Energy transition (ET) to renewable energy sources (RES) has been identified as a crucial action needed in combating climate change. These societal transitions have barriers which are hard to quantify and thus hard to incorporate in energy modelling scenarios. Full-scale island societies offer a unique position in observing societal changes that accompany ET technology. Islands also offer an understanding of how holistic sustainable development agendas and clear leadership can help facilitate an ET at a local level by identifying local barriers and bottlenecks. The autonomous territory, the Åland Islands, was chosen as a case study to investigate the role municipal governance leadership has on ET. 15 municipal actors in three different governing roles, from five different municipalities, were interviewed in individual semi-structured interviews. The results show that economic barriers were not perceived as a hindrance if local ET planning and budgeting is done thoroughly and followed up. The main barriers identified are social and include gender and age imbalances, lack of transparent communication, segregation of stakeholders and lack of cooperation between municipalities. The interviewees all saw benefits with undertaking an ET, both economically and socially, but seem unsure of who should take on this responsibility. There is lack of local adoption and holistic planning for ET, even if the actors in the municipalities express their willingness to undertake one – but with no clear regional ET agenda or leader to shoulder the task, it is unlikely that Åland will achieve the energy goals set to be reached 2030. / <p>Presentation was done online due to COVID-19</p> / Smart Energy Åland

The aim of this Thesis is to consider a methodological framework suitable to support a primary and primitive investigation and evaluation of the technical applicability and energy feasibility of a specific Energy Island model in Greece. For such purpose, the general concept and the potential applications of Energy Island are presented, and the present situation of the Greek energy sector and RES technologies in Greece are outlined. In order to attempt to evaluate the technical performance of a specific Energy Island model in Greece, a theoretical and hypothetical Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) process is developed and conducted. The methodological framework developed and applied for the present case study pertains to a theoretical decision-making process for the selection of the optimum Energy Island scenario in Greece amongst four (4) alternatives. As derived from the extracted results of the applied MCDA model, the hypothetical scenario with the highest annual energy production and the least environmental and technological issues ranks optimal for all the implicated stakeholders and is considered the most preferred alternative. This Thesis concludes that the perspective of the various applications of the concept of the Energy Island model has the potential to contribute to more efficient utilization of the available RES technologies in Greece, in order to accelerate the decarbonization of the Greek energy system as well as to assure the security of the system, by replacing the existing conventional fossil fuel generation plants with clean offshore renewable energy.