To achieve these objectives, a holistic methodology was designed to analyse the current situation regarding energy cooperation solutions of industrial parks and the barriers they face. The analysis started with the identification of 41 potential energy cooperation solutions (D1.1) which were then matched with potential barriers to their implementation. (D1.2). A further analysis consisted in designing and identifying suitable instruments to overcome the above mentioned barriers (D2.1).
The analysis showed that especially in a cooperative set-up, social/managerial and information barriers become crucial, especially at early stages of cooperation. Communication is also crucial in the identification of potential energy cooperation solutions, as companies do not necessarily have any existing communication channels, business relations, let alone knowledge, about the energy and resource use of their neighbouring companies (D4.3). Also, energy provision and energy cooperation are not the core business of industrial companies which results in a lack of know-how about technical possibilities, potential cooperation partners and possible business models (D1.3 D2.2 D.6.4).
From a social point of view, the unfamiliarity with energy cooperation as well as neighbouring companies also lead to less tangible barriers like mistrust and inadequate communication strategies, which can prevent the uptake of otherwise beneficial energy cooperation solutions (D5.6). In this context, a meaningful role is attached to (external) facilitators (such as the research partners in the project) as they can remove such barriers by guiding the companies through the development process and support them with their expertise.
This is particularly true for less technical but networking and contractual energy cooperation solutions that require reviews, adjustments, and confirmation and, case-dependent, may include the exchange of money. The final category were economic barriers, which turned out to be a less dominant barrier category than assumed ex-ante. The feasibility studies elaborated in the project (D5.3 and D5.4) also highlighted that some renewable energy solutions owe their (increased) economic feasibility mainly to the cooperative aspects, e.g. as utilization rates are increased, or economies of scale come into play. Consequently, in some cases economic barriers of energy measures in general can be resolved by energy cooperation.
This concept was then used for the identification of energy cooperation solutions in five industrial parks (D5.1 D5.2 D5.3 D5.4 D5.5). For each park instruments to overcome the barriers faced by the parks were identified to support the actual implementation of a solution (D1.1 D1.2 D2.1). Finally, and in order to provide the companies and industrial park with a quantitative measurement to assess a single solution or compare different solutions among each other, key performance indicators (KPI) were designed (D4.1 and D4.2). All these analytical steps where then integrated in a decision-making tool, the S-PARCS Initial Assessment Tool (IAT), in order to help industrial parks via tailor-made advice (D2.2 D3.1 D3.2 D3.3 D3.4).
