Optimizing neighborhood consumption of renewables through clustering and H2 storage: An economic assessment of an Austrian community

Renewable energy sources make the matching of production and storage in the electric grid a major challenge. Aside of introducing additional storage the possibility of on-site consumption of renewable energy is a valid option. The system boundary is not necessarily a single building, but may consider neighborhoods of buildings, which can be clustered in order to maximize use of local generation. Clusters of producers and consumers achieve a higher on-site consumption ratio and thereby show economic advantages. This is shown in a scenario where clustering of consumers connected to common a PV plant increases the discounted cash flow significantly, making it economically viable without subsidies. For additional benefits also the effect of Demand Side Management (DSM), short and long term storages are investigated.