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Summarization: Ports are situated in susceptible, to climate change, areas. The continuous technological advances on the global market and the growth of the trade activities are forcing ports to find new ways to be both competitive and harmonize with sustainable development's "legislation". Specifically, this actually means to practically evaluate all the possible actions and the mean which can be utilized in order to achieve their optimization and greenification. The main objective of this paper is to investigate, analyse and evaluate, through the proposed methodology, various energy-related data of the port of Rethymno and propose a hypothetic model to achieve the near Zero Energy Port (nZEP) concept and the criteria that have to be fulfilled in order to accomplish such an innovative purpose. The methodology to assess a port into the nZEP's concept is presented, including various crucial guidelines and criteria to define a port as nZEP. Last but not least, the research outcomes specify that there are some curtain gaps and opportunities. Thus, this paper establishes an educational and innovative handbook about an initial attempt to greenify a Mediterranean port and adapt it to nZEP's concept, utilizing good and essential practices and interventions/implementations in order to achieve this intention. ; Παρουσιάστηκε στο: IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science

Summarization: This study aims to present and test a methodology for clarifying and prioritizing, the most suitable locations for siting solar power installations. By employing Geographical Information Systems and the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), the recommended sustainable siting areas for solar power generation farms siting are identified, allowing the application of a spatial multi-criteria decision-making approach. The methodology identifies the available areas for solar farms siting, based on exclusion criteria defined from the current legislation. Furthermore, the available siting areas are evaluated and ranked through a multi-criteria analysis, considering also the relative importance of the selected criteria, through the AHP implementation performed by involved energy-related groups. The developed methodology employs different types of criteria, such as techno-economic and socio-environmental, it takes into account the distinct opinions of different stakeholders and it enables the evaluation of different scenarios. Finally, the methodology was applied for the case study of the Regional Unit of Rethymno, where the results, in terms of the potential maximum power that can be produced from the highest priority areas are 530 MWp for photovoltaics and 30 MW for Concentrated Solar Power systems. ; Παρουσιάστηκε στο: Renewable Energy

Summarization: Large Wind Parks (WPs) are an essential priority, mainly in non-residential districts. Especially the offshore WPs, in areas with valuable energy potential, without legislation prohibits and without causing disturbance to the nearby community, could release enormous land for other uses (culture, recreation areas, tourism, etc.). The aim of this paper is to present a methodology for the sustainable siting of an offshore WP based on legal limitations, with a particular respect of ecological and economic resources using as example the island of Crete. It will also be considered the visual, acoustic and aesthetic disturbance of the coastal area residents and visitors and integrate them into the context. One of the essential issues that make the region unique is the undersea relief, which makes difficult the numerous and large-scale intervention, because some areas are strictly protected by the EU. Three steps have been followed: (i) exception of unsuitable areas (geological restrictions, visual and acoustical disturb and safety and of course due to environmental conditions); (ii) evaluation of environmental impacts on birdlife, Special Protection Areas and Sites of Community Importance; (iii) assessment of wind potential and needs of electricity in the regional unit of Chania, in the Western Crete. ; Παρουσιάστηκε στο: Renewable Energy

Summarization: The significance of bioclimatic architecture has become widely accepted since the 1970s and the implementation of its principles in practice is a key factor in order to achieve energy efficiency in the building sector. The way, however, from scientific acceptance to commercial utilization is not a straightforward one. This paper deals with the notion of bioclimatic architecture in buildings and investigates the aspects of this concept in Hellas. A sample of university researchers, building contractors and members of public organisations was interviewed using a standardised set of guidelines. The barriers to promoting bioclimatic design, role of the local government in the adoption process, level of environmental culture as well as perspectives of this concept in Hellas were the key areas of discussion in each of the interviews. The results from the data analysis reveal insufficient economic incentives, a lack in technical information as well as a lack in specific environmental policies that would foster the propagation of bioclimatic architecture. ; Presented on: Energy Policy

Summarization: Inappropriate disposal of Used Cooking Oils (UCOs) can generate major problems, such as the operational problems occurring in wastewater treatment plants when discharged into sewerage systems. In this paper the best methods to process the UCO-to-biodiesel chain are reviewed putting emphasis on the most critical technical and practical guidelines including best practices, quality characteristics of the collected UCO, potential implications, environmental performance and risks, and at the same time highlighting the strong and weak points of each analyzed route. The most common transesterification processes (homogeneous-catalyzed, heterogeneous-catalyzed, enzymatic, supercritical methanol, non-catalyzed) are evaluated according to environmental, technical, health and safety, market and EU policy criteria. ; Presented on: Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

Summarization: European policies actively force towards a shift to low-emission mobility and have set the reduction of energy consumption in transport as a priority pillar in national/regional and European environmental policies. CIVITAS DESTINATIONS, funded by the European Commission within the framework of the Horizon 2020 programme, implements a set of reinforcing innovative mobility solutions to improve accessibility and cost-effectiveness of urban transport services and to reduce congestion, emissions and energy consumption in six EU island tourist destinations: Rethymno (Greece), Limassol (Cyprus), Valletta (Malta), Funchal (Portugal), Las Palmas (Spain) and Elba (Italy). Building on previous CIVITAS experience, 14 environmental indicators are proposed to provide a spherical overview of the energy and environment impacts. This work outlines a refined environmental assessment framework applied at the municipality of Rethymno. Common strategic goals, predefined performance indicators and common measurement/monitoring methods amongst all six destinations allow a consistent and comparable analysis at the project level. ; Appearing in: The Role of Exergy in Energy and the Environment

Summarization: This paper aims to present the procedure under which a sustainable plant, like a small hydroelectric plant (SHP), can be installed and deployed, especially in countries with complicated administrative and legislative systems. Those must be defined by the rules that characterize sustainable spatial planning, which aims at the environmental protection, the insurance of better living conditions and finally at the economic development within the frame of the principle of sustainability and its three basic dimensions: social, economical and environmental. The main principles of spatial planning are accepted from the jurisprudence of the Hellenic Council of State, either as an appropriate condition for the protection of important ecosystems or as specific expression of the principle of prevention of environmental damage. In this framework it is accepted that the development is experienced, initially to a total and general planning, whose essential part is the assessment and modification of distributed land uses. Besides, the main characteristics of the siting of SHPs and the criteria demanded for their smooth integration and operation are presented. ; Παρουσιάστηκε στο: Energy Policy

Summarization: The European Union targets for 27% renewable energy share by 2030. At the same time, all new buildings should be nearly zero energy buildings from 2020 onwards. A major obstacle to these objectives is a combination of current economic stagnation and limited investors' confidence, which leads to low investment proportion. Despite many renewable energy technologies are already at a competitive level, the implementation rate in buildings is still low. In this paper, we focus on advances in efficient mechanisms to overcome non-technical barriers to the increase of renewable energy applications in buildings, such as Energy Performance Contracting (EPC). Tertiary sector holds a huge untapped potential for such applications, especially in Southern Europe. The Trust-EPC-South European initiative, implemented in six southern EU countries with a mix of beginner and intermediate energy service markets, aims at encouraging the financing of sustainable energy solutions in the tertiary sector, by creating a framework for standardization, assessment and benchmarking, thus improving trust and confidence in the financing parties. This paper presents three case studies in Greece, a Mediterranean family resort hotel, a resort and spa hotel and an office building. The installation of renewable energy measures, including photovoltaic systems, solar thermal systems and heat pumps, was examined and their EPC potential was rated, by using the described standardization and benchmarking methodology. Their economic savings range from 3 to 23% on yearly energy costs, at a discounted payback of 3–6 years, depending on the measure. A sensitivity analysis shows the impact of the variation of technical and economic parameters on the EPC projects feasibility. The standardization practice applied is expected to support the project actors in securing appropriate financing and eventually proceed with the renewable energy installations through the EPC. ; Presented on: Renewable Energy

Summarization: In Mediterranean areas, during summertime, the demand for electricity greatly increases due to the extensive use of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, increasing the peak electric load, causing major problems in the electric supply. The seasonal temperatures have a direct impact on the pattern of the power demand in the area, so most buildings are cooled by electrically powered, conventional, vapour compression systems. The European Policy (EPBD recast, Energy Efficiency Directive) motivates the Member States to establish a long-term strategy for mobilizing investment in the renovation of the national stock of residential and commercial buildings, both public and private. This paper presents the first results of the actual performance of Mediterranean hotels in Greece, Croatia, Italy and Spain analyzed in the framework of the nearly Zero Energy Hotels (neZEH) project putting emphasis on the cooling demand due to their seasonal summertime operation. The applied methodology consists of providing technical advice, demonstrating the feasibility and sustainability of investments towards zero energy, undertaking training and capacity building activities, as well as promoting front runners at national, regional and EU level. Amongst the measures which will improve the HVAC consumption, simple interventions are also included offering the most attractive payback (i.e installation of thermostatic valves or stop leaks improvements). The most common economically appealing are Building Energy Management System (BEMS), the replacement of current heat pumps by more efficient ones, but also the outdoor redesign for improved microclimate. ; Παρουσιάστηκε στο: 4th IIR International Conference on Sustainability and the Cold Chain

Summarization: Renewable Energy-Supplying cooperatives (REScoops) are cooperatives of renewable energy producers and/or consumers, which are under formulation in the emerging European smart grid. Their emergence highlights the importance of proconsuming green energy and simultaneously puts forward principles such as energy democracy and self-consumption, assists the fight against energy poverty, and helps reduce GHG emissions. To this end, the incorporation of scientific and technological solutions into the REScoops' everyday business and practices, is key for improving these practices and assessing their potential benefits, and as such for enabling them to deliver the maximum possible gains to their members and society at large. This chapter outlines three key axes of scientific research and solutions that can be used for REScoops, namely, (a) a statistical analysis, (b) an applied behavioural analysis, and (c) an artificial intelligence/machine learning one. Also presented are results and lessons learned from providing such solutions to European REScoops as part of the H2020 REScoop Plus project. ; Appearing in: The Role of Exergy in Energy and the Environment

Summarization: The European strategy for the coming decades sets specific targets for a sustainable growth, including reaching a 20% share of renewables in final energy consumption till 2020. To achieve this target, a number of initiatives and measures have been in force. Europe, is currently the largest market for PV systems with more than 75% of the annual worldwide installations in 2011. The favourable European policies as well as the Member States' supporting legislations have resulted in high market growth for photovoltaics. Applying PV technologies however, requires high qualified technicians to install, repair and maintain them. Until today, national markets have been growing faster than the skilled PV installers force can satisfy. The PVTRIN, an Intelligent Energy Europe action, addresses these issues by developing a training and certification scheme for technicians active in the installation and maintenance of small scale PV systems. During the implementation of the action, a market research was conducted in the six participating countries in order to record the stakeholders' attitudes, perceptions and considerations and to adapt the training methods, tools and materials to the national PV industry requirements and markets' needs. Indicative results of this analysis as well as the current situation regarding relevant training and certification schemes are presented in this paper. ; Παρουσιάστηκε στο: Energy Policy