Renewable energy source and storage systems sizing optimization for industrial prosumers

In this paper, the optimization of the energy equipment of a factory to be used for meeting the internal demand and to exploit them against the external energy market, adopting a prosumer behaviour that actively bids energy with the utility grid, is studied. The energy infrastructure of the industrial plant is modelled and the sizing optimization problem is mathematically defined and solved using Genetic Algorithms. Four scenarios are considered regarding energy management strategies: Do-nothing, self-consumption, prosumer with non-optimal installation and prosumer with the optimal installation. Results show that the prosumer with optimal installation outperforms other scenarios achieving total energy savings of 47% and a payback period of 8 years, enhancing the participation of industry in the upcoming energy market where distributed energy sources and flexible active clients will have a significant role towards decarbonisation.