Estimating the Long-term Financial Impact of Solar Microgeneration and Energy Efficiency for a Brazilian Medium-sized Enterprise

• Published in: Revista IEEE América Latina Vol. 17; no. 10; pp. 1607 - 1615
• Main Authors: Martins, Jonatas Campos, Morandi, Maria Isabel Wolf Motta, Lacerda, Daniel Pacheco
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Portuguese
• Published: Los Alamitos IEEE 01-10-2019; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Companies; Computational modeling; Computer simulation; Distributed generation; Distributed solar power generation; Electric power distribution; Energy efficiency; Energy storage; IEEE transactions; New technology; Power efficiency; Power generation economics; Solar power generation; System dynamics; Systems modeling; Uncertainty
• ISSN: 1548-0992; 1548-0992
• DOI: 10.1109/TLA.2019.8986438

The industrial sector is the largest energy consumer in the world. In this sector, companies classified as non-energy intensive have untapped energy efficiency potential, such as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Previous research aimed at studying this untapped potential present a technological solution and do not address conjunctural risks and uncertainties that may influence the adoption of a technological solution. This study aimed to estimate the Long-term Financial Impact of Solar Microgeneration and Energy Efficiency on a Medium-Sized Brazilian Company. System Dynamics Modeling was used to simulate the impact to the company of investing in new technologies of 6 in different scenarios. Those scenarios considering the insertion of distributed solar power generation and energy efficiency practices, as well as the possible variations of energy supply and demand. The estimated financial results of each scenario are presented considering the assumptions of the computational model. The developed model can be used to visualize alternatives and make decisions in similar situations.