Potential use of alternative energies in the Australian offshore sector

The Australian offshore sector consists of many offshore petroleum installations, which are usually equipped with a local power supply based on fossil fuels. Alternative energies have a large potential to reduce fossil fuel usage, and thereby reduce CO2 emissions. The introduction of carbon tax to the Australian industry at the time of writing is also a major concern and that is why alternative energy is seen as an attractive substitute to fossil fuels. This paper explores the potential of powering a 30 MW offshore platform with a gas/diesel turbine complimented by alternative energies over the period of one year. In the present study, three major sources of alternative energies; wind, wave and solar are investigated. Each alternative energy option was investigated separately as a complimentary source of power. Using these alternative options, savings in fuel costs per year were estimated as 23% for wind, 6% for wave and 1.3% for the solar option, and these percentages were then directly reflected in carbon tax savings. Other evaluations included fuel (diesel/gas) consumption for one-year period and the break-even point for each technology. Wind energy was found to be the most effective and efficient technology due to its high energy yield, producing 45.2 GWh/year compared to 10.9 GWh/year produced by wave energy and 2.6 GWh/year yielded from solar energy. The higher energy yield means that the wind option also has the shortest break-even period and lowest fossil fuel consumption.