Energy decarbonisation for South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands

This study was commissioned by the Green Overseas Programme (GO), implemented by Expertise France.

Challenge

As a remote set of islands located in the South Atlantic, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands are looking to decarbonise their energy use by expanding their renewable energy capacity through solar, wind and battery. Hence, the SGSSI government required a feasibility study which examined the technical, environmental and financial aspects of implementing this expansion.

Solution

Ricardo was asked to complete a feasibility study for this renewable energy expansion which also included the development of an optimal roadmap for implementation. This study assessed the potential for renewable energy expansion at two locations in SGSSI: King Edward Point and Bird Island.

Completing this study required a multidisciplinary team of experts with experience in electricity, building and heat decarbonisation. Undertaking the study required multiple steps, including:

• Identify optimal siting locations for solar and wind infrastructure and their respective connection arrangements. 
• Understand nature of current energy demand and capacity of current generation.
• Developing options to decarbonise fuel-based energy demand from heating, transport and cooking. 
• Develop multiple possible future scenarios for electricity demand profiles.
• Size the PV arrays (rooftop and ground mount), wind systems and BESS to optimise onsite utilisation and minimise curtailment.
• Assess the impact of local climatological conditions on the performance of renewable energy assets. 
• Assess the environmental impacts of implementing the recommended renewable energy systems.
• Calculate key project metrics, including the capital and operational expenditure (CAPEX and OPEX), levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) and simple payback.
• Understand and present the logistics requirements for deployment.
• Develop an implementation roadmap.
• Assess the long-term outlook and decarbonisation options for the current fuel generators.

Results

Following completion of the project, the SGSSI government was able to understand the differences in value, complexity and cost of pursuing different energy decarbonisation pathways to achieve their decarbonisation goals. They are also now equipped with clear plans to progress the implementation of any of these pathways with confidence.  

The SGSSI government has gained a detailed understanding of:

• The extent to which the climatological conditions will impact the performance of solar, wind, battery, cabling and switchgear equipment and what options are available to mitigate this.
• The fuel reduction potential of renewable energy expansion alongside installing building fabric improvements, electric boilers and heat pumps, procuring electric vehicles and connecting isolated buildings to the common grid. Our findings suggest that the percentage of renewable energy on the grid could be increased by 70% at Bird Island and by 10% at King Edward Point from the addition of heat pumps/boilers and renewable energy capacity.
• The environmental risks of building solar and wind to the local flora and fauna, in particular, seals and birds, and the options available to mitigate these. 
• The potential reduction in levelised cost of energy (LCOE) from renewable energy expansion (70-80%).
• The comparatively higher risks and complexity of pursuing an expansion that includes wind due to the local conditions.

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