Islands as Test Beds for Innovative Energy Solutions

This report has been designed to serve as basis for discussion during the workshop “Islands as Test Beds for Innovative Sustainable Energy Technologies” organized by FES and the Aegean Energy Agency in Athens, Greece. During the workshop, participants identified the technological, institutional and financial barriers on the penetration of technologies such as smart grids, storage of electricity, electric vehicle infrastructures and public street lighting in islands, and presented solutions, taking into account islands’ inherent characteristics.

Illustration : WJ Photo on Unsplash

The publication presents the results of a two-day workshop on “Islands as test beds for innovative sustainable energy technologies”, which took place on 9-10 November 2015 in Athens, Greece.

The workshop was co-organized by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) and the Aegean Energy Agency, bringing together an illustrious group of experts on energy issues, representatives of the European Commission, national ministries, local and regional authorities, as well as practitioners from the field of the energy business.

The discussions concentrated on smart grids, storage of electricity, electric vehicle infrastructures and public street lighting in islands which are of central importance for a future sustainable energy profile of the Greek islands. The debate in the workshop focused mostly on the different challenges for realizing technologically feasible solutions, mainly political, administrative and financial.