Financial Incentives for the Development of Industrial Energy Community Systems

Abstract

The development of energy communities across the globe is a landmark for the development of decentralized generation, supporting the transition to renewable energy sources. However, energy communities focus on households with little attention to industries or towards the development of Industrial Community Energy Systems. A central issue is the lack of understanding of how different types of financial incentives influence the development of renewable energy in such communities, as researches and policies focus only on energy production. To solve this problem, this thesis evaluated the impact of financial incentives in Industrial Energy Community Systems through economic and community metrics to compare how each policy performed under different environments. In doing so, this thesis developed a social-technical model which was analyzed through an Agent-Based Modeling Simulation to understand how the elements of such a complex system interact with the diffusion of renewable energy through an economic perspective. This research contributes to supporting the development of policy analysis on promoting renewable energy by comparing the effects of applying different types of incentives on a simulated environment.