Recent years have brought unprecedented challenges to the energy market. Geopolitical instability, mounting concern over environmental impacts and ever-increasing energy demand have led to significant economic issues and highlighted the unsustainability and fragility of our energy networks. It’s clear that a transition to a cleaner, safer and more secure energy supply is needed – but how can we make that happen?

For industrial energy consumers, this issue is more pressing than ever. With a dependence on large amounts of energy to power important processes, it is key that a reliable supply is maintained at a reasonable and predictable cost. In light of such uncertainty on the grid, now is the time for industry to consider ways to become independent from volatile markets.

To do this, consumers could follow an evolutionary model. Many energy users are ‘gross consumers’ and only consume energy produced and supplied by the utility companies. Though this is straightforward and removes the need for in-house energy generation, with ongoing shifts in supply and demand, striving to be self-sustainable should be the end goal.

In practice, this could mean that the consumer – in this case, a manufacturer or site owner – would generate power to cover most of their own energy needs independently and even potentially be able to power additional units or store any surplus residual energy. Creating a microgrid for a site can save between 21% and 30% of energy costs. To do this, decentralised energy generation, high level monitoring and control systems, and a storage capability will be essential.

Understanding consumption 
To achieve self-sustainable status, there are several important considerations in terms of management, skill and technology. Fundamentally, sufficient insights into the end user’s industrial processes (logistics, production and equipment, powering buildings and facilities) are key in evaluating overall energy needs. Users should consider how much energy is used, and the form of energy required.

Obtaining this data and analysing it requires a certain level of digitisation for thorough visualisation. Implementing an energy data management system (EDMS) can be a useful tool for gathering real-time data on energy usage across equipment, systems and facilities. This can inform changes to management practices and make improvements to efficiency by providing full visibility, from generation to usage and storage.

Putting new systems and methods in place to optimise industrial energy efficiency is also beneficial. Achieving ISO 50001 certification is an effective way of maximising efficiency and ensuring compliance with international standards, even for independent energy users. Again, an EDMS can record and interpret key information while reducing costs and consumption.

Implementing an energy data management system (EDMS) can be a useful tool for gathering real-time data on energy usage across equipment, systems and facilities - this can inform changes to management practices and make improvements to efficiency.

Achieving self-sufficiency 
Once the energy needs and efficiency of a business are established, this can inform decisions on the best means for self-generation on-site. Depending on requirements and budget, different systems are suitable for different businesses. Several options are available on the market right now – solar photovoltaics, wind power, energy recovery and hydropower, to name a few. Geographical location and weather conditions will play a huge role in suggesting the most cost-effective option for each individual case to ensure that the generation system capitalises on available resources.

Renewables are a brilliant operation for self-generation of energy, but they can be prone to volatility due to the nature of natural resources. This is a challenge faced by any individual or business using renewable energy, even the utility companies, as grids are designed to work under certain parameters of electrical supply.

In Europe, this is 400 V and 50 Hz of alternating current. Substantial violations of these parameters through voltage level or frequency can lead to grid malfunctions, which should be avoided at all stages. An overload of energy from, for example, high wind levels at a wind farm, will increase supply frequency, but frequency can drop when the required energy levels are not available.

Storage systems
To address this, once the self-generation equipment is installed, an appropriate method of energy storage should be devised. Using battery energy storage systems (BESS) offers a way to store generated energy and ensure a smoother, more consistent supply. BESS not only stores excess power, but it can also compensate for any interruptions in energy supply. It can be used as three different components – neutral (idle), a generator (discharging) or a consumer (charging). This allows maximisation of use for energy from renewable generators, as it preserves any energy surplus and provides it to the grid.

Using a BESS also addresses one of the key issues associated with renewable sources, which is the volatility that comes from harnessing power produced by unpredictable resources. This not only ensures that microgrids are protected against fluctuating generative shares, but it also helps operate renewable generators more economically and to stabilise energy supply and reduce the risk of failures.

Using an effective BESS to pursue industrial energy autonomy can also relieve congestion that can occur on utility grids. This removes the need to reinforce existing powerlines by having a system to cover energy demand. This forms a sort of virtual powerline, to transfer energy to the BESS during periods of reduced demand and provide a store of electrical energy easily accessible to the user, meaning that when demand increases, local storage relieves the pressure on remote supply lines.

Software requirements 
Finally, putting a system platform in place to monitor and manage supply and demand and to forecast future potential fluctuations is essential. A platform with advanced features such as load profiles, meteorological data and information on import or export can help to predict future trends and allow users to prepare. This is key in uniting all other steps on the path to industrial energy autonomy and effectively implementing a microgrid for a business long term.

To implement systems, particularly EDMS, to ensure that industrial operations get the most out of their microgrids, storage systems and generation equipment, it is important to have the relevant skills base and technology available. The human workforce is just as important as the equipment here, as much of creating and running a microgrid relies on intuitive design and analysis. From determining the best method of energy generation, to optimising resources and drawing conclusions from data, human input is an important element.

Establishing an autonomous microgrid also requires vendor independence and connectivity, able to connect and integrate all of your existing and future components and processes. Linking manufacturing, trading, building, media and web services creates a holistic system, whatever equipment you have, and removes the constraints of being tied to a vendor. This gives the freedom to create a totally bespoke system. This must also be scalable – starting small and cost-effective might be a wise choice initially, but having the ability to scale up without limitation is important to become entirely self-sufficient.

Your system platform should also be ergonomic – user-friendly and easy to access and customise needs. Every industrial operation has a huge range of requirements and tasks, and choosing a straightforward system helps to ensure it can run at optimum levels. Analytical capabilities are also of the utmost importance for energy independence. Every decision made should be based on data, so being able to access both real-time and historic data on energy usage allows users to build a well-informed and tailored solution.

As well as functionality, security should be a priority. The extensive interconnection of systems on diverse layers such as operational technology, information technology, or cloud/web-based services increases the surface for cyber-attacks. With something as fundamentally important to industrial operations as energy, risk should be kept as low as possible. Selecting a system with state-of-the-art security, encryption and authentication methods, with the possibility for also integrating additional professional layers of security, can help to safeguard your microgrid and energy systems from external threats.

The evolution from gross consumer to self-sustainability can be complex, but the long-term benefits in moving away from reliance on utility companies is a worthwhile endeavour. To make the transition easier with minimal disruption, investing in an EDMS early in the process can help. Automation supplier COPA-DATA provides ‘zenon’, a platform for networking, monitoring and orchestration of energy generation assets, which has seen success in implementing independent energy grids. The platform can combine distributed equipment into a single centralised system for easy management of both generation and distribution of power in microgrids of varying sizes.

The platform also provides a foundation to operate BESS and to easily link this to existing equipment for interplay within an independent energy ecosystem. Its integrated data acquisition and reporting systems give users full operational visibility of the entire process to ensure that any areas for improvement or potential losses are noted.

In a dynamic and often unpredictable energy landscape, evolving to self-sustainability is a smart move. Choosing the right software platform is a key step for industrial users on the path to energy autonomy.