Multi-criteria Methodology for the Sustainable Powering of an Industrial DC Microgrid Cluster

In the most developed economies, the industrial growth cannot be promoted while ignoring the effect on climate change. Therefore, industrial clusters are to be coupled with renewable energy plants in order to minimize the CO2 production. To pursue the sustainability in industries, the most effective approach foresees the widespread installation of photovoltaic modules within the industry boundary. By hypothesizing the presence of a DC microgrid to collect sources-loads, the paper wants to explore a multi-criteria methodology to identify the most convenient renewable plant. Different alternatives are compared by adopting battery energy storage on one hand, by optimizing the PV size on the other. The best solution is declared by intersecting different domains, therefore economic, energetic and environmental outcomes.