DECARBONISING OFFSHORE AQUACULTURE OPERATIONS

With an Exclusive Economic Zone of 10 million square kilometres, Australia has enormous potential to use its oceans to sustainably increase aquaculture production.  However, to realize this potential these industries must move offshore into more exposed high-energy operating environments. This move will involve the development of new more robust structures, technologies and production systems that are environmentally sustainable and socially responsible. The success of the offshore aquaculture industry will depend upon availability and cost-effectiveness of appropriate sustainable energy technologies to meet their energy needs.

The energy-intensive resource (power, freshwater, fuel, and potentially heat and oxygen) demands of the aquaculture industry span a range of farming operations, including for example, lighting, auxiliary pumps, feeding, aeration, desalination, net cleaning, refrigeration, monitoring, firefighting mostly done through support barges and service vessel operations. Different aquaculture operators will have alternative optimal power solutions to meet their energy requirements.

Below are some key observations on developments associated with decarbonising offshore aquaculture systems:

• Offshore renewable energy (ORE) technologies have the potential to provide an alternative, sustainable, at-sea energy source for the offshore aquaculture, and export surplus energy as electricity and green hydrogen, while the offshore aquaculture has the potential to provide a market for offshore renewable energy technologies, subsequently aiding the advancement of both industries.
• Offshore aquaculture is a likely candidate for co-location because their operations use a large range of systems and equipment that demands continuous power supply to maximise their operability.
• Hybrid offshore energy solutions (e.g., solar PV and tidal energy, solar PV and wave energy, hydrogen and wave energy, green hydrogen, and offshore wind, etc.) have the potential to increase the use of ORE technologies for aquaculture operations by offering more reliable and clean ways to supply power, replacing the current reliance on fossil fuels.
• The maritime industry is responsible for producing 2.5% of Global Greenhouse Gas emissions. The replacement of fossil fuel with green ammonia or green methanol for aquaculture service vessels is seen as a particularly promising option because the fuel can be made using clean electricity – such as solar or wind power – and burned without emitting any greenhouse gases. Several nations including Australia and Singapore have announced intentions to move toward a zero-emission shipping industry.
• Integrating offshore renewable energy technologies with offshore aquaculture systems requires several pre-development activities including techno-economic analysis, engineering design, and optimization to ensure a good fit and a smooth energy transition with the aquaculture energy system and the application/user needs.

This presentation will provide an overview of research undertaken by the Blue Economy CRC Offshore Renewable Energy Systems research program, including examples of energy requirements for different aquaculture operations and opportunities for decarbonising offshore aquaculture systems.