Integration of a hybrid power station in the insular power system of Crete

Climate change and diminishing fossil natural resources have motivated governments worldwide to incentivize the exploitation of the available renewable energy sources (RES). Saturated island systems have already exploited considerable amounts of the available renewable energy potential. However, technical limitations imposed by the conventional generation fleet restrict further RES development. Hybrid power stations (HPSs) consisting of pumped storage units that compensate for the variability of the renewable power generation have been seen as an emerging method to increase renewable penetration levels in medium and large size island systems. The paper develops an optimization model for the day-ahead scheduling of isolated power systems, according to the recently established regulatory framework for the non-interconnected island systems of Greece. An annual simulation with HPSs of different sizes is carried out in the insular power system of Crete to show the effectiveness of the proposed method. Simulation results are presented and discussed thoroughly.