Effect of different economic support policies on the optimal synthesis and operation of a distributed energy supply system with renewable energy sources for an industrial area

The paper presents a Mixed Integer Linear Program model of a distributed energy supply system for an industrial area located in the north-east of Italy. The system is composed of nine users connected through a district heating network, a set of combined heat and power units, integration boilers and a thermal storage tank. The electric energy may also be produced by solar photovoltaic modules and the heating energy by a solar thermal field. The optimization algorithm determines the optimal structure of the energy system, all the installed components and their optimal operation. The objective function minimizes the total annual cost for owning, operating and maintaining the whole energy system. The aim of the paper is to evaluate the effect of different economic support policies on the optimal solution and to compare the social cost of the application of each incentive with the CO2 emission reduction. The expectation is that a proper mix of renewable energy technologies and cogeneration systems will be included into the optimal solution, depending on the amount and nature of the supporting policies, highlighting the incentives that promote an actual environmental benefit.