A multidisciplinary approach for an effective and rational energy transition in Crete Island, Greece.

This article proposes a mixture of actions for the development of an effective and rational energy transition plan for all sectors and for all types of onshore final energy use in Crete. Energy transition is initiated with an appropriate capacity building campaign. The plan is based on the introduction of energy saving measures and the exploitation of all the locally available energy resources (wind, solar, geothermal potential, biomass), integrated in a cluster of centralized and decentralized power plants and smart grids to produce electricity and heat and for the transition to e-mobility. The core of the energy transition in Crete will be a set of 14 wind parks and Pumped Hydro Storage systems (PHS) for electricity generation and 12 Combined Heat and Power plants, properly designed and dispersed in the insular territory. Economic analysis is executed for the proposed essential power plants on the island. Biomass, solar and geothermal potential can cover the heating demand in Crete several times. Heat can be produced with a specific cost of 0.05 EUR/kWhth from cogeneration plants fired with solid biomass and biogas. The wind parks-PHS systems exhibit payback periods of approximately 10 years with a final electricity selling price at 0.12 EUR/kWhel. The article shows that 100% energy transition in Crete constitutes a feasible target

Energy upgrading of buildings. A holistic approach for the Natural History Museum of Crete, Greece

This article presents the fundamental points of the accomplished work regarding the energy upgrading of the building of the Natural History Museum of Crete, Greece, based on a cluster of passive and active measures. The main target was the building's energy efficiency upgrading from D to A+ rank. Among the passive measures, insulation of the building's envelope, installation of new windows and doors, construction of a green roof and planting of an outdoor space at the south side of the building to improve the ambient climate locally are included. Furthermore, small wind turbines and a photovoltaic station on the roof, geothermal heat pumps with an open loop system operating with seawater, new lighting equipment controlled by a central management system and reactive power coefficient compensation constitute the proposed active systems. Energy saving percentages from 40% to 93% are achieved with all the proposed technologies. In total, the primary energy specific consumption is reduced from 273.65 kWh/m(2) at 18.36 kWh/m(2), giving a total energy saving percentage of 93.29%. The building's energy efficiency is upgraded from the rank D to the rank A+, according to the European Union's standards. The total cost of the proposed measures is estimated approximately at 900,000