Planning renewable energy systems as part of Cradle-to-Cradle thinking on islands

In a recently started EU Interreg IVB project ‘Cradle to Cradle Islands’, the cradle-to-cradle concept is going to be applied to a number of islands in the North Sea region, aiming at 100% renewable energy supply. The transformation of island energy systems is a challenging task, although islands such as Samsø in Denmark have shown the way. While technologies exist and are readily available on the market to produce electricity and heat and to provide mobility, the difficulties typically lie in creating the institutional, economical and regulatory settings to make people and companies invest in these technologies. The specific challenge for islands is their dependence on energy supply from the mainland. Also, on most islands there are competing land uses for renewable energy from wind or biomass production. Areas are more sensitive and tourism and nature conservation often prohibits the development of renewable energies. Furthermore, islands often lack the economic capabilities of large scale investments. Therefore the introduction of renewable energy sources requires a careful planning process facilitated by social learning. This paper describes how the Cradle to Cradle Islands project develops and applies simple energy planning tools specific for each island, which are then used to start discussions on the islands on the pros and cons of renewable energy development, by providing information and real choices, and by starting social learning processes