Good practice:

La Gomera 100% RES Actions that will contribute to the energy transition in the island of La Gomera

The high renewable energy penetration microgrids will combine PV and energy storage capacity, and will contribute to promote Distributed Generation in La Gomera, with clean energy produce close to where energy is consumed. The system will contribute to the sustainable economic development of the island, providing also more resilience to the electrical system.
The work is developed in two phases.
First phase
Includes the diagnosis through data gathering and analysis of the current energy situation of La Gomera and the identification of concrete actions. The pre-designs and prefeasibility analysis to assess the technical and economic viability of the proposed actions (subprojects), with the aim that they can be executed at a later stage. Investments in the systems will be outside the scope of the first Phase.
Second phase
Based on previous work done in the first phase, the Regional Government of the Canary Islands has granted 2.7 M€ financing to promote some of the projects studied in phase one. The Canary Islands Institute of Technology - ITC (owned totally by the Regional Government), will develop the individual projects.
The major stakeholders are the Regional Government , that finances the action; the Island Authority of La Gomera, that provides facilities for the installation and supports the deployment of the high penetration microgrids; the local Utility company ENDESA-ENEL that owns the conventional generation power plant and the distribution grid of the island

The total cost of deploying the whole multimicrogrid system of La Gomera has been estimated at 30 M€. The Canary Islands Government has granted the first 2,7 M€ for the installation of the first PV installations combining energy storage capacity.

Electricity demand of La Gomera is 76.696 MWh/year. This represent s a consumption of 16.738 1tons of fossil fuels (Diesel), and emissions of 58.672 tCO2/year. The Proposed multimicrogrid will have the potential of reducing 80 % of the electrical demand, and therefore the same percentage of reduction of fossil fuels and in CO2 emissions.
Currently the first microgrids are being installed, accounting for an investment of 2.7 M€.

Main challenge is the access to funding. Another challenge overcoming existing bureaucratic barriers, dealing with the new concepts of microgrid, energy community, and distributed generation. The regulatory/administrative framework has to be adapted and allow for authorization processes to go faster

The system proposed for La Gomera wants to advance in the new paradigm of decentralization based on Distributed Generation (Power produced close to consumed). A “constellation” of small high RES penetration microgrids, installed at the end of the island’s distribution grid that eventually should allow for a 80 % RES penetration in the island.
An advanced Energy Management Systems will optimize cost of power generation, and the interaction of the local EMS of the microgrids with the island centralized power system. I will also include weather numerical models for forecasting of PV generation and electricity demand; power electronics, and optimization of the integration of distributed energy storage systems in each microgrid.
Research on the multimicrogrid approach is also being carried-out in the MICROGRIDBLUE project (NTERREG MAC Program)
All the experience and know-how gain in implementing the decentralized La Gomera system, have the potential to be transfer to other islands.