Faroe Islands: Towards 100% RES penetration

The Faroe Islands complex consists of 18 islands. The total energy demand is based on imported oil (93%). Electricity needs account for around 10% of the total energy consumption, with 51% covered from wind and hydro in 2016. Annual average wind velocities above 10 m/s and annual rainfalls higher than 3000 mm are measured in several sites. The annual incident solar irradiation on horizontal plane is around 780 kWh/m(2). Wind and rain tend to be less in summer, posing a challenge for 100% energy needs cover. This article investigates the perspectives for 100% Renewable Energy Sources (RES) penetration in Faroe, including heating and transportation energy consumptions. Two wind/photovoltaic parks and Pumped Hydro Storage (PHS) systems are investigated for two autonomous systems, the main grid comprising 11 interconnected islands and the autonomous island of Suouroy, accounting for 10% of the population. Wind potential maps are developed and the PHSs are sited on digitized land terrain. The systems' operation is numerically simulated, aiming at the optimization of the dimensioning. Real demand and RES data are employed. It is shown that RES annual penetration higher than 90% can be approached with RES storage power plants absolutely technically and economically feasible. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.