Organizing Synergies in Integrated Energy Systems

Although it has been proven that systems for integrating energy flows of different businesses are technically possible, economically profitable and environmentally sound, few such systems have been realized in Norway. This paper shows that other aspects must be considered, and argues that such infrastructures should be understood as sociotechnical. We studied a regional cluster in Norway, Kviamarka, and how the businesses successfully integrated energy flows by integrating production processes in the energy system. The surplus heat, cooling water and CO2 output that are byproducts of several companies in the cluster are used by other companies in the cluster, which makes it more energy-efficient. This case showed how integrating companies’ energy flows involve a material and structural bridging of the companies and a focus on the mutual trust and interdependence of the actors in order to establish and maintain a collective energy system. Establishing a system for synergizing energy flows involved solving issues regarding negotiation of roles and responsibilities as well as context-specific issues. We also report on findings from the project INTERACT, in which we studied sociotechnical issues in synergizing energy flows through different situations and scenarios. To study context-specific issues in other initiatives for creating energy-efficient systems, we developed a scenario typology. The scenarios are defined not by the technical properties of the system but by how the actors are bound together by the energy infrastructure and how that affects their respective roles and responsibilities. The typology highlights different core challenges and possibilities related to different socio-technical systems. The rationale behind energy efficiency is based on the idea that different flows of energy (surplus heat, cold etc.) can be synergized by connecting different actors. Thus, the potential for innovation lies in how actors are organized and use their complementary energy resources.