Transforming Islands in Sustainable Circular Energy Resource Hubs

The purpose of this research project is to evaluate the future of islands and the potential of transforming them in sustainable energy resource hubs by taking into account of circular economy principles. The proposed Phd topic takes an interdisciplinary approach to analyse trade-offs associated with energy and resource use, by analysing consumption patterns and supply chains. Various environmental and economic factors will be considered to enable better management of energy resources in a circular economy. It will first start with a clustering analysis to identify patterns that might be relevant to several of them. Will then continue to gather data for energy and other resources for Scottish Islands and study the impact of various energy supply sources (e.g renewable energy, waste to energy, hydrogen) on energy demand-supply balance and potential for storage and interconnections under different climate scenarios. This will be achieved through scenarios analysis considering detailed modelling of energy demand (buildings, transport, service sectors), by determining the optimal combination of energy solutions for Scottish islands as a case study. The project is highly interdisciplinary one requiring an understanding of data processing, different modelling techniques, value stream mapping.