MEC 61003 / MEC 4913

RENEWABLE AND ALTERNATE ENERGIES

CASE STUDY ASSIGNMENT

DR. LOW JIUN HOR

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Umi Salmah Binti Seraj 0311563 UMI SALMAH

Due Date: 19/11/2017

Date of Submission: 19/11/2017

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Introduction

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a greenhouse gas that is naturally formed through respiration and
volcanic eruptions as well as human activities like deforestation and burning of fossil fuels.
Greenhouse gases are beneficial in keeping the Earth warm by absorbing the sun's energy and
redirecting energy back to the surface of the planet. There are essential in maintaining life on
Earth. However, large increases in the quantity of carbon dioxide in the Earths atmosphere
can result in excess heat trapping by the greenhouse gases, causing what is commonly known
today as global warming. Global warming has been proven to have terrible effects on the
planet and its inhabitants, such as more frequent and severe weather, higher death rates, more
air pollution, higher wildlife extinction rates, more acidic oceans and higher sea levels.

With more than 50% of the worlds energy coming from fossil fuels today, the demand for it
is continuously growing day by day, driving more production. The concentration of CO2 in the
Earth's atmosphere has increased by approximately 40 percent since the Industrial Era from
fossil fuel production and consumption alone (from about 270 ppm in the mid-1800s to
378 ppm in 2005. On February 5, 2011, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) revealed that the oil and gas sector was the second-highest contributor of greenhouse
gases, second only to power plants.

The contribution of four major sources have been linked to large amounts of CO2 emissions
from the oil and gas industry. They are the exhaust form engines, turbines and fired heaters,
the process of gas flaring, the testing of wells and during enhanced oil recovery (EOR)
operations. There is also a high possibility that the actual total amount of CO2 emission by this
sector is being underestimated, as the EPAs study does not include emissions from
transportation. Most studies also do not consider emissions from the fuel burnt to power and
run the actual platform, as well as human activities of the personals living and running the oil
and gas platforms. Equipment that are old or faulty also tend to produce more CO2 than is
accounted for by the EPA.

Aside from being a major pollutant, fossil fuels are also non-renewable. They depend on finite
resources that will one day be depleted with constant use, or may become too rare and thus too
expensive or too damaging to the environment to retrieve. In contrast, renewable energy is
derived from resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale, such
as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves, and geothermal heat. Renewable energy has been gaining
more attention and becoming more popular in recent years. According to REN21's report in the
year 2016, renewable sources had contributed 19.2% to the global energy consumption and
23.7% to their generation of electricity in 2014 and 2015, respectively.

A major drawback of renewable energy is the difficulty in generating the amount of electricity
and power that is equal to what is currently produced by fossil fuels, thus not being able to
meet demands. Another disadvantage is the reliability of supply as renewable energy resources
are quite intermittent. The current cost of renewable energy technology is also far more than
traditional fossil fuel generation because of very large capital costs to construct the facilities.
This indicates that the best solution to the energy problems may be to have a balance of many
different power sources working harmoniously and complementing one another. In terms of
the oil and gas industry, while it may be impossible to completely eliminate the production of
fossil fuels, it may be possible to reduce emissions from the production line of it by using
renewable energy to power it.
Literature review

The oil and gas industry is one of the sectors that has contributed to the world positively in
numerous ways. In 2012, 40.7% of oil and 15.2% of natural gas were contributed to global
energy, and no significant reduction in this energy share is expected in the short term. As of
today, they provide fuel for cars, airplanes, and ships for mobility as well as for operation of
other industrial engines. They are also used as heating source in homes, cooking foods,
generation of electricity that powers day-to-day activities, and other human endeavours. In
addition, the by-products from crude oil serve as raw materials for many industries such as
pharmaceutical, petrochemical, solvents, pesticides, fertilizers, and plastics, among others.

The industry is also one of the most rewarding sectors in terms of workforce and employability.
Employees who work directly for the offshore oil and gas industry are well-compensated for
hard work they do while also being separated from loved ones and civilization. The oil and gas
industry is responsible for thousands of indirect jobs too, especially those in the fields of
management of the environment, accounting, engineering, regulation, law, communications,
safety to name a few. Furthermore, there are hundreds of business-centric jobs in the service
industry like hotels, restaurants, retail outlets, recreational and entertainment venues whose
success is attributed to air and land transportation that is also powered by the oil and gas
industry.

Malaysia has a vibrant oil and gas industry, currently owning the 14th largest gas reserves and
25th largest oil reserves in the world. These reserves are of the order of 18.82 billion barrels
oil equivalent (boe), with a crude production rate of 600 thousand barrels per day. PETRONAS,
the national oil company, was the only Malaysian company to be listed in the Fortune 500 list
in 2014, ranking the 69th biggest company in the world. They recorded a revenue of over
US100.7 billion that year, with assets amounting to over US$169 billion. 20 to 30% of the
Malaysias Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is contributed by PETRONAS alone. Currently,
there are more than 3,500 oil and gas-related businesses in Malaysia, including international
and independent ventures, services, manufacturers and investments that complement the O&G
value chain both domestically and regionally. A huge number of machinery & equipment
(M&E) manufacturers have chosen Malaysia as a base due to this reason too, rivalling home-
grown companies. This has pushed Malaysian companies to focus on strategic segments such
as marine, drilling, engineering, fabrication, offshore installation and operations and
maintenance (O&M). The multiplying factor caused by the oil and gas industry has not gone
unnoticed by the government, who deemed it a strategic and priority sector for the economy.

But with all its advantages comes a major cost to the environment all around the world. In
2013, EPAs reports showed that offshore oil and gas production was responsible for the release
of 6.2 million metric tons of combustion gases in the US. Total emissions in the UK in 2014
came up to 4.3 million tonnes CO2 that was found to be related to the exploration, production,
transmission, upgrading, refining and distribution of crude oil and its by-products. The
Norwegian oil and gas offshore sector has contributed for about 2030% to the total Norwegian
CO2-emissions in the last decade, though no proper figure was available. Over on the other side
of the world, China, whom has recently overtaken the US as the worlds biggest CO2 emitter,
contributed approximately 20 million metric tons of CO2 from offshore drilling activities alone.

The extraction, stabilisation and export of hydrocarbons involve several processes that give
rise to atmospheric emissions. 75% of CO2 emissions from oil and gas industries came from
fuel consumed by combustion equipment to provide electrical power and drive compressors
and pumps for gas export. These activity is essential as offshore installations are not connected
to the national grid for power supply. Power is required to run oil pumps and other equipment
used in production processes. It is also needed for electricity and heat for human-related
activities like cooking, refrigeration equipment and use of modern devices for the workers
stationed on the platform. Power is also need for lighting and heating on offshore installations
as well as for compression equipment so that gas can be transported ashore.

CO2 is also emitted during flaring and venting offshore, which are necessary for maintenance,
and well testing. For offshore platforms flaring and venting are important safety features to
burn gas that cannot be recovered; to prevent over-pressurising; and to rapidly remove the gas
inventory during an emergency. It is primarily carried out on oil-producing platforms. Flaring
is likely to be planned for during start-up or shutdown of a platform, but also occurs during
unplanned events like incidental releases from tank loading. Studies show that about 14% of
the CO2 emitted comes from flaring and venting. This percentage increases when equipment
become faulty or fail to efficiently extract and compress fossil fuels, or when a platform is not
well equipped with transport and treating facilities. For example, because of lack of pipelines
and gas treating facilities, as much as 30% of the gas produced might be flared from a platform.
A less common but just as potent part of oil and gas production is the transportation. There are
two phases of transportation. The first is the upstream transportation of crude oil and natural
gas from the production site to onshore refinery, and the second is the transportation of end
products in the downstream segment. Tankers and floating platforms are the normal mode of
transportation for export of crude oil to onshore and international transoceanic markets. These
transports are also powered by regular combustion of fossil fuels, which contribute to the
emission of CO2 as part of the oil and gas sector. Since these transports are usually very large
in size to be able to transport a huge amount of cargo, naturally more amount of fuel is
necessary to power them.

While the sector is very important to the countrys economy as well as its inhabitants, the
effects to the environment is dire and irreversible. Oil spills are one of the effects unique to oil
and gas operations, therefore is highlighted in this report. They can cause safety and health
issues, like for example BPs Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 that
killed 11 oil rig workers. It also impacted tourism and fishing along the Gulf Coast. A lot of
marine and wild life were seen dead ingestion of oil that cause respiration and mobility issues.
Seafood that had been caught around the area was reported to have caused mild-to-severe cases
of food poisoning. Spilled oil can also contaminate drinking water supplies. A very relevant
and local example can be seen in 2013 where oil spills contaminated water supplies for 300,000
in Miri.

Figure 1: Duck covered in oil near Gulf of Mexico

Summary Review

Reducing the emission of carbon dioxide is not as easy as it sounds, particularly from such an
important source like the oil and gas sector. Therefore, more measures must be taken with
responsible consideration for the impact it would have on the countrys progression. Everyday
life depends heavily on ready access to affordable and reliable energy from a secure domestic
source, as well as a variety of oil-derived products such as textiles, medicines, cosmetics,
electronic equipment, plastics, fertilisers and cleaning products. Most plausible estimates
suggest that at least half of the worlds energy needs will continue to be met by oil and gas for
the foreseeable future. Therefore, it is not in the interest of society to try to immediately remove
fossil fuels as a source of energy.

Aside from energy shortage, many Malaysians would suffer from loss of jobs should the oil
and gas sector cease operations. Petronas also runs scholarship programmes and a university,
all of which would be impacted by any moves against the oil and gas sector. Therefore, it would
be more reasonable for the offshore oil and gas industry to aim at reducing emissions from
operations by implementing energy efficiency improvements. Utilizing power from a
renewable source would increase the net output of an oil and has platform, reducing the
production volume needed to generate a target capita and thus improving efficiency.

The government must take these measures as it is seen how bad the negative impact of the oil
and gas sector can be. It is their job to create awareness and promote the importance of
renewable energy within the country. Measures like polluter pays or emission fees or caps on
total pollution, with tradable emission permits, are examples of ways to internalize the costs of
pollution, creating a more level arena for renewables.
Case Study Analysis

As mentioned previously, while renewable energy cannot immediately and directly replace the
energy from fossil fuels, it can be used to assist and complement the production of fossil fuels
at offshore oil and gas industries. This can significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions from
the platforms in coming years, especially with the rising demand for crude oil and gas. Some
of the applicable methods are:

Offshore wind energy

Wind turbines work by capturing the kinetic energy of strong blowing winds to turn the turbine
blades, transferring energy to a spinning rotor shaft that drives an electric motor or more
commonly a generator. It has become a very realiable and mature source of renewable energy
in many countries. Wind towers are usually built together on wind farms. Wind power is
growing at the rate of 21% annually, with a worldwide installed capacity of 238 giga watts
(GW) at the end of 2011. Energy production was 430 TWh, which is about 2.5% of worldwide
electricity usage. Offshore wind farms have also become more common in the past few decades
thanks to the relative ease of transporting large components by sea. Also, it was discovered that
sea breeze can cause very frequent and much more powerful winds than the ones experienced
onshore. Some recent studies have showed that offshore winds blow 40 percent more often
offshore than on land which means that offshore wind farms can relatively easy outpace wind
projects on land in terms of installed capacity.

As mentioned earlier, offshore oil and gas wells that are isolated and very far from the coast
face challenges in getting adequate supply of electrical power to support the activities on
platform, resulting to use some of the produced fossil fuel or turning to diesel generators. The
key is to harness the winds energy to do work that is currently powered by fossil fuels. Oil-
and-gas production platforms depend on water-injection systems to boost recovery; these
water-injection systems are generally powered by natural gas or diesel. Like its natural gas- or
diesel-powered counterpart, the wind turbine would provide energy to inject water and increase
pressure in the offshore reservoir. Data generated by current wind farms show that it is
technically feasible and a cost-competitive alternative to conventional gas-powered injection
systems in offshore areas where the wind can be harnessed.
With Malaysia being a coastal and windy country, this technology has much potential.
However, comprehensive study would have to be done to confirm that this method is
applicable. Current wind farms developed in countries like the Netherlands, UK and Germany
encounter high wind speeds of up to 15 m/s. Malaysia is not known to have winds that strong.
Small-scale wind turbines are relatively expensive on a per kilowatt basis, which can make
them costly to install. Moreover, unsteady flow and constant changes in wind direction changes
can reduce the effective power of the wind. To overcome such limitations, wind turbine blades
can be modified to produce more flow while operating at the same speeds.

Vortex hydro energy

Offshore oil and gas platforms typically weigh thousands of tons and are built to withstand the
force of the wind, but that doesnt stop them from trembling when rocked by the powerful
ocean winds as mentioned above. This rocking motion is very dangerous to platforms,
especially floating ones and those not directly secured to the seabed as it can cause them to
capsize. Examples of these occurrences are Alexander L. Kielland and Ocean Ranger that
suffered structural failure from induced vibrations. Therefore, VIV is a phenomenon that must
be removed to prevent mechanical failure of vibrating structures but on another hand, instead
of eliminating the vibrations, VIV could and should be exploited to transform the vibrations
into a valuable source of energy.

Vortex hydro energy converters currently are able to harness hydrokinetic energy of even low
river and ocean currents. This is because unlike water turbines, they do not use propellers.
Instead, they use the physical phenomenon of vortex-induced vibration (VIV) in which water
current flows around cylinders, inducing alternate transverse motion. Typical ocean current
flow in Malaysia is in the range of 0.5 to 1.2 m /s. Due to low current speeds, any sort of
hydroelectric turbines might not be an appropriate technology, but this could be it. The energy
contained in the movement of the cylinder is then converted into electricity. It may be possible
that the application of VIV can be a viable alternative to the current energy extraction
mechanisms on oilfield platforms. It can be installed in multiple units of cylinders around the
platform to generate sufficient power supply without disrupting the operations of the platform.

This technology sounds very promising to the offshore oil and gas industry, but is not very
popular yet and even still in development stages in most countries. This is because the
technology needs to focus on the specific capability of the VIV phenomenon in generating
energy for every application instead of a general set-up. Meaning, one set-up of this technology
for a specific application might not work for other applications, making it difficult to
standardize and expensive even in R&D stages. Currently, the effects of vortex shedding
frequency lock-in and different cylinder geometries are analytically and experimentally studied
using water tunnel facilities built specifically for each application, which could one day include
offshore platforms.

Deep Ocean Water Application

Deep Ocean Water Application (DOWA) is known as the utilization of ocean water located
deep below that are at temperatures of 5 C or colder. These temperatures are usually found at
depths of 1000 m or more, though sometimes even in swallower waters nearing the North and
South pole. This application is also applicable in sea areas with depth of 1000 m or more,
contrary to what its name suggests. Due to the temperature difference of the water at that depth
compared to the warmer waters on the surface, there exists a temperature gradient when those
colder waters are brought to the surface. Temperature gradients cause natural energy flow, as
known by the Second Law of Thermodynamics.

This energy could be harvested to be used by humans. This is the concept behind ocean thermal
energy conversion (OTEC) that uses the temperature difference between cooler deep and
warmer shallow or surface seawaters to run a heat engine and produce useful work, usually in
the form of electricity. OTEC can operate with a very high capacity factor and so can operate
in "base load" mode. While closed-cycle heat engines still require working fluids like
refrigerants, open-cycled ones rely solely on vapour from seawater. However, mixing of the
ocean waters have consequences like unbalancing the marine ecosystems. Another conflicting
possibility is that mixing may cause the CO2 that has been dissolved in deep cold and high-
pressure layers to be brought up to the surface and released as the water warms, adding to
carbon emission.

Deep ocean water makes up about 90 per cent of the volume of the oceans. The change in
seasons cause very little to no change in temperature, and thus cold water is always available.
Even by itself, cold water can be very useful. The most common usage of it is in air
conditioning. It is possible to use the cold water itself to cool down air, thus saving the energy
that would be supplied to compressors for the usual refrigeration cycle and method. Air
conditioning is one of the biggest consumers of electricity, using about 40% of the total output
for compressing working fluid. This makes this technology very useful in the oil and gas
industry, where high compression is needed for the gas to make it exportable. Just like with
regular air conditioning, 40% of the gas produced ends up being used to compress the other
60%, and with the application of DOWA, the efficiency of the process would be much higher.

Seawater-based air conditioning is not technically complex nor does it involve a high technical
risk. This application is currently being developed in Mauritius. Ideally, the DOWA technology
must be near its intended use-area to reduce energy loss as the cold water warms up. This can
be quite a challenge as the seas around most oil rigs in Malaysia are not that deep, some
measuring less than 1000m. Seas around Sabah are much deeper, particularly the Palawan
Trough, but more research would need to be done to understand if the transporting distance
from there to the rigs in Sarawak are worth it.

Figure 2: Depths of South China Sea

Discussion

Of all the proposed solutions, the most suitable one in the authors opinion is offshore wind
energy and it is chosen for further discussion and justification.

Offshore wind speed

The climate in the Peninsular of Malaysia can be described by humid tropical temperature with
little variation throughout the year. It is situated between 1N and 7N latitude. However, other
meteorological conditions such as wind and rainfall are very much dominated by the monsoon
season. Malaysia experiences two monsoon seasons namely the southwest monsoon and
northeast monsoon. In the month of October and from April to May, two inter-monsoon
seasons blow. Malaysia clearly has constant wind, but it is important to know and be able to
predict these wind flows for any site to determine the feasibility of the recommendation.

Figure 3. Selected offshore wind farm sites

Therefore, a detailed knowledge of wind characteristics and historical data is required for
efficient planning and implementation of wind farms. These data can be sourced from
meteorological department of the locality and marine surface observation reports. Figure 3
shows the coastline of Malaysia that faces that South China Sea. Numbers 1 to 16 were assigned
to each location. Grids 1-7 represent area covering the east peninsular Malaysia coastline that
faces east of South China Sea. Grids 8-16 represent area covering the north-west side of Borneo
that forms pall of Sarawak and Sabah coast line.
Wind energy is related to the third power of the wind speed. Razali et al. stated in his study
that the wind turbine is able to more efficiently generate power at medium wind speeds of 7.5
m/s to 9.99 m/s and especially at very high speeds of 10 13.99 m/s, though those winds are
not seen anywhere in South East Asia. Based on this study though, sites with the numerical
identification of 1, 2, 3, 4, 8 and 13 can be selected. These sites are facing the South China Sea
and have potential to become a source of offshore wind power. The criterion for selecting these
places is that during the Northeast monsoon season wind speeds at these sites reach more than
5 m/s; however, wind speed has been marked low for the rest of the year. This can be
compensated by winds during Southwest monsoon season as well, though wind speeds then
only average at 3.5 m/s.

The directions of the wind are from the south and south during the southwest that runs from
June to September, and the northeast and east quadrant during the northeast monsoon from
November to March. The direction of wind observed during the northeast monsoon is less
scattered than during the southwest monsoon. This means the direction of wind during
northeast monsoon is more prominent as compared to the southwest monsoon. These figures
were based on studies by Masseran et al. and Chiang et al.s, who conducted research between
2007 to 2009 and 1985 to 2000 respectively. This proves that even after 20 years, trends in
wind speed did not change, showing good potential for those marked areas to be developed
into offshore wind farms.

Political and regulatory support for RE in Malaysia

Malaysias first renewable energy initiative began in the 1980s with solar energy. The
government aimed at providing non-grid linked solar photovoltaic electricity to rural and
remote communities. By 1999, the government had expressed interest to implement renewable
energy as a viable fuel option of Malaysia, with the Prime Minister announcing that it was
currently ranked as the fifth fuel source for the country. By 2001, renewable energy had been
incorporated into the 8th Malaysia Plan. The Malaysia Plan is a five-year periodic development
planning system that was first implemented in 1996 and spanned until 1970. In May 2001, a
programme called Small Renewable Energy Power (SREP) was announced that allowed
renewable energy producers to market electricity to electricity suppliers, with a maximum limit
of 10 MW capacity. By the end of 2010, several privately funded projects were reportedly
supplying 65 MW to the grid, which had been made possible by changes to the initial SREP
programme. It is clear that the government is pushing for and seeing the importance of
renewable energy.

Malaysias new goal is to have renewable energy contribute at least 11% of the countrys
energy mix by the year 2020. The 9th Malaysia Plan has stated that fuel sources for power
generation should be diversified through the implementation of reliable renewable energy
sources. The identified RE sources were palm oil mill effluents and biomass waste, solar power,
hydroelectric and mini-hydropower, landfill gas and solid waste . In addition, potential of wind,
geothermal, waste and agricultural gases were studied. These available resources indicate that
Malaysia is undoubtedly blessed with significant renewable potential and are interested in
expanding them further.

Previous trials

While offshore wind energy may be a new concept to the country, however the Malaysian
government is not unfamiliar with the concept of wind energy. In fact, because of their
awareness of its benefits, the government conducted a small-scale demonstration of a wind
turbine installation project in 2005. The turbine was located in Terumbu Layang and had a
capacity of 150 kW. The idea is that wind energy would be a great prospect in islands and
coastal tourist resorts that are running on their own diesel-powered generators.
 Figure 4: Solar-wind-diesel hybrid power plant

In 2007, the state government of Terengganu collaborated with the energy powerhouse
company, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) attempted the construction of a solar-wind-diesel
hybrid power plan project as a method of supplying power to Perhantian Island, having a total
combined energy capacity of 650 kW. The project was integrated of 2100kW wind turbines,
100kW solar energy and 200kW and 150kW diesel generators. It also had back up batteries
installed with a capacity of 480kWh for power supply during shortage of solar and wind power.
The project was considered a novelty in the Asian region, though there have been attempted by
the West to do the same in much larger scales. The trial was a success, reducing the power
generation cost of the island by 40% from the diesel-powered generator system. At times, there
was even reports of excess power stored from the renewable sources, allowing the resort to run
on full renewable power. Since then, other resorts in the eastern islands of Malaysia like
Tioman and Redang have attempted to switch to semi-renewable energy, though there has been
no feedback on the performance of these set-ups as of yet. In addition, Ministry of rural and
regional development have set up 8 wind turbines with capacity between 5-10kW in Sabah and
Sarawak, with plans to allocate another more budget for renewable energy cources. Outcome
of these turbines may give the country a better outlook on how offshore wind farms will fare
in the future.

Global success

By the end of 2014, 369,597 MW of wind power capacity had been installed around the world.
Approximately 38% of the global installed capacity is in Asia, and 80% of that can be found
in China. Asia has been the largest regional market in the world for seven years in a row. In
fact, China has the most installed onshore and offshore wind power capacity (114,609 MW) in
the world. This is followed by countries such as the US (65,879 MW), Germany (39,165 MW),
Spain (22,987 MW), India (22,465 MW) and the UK (12,440 MW). China aims to almost
double its wind power capacity to 200 GW by the end of 2020, and it is trying to develop wind
power in lower wind speed areas closer to load centres. US has the second largest installed
wind power capacity in the world. Germany's wind sector is progressing well, with a total
installed capacity greater than 39 GW. India is aiming to develop 60 GW of wind capacity by
2022 and a 15% RE share of the energy mix in the next decade. Unaffected by the European
economic crises, the UK stands out as the world's largest offshore wind market, providing
4494 MW of offshore wind capacity, which is over half of the world's offshore market.

Existing experience and technology

The oil and gas industry has played a major role in Malaysias growth since oil was first drilled
in 1910 in Miri, Sarawak. This means that Malaysia has 100 years of experience in offshore
operations like the transport and placement of large structures on the sea bed, heavy steel and
fabrication of concrete, cabling and trenching, sub-sea engineering, marinization of offshore
plant and the daunting task of working in a hazardous environment like the open sea, all within
health and safety (HSE) regulations. Much of this experience can be of great benefit to the
future constructions of an offshore wind farm. The experience that oil and gas industries and
its associations and have in the operations and maintenance of offshore structures can be put in
great use. For example, there would be vast specialist knowledge in matters like corrosion
protection for saltwater, remote and autonomous monitoring and data transfer, support and
transfer of offshore work personnel, mitigation of adverse sea conditions and weather, as well
as the occasional diving operations for checks and maintenance. There could even be shared
access and usage to onshore and offshore infrastructure like port facilities and substations.
Much of the equipment developed for offshore work, from general service vessels to jack-up
rigs to accommodation vessels and from geophysical survey kit to sea trenching plant, could
potentially be used across both sectors. As the saying goes, killing two birds with one stone.

In terms of project management, the oil and gas experience is beneficial too. They have a lot
of experience managing large scale projects, performing environmental audits and site
assessments, surmounting planning and consenting hurdles, handling special employee
training, managing logistics and much more. There are experts in operational methods, business
models, contractual arrangements, reliability and availability enhancement, safety
management, compliance procedures, funding mechanisms, cost and pricing structures, etc. All
this could reduce the development and operational costs of offshore wind farms by a huge sum.

Current development

For over 40 years, the worlds offshore engineers have used advanced engineering software
such as SACS for the design, fabrication, installation, operations, and maintenance of fixed
offshore structures. The use of such software is widely specified to ensure code compliance
across the lifecycle of these structures and is currently used by engineering certification firms
such as American Bureau of Shipping, Bureau Veritas Group, China Classification Society,
Germanischer Lloyd AG, DNV, and Lloyds Register Group, as well as engineering firms. The
software enables engineers to dynamically model any type of offshore structural system and
provide optimal design against environmental loads, such as waves, wind, and current, in
addition to mechanical loads from wind turbines. Engineers can also fully explore the effects
of fatigue, ship impact loads, transportation and installation. For the wind power market, the
software has been extended to include more complex loads and geometries and is integrated
with most turbine manufacturer simulation software for a fully coupled analysis. This
integration allows engineers to simulate the loads on a wind turbine platform structure and
optimize these steel structures for cost, installation weight, and strength.

Figure 5: Simulation of offshore wind turbine using SACS

An example of an analysis is the one performed by Keystone. By integrating SACS software

with DNV GLs Bladed, Keystone helped to optimize the design of its substructures through a
rigorous set of virtual tests. The design team conducted 2,334 simulations, 30 million time
steps and 25 load cases for waves up to 19 meters high and winds from eight directions at
speeds ranging from 2 meters per second to 58 meters per second. The different load cases that
were taken into account include operating, storm, start up, shutdown, fault, maintenance and
installation. With extensive simulation tests, the process helped to optimize the design of the
total structure to ensure that it operates safely under a wide range of weather conditions. If the
results from the virtual tests hold true, the new structures supporting the Block Island wind
farm should be able to withstand 100-year tropical storms (or a storm in which the intensity is
so great, it only occurs on an average of every 100 years). This is not only sustainable, but it
will also produce savings in the long run. An avoidance band in the operating speed of the
turbine could mean a 50 percent loss of energy production over the lifetime of the turbine. The
foundation is also sustainable to manufacture, as it requires less steel than comparable
substructures.
Evaluation of the Proposed Solution

Wind energy in all its benefit do not come at no cost. It is important that the proposed solution
be weighted by its pros and cons before proceeding further with the recommendation.

Pros

Better job opportunities

In terms of oil and gas, jobs are dependent on the amount and availability of it. When that runs
out, so do jobs. In 2016, PETRONAS cut over a thousand jobs after oil prices hit all time low,
reducing their gross profit from RM 31. 6 bil to RM 10 bil only. Many workers and their
families suffered huge blows, with no compensation from the firm. Wind energy, being a
renewable source, would not encounter should issues. Its continuous production would ensure
the longevity of job prospects. In fact, in several places in the US, like for example the Atlantic
coast, studies predicted that offshore wind could create 91,000 more jobs than the amount
currently required in offshore drilling, doubling the job creation potential. In Virginia, experts
say offshore wind would create 15,456 jobs, making that number 1.5 times greater than the
10,295 jobs offshore oil drilling is currently offering.

Figure 6: Graph of job opportunities comparison

A report predicted that 600,000 wind-related jobs could be supported in America by 2050 to
Americas 500 wind manufacturing facilities, an industry that is already supporting more than
50,000 jobs at the current moment in services such as manufacturing, installation, and
maintenance. Also, nearly 1.4 million jobs and over $95 billion of Americas GDP rely on
healthy ocean ecosystems, mainly through fishing, tourism and recreation. Reducing excess
spillage and emissions the oil and gas sector would help maintain those jobs. Similar in
Malaysia, tourism and fishing is a major part of the countrys GDP, with states like Terengganu
and Sabah creating protection areas in the ocean to maintain the ecosystem for both these
purposes. Introducing wind energy would help save these jobs too.

A natural habitat for wildlife

In a study by the Institute for Marine Resources and Ecosystem Studies at Wageningen
University, it was proven that a wind farm can also provide a new natural habitat for organisms
living on the sea bed such as anemones, mussels, and crabs. These species get attracted by the
turbine foundation and rocks for habitual and food purpose, thereby contributing to increased
biodiversity. He also added that for fish and marine mammals, it provides an oasis of calm, as
wind turbines do not operate under the sea. Researchers have found schools of cod nearby
many offshore wind farms, using it as a protection site because there is less likely to be birds,
bigger fishers or other types of prey. Other researchers question the effect off offshore turbine
on the airborne wildlife such as seagulls and eagles. A study noted that the effects of wind
farms will inevitably vary depending on their position, but in an overall and long-term measure,
they stressed that offshore wind farms can contribute to a more diverse habitat and even help
nature to recover from the effects of intensive fishing, pollution, oil and gas extraction, and
shipping, which is why it would be a perfect complement to the oil and gas sector.

No visual and noise impact

One of the most common issued faced by wind energy farms prior to development is opposition
from residents nearby who complain of noise and visual impact of these farms on their
residential area, blaming the farms for causing a reduction in their property value. Offshore
wind farms, while having much bigger turbine blades that would cause more noise and obstruct
more views, cause lower visual and noise impact due to the greater distance from the coastline.
This means that the farms are usually located far away from human populations and do not
impair their current living state.

Cons

Initial start-up causes more emissions

While offshore wind resources are proven to reduce carbon emissions while in operation, the
matter is entirely different when it comes to the construction and maintenance. The exact
volume of fuel required is mostly dependent on the size of the vessels transporting to and from
the structures, as well as weather conditions (very strong tides and wind require more power
hence more fuel consumed), carrying load, etc. One estimation that can be more easily
approximated is the jack-up vessel fuel requirement. Jack-up vessels are used to install the
turbine foundation. It uses approximately 2,640 gallons per day of marine fuel according to
guidance provided by consultancy BVG Associates. Aside of driving the foundations of the
turbine into the seabed, construction and maintenance activities of the offshore wind turbine
include laying array and export cables for power transmission, port construction, substation
installation nearby, crew transfer over the whole duration of installation (although all these
costs may be significantly reduced when using pre-constructed structures like unused steel
jacks and oil rig, as well as when synchronized with oil platform operations and set-up) as well
as turbine installation.

Costly capital

The main disadvantage of offshore wind energy farms are high construction costs. Offshore
wind energy projects need to be powerfully built in order to withstand rough weather
conditions; the costs of installing an offshore wind turbine were around $5 million per
megawatt of capacity in 2010, while installing turbine on land has installation costs between
$2-2.5 million per megawatt of capacity. Because of this offshore wind farms need to be built
large, or otherwise they are not economically viable.
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