Islanded power systems provide a unique context for demonstrating how low carbon power systems may be achieved as conventional generation is replaced. As such, they may be considered ‘trailblazers’ for power system transformation, offering early insights into the future operational challenges faced by GW-scale power systems as they undergo deep decarbonisation.

This report considers the broad range of issues contributing to or hindering the uptake of Variable Renewable Energy (VRE) in islanded power systems across strategy and planning, technical, regulatory and policy, and market and economic domains. Part 1 of the report is an amalgamation of an expansive scan of the global literature, together with a distillation of key takeaways from the case studies explored in Part 2. Part 2 provides a detailed account of transferable lessons learnt in deploying and enabling VRE across ten specific and diverse case studies based on published information and interviews with power system operators, vendors and policy makers.