Optimisation modelling of industrial energy systems using the ‘Method for the analysis of INDustrial systems (MIND)’ introducing the effect of material storage

Strategic decisions regarding industrial energy systems should ideally involve the entire plant. Systems analysis using optimisation methods identifies the minimum cost solution among numerous alternatives. In the deregulated Swedish (and European) energy market, there are large variations in electricity contracts. These contracts affect the possibilities of industrial energy systems to react not only through the price level but also through the price structure. Material storage can affect an industrial system in many ways. One of them is that material storage can prevent a situation in which different parts of an industrial system with different production rates counteract each other. In this paper, the influence on energy costs of the use of material storage is discussed. The importance of modelling material storage has been shown, especially in situations where there are time-of-use-prices of electricity. A case study from the pulp and paper industry has been used to confirm this.