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Islands have increased potential to integrate renewable energy sources (RES) into their energy systems and shift towards sustainable decarbonization. The intermittent electricity causes issues such as the mismatch between the energy demand and supply, the grid instability and the electricity price volatility. The integration of the battery-powered electric ferries (BEF) into the isolated energy system (IES) powered with RES can be considered as an economically and environmentally friendly solution for matching the demand with the supply, since all-electric ships can connect to the grid and provide positive or negative balancing power. The carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from shipping operations can be reduced to zero by utilizing batteries as a power source. This paper deals with a holistic approach that demonstrates opportunities that implementation of BEF offers in the framework of IES of an island. A method for modelling energy supply for a 100% electric ferry transport is developed to reduce the critical excess electricity production (CEEP) from the photovoltaic (PV) power systems. The energy modelling of the IES was carried out in EnergyPLAN program. The results confirmed that synergy between the PV power systems and BEF can significantly reduce the CEEP, the operating system costs and the emissions of CO2.

Environmental regulations are gradually striving to decarbonize short-sea navigation fostering the replacement of the conventional power systems with alternative ones. The electrification of ships has been proposed in the literature as a pathway to zero-emission shipping. Among various alternatives, batteries could ensure full conformity with the tightening emission restrictions. However, appropriate batteries for short-sea navigation need to be investigated, since each battery technology has its own environmental impacts and characteristics such as energy density, number of battery cycles, cost, fast charging ability and safety. The aim of this research is to compare the conventional power system with a diesel engine and alternative power system with a selected battery to identify convenient technology for zero-emission shipping according to the environmental and economic criteria. The Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) and the Life-Cycle Cost Assessment (LCCA) are performed to analyze environmental and economic performance of different powering options. The analysis included ro-ro passenger ships from the Croatian short-sea navigation, highlighting the electrification by a Lithium-ion battery as the most appropriate alternative according to environmental and economic indicators.

The aim of this study is to investigate the operation of biogas plants in advanced energy markets after energy crops become limited in their use and biogas plants exit subsidy schemes for electricity production. Continuous biogas combined heat and power production and sale of electricity on the day-ahead market could be a viable operation strategy only in the case of low-cost substrates. When the break-even cost of electricity production in biogas power plants reaches 100 €/MWhel, selling electricity on the day-ahead market does not create profit. The study shown that a more profitable operation strategy involves coupling biogas power plant operation on the electricity balancing market with biomethane production or combining a small-scale sugar beet processing facility with a biogas upgrading plant to cover heat demand for sugar beet processing. Techno-economic analysis showed that the viability of both alternative operation strategies is severely impacted by the selling price of biomethane. In the given market conditions, a selling price of biomethane below 50 €/MWh is not viable for a biogas plant. The model developed could be used as a guideline for biogas plant operators on how to proceed after significant changes appear in both biogas production and biogas utilisation.

Jordan is a country faced with several environmental and energy related issues. It is the Worlds' fourth most water deprived country with a water consumption of only 145 m3 per capita annually, less than a third of the established severe water poverty line. Jordan is also a country rich in wind and solar potential but practically no utilization with 99% of the produced electricity coming from imported fossil fuels resulting in high CO2 emissions and a potential security of supply issue. The utilization of reverse osmosis desalination in a combination with brine operated pump storage units and wind and (PV) photovoltaic plants can tackle both issues. The desalination plants can produce the much needed water and act as a flexible demand to increase the penetration of intermittent renewables supported by the brine operated pump storage units. This paper presents six scenarios for the development of the Jordanian energy system until the year 2050. The results have shown that the demonstrated configuration can increase the share of intermittent renewables in the production of electricity up to 76% resulting in a high reduction of fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and costs. These analyses have been performed using the EnergyPLAN advanced energy system analyses tool.

Even though the Republic of Croatia is on track of achieving goals set in the Europe 2020 strategy, to achieve the goals set in the 2030 European framework for climate and energy policies will require more effort. The new 2030 framework calls for a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% compared to the 1990 level, yet the Republic of Croatia does not have such an ambitious plan. In times when wind plants and photovoltaic systems have reached grid parity in the majority of European countries, this paper analysed the influence of construction of wind and photovoltaic power plants in order to present the optimal constructing ratio of such systems on the Croatian power system load. Simulations have been conducted in the EnergyPLAN model for the year 2012. After the simulation presented promising scenarios, applying the Pareto analysis showed the optimal scenario for generating electricity from renewables, scenario with the lowest import of electricity, scenario with the lowest CO2 emissions and with the lowest critical excess electricity production. In addition, all of the scenarios were subjected to a multiple criteria decision analysis in order to find the best overall scenario. After showing that the best overall scenario was 1.65 GW of wind power plants and 1.6 GW of installed PV capacity, a multi-criteria analysis was performed in order to observe the behaviour of grading the scenarios. Indeed, all of the simulations proved that PV will have a bigger role in the Republic of Croatia than expected.

This paper provides methodology for regional analysis of biomass energy potential and for assessing the cost of the biomass at the power plant (PP) location considering transport distance, transport costs and size of the power plants. Also, methodology for determination of an upper-level price of the biomass which energy plant can pay to the external suppliers has been proposed. The methodology was applied on the case of Croatia and energy potential of biomass in the Croatian counties was calculated, using different methodologies, for wheat straw, corn stover and forestry residues, types of biomass considered economically viable at the moment. Results indicate that the average energy potential of wheat straw is 8.5 PJ, corn stover 7.2 PJ and forestry residues 5.9 PJ.

Water resources are a crucial problem for a number of arid countries. One possible solution for this issue is the implementation of desalination but its utilization can greatly increase the demand for electricity. An important concept for a wide scale implementation of desalination is the integration of water and energy resources. Jordan is currently one of the most water deprived countries in the world. It is also a country very rich in renewable energy sources but almost no utilization of that potential. A combination of desalination, pump storage that utilize the produced brine and renewable energy sources could solve both issues. The desalination plants could produce enough water to ensure the supply for Jordan’s ever growing population while the use of wind and solar power could provide much needed electricity and reduce the need for imported fossil fuels as well as CO2 emissions. The goal of this paper is to evaluate the impact of desalination in a combination with pump storage that utilizes the produced brine on the penetration of intermittent renewable energy sources in an energy system. The analysis has been conducted on a case study for the country of Jordan using the EnergyPLAN advanced energy system analyses tool.

Croatian energy system is currently highly import-dependent and integration of a high share of renewable energy sources needs to be considered. This paper studies eight scenarios; three proposed by the Croatian Energy Strategy, one proposed by the Indicative medium-term development plan of Croatia’s Transmission System Operator, and four alternative scenarios that propose extensive construction of hydro, wind and solar power plants in Croatia. Calculations have been conducted in the EnergyPLAN model based on modeled long term energy demand projections in the NeD model, with 2009 as the base year and a scope ranging until the year 2030. Each of the eight proposed scenarios is observed through different hydrological conditions while analyzing import dependency, economic costs and CO2 emissions. After the initial calculations, additional analysis of intensive wind power penetration has been conducted. The Results show that energy systems with a larger share of conventional and nonflexible power plants have more difficulty adjusting to wind power plants production. In case of a high share penetration of wind in a system based upon such power plants, the feasibility of investing in new large combustion plants that will spend most of the time working on minimum capacity is brought into question.

Serbia has wind with a good capacity factor, the respectable potential of which has not hitherto been utilized. There are a number of proposed wind power projects with an envisaged capacity of up to 2500 MW and the project documentation has been developed for 1300 MW. Within the existing feed-in tariff scheme, only 500 MW are eligible. This limitation is set in a conservative manner bearing in mind moderation (balancing) needs due to the variability of wind power generation. The existing Serbian energy system, with significant hydro generation, available pumped storage hydro capacity, and strong interconnections has many moderators for variable wind generation and for reliable technical performance of the grid. In this study, energy imbalances under different levels of wind penetration into the Serbian energy system were analyzed. Possible new moderation strategies for lowering energy imbalances due to wind integration were evaluated using the EnergyPLAN tool and are presented in this paper.

The most important problems the energy sector faces in Macedonia are an unfavourable energy mix with a high prevalence of lignite, a strong dependence on energy import, poor condition of the energy system and inefficiency in energy production and use. This paper investigates the prospects for realization of the 100% renewable energy system in Macedonia by making use of the EnergyPLAN model. Analysis was conducted for two renewable scenarios designed for the years 2030 and 2050. First scenario, the 50% renewable energy system, has been created for the year 2030 and represents the first step towards the 100% renewable energy future of Macedonia. The second scenario has been designed for the 100% renewable energy system based only on the renewable energy sources in the year 2050. Special attention in the design of these systems has been given to intermittent renewable energy sources and to storage technologies. The analysis reveals that at the moment the 50% renewable energy system seems much more likely than the 100% renewable energy system, but with additional energy efficiency measures, which will lead to a decrease of consumption and with installation of new generation capacities this goal can be easily achieved.