The current paper reflects on the challenges faced by European islands with regards to electricity supply, focusing on an island area of major interest, i.e. the Aegean Sea region. In this context, the main problems related to the use of imported oil and the associated high electricity production costs are discussed, together with the prospects of increased exploitation of Renewable Energy Sources (RES). For the latter accomplishment, the main elements of an integrated energy solution are presented, comprising mature RES technologies and more novel aspects, corresponding to energy storage, Demand Side Management and intelligent Energy Management on the basis of advanced forecasting techniques. Moreover, insight and preliminary operational evidence are provided with regards to the application of such an integrated solution on the island of Tilos, in Greece, where the development and test-operation of a pilot smart microgrid and Hybrid Power Station were recently completed, in the context of the TILOS Horizon 2020 Program. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.