A Study of the Potential for Small Wind Turbines In Greece

Abstract

Wind energy today is synonymous with the extraction of energy from wind via the deployment of groups of large multi-megawatt wind turbines. Nonetheless Small wind turbines (SWT) have been also designed for the built environment in order to extract energy from the wind, while being at close proximity to buildings. Despite the fact that their technology has vastly improved over the years, SWT can be considered as still technologically immature and are rather limited in use forming a niche market in a global level which has yet to grow in competitiveness as compared to other urban-focused renewable energy technologies (RET) such as photovoltaic panels and conventional power producing methods. This Thesis focuses on investigating the potential for SWT in Greece by addressing three main research questions which regard the technological and economic potential of this technology in the country, the factors which have limited in the past and still limit their development and implementation on the built environment and support policy options which could accelerate their introduction and establishment. Due to the fact that Small Wind Turbines comprise of technological products for which little is known regarding their design options, specific technical limitations and requirements, operating conditions especially in the built environment, methods of assessing their potential annual energy yield, cost of energy parameters and investment assessing methods and are often misinterpreted as solely “miniaturized” large scale wind turbines while significant differences exist on the above factors, the necessary techno economic background are being provided for the reader to be able to understand in depth, parameters important to covering the relevant research questions. Furthermore the current Renewable Energy Market of Greece along with the SWT relevant institutions, organizations and actors, the key SWT related policy measures already undertaken by the Hellenic Government and the existing Hellenic wind potential are provided in order to depict the market framework within which this technology will struggle to be established. By the analysis conducted, the fact that the necessary legal framework and RES target related to SWT deployment have been established for years but have still to be implemented despite the fact that favourable wind potentials exist (specifically in the numerous islands and coastal/mountainous areas of Greece), is drawn. In lack of official data regarding the current number of Business groups active on the field of SWT, installed SWT in the country as well as other crucial parameters such as total installed power capacity, a survey was conducted by means of contacting SWT suppliers and manufacturers in an attempt to quantify the level of penetration of this technology in Greece as well as identifying cost related parameters and perceive barriers by the industry. The companies willing to answer to a short questionnaire with questions which could not be covered by the information provided by their internet sites, provided valuable information which were processed and critically assessed in order to form an image of the current market status. Important conclusions were drawn based on the facts that almost all related companies are suppliers which import machines from abroad and that the majority of them have already installed a non-trivial number of SWT in Off-Grid applications, contrary to the only six On-Grid installed turbines identified to have been installed by a very limited number of companies. Other identified financial information were used in the conduction of an investment analysis through economic evaluation methods previously described (Simple Payback, Generation Cost, Cost of Energy, Levelized Production Cost) and also via the simulation software RETScreen 4 which presented with a clear image on the financial characteristics of three distinct investment scenarios such as the Internal Rate of Return (IRR), Net Present Value (NPV) and O&M costs. The most favourable scenario, where the equity payback time was equal to 7,1 years with an IRR equal to 14,1 %, provided a basis of comparison with the predominant competing technology of photovoltaic panels in order for a comparison to take place. The conclusion depicts a marginal superiority of PV with the current market characteristics. The barrier framework of analysis of J.P. Painuly, which divides barriers into distinct categories and adopts a top-down approach in order to gradually pinpoint the specific barrier elements which do not allow for the adoption of a Renewable Energy Technology, is employed. Based on the proposed categories and by incorporating and adapting the findings of international literature for the Hellenic case, investigating articles published in relevant Hellenic journals, sites and magazines based on their chronological order and by relying on the help provided by SWT specialists from the Hellenic Wind Energy Association (HWEA) and the Centre for Renewable Energy Sources and Saving (CRES), the Hellenic specific barriers are analysed in depth, providing with valuable information on Technical, Institutional/Legal, Economic/Financial, Market Failure/Imperfections, Market Distortions and Societal/Behavioural aspects as well as a new perspective on the main reasons the SWT market penetration has not still occurred in Greece. Also the information provided by Hellenic small wind turbine suppliers are taken into account in the identification of barriers. The striking fact that the Hellenic Government failed to follow through the issued by law regulations that would boost this market for a number of reasons, ranging from sluggish permit procedures to the overall destabilized RES funding mechanism and lack of nationally adopted Standards, is drawn and considered to be the predominant barrier. The final part of the Thesis initially assesses existing action plans as issued by EU and US organizations and proposes a set of recommendations, policy measures and actions based on three distinct axes of analysis in an attempt to cover the inefficiencies of previous roadmaps. The recommendations target specifically the Hellenic barriers and focus in being applicable and practical. As such the introduction of the Net Metering System with specific added propositions is encouraged in order to jump start this stagnant market and serve as the “foundation” for the penetration of the technology in Greece and overcoming of the predominant barrier. Other actions include the adoption or establishment of implementation Standards, granting of Economic incentives, promotion of Social Corporate Responsibility through the adoption of SWT and raising of awareness and social acceptance, with the analysis ever focusing in the establishment of not only a viable market but eventually the creation of a relevant industry. Conclusions are provided which critically assess the manner in which the separate research questions are covered as well as provide insight on the future of this technology in the crisis and post-crisis economic environment of Greece. The strong points of the Thesis prove to be the novel business related research conducted as well as the detailed and categorized analysis of the current Hellenic related barriers which has not been identified to be present in literature or concentrated in a single document. Limiting parameters regarding the research conducted, calculations and framework of analysis are provided while recommendations for future research which will focus on investigating in depth the social aspects of SWT deployment in Greece, utilizing different frameworks of analysis regarding the barriers in order to avoid inefficiencies and researching in depth the potential benefits of SWT implementation in CSR promoting application are also presented.