EU geographical islands as leaders of green energy transition

Abstract

This paper reviews how European islands are taking the lead in the European Union (EU) Clean Energy Transition by reviewing the lessons learned in the EU Bridge initiative and in a number of EU co-funded projects such as NESOI, RE-EMPOWERED, REACT, IANOS, LOCALRES, MASTERPIECE, SINNOGENES, SMHYLES, STEPWISE, and ISLET. Islands encounter significant difficulties in the management of their energy systems, including strong seasonal variations in energy demand, high operational costs and GHG emissions for energy production, weak energy grids, lack of technical skills, and difficult access to finance. However, they also have positive features that make them ideal laboratories for energy transition, including high potential for renewables, small-scale and strong community structures, and high energy prices, which make most solutions cost-effective. Each of the projects contributing to the paper has been supporting the islands’ energy transition, leveraging different enabling technologies, such as renewable energy production systems, smart grids, advanced energy storage systems, and local energy community schemes. The results from these projects underline the need for tailored energy planning, considering geographical and socio-economic particularities, the need to engage the local population in the definition of the most suitable decarbonization pathways for the island, and a number of lessons learned on the technologies that have the highest potential for being tested on islands and then being replicated on the mainland. Therefore, this study concludes that renewable energy solutions coupled with different technologies (storage, mobility, district heating/cooling, etc.) and leveraging powerful community integration confirm that European islands can drive the decarbonization strategy of the EU.