How much wind energy can islands accommodate?

With "island grids" we refer to isolated electricity networks with a relatively small demand. This may be networks on actual islands but also distant isolated network on the continent. Most of the island grids make use of diesel units for their generation. Larger systems may also use combined cycle gas turbine units or oil fired steam turbine units. The generating cost of such systems are relatively high compared to large systems due to the economy of scale and the use of expensive fuels. Last years high oil prices caused very high electricity prices which are a very high burden for the small economies of many islands.

Renewable energy is seen as a good possibility to mitigate the high dependency on fossil fuel and the vulnerability of the small economies for fossil fuel prices. Besides the financial feasibility of renewable energy in island systems is often positive due to high electricity prices. Wind and solar energy are often the most suitable renewable energy sources. Draw back of both types is the intermittent character of the energy source. This may have a serious impact on the reliability of the electricity supply also since the system cannot rely on neighbouring systems in case problems occur. Therefore sufficient reserve capacity is required to safeguard a reliable operation of the system.

How much wind could be incorporated in an Island Grid as a percentage of the installed capacity without major problems?

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