USE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN AQUACULTURE: AN ENERGY AUDIT CASE-STUDY ANALYSIS

In this paper we propose a framework for energy audit and renewable energy utilization for a Mediterranean fish hatchery station. A concise literature review concerning the use of renewables in aquaculture is provided, followed by a step by step framework for energy audit in aquaculture stations. The developed framework is subsequently applied to a real case study concerning an aquaculture unit in Greece. A combined PV and Solar-Thermal panel project is proposed, based on the energy audit results. The well-known clean energy software RETScreen, developed by Natural Resources of Canada, has been utilized as an assessment tool of the proposed project. It was found that that the proposed project could not fully cover the electric and thermal load of the station; nevertheless, the project is economically viable and could de realized, provided that the necessary financial resources become available to the entrepreneurs.