An analysis of options for a sustainable Texel

The need to reduce energy consumption and to increase the energy generation from renewable resources is imminent. The community of the Dutch island of Texel has the ambition to be part of this energy transition towards sustainability and has adopted the goal of becoming fully sustainable by the year 2020 [1]. To achieve this, some projects are already taking place and Alliander is assessing the different strategies related to the grid management to maximize the level of energy neutrality with lower investment costs as part of the "Proeftuin Texel" project. This study continues the analysis of the "Proeftuin Texel" to identify the optimal solutions for the creation of a sustainable energy system. The study has two main objectives. The first objective is to calculate the maximum installed capacity of renewable energy sources (RES) technologies by optimizing the use of the current infrastructure; the second is to assess the benefits of energy balancing solutions. These solutions include heat pumps, electrical vehicles, and an energy management system (EMS). Three scenarios are created and the benefits are measured in terms of cost per reduction of CO2 emissions for each scenario. The results from this study could serve as a reference for energy related decisions in Texel and could be adapted to other cases. The three scenarios are composed by the following solutions: the first scenario analyses the maximum capacity of the actual grid to implement PV panels; the second scenario adds wind turbines and alternative solutions for the use of the actual grid; and in the third scenario the electricity consumption is increased by electrifying the residential heating and private transport to add flexibility on the demand side and balance it with the EMS. The results show that the greater benefits are achieved by the second scenario, while the benefits of the first and those of the third (in comparison with the second scenario) are notable lower; consequently their costs per tonne of CO2 reduction are higher. A further analysis shows the effect from each solution of the three scenarios, showing that the lower cost solutions are wind turbines combined with the grid solutions consisting on cable-pooling and the use of the backup installation. From this study it can be concluded that for this case with the given timeframe, a smart design is more effective than a smart grid.