Ecological Indicators 18 (2012) 379–386 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Ecological Indicators journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ecolind Sustainability assessment of a solar thermal power project in Mediterranean application in the island of Crete Maria Frangou a , Theocharis Tsoutsos a,∗ , Nikos Sakellariou b a Renewable and Sustainable Energy Lab (ReSEL), Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Crete, Kounoupidiana, 73100 Chania, Greece b Enolia Energy S.A., 95A Pentelis Ave., Halandri, 15234 Athens, Greece article info Article history: Received 26 July 2011 Received in revised form 28 November 2011 Accepted 9 December 2011 Keywords: Solar thermal power Parabolic troughs Sustainability Environmental impact abstract The objective of this work was the sustainability assessment of a 50 MW solar thermal power plant in Crete, an isolated Mediterranean system. The selected scenarios were examined on their techni- cal, economical and environmental sustainability. Key results were the estimation of energy efficiency parameters, energy flows during all the months of the year, economic indicators, as well as potential environmental impacts. The main conclusion is that a solar thermal power plant can – under certain con- ditions – be sustainable in an isolated system. These conditions are appropriate siting and the introduction of environmental measures. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The purpose of this work is to assess the sustainability of a solar thermal power plant (STPP) in isolated systems under typical insu- lar Mediterranean conditions. This plant would be innovative, since STPPs are installed mainly in desert areas, with large land avail- ability and favorable irradiation conditions; today there is no such installation on a Mediterranean island. Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) plants focus Direct Normal Irradiation (DNI) and collected heat is converted to electricity through an appropriate thermodynamic cycle. These systems could be used for large-scale power generation; however they require large areas of land. The need of isolated areas for energy independence and supply security, coupled with the adoption of sustainable development practices, supports the vision of Renewable Energy Sources (RES). The case study is Crete, a relatively large island, with candidate areas for STPP and favorable high solar irradiation. The feasibil- ity study faces more difficulties in isolated systems, as additional complexity factors are involved, such as various environmental and social constraints (Tsoutsos et al., 2003; Mascarenhas et al., 2010): • High power generation cost using conventional fuels. ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +30 2821 37825; fax: +30 2821 37861. E-mail address: Theocharis.Tsoutsos@enveng.tuc.gr (T. Tsoutsos). • Energy dependence on imports and therefore increased risk in energy supply. • Seasonal fluctuations and occasional high peaks in electricity demand. • Stringent environmental restrictions. • Public questioning to inappropriate siting of power stations. Crete is geographically isolated from mainland Greece. This fact in combination with the lack of indigenous exploited fossil fuels, necessitates oil importation, thus increasing power generation cost (RAE, 2009). The system reaches its peak load during the sum- mer months, especially in July (TCG, 2010), in phase with touristic activity (Spilanis et al., 2009). At the same time the unique insular environment, rich in endemic species, imposes restrictions on the siting of RES plants. Many natural areas are therefore protected at national, European and international level. 2. Methodology-calculation A usual approach was chosen to make the results credible and useful (Fig. 1). The typical characteristics of each technology, as well as those of the Cretan isolated system were taken into account for the pre- screening and the selection of scenarios to be examined. Four (4) installation sizes were selected (20, 30, 40, 50 MW), with the suggested technology being parabolic troughs. The ceiling of 50 MW was set for environmental capacity reasons, while the 1470-160X/$ – see front matter © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2011.12.003