[ad_1]
The timelines for countries to become energy secure and to reach net zero goals have been shortened. The main contributing factors are the impact of COVID-19 on supply chains and the war in Ukraine. In addition, there are external influences such as COP27, or the landmark US Climate Act, which will direct nearly $370 billion toward rapidly increasing renewable energy production and reducing emissions. Intergovernmental organizations such as the International Energy Agency are already working to help governments on this path to sustainability, establishing common goals to promote the efficient functioning of markets and encouraging dialogue between members. But change doesn’t happen overnight. The next decade will be a period of transition that will require governments and companies to improve their energy security by making current energy operations more efficient and sustainable, as well as by diversifying their portfolios by investing in domestic renewable energy sources.
Research – both academic, governmental and by private companies – is what informs decisions to advance strategies. The good news is that the volume of research is increasing. The number of publications related to net-zero energy and renewable sources grew faster than all other research worldwide between 2001 and 2020, to a total of 1.6 million papers. This means more insights are available to scientists and engineers to ensure optimal results from energy projects. But to take advantage of this data, the energy transition will also need to be accompanied by an industry-wide digital transformation.
Optimize current operations and increase sustainability
Global energy needs are increasing as the world’s population grows and nations further industrialize. As renewable energy develops, current energy supplies will need to be maintained to meet demand and provide more sustainable, secure energy. States and companies must take steps to ensure that ongoing operations are as sustainable, efficient and have as little impact on the environment as possible. This includes using innovative materials and focusing on the maintenance and protection of existing facilities. For example, replacing old components—such as pumps and compressors—throughout the supply chain can reduce the carbon footprint and ensure fewer supply interruptions.
Infrastructure maintenance will be especially important for less economically developed countries. Repairing individual components is cheaper than waiting to replace the entire network or facility and reduces the risk of outages. Corrosion is a particular challenge in power operations, costing the industry $60 billion a year. Companies and government agencies therefore need access to the latest data on corrosion-resistant materials and prevention strategies so that they can move from a reactive maintenance stance to a proactive one; maintaining security of supply while contributing to a net-zero world.
Intelligent investment in renewable energy sources
The drive of governments to become energy secure is inextricably linked to the adoption of renewable energy sources. Diversifying energy sources with renewable energy sources reduces reliance on other nations as well as reducing emissions. However, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) stresses that offshore renewable energy projects involve high capital costs and risk, so before making decisions on renewable sites, leaders need as much data as possible. For example, governments will first need to consider their prospects for which energy sources best suit their geographic and social needs. Islands with dense populations, or nations with long coastlines, will benefit from offshore technologies, as they do not move people and establishing connectivity is easier. We have seen this with the London Array Wind Farm in the UK or the Block Island Wind Farm in Rhode Island. Conversely, large nations in desert areas may opt for massive solar farms, as seen in Morocco.
The next step is to screen and develop potential sites, ensuring that they will be able to provide a stable, reliable energy supply in tandem with the optimization of existing processes to moderate their environmental impact. Offshore sites, for example, are often in environmentally extreme locations with limited supply chains and connectivity. Therefore, project managers will need data on factors such as geology, shallow seismic data, seabed mobility and obstructions, and meteorological data. It is also important to be aware of existing infrastructure and transport sustainability, to ensure that supply can be consistently returned.
Equipping your nation for transition
Adopting renewable energy sources is a long-term plan, and as we discussed, a complex one. Data will be critical to this transition, and researchers must be able to access the information in order to make sound decisions and achieve optimal results.
This starts with equipping scientists with domain-specific digital tools to help them make the most of both legacy and new data. The growing body of research is promising, but to unlock actionable insights, we need to structure and align it. Geoscientists working in research spend about 60% to 80% of their time searching for information they may already have—this can be significantly reduced through extensive digital transformation.
When data is organized, critical insights can be unlocked to enable governments to model different scenarios and make reliable predictions. There has already been some industry success—for example, BHP’s “Global Heritage Project,” which recovered 100 terabytes of information spread across 80 million files. These files are integrated into the company’s database to make the data quickly searchable alongside public information on the geoscience “portal”. Such digital transformation projects will be the only way to ensure that no information is missed and that researchers can quickly access the information needed to reduce the environmental impact of future and ongoing projects while making them more efficient.
The road ahead is rough
The road to energy security and net zero is long and governments must start investing in the right skills and technology sooner rather than later. The global economy is entering a new turbulent era, which will add even more pressure to decision makers. Data-driven planning and decision-making are critical to weathering the storm and creating a successful path to a diversified, affordable, secure, net-zero energy supply.
—Brian Davies is vice president of engineering solutions at Elsevier.
[ad_2]
Source link
