Achieving energy self-sufficiency by integrating renewables into companies' supply networks

The aim of this contribution was to present the integration of renewables into companies' supply-networks at regional level in order to maximise the self-sufficiencies of their energy supplies. This concerns companies' activities from the use of natural resources to supplying their final products to the customers being interlinked with their regional networks. A MILP model (Mixed-Integer Linear Programming) has been developed for the synthesis of companies' supply-networks utilising different types of renewables as sources for the companies' energy supplies, and embedded into the MILP model, previously developed by authors, for the synthesis of regional biomass production and supply networks. The integrated synthesis model was applied to an existing large-scale meat company. The potential renewable energy sources, which are located within companies surrounding region are solar, biomass, organic and animal wastes. The result indicates that by sufficient integration of renewables into companies' supply networks, profitable and yet energy self-sufficient solutions can be obtained.