A tiny Greek island’s reliance on fossil fuel power could be replaced with 80% renewable battery-backed energy, a study by energy storage firm Younicos has found out.
Energy from solar and wind sources could be backed up using an intelligent FIAMM sodium nickel chloride battery to form a microgrid, said Younicos spokesperson Philip Hiersemenzel, dramatically reducing the cost of its power.
The island of Tilos, in the south-eastern Aegean Sea midway between Kos and Rhodes, could even become an exporter of its excess wind and solar power, the EU-funded project has predicted.
Currently relying on energy generated by a diesel-oil power station on Kos and transported via undersea cable, the island of 780 residents suffers regular and sometimes long-lasting blackouts.
The Technology Innovation for the Local Scale, Optimum Integration of Battery Energy Storage consortium, with the acronym TILOS, aims to create the first global blueprint for smart microgrids.
As a member of the consortium, Younicos is responsible for the development of the energy management system and for evaluating the technical and commercial feasibility of the project.
Based on locally gathered data and real power flows, the study validated the feasibility of grids using up to 100% renewable energy in any region of the world.
“Our results clearly show how an intelligent grid-forming battery system would allow the island to form a renewables-based microgrid,” said Robert S. Manasse, Chief Consulting Officer of the Younicos Group.
“Implementing storage with our intelligent software will enable Tilos to power itself solely from wind and solar energy, with the existing diesel plant used for back-up only.”
For more on the project, read here.
