> “Crete and Madeira the first of a long series ?”

Hundreds of islands worldwide could benefit from the results of this project.
As a consequence of the planned activities, the energy independency and quality of life on isolated islands could be increased (more than 13 million Europeans live on islands, which account for more than 5% of European territory).

There is a strong willingness for cooperation with regions where comparable projects could be realised. For instance, feasibility and economic studies for the development of similar Wind-Hydro Power Station on Crete and Madeira are already in progress. As a project partner, and in collaboration with INSULA (International Scientific Council for Island Development), NTUA (National Technical University of Athens) occupies a strategic position in the identification of Greek islands where the project could be replicated.
On a worldwide level, cooperation will try to ensure the replication of the system on non European islands and islands belonging to developing countries. A tentative list of potentially interesting islands has been
drawn up by INSULA of which about 60 islands seem to correspond to the
set criteria.

Existing and future electricity production units and the electrical grid of Crete

The analysis of Crete's energy systems suggests that, regarding the supply
of energy, the net predominance of liquid fuels is due to the almost exclusively oil-fired power stations (639,2 MW) present in the electricity network. These power stations use about 53% of the liquid fuels imported, with an average efficiency of 25,5%. The main alternative sources of electricity come from the wind (78 MW) and biomass resources, which account for 9% of the total energy supply.

The highest rates of increase in energy demand are registered by the tertiary sector – tourism in particular – and transport. The energy needs of the domestic sector are also expected to increase with the rising standards of living.

It appears that the share accounted by RES in the final energy demand will have the tendency to increase. Increased diversification will nevertheless be achieved, with the introduction of new and more efficient biomass exploitation technologies and the proliferation of solar systems, new wind farms, Pumping Storage Units (PSU), PV installations, etc. Rational Use of Energy (RUE) is also expected to be spread as practice in the new infrastructures buildings on the island.

It is, however, both feasible and advisable to promote the use of RES in electricity production, mainly through the wind parks proliferation connected to the PSU, thereby achieving a substitution of liquid fuels, as presently most of the energy production relies on imported oil.

> Madeira

Electrical Power Plants in 2000

In the Autonomous Region of Madeira (ARM) - the main island of Madeira and neighbouring Porto Santo - final energy demand increased by about 76,3% during the period 1991 to 2000, which is equivalent to an annual growth rate of 6,4%. This increase was particularly marked in the tertiary sector where it reached 114,2% between 1991 and 2000. On the same lapse of time, the electrical energy production passed from 324,3 GWh to 634,7 GWh (609,47 GWh in Madeira and 25,23 GWh in Porto Santo). In 2000, the total electricity demand in Madeira reached 549,7 GWh, which is almost the double of 1991 and accounts for an annual increase of approx. 8%.

In 2000, the region's electricity generation was provided by three thermal power plants, two in Madeira and one in Porto Santo (total capacity: 163,620 kW); 10 mini hydroelectric stations (total capacity: 50,270 kW) and 6 wind farms (total capacity: 9,750 kW). The total electrical power generation in the ARM broke down as follows: 531,8 GWh from conventional sources (thermal power plants), 91 GWh from hydro-power and the remaining 11,8 GWh came from various wind farms in the region. The renewable energy contribution was therefore of 16%. It should be stressed, however, that electricity production from renewable energy sources (hydroelectric and wind) are subject to the vagaries of the climate and can lead to grid instability.

The region's official energy white paper (PPERAM – Plano de Política Energética da Região Autónoma da Madeira) expects the increase in demand for energy to continue at current annual levels at least till 2010. The plan foresees that the demand can be met by rationalising energy use, making better use of regional energy resources and by a proper management of supply and demand. The three basic tenets of regional energy policy are economic competitiveness, environmental protection and guaranteed supply.