Places power in your hands!
In less than 10 years, the Isle of Man will no longer need to depend on imported fuel, the first time since the 1700’s.
The Island Power App lets you test what is and isn’t possible with renewables and other sources of low-carbon energy.
Introduction Tutorial video
We are currently in the testing phase with the app. You can find the beta version in App Store (for iPhones and iPads) and Google Play (for Android phones and tablets) by searching on ‘Island Power’ or ‘Isle of Man Power’. We also provide a web version for Desktop* (link). In addition, the latest versions of the app are immediately available here.
Your feedback will be greatly valued and this can be sent to - dquirk@dtu.dk.
*To see the latest update on the web, it is first worth clicking ‘ctrl, F5’ to clear your PC’s cache, otherwise an older version may be used.
Quick start guide
1) You can move around the screen and select option as is shown in the screenshot image below.
2) In Energy Storage & Export-Import, add some Interconn (subsea interconnection cable) e.g. 120 MW. In this case, in RESULTS, Electricity Demand Shortfall* changes from 358 GWh per year to 0 GWh, meaning that you are now importing annually 358 GWh of electricity to the Isle of Man. Without sufficient capacity of interconnection, the Isle of Man can only use a small amount of renewable energy, around 25 MW, without overloading the grid.
3) Add some Power Generation e.g. 40 MW solar. In this case, see how the Cost of Electricity falls from 33.5 pence per kWh to 32.0 pence as you are now generating a small amount of relatively cheap power on the Isle of Man. You can see the Proportion of costs in RESULTS. Note also that there is Sufficient capacity of Interconnection.
4) Move the dials on Your Electricity Bill e.g. Quarterly Units of 500 kWh. In RESULTS, you will see that you will be paying £70 more per year (Annual penalty on your electricity bill) compared to the current Manx electricity price of 28.5 pence per kWh (shown in Settings – gear icon near the top of the window). Today’s price is high because the gas which is used to generate electricity at Pulrose power station is relatively expensive.
5) Add more Power Generation e.g. 100 MW wind. In this case, the Cost of Electricity falls from 32.0 pence per kWh to 20.2 pence as you are now generating a significant amount of relatively cheap renewable power on the Isle of Man. Nonetheless, it is still necessary to export excess power (when the wind is generating more than is being used on the Isle of Man) and import power (when there is insufficient supply of electricity from wind and solar to meet demand). You will see in RESULTS that there is now Insufficient capacity of Interconnection, which you can solve by increasing the capacity of Interconn to 180 MW. The cost of this extra or larger subsea cable has to be paid for, as does the imported electricity, so the Cost of Electricity increases, in this case to 22.7 pence per kWh.
6) One effective way of dealing with the mismatch between power supply (from variable wind and solar) and electricity demand (fluctuating on-Island consumption) is by adding some on-Island Energy Storage, e.g. 240 MWh (batteries and pumped hydro). Although storage requires investment this can be spread over, for example, 20 years. At the same time, very little expensive electricity has to be imported. Therefore, in this example the Cost of Electricity falls to 15.8 pence per kWh. You will see now in RESULTS that the Isle of Man has achieved 100% Energy Self-Sufficiency, that the Annual saving on your electricity bill is £252 and that On-Island Carbon Emissions are now only 6500 tonnes CO2 per year, significantly less than the present day 227,000 tonnes CO2 per year from burning gas at Pulrose.
7) Now try out other combinations of Power Generation, Storage and Interconn to see if you can reach better results. Further information on the different sources of power and the size of capacity available can be found in a dropdown by clicking on the question mark located between Tutorial and Sponsors near the top of the page**.
It is worth noting that the results from this sort of modelling are not always intuitive because of the complex way that variable amounts of renewable power interact with fluctuating demand, grid restrictions, energy storage and export-import decisions. The app is a simplification of the results of hundreds of thousands of numerical simulations (‘energy system models’) which require hourly inputs over a full year of weather, daylight, electricity consumption and market prices. A simple example of the issue is that all power from a 20 MW wind farm on the Isle of Man can be used whereas a large part of the power from a 100 MW wind farm will be surplus to requirements and will have to be exported or, better still, stored for when it is needed. Even with a sizeable wind farm there will be times when there will insufficient electricity being generated to meet demand, which is when power has to be regenerated from storage or it has to be imported.
A 10 MW wind farm on the Isle of Man will typically generate an average of 3-5 MW power or 25-45 MWh energy per year. This is because the strength of the wind varies. In this case, ‘10 MW’ refers to the maximum power the turbine or turbines can generate – when the wind is blowing hard. The ratio of the average power to the maximum power is known as the capacity factor (30%-50% in this example). Although somewhat cheaper to build, a 10 MW solar park will produce on average only 1 MW of power or 10 GWh per year (a capacity factor of around 11%). Each power source shown in the app has a different capacity factor, except for hydro, biomass and nuclear plants which, between servicing and maintenance periods, can run at maximum power, provided there is sufficient water or fuel.
*It is important that there is no Electricity Demand Shortfall (i.e. 0 GWh is showing) otherwise the Cost of Electricity will be incorrect as the missing power has not been accounted for (e.g. 114 GWh in the case of 40 MW solar + 100 MW wind). The easiest way to ensure there is not a shortfall, is to import electricity by choosing Interconn capacity of 120 or 180 MW. You can reduce the size of interconnection later by increasing the amount of Storage you choose. The balance between these two options - Energy Storage & Export-Import - is a crucial part to finding the best solution for costs, emissions and energy self-sufficiency.
**Additional documentation can be requested from dquirk@dtu.dk. Alternatively, please refer to the Knowledge Hub and News sections of this website where more information is available.
Abbreviations used
MW – megawatt (the sames as 1000 kilowatts, kW)
MWh – megawatt hours (the same as 1000 kilowatt hours, kWh - a ‘unit’ of electricity)
GWh – gigawatt hours (1 million kWh)
CO2 – carbon dioxide
The Island Power App has been developed by David G. Quirk, Behzad Hosseinzadeh and Francesco Piovesan in 2024 on behalf of the Energy and Sustainability Centre Isle of Man and with the financial support of the Manx Lottery Trust.
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