibility to the local system and through reservoir operation to allow the connection of additional solar photovoltaic capacities. The developed methodological approach was tested in remote communities of mountainous Greece, where an earth-fill dam provides irrigation water. The results show a significant increase of renewables’ penetration and enhanced communities’ electricity autarky.

Keywords: small-scale hydropower (SHP); solar photovoltaic systems (SPVS); renewable energy sources (RES) penetration; remote areas’ electrification; energy autarky (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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