A Probabilistic Approach to Analyze Wind Energy Curtailment in Non-Interconnected Greek Islands Based on Typical Wind Year Meteorological Data

Wind energy and photovoltaic solar energy (PV) are the most mature renewable energy technologies and are widely used to increase renewable energy penetration in non-interconnected Greek islands. However, their penetration is restricted due to technical issues related to the safe operation of autonomous power systems, the current conventional power infrastructure and their variable power output. In this framework, renewable energy curtailment is sometimes a necessity to ensure the balance between demand and supply. The ability of autonomous power systems to absorb wind and PV power is related to the load demand profile, the type and the flexibility of conventional power plants, the size of power system and the spatial dispersion of wind farms. In this connection, a probabilistic approach for estimating wind energy curtailment is thoroughly applied in most of the autonomous power systems in Greece, using detailed information about load demand and conventional power supply. In parallel, high resolution mesoscale model-based hourly wind data for typical meteorological wind year are used to represent the wind features in all the sites of interest. Technical constraints imposed by the local power system operator, related to the commitment of conventional power plants and the load dispatch strategies are taken into account to maximize renewable energy penetration levels. Finally, application for wide ranges of wind and PV capacity and the thorough analysis of the parameters leads to the presentation of comparable results and conclusions, which could be widely used to predict wind energy curtailment in non-interconnected power systems.

Analysis of the influence of renewable energy sources on thermal energy generation for isolated power systems

The urgency of developing renewable power generation in Russia is associated with the presence of a large number of regions with a low degree of electrification. More than two-thirds of the territory of Russia is located in the area of decentralized power supply, where the main source of energy is imported diesel fuel or associated gas from local fields. At present, one of the directions for the development of renewable power generation in Russia is the implementation of a hybrid power supply system for autonomous power systems of remote regions. However, along with the possibility of using renewable energy sources, it is important for such regions to generate heat from co-generation of diesel power plants, since there is an urgent problem of heat supply for remote regions, especially located in the Far North of Russia. This article presents an analysis of the influence of using renewable energy sources in autonomous power systems on co-generation of diesel power plants.