Sustainable Energy Power Plants – Your Competitive Edge
Type:
Presented during:
WODCON XXIII - Dredging is changing - The Practice. The Science. The Business.
Authors:
R. Ammerlaan, J. Kers
Abstract
"At this moment, the entire maritime sector contributes for around 2.2% to the global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The U.N.'s International Maritime Organization (IMO) has defined a target for the entire industry to emit 70% less emissions in 2050, compared to 2008. In order to achieve this goal, we as maritime industry have to integrate sustainable power plants in new build vessels and design solutions to improve today's operational fleet. Vessels that are built at this moment are likely to remain in operation until 2050. IMO's defined sustainability ambition applies to all major vessels, including the international dredging industry. European built vessels currently last up to 40 years. This means current designs and new build vessels already have to take the zero emission future into account. But how do you prepare the power plant of your vessel for future technologies? And, what are the major technical challenges you face today? A global effort OEM's, research institutes and universities around the world are currently developing all kinds of technology to generate or store renewable energy. Although many technologies are still in the early or experimental phases, progress is being made. Developments in technologies such as DC-grids and hydrogen seem very promising to reduce the environmental footprint of vessels. Added value right now The future for upcoming technologies seems bright. However, in order to significantly reduce emissions we have to start right now. For dredging vessels, Diesel electric has already been the prevailing choice of power plants for the last decades. The last couple of years we see an increase in the launch of vessels with sophisticated dual-fuel or energy storage power plants. For example, Van Oord ordered two 10.000m3+ trailing suction hopper dredgers with LNG as main source of energy. The second generation of Damens' Marine Aggregate Dredgers is designed to operate fully electric and also DEME equipped the largest cutter suction dredger in the world with an LNG generator and energy storing flywheel. The Achilles heel of new power plant technologies All these new applications sound promising. There is only one part of the formula that is becoming increasingly complex: the dynamics of the power plant. Dredging vessels and other ships are solitary and self-sustaining units at sea. Therefore, they are responsible for their own generation, distribution, storage and consumption of energy. Fluctuations in the amount of power consumed or generated can create peak loads or strong frequency oscillations at specific points in the on-board power grid. These power fluctuations can be caused by switching on equipment, failure of components or mission equipment causing load steps. If these actions are not actively managed and coordinated on board, vessels are at risk of overloading the system. An event like this can cause the performance to 'hiccup', additional components to trip or a complete blackout to take place. The consequences of this can be disastrous. In the best case, the operation may be shut down for a short moment of time. But when major maintenance is required, the dredger may be out of commission for several weeks or even months. The capabilities to monitor these dynamics in the power plant are well within reach for many system integrators for the current generation of power plants. Almost all new dredgers of recent years are equipped with a combination of a diesel engines, and AC converters. For power plants with new fuel technologies (such as LNG, hydrogen or ammonia), monitoring and balancing the dynamics is a lot more complex. We are dealing with changing characteristics and new variables."
Keywords: Sustainability, Electrical, Power Plant, Future Fuels, Performance