443 results
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2022-096
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

NPF Tiger Prawn Fishery Adaptation Strategy workshop

The Northern Prawn Fishery operates over a considerable expanse off Australia's northern coast. The fishery has been managed with a combination of voluntary buybacks, internal industry restructuring, and compulsory acquisition programs, resulting in a significant reduction in the number of...
ORGANISATION:
NPF Industry Pty Ltd
Communities
PROJECT NUMBER • 2017-010
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

A re-examination of underlying model assumptions and resulting abundance indices of the Fishery Independent Survey (FIS) in Australia’s SESSF

The model-based Fishery Independent Survey (FIS) for the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (SESSF) was developed in the lead up to the first survey in 2008 and is unique in a fisheries context in that it differs from a random stratified design, thereby allowing considerable...
ORGANISATION:
CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere Hobart
Environment

SIA early mover micro project - integrated wave energy microgrid design

Project number: 2022-141
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $346,448.00
Principal Investigator: Stephanie Thornton
Organisation: Climate KIC Australia (for Australian Ocean Energy Group)
Project start/end date: 15 Oct 2023 - 29 Dec 2024
Contact:
FRDC

Need

Our project is an “early mover micro project” within SIA’s overarching industry decarbonisation program, where the deliverable is the needs analysis and design for a wave energy microgrid system for Southern Ocean Mariculture, an abalone aquaculture company located in Port Fairy, Victoria.

Throughout this past year, Southern Ocean Mariculture (SOM), AZURA Ocean Technologies (AZURA) and Deloitte Emissions Solutions (DES) have been in early discussion about development of an ocean energy solution to help SOM achieve their decarbonisation goals, reduce their cost of energy and reduce dependency on grid-supplied electricity. These parties have identified the need to analyse SOM’s future energy requirements and develop a novel approach to help them decarbonise through a multi-modal renewable ocean energy microgrid.

Upon learning about AOEG’s proposal to develop an ocean energy/aquaculture program, the leaders of SOM, AZURA and DES enthusiastically offered their participation to co-design a suitable ocean energy microgrid system to meet their needs, under an FRDC funded project. This group of visionary leaders is excited to join the AOEG team in showcasing the work of this proof-of-concept project within the context of the larger SIA Decarbonisation Program, with learnings and application to the broader aquaculture sector.

This project will result in the design for an ocean energy microgrid system that will produce electricity to supplement SOM’s existing grid and/or fossil fuel based energy supply. SOM will help to assess which element of their operation will be used as the basis for initial microgrid design. As a pilot project, this approach enables SOM to evaluate a wide range of issues without high risks and will be considered an incremental step toward building a full-scale off-grid clean energy system for the future.

As an early-mover project within SIA’s decarbonisation program, the following knowledge will be generated for learning and dissemination to the industry.
- Showcase what an ocean energy microgrid system is and its required elements.
- Document the items and factors required to design a suitable microgrid energy system.
- Document the process by which the design is developed.
- Showcase how other offshore or near shore industries could leverage ocean energy microgrids to provide clean electricity for their operations and to help meet decarbonisation targets
- Demonstrate the potential for ocean energy playing a significant role in Australia’s future renewable energy mix

AOEG will collaborate with SIA and the Blue Economy CRC to co-implement industry outreach, communications and other complementary activities within the limits of this first mover energy transition ‘micro-project’.

Objectives

1. The interconnectivity between an ocean energy device, other energy generation components and a land-based microgrid system will be evaluated and documented.
2. The design for an integrated wave energy microgrid system for Southern Ocean Mariculture will be produced.

Final report

Author: Christopher Lee Stephanie Thornton
Final Report • 2024-12-12 • 9.60 MB
2022-141-DLD.pdf

Summary

Aquaculture operators are predominately reliant on diesel generation for their ocean-based operations, while shore-based facilities like hatchery production and processing use grid supply electricity, typically with diesel backup power. The growing pressures on the industry necessitates a transition to perpetual, reliable clean energy sources to sustain growth and meet global sustainability expectations. The Project was designed to address the reliance on diesel generation, rising operational costs, and the limitations of grid power through ocean energy. This is particularly relevant as the aquaculture industry considers renewable energy options as part of their de-carbonisation strategy. As aquaculture considers expansion into offshore environments away from shoreline facilities, or remote areas, ocean energy, including wave, tidal, current flow energy can be options to replace fuel, gas or battery energy where grid-supplied electricity is not available. While solar, wind, and battery systems are common and proven in land-based microgrids, the addition of ocean (wave and/or tidal) energy generation offers a promising solution, though information and data for decision-making capital investment is scarce.

The Project tested the hypothesis that integrating wave energy with other renewables and storage can yield a more reliable, cost-effective and sustainable energy solution than a traditional solar-battery setup.
The Project validated that ocean energy integration enhances microgrid reliability while reducing emissions. Using Southern Ocean Mariculture (SOM) as a case study in Southwest Victoria, the project documented emissions impacts and developed an optimized wave energy microgrid design using wave energy data collected at the site as inputs. The research included energy modelling with HomerPro software, examining various scenarios to create a practical, replicable solution tailored to SOM’s requirements.
The Project Outcomes were a delivered methodology for preparing a business case for commercial evaluation; engagement of a commercial aquaculture industry with a commercial wave energy technology; the establishment of a de-carbonised scenario comparison pilot study test case for promotion and public interest; and a documentation of learnings and limitations. The modelling predicted that the commercial wave energy technology could replace all grid power when used in combination with SOM's existing 250kW solar array, and reduce carbon emissions by 94%, assuming that a small amount of diesel would still be required by the genset as a backup for emergencies. 
People
Environment
PROJECT NUMBER • 2017-047
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Understanding environmental and fisheries factors causing fluctuations in mud crab and blue swimmer crab fisheries in northern Australia to inform harvest strategies

This project investigated relationships between environmental factors and harvests of crabs in the Gulf of Carpentaria (GoC), northern Australia. Desktop correlative analyses clearly indicated that recent fluctuations in the catches of Giant Mud Crabs in the GoC are most likely driven by...
ORGANISATION:
Department of Primary Industries (QLD)
Environment
Environment
PROJECT NUMBER • 2010-061
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

National Guidelines to develop fishery harvest strategies

Harvest strategies offer an effective fisheries management tool to integrate the ecological, social and economic dimensions of fisheries management into a single framework for fisheries management decision making. As evidenced by their wide use internationally and throughout Australian fisheries...
ORGANISATION:
Department of Primary Industries and Regions South Australia (PIRSA)
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