100% Renewable Energy Sourcing for Heavy Industry and the Role of Energy Storage : Renewable energy portfolio optimisation and the evolving role of the industrial energy consumer

Sammanfattning: This master’s thesis aims to investigate the renewable energy sourcing strategy of large industrial energy consumers and the ways that it can be improved in order to more effectively reduce energy related emissions and more accurately report renewable energy usage. The investigation was carried out in four stages. A numerical simulation of a recommended portfolio of variable renewable energy sources was designed to determine the feasibility of using renewables as a primary energy provider for industrial processes throughout the year at an hourly resolution. This was done to better understand the technical compatibility between the renewable supply and industrial demand. Qualitative discussions and technical research were then used to identify how an industrial load can be altered or behave to better accommodate renewables. Furthermore, corporate sourcing instruments like power purchase agreements and guarantee of origin certificates were examined to form a recommendation for how they could support the expansion of renewables in the energy system and transparently report renewable energy use in a way that can be credibly verified. Finally, the role of energy storage was discussed, highlighting its role in allowing industrial energy users to actively participate in an energy system that is increasingly being dominated renewables and proactively maximise the utilisation of renewables and reduce emissions.