Abstract
The electricity sector in the Galapagos Islands is heavily dependent on fossil fuels for electricity generation but only a few renewable sources are used for such a purpose in this archipelago. Therefore, this work aims to present the current status of its electricity sector and show estimates for the upcoming years, discuss exploited and unexploited renewable resources, and put forward a proposal for a hybrid system to generate renewable power. Currently, thermoelectric power plants run on diesel are the main source of electricity generation in the archipelago due to supplying 85% of the total power installed in the islands (27.6 MW), and the remaining 15% (7.3 MW) is from renewable sources, such as the wind (10.8%), sun (4.1%), and vegetable oils (0.1%). In the upcoming years, there will be a growth in the use of these renewable resources if an additional capacity of 28.5 MW is installed. The gross electric output generated by this sector in the last twelve months (March 2017 - February 2018) was 53.80 GWh, which has allowed a return on revenues of over five million dollars at an average cost of US $0.10/kWh. Based on the existing renewable resources in the Galapagos Islands, the implementation of a hybrid solar/biogas power generation system is an attractive alternative to support the zero-fossil fuel initiative, diversify the energy matrix, and promote local development. However, sustainable development policies, energy efficiency programs and foreign investment funds to carry out new projects are required to ensure a bright future for the electricity sector in the Galapagos.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 65-75 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews |
| Volume | 108 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1 Jul 2019 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:There has been a growing interest in using photovoltaic panels to produce distributed electricity in the archipelago. Currently, Galapagos has small, medium and large-scale systems in its different islands. The Santa Cruz Solar Puerto Ayora plant has an installed capacity of 1.52 MW which supplies 6.48% of the island's annual electricity demand. Its generated electricity is transmitted to the E. E. GALAPAGOS substation through of a 13.8 kV above-ground transmission line of approximately 0.7 km in length [58]. Its investment cost around eight million dollars which was funded by the Korea-KOICA International Cooperation Agency, the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy (MEER in Spanish), and E. E. GALAPAGOS [59].The authors are thankful for UW-Platteville students (Samuel Dion-Gottfried, Noah Fox, Tim Faber, and Kyler Krush) being willing to contribute to the improvement of this paper. This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brasil (CAPES) - Finance Code 001.
Funding Information:
The authors are thankful for UW-Platteville students (Samuel Dion-Gottfried, Noah Fox, Tim Faber, and Kyler Krush) being willing to contribute to the improvement of this paper. This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brasil (CAPES) - Finance Code 001 .
Funding Information:
There has been a growing interest in using photovoltaic panels to produce distributed electricity in the archipelago. Currently, Galapagos has small, medium and large-scale systems in its different islands. The Santa Cruz Solar Puerto Ayora plant has an installed capacity of 1.52 MW which supplies 6.48% of the island's annual electricity demand. Its generated electricity is transmitted to the E. E. GALAPAGOS substation through of a 13.8 kV above-ground transmission line of approximately 0.7 km in length [58] . Its investment cost around eight million dollars which was funded by the Korea- KOICA International Cooperation Agency, the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy (MEER in Spanish), and E. E. GALAPAGOS [59] .
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier Ltd
Keywords
- Electricity generation
- Galapagos
- Renewable energy
- Solar/biogas power plant
