PHAROS: An Integrated Planning Tool for Meeting the Energy and Water Needs of Remote Islands using RES-based Hybrid Solutions

Abstract There is a significant number of Greek islands in the Aegean Sea that still meet their electricity demand on the basis of the local autonomous thermal power stations, using considerable amounts of imported oil. In addition, many of these islands suffer from water scarcity, covering their potable water needs with water imports at extremely high costs. Under the framework of PHAROS research project, and in an effort to support energy and water self-sufficiency, an integrated software tool has been developed for the optimal planning of hybrid renewable energy systems (HRES), capable of investigating the energy balance of autonomous island regions. In this context, a planning methodology for HRES combined with a sizing algorithm for desalination plants were devised and integrated in the advanced software tool named Energy System Analysis (ESA). ESA enables the detailed analysis of systems that include components such as wind, PV and desalination plants, energy storage devices and diesel engines. To this end, the long-lasting problems of the Aegean Sea islands, mainly stemming from their state of remoteness and isolation, require the examination of long-term energy strategies, which ESA can support in an efficient manner. In this context, the current work provides a short presentation of the ESA tool main features, using two discrete case studies that correspond to a North and a South Aegean Sea island respectively.