A green energy framework and perspectives for off-grid industrial buildings in cold climates

Industrial buildings in cold climates face unique off-grid energy challenges that require coordinated solutions across building performance, renewable generation, storage, and control, driven by factors such as reduced solar insolation, snow cover, and elevated heating demands. While renewable options such as photovoltaics, wind, thermal storage, and chemical carriers are advancing, little integrated analysis exists on how these technologies can be effectively combined with high-performance building envelopes for applications in such contexts. This work addresses a gap in prior studies by linking high-performance Passive House envelopes with diversified renewable and storage options for industrial buildings in cold climates, highlighting the value of combining multiple technologies over relying on a single one. A critical synthesis of the literature evaluates photovoltaic technologies, heating and cooling loads in high-performance envelopes, and diverse storage pathways including batteries, borehole and water-tank thermal systems, and chemical carriers such as hydrogen and ammonia. The analysis finds that photovoltaics remain the central generation technology but their output is compromised in winter; wind power provides seasonal complementarity; thermal storage emerges as the most reliable strategy for predictable heating; hydrogen and ammonia show promise for long-duration storage yet face cost, safety, and efficiency barriers; and off-site battery transport is best suited as a contingency rather than a core solution. The findings indicate that integrating high-performance envelopes with diversified generation and storage – anchored by photovoltaics and complemented by options such as wind, thermal storage, or chemical carriers, when coordinated through an intelligent energy management system, offers a resilient and cost-effective pathway toward year-round, carbon-neutral operation of light industrial buildings in cold climates.