Energy Hubs - the paper industry potential as a renewable energy producer - Paper Technology International 2023 - Paper Technology International 2023 - Flipbook - Page 19

Energy Hubs - the paper industry potential as a renewable energy producer - Paper Technology International 2023

PAPERTECHNOLOGYINTERNATIONAL
””Energy Energy Hubs” – the paper industry potential as a renewable energy producer
Cepi is the Confederation of European Paper Industries
INTRODUCTION:
A new study commissioned by Cepi to AFRY, a Scandinavian firm supplying engineering and advisory services, shows the
untapped further potential for paper mills to function as renewable energy hubs. The pulp and paper industry could increase its on-site
renewable electricity and heat production and, through a ‘swing capacity effect’, sell any excess energy production to the grid, nearby
neighbourhoods and other industries.
The European pulp and paper industry is already the largest
industrial prosumer of clean energies, with over 60% renewables
in its primary energy consumption. Proportionally to its size, it is a
major industrial investor into the decarbonisation of its processes,
notably via on-site renewable energy generation. It is one of the
success stories of the European emission trading scheme (EU ETS),
which provides incentives for such investments. The European pulp
and paper industry has reduced its CO2 emissions by 34% since
2005 but must meet a very ambitious goal of 62% reduction by
2030.
Advancing the prosumer model
The authors of the study conclude that by 2030 the pulp and
paper industry has the potential to increase its renewable on-site
electricity and heat production to generate almost 31 TWh. This
corresponds to 30% of electricity and almost 6% of heat generated
on-site in 2020. But mobilising necessary investments would require
predictable EU regulation and expeditious permitting procedures to
be put into place.
This new study offers an indication of where some of our
industry’s next investments could be made. The energy transition
in which we are already well engaged is also an occasion for us
and for policymakers to rethink what a paper mill is and could be: a
renewable energy hub and a biorefinery where substitutes for fossilintensive materials and products are created.
The study also offers an estimate of the space available in
different types of paper mills to install solar panels or wind turbines,
in addition to other solutions identified by the authors. The energy
production capacities outlined in the new report cannot however
be implemented rapidly enough to be a solution to the current
energy crisis. But widely shared analysis shows that energy costs in
Europe are likely to stay high at least for the foreseeable future, and
investments in fossil free energy will eventually offer the industry a
chance to adapt to a radically changed energy landscape.
Figure 1: AFRY estimate in TWh, compared to electricity produced by the paper industry according to Cepi statistics.
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