On the market of wind with hydro-pumped storage systems in autonomous Greek islands

In autonomous islands, the wind penetration is restricted due to technical reasons related with the safe operation of the electrical systems. The combined use of wind energy with pumped storage (WPS) is considered as a mean to exploit the abundant wind potential, increase the wind installed capacity and substitute conventional peak supply. In this paper, the experience gained from the analysis of WPS in three specific islands is used towards the estimation of the WPS market in autonomous Greek islands. Parameterized diagrams and a methodology towards the pre-dimensioning and initial design of the WPS are proposed and used towards the estimation of the market in autonomous Greek islands. The objective is to make an initial general prefeasibility study of WPS prospects in the autonomous Greek islands. Results show that there is a significant market for WPS in Greece and the development cost of WPS is competitive to the fuel cost of local power stations in autonomous islands. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.