Boris Ćosić

Sustainability of remote communities: 100% renewable island of Hvar

Island communities require in-detail mapping of resources available for exploitation for energy purposes, since infrastructure and connections to the mainland present, in most cases, a weak point of the island energy supply. As the present energy supply on Croatian islands relies mostly on fossil fuels and electricity from the mainland, it becomes obvious that exploitation of renewable energy sources is the only solution that leads towards self-sufficiency and sustainable development. In order to design a self-sufficient and sustainable island, three major technological changes are needed: integration of renewable energy sources alongside with energy savings and improvements in energy efficiency in the energy production. Analyses for several other Croatian islands have been performed using Renewislands/ADEG methodology in order to assess all possible outcomes. The scenarios in these cases have shown that islands can become self-sufficient through combining renewable technologies and energy storage systems...

Increasing the renewable energy sources absorption capacity of the Macedonian energy system

Macedonian energy sector is the main emitter of greenhouse gases with share of about 70% in the total annual emissions. Also, 70%–75% of emissions are associated with the electricity generation due to the predominant role of the lignite fuelled power plants. Recently, the government has adopted a strategy for the use of renewable energy sources (RES) which identifies a target of 21% of final energy consumption from RES by 2020. In this paper, analyses are conducted in order to investigate to which extent and in which way the absorption capacity of the power system for RES electricity can be improved. For this purpose, combining various conventional and RES technologies, including pump storage hydro power plant and revitalisation of the existing lignite power plants six scenarios for the power system expansion are developed by making use of EnergyPLAN model. Critical excess of electricity analyses are conducted in order to identify the maximal penetration of wind electricity. The results have shown that in the exiting capacities maximal penetration of wind electricity in 2020 is 13% of total electricity consumption. The revitalization of the existing lignite power plants and building of pump storage power plant would increase the wind penetration. Furthermore, the developed scenarios are comparatively assessed in terms of the associated greenhouse gases emissions and import of electricity.

The Potential of GHG Emissions Reduction in Macedonia by Renewable Electricity

The energy sector in Macedonia is the main emitter of greenhouses gases (GHG) with share of about 70 % in the total annual emissions (12 – 14.5 Mt CO2-eq). Furthermore, within the energy sector, 70-75 % of emissions are associated with the electricity generation due to the predominant role of the lignite fuelled power plants. This makes the electricity sector the most significant key source and, at the same time, the main target for GHG emissions reduction. The main goal of this paper is to assess the potential for GHG emissions reduction by increasing the use of renewable energy sources (RES) for electricity generation. For this purpose a RES scenario for the power system expansion is developed by making use of EnergyPLAN model. The maximal penetration of wind and solar energy results in reduction of the GHG emissions from the reference scenario for 8.26 %. Total investment needed for realization of this option is estimated to 800 M€. Furthermore, the RES technologies are analyzed from economic aspect and combined in a form of emission reduction cost curve, displaying the total marginal cost of the GHG emissions reduction by renewable electricity.

Influence of legislative conditioned changes in waste management on economic viability of MSW-fuelled district heating system: Case study

District heating systems represents one of the ways by which the European Union is trying to reach set goals in energy efficiency and security field. These systems allow the use of different energy sources including local energy sources such as waste and biomass. This paper provides economic viability assessment of using these fuels in the district heating system. Economic evaluation is based on regression analysis from data of existing plants and on the locally dependent data. Some of parameters that are dependent of local parameters are price and available fuel quantity, therefore these values are separately modelled; biomass as a function of location of the plant while municipal waste as a function of location and the time changes in waste quantity and composition which depend of socio-economic trends and legislation. This methodology is applied on the case of district heating plants in the City of Zagreb where internal rates of return are calculated for four considered scenarios. Results indicate that waste powered plant can improve its profitability by co-combusting other local wastes while economic viability is achieved by introduction of region wide waste management system. Reducing plant capacity, based on prognosis of waste generation, showed that these plants can be competitive with biomass plants.

Integration of Desalination and Renewables, a Demonstration of the Desalination Module in the H2RES Model: Case Study for Jordan

Water scarcity and the dependence on fossil fuels as a primary source of energy are crucial problems for a number of arid countries. The integration of energy and water systems presents a possible solution for both issues. The flexibility of a desalination system can increase the possibility for the penetration of intermittent renewable energy sources and thus provide both fresh water and the potential for the local production of clean energy. Jordan is the fourth most water deprived country in the world and is also highly dependent on energy import. Almost all of its primary energy comes from imported fossil fuels, mostly from natural gas. It is a country rich in wind and solar energy but unfortunately, almost no utilization of that potential. The integration of desalination systems and renewable energy sources is a possible solution both for Jordan’s water and energy supply. The goal of this paper is to demonstrate the desalination module in the H2RES model using Jordan as a case study. H2RES is a flexible energy modelling tool used for the balancing of energy supply and demand on an hourly basis. It is capable of demonstrating the benefits of water and energy integration for the purpose of increasing the penetration of intermittent renewables and the reduction of CO2 emissions. For this purpose, four scenarios have been created. The first one is a business as usual scenario with no desalination, a desalination scenario and two desalination scenarios that utilize the produced brine as energy storage in pump hydro plants. The results will show that the utilization of desalination, especially in the case where desalination is combined with pump storage, can help increase the penetration of renewable energy sources into the electrical grid and thus help decrease the dependence on energy import and reduce the CO2 emissions of the energy system.

Impact of new power investments up to year 2020 on the energy system of Bosnia and Herzegovina

This paper investigates current and planned investments in new power plants in Bosnia and Herzegovina and impact of these investments on the energy sector, CO2 emission and internationally committed targets for electricity from renewable sources up to year 2020. Bosnia and Herzegovina possesses strong renewable energy potential, in particular hydro and biomass. However, the majority of energy production is conducted in outdated power plants and based on fossil fuels, resulting in environment pollution. New major investments The Stanari Thermal plant (300 MW) and the investment in Block 7 (450 MW) at the Thermal Plant Tuzla are again focused on fossil fuels. The power sector is also highly dependent on the hydrology as 54% of current capacities are based on large hydro power. In order to investigate how the energy system of Bosnia and Herzegovina will be affected by these investments and hydrology, the EnergyPLAN model was used. Based on the foreseen demand for year 2020 several power plants construction and hydrology scenarios have been modelled to cover a range of possibilities that may occur. This includes export orientation of Stanari plant, impact of wet, dry and average year, delayed construction of Tuzla Block 7, constrained construction of hydro power plants, and retirement of thermal units. It can be concluded that energy system can be significantly affected by delayed investments but in order to comply with renewables targets Bosnia and Herzegovina will need to explore the power production from other renewable energy sources as well.