Green Islands Project: New Energy System for the Azores

I spent the last several days at the Second International Engineering Systems Symposium, a conference involving people from a wide variety of disciplines who are working to solve difficult problems using a holistic approach. Many issues we face today are remarkably complex, and if we take a narrow view when addressing them we could run into problems. While we need experts with deep knowledge in very specific topics, we also need people who can think about systems as a whole, and how parts of a system interact with each other (sometimes producing surprising results). Some topics discussed this week include energy, climate change, health care, education, design, and the economy. I could probably write daily posts for months about this conference and still have plenty of material left. I will highlight some themes, projects, and ideas over the course of several posts that I found inspiring or important (in no particular order of importance). Today I want to point your attention to a phenomenal project taking place on a few small islands in the North Atlantic.

[Image Credit: azoresweb.com]

MIT Portugal is collaborating with numerous partners to develop and implement new energy systems for islands in the Azores, a Portuguese archipelago. What a challenging and amazing opportunity! These islands are becoming, in effect, a laboratory for researchers studying technology, public policy, economic, and other aspects of a next-generation energy system. Instead of putting a laboratory in a University, they are putting the University in the laboratory. While the needs and resources of these islands are certainly unique, they are serving as a testbed and example for the rest of the world regarding renewable energy, energy efficiency, and a holistic approach to redesigning how a society creates and uses energy. You can learn more about the Green Islands Project here, here or here.

So what is so exciting about focusing on a complete island? Think about trying to do the same thing with a city in the middle of the U.S. It is tightly interconnected with other cities through roads, power lines, rivers, etc. Numerous interactions with the world outside the city would make research results more difficult to interpret. An island has limited interactions, so in some ways it is close to being a closed system. This makes it easier for researchers to make conclusions about the changes to the energy system and the influence of these changes on the rest of the island. This research may lead to a better fundamental understanding of the next generation of energy systems, along with the socio-technical complexities that exist because of the interface between energy, social, political, economic, and environmental systems.