The potential for Energy Communities within the Church of Sweden : A case study on the Sala-Norrby-Möklinta pastorate

Sammanfattning

Energy communities are a relatively new concept in the energy market, officially introduced in the European Union (EU) in 2019. This voluntary framework enables local legal entities to participate in the energy market by sharing their energy production, storage, and consumption rights with others. This thesis explores the techno-economic benefits and feasibility of establishing an energy community within the Sala-Norrby-Möklinta pastorate, part of the Church of Sweden. Eight scenarios are analyzed using Excel, MATLAB, and Python, each presenting different configurations of physical and virtual sharing via a microgrid, a new photovoltaic (PV) system, battery storage, and virtual electricity settlements. The simulations are based on historical data from two separate years: 2023 and 2024. To evaluate both short- and long-term effects, using each year as a separate baseline, results are presented for one-year and 30-year perspectives. The 30-year perspective is derived by extrapolating the one-year results, assuming similar conditions over time. The findings indicate that the Socken roof is the most favourable location for a new PV system in terms of energy cost savings. Without virtual sharing, the savings over one year are negative: –5.6 kSEK (2023) and –7.7 kSEK (2024), corresponding to 40.5 kSEK and -10.5 kSEK, over 30 years. With virtual sharing, one-year savings increase to 9.7 kSEK (2023) and 7.8 kSEK (2024), resulting in long-term savings of 511 kSEK and 454 kSEK, respectively. The potential energy cost savings generated by an energy community show that over one year, only one scenario is economically viable, with relatively modest maximum savings of 2.0 kSEK (2023) and 4.0 kSEK (2024). Over 30 years, however, three scenarios show profitability, maximum savings increase to 107 kSEK (2023) and 232 kSEK (2024). Regarding transformer station load, the results show that energy communities impact grid benefit differently depending on the technical solution. The microgrid reduces system grid benefit by 10.1 MWh (2023) and 5.8 MWh (2024), while the new PV system and battery storage increase system grid benefit by 6.1 MWh and 6.3 MWh, and by 3.0 MWh and 3.7 MWh, respectively. Overall, the findings suggest that collaboration between energy communities and power grid owners, particularly through strategic placement of microgrids, PV systems, or battery storage, could yield mutual benefits. However, regulatory barriers, particularly those related to economic incentives, remain a key challenge for implementing energy communities.