What Is Energy And How Renewable Energy Will Become Prominent In The Future?
What is Energy? The First Law of Thermodynamics states that energy cannot be created or destroyed. It can, be transferred from one location to another and converted to and from other forms of energy. The sun is the source of all the energy available on Earth. Energy is essential to life and all living organisms.…
The First Law of Thermodynamics states that energy cannot be created or destroyed. It can, be transferred from one location to another and converted to and from other forms of energy.
The sun is the source of all the energy available on Earth. Energy is essential to life and all living organisms. Our energy decisions impact Earth’s natural systems in ways we may not be aware of. Thus, it is essential that we choose our energy sources carefully. Everything that occurs happens because energy is changed from one form to another. We depend on energy to run our homes and businesses.
In this time of global market uncertainty, one thing we do know is that the world still needs energy.
History of Energy
In the 1700s, human harvest biomass (wood, peat, and animal dung) for heating and cooking.
The rise of the Industrial Revolution created an increased demand for biomass energy. This lead to more trees cutting down more rapidly than they could be grown. An energy crisis occurred in the 18th century. In response, Europeans began using coal as a primary energy source.
The process of industrialization was propelled by many technological inventions. One of them the invention of the steam engine.
When did Oil become so important?
The oil industry began in 1859 with the discovery of the world’s first commercially viable oil well in the USA.
It came at a time when emerging technology created new products from oil. One product, kerosene, became popular as a cheap, clean fuel for lighting homes.
America’s first commercial oil well was created at Titusville, Pennsylvania. A new technique was pioneered using a pipeline to line the boreholes to allow deeper drilling. The success of the oil well, plus a demand for kerosene, triggered an oil rush and began a major new industry.
How Our Reliance On Oil Affects The Environment?
Oil production is among the main culprits of air pollution. When fossil fuels are burned by power plants, they generate toxic gases. This will cause respiratory problems such as asthma and cardiovascular diseases.
More greenhouse gases will be released into the atmosphere. Greenhouse emissions have been trapping unwanted solar heat, which causes temperatures to rise. Wildfire seasons are longer, hurricanes are stronger and heatwaves are harsher.
What Is Renewable Energy And How They Propel Our Future?
A renewable energy source means sustainable energy. It is made from resources that nature will replace, like wind, water, and sunshine.
It comes from sources that are replenished naturally, such as the sun and wind.
Types of renewable energy sources
1) Wind Energy
Wind energy is obtained from the force of the wind. It transforms the kinetic energy of air currents into electrical energy. It is extracted with the rotor, which transforms the kinetic energy into mechanical energy. The generator transforms this mechanical energy into electrical energy.
Harnessing the wind as a source of energy started more than 7000 years ago. Currently, China, U.S., and Germany are the leading wind energy producers.
2) Solar
Solar energy is the ultimate source responsible for our energy sources on Earth. The amount of sunlight that strikes the earth’s surface in an hour is about 173,000 terawatts of solar energy.
When sunlight hits a solar panel, it reacts with silicon crystals in each solar panel to produce an electric current. It creates electrical charges that move in response to an internal electric field in the cell, causing electricity to flow.
From home rooftops to utility-scale farms, solar power is reshaping energy markets around the world.
3) Biomass
Our ancestors have been using biomass energy (energy from living things) since the beginning of time. One example is to use wood fires for cooking or keeping warm. It is renewable organic material that comes from plants and animals.
Biomass is direct combustion, which burns agricultural waste or wood to heat water. This produces steam, which spins turbines.
Like solar power, biomass is a flexible energy source, it is able to fuel vehicles, heat buildings, and produce electricity.
4) Geothermal
Geothermal energy is derived from the Earth’s internal heat. It comes from the heat generated during the original formation of the planet and the radioactive decay of materials. This thermal energy is stored in rocks and fluids in the center of the earth.
On a large scale, underground reservoirs of steam and hot water can be tapped through wells that can go a mile deep or more to generate electricity.
How renewable energy benefit us in the future?
It is now absolutely vital that we optimize our use of sustainable and renewable energy sources. We have to address the problems of global warming, health effects and sustainability of fossil fuel dependency. Thankfully, solar power is becoming cheaper, and many countries have opted to invest in installing solar panels, as well as other forms of renewable energy.
1) Improved public health
Human activity is overloading our atmosphere with greenhouse emissions.
These gases act like a blanket, trapping heat. This results in a web of significant and harmful impacts such as stronger storms, drought, sea-level rise, to animal extinction.
With renewables energy like solar panels and wind turbines, it generates no emissions and no air pollution.
2) Fewer floods and droughts will occur.
Due to the sheer amount of water that is required annually to power the plants that burn fossil fuels, droughts are becoming far more likely. Climate change is also causing floods, which damages thousands of homes every year, rendering people homeless and even causing fatalities.
One example is Hydropower plants. They can be used to regulate and reduce the risk of flooding.
3) Steady source of revenue
Solar power and wind energy investment are rising steadily in the wake of Coronavirus. Wind farms and solar panels are low-risk and reliable things to invest in. Experts are referring to wind farms as havens in the storm that is COVID-19.
Customers prefer to purchase from environmentally responsible companies. Partners and investors are interested in firms that meet certain sustainability criteria. Investing in renewables also shows investors that your company is forward-thinking.
Final Takeaway
1) The First Law of Thermodynamics states that energy cannot be created or destroyed.
2) The success of the oil well, plus a demand for kerosene, triggered an oil rush and began the oil industry.
3) Greenhouse emissions have been trapping unwanted solar heat, which causes temperatures to rise.
4) Renewable energy comes from our natural resources such as wind, water, and sunshine.
5) With renewables energy like solar panels and wind turbines, it generates no emissions and no air pollution.
6) Customers prefer to purchase from environmentally responsible companies.
Whilst the size of this no hot work project is a milestone for SPS, the use of a “no hot work” method to install this permanent structural composite has a 15-year pedigree. It was first used onboard the FPSO Independence (ConocoPhilips) in 2003 when a 3m² area of bottom shell in a cargo oil tank…
Whilst the size of this no hot work project is a milestone for SPS, the use of a “no hot work” method to install this permanent structural composite has a 15-year pedigree. It was first used onboard the FPSO Independence (ConocoPhilips) in 2003 when a 3m² area of bottom shell in a cargo oil tank was reinstated. Without hot work, there was no need for a shutdown and the vessel could remain on station with full operational capacity.
A no hot work solution is applicable to plates or pipes in areas exposed to volatile chemicals or compounds and involves the use of structural adhesives and bolts to fix perimeter bars and top plates to the existing structure to form cavities. It is into these cavities that the elastomer core is injected which bonds to the top and bottom faceplates providing greater strength than the original structure. Post elastomer injection, the perimeter bars are structurally unnecessary. Cavities are sized according to the existing structure, typically these are 9m² but in principle, there is no size limit.
As a steel-elastomer-steel composite, which typically reinstates a structure beyond its original strength, SPS, has many uses and with the identification of different demanding applications so the installation process evolved. A low heat SPS installation method is used where services, insulation, paint systems, and fuel oil tanks must be protected from heat input during repair and involves the use of non-direct welding, adhesives, and/or stud welded perimeter bars. It was first introduced in 2006, where the inner hull plating and longitudinals in the passageways were reinstated on board an LNG carrier. 559m² of SPS was installed and it was vital that the membrane installation system was not affected. Over 55 low heat and no hot work projects have been completed so far-ranging in size from 1- 825m² and over 10,000m² of SPS has been installed using these methods.
“No hot work SPS repairs is not a new solution. We’ve been executing such projects for over 15years. Tailor-making solutions to meet our clients’ needs is what we do. Adopted widely in the offshore industry, these no hot work and low heat solutions for SPS are now gaining acceptance by the cruise industry where disturbance to below deck services and cable runs is avoided where possible. Our design team provides an SPS solution tailored to operational requirements, schedule, and budgets.”
Jonny Lim, Director, SPS Asia
Over the past 20 years, £20m+ has been invested in developing the patented SPS technology including an extensive and rigorous program of tests.
How The Future Is Going To Look Like For The FPSO Industry?
What is FPSO? FPSOs (Floating Platform Storage & Offloading) is a floating vessel. They act as a mobile offshore production and storage facility for produced hydrocarbons.FPSOs can store a large amount of oil and gas, increasing the commercial viability of hard-to-reach fields. At the same time, they can navigate away from perilous weather conditions. How…
FPSOs (Floating Platform Storage & Offloading) is a floating vessel. They act as a mobile offshore production and storage facility for produced hydrocarbons.
FPSOs can store a large amount of oil and gas, increasing the commercial viability of hard-to-reach fields. At the same time, they can navigate away from perilous weather conditions.
How does FPSOs look like?
Most FPSOs have processing equipment, or topsides, aboard the vessel’s deck. The produced Hydrocarbon are stored below in the double hull.
FPSOs Procedure
Step 1: Mooring
FPSOs are moored in place by various mooring systems tied to multiple subsea wells. FPSOs are able to rotate freely via a central mooring system. It allows FPSOs to withstand different types of weather conditions.
Step 2: Processing
Hydrocarbons are produced in subsea production wells, which are transported to the FPSO via flowlines and risers.
Step 3: Separation
The hydrocarbons are then separated into oil, gas, water, and impurities via the production facilities on the deck of the FPSO.
Step 4: Storage & Offloading
After processing, an FPSO stores oil in the double hull. They offload periodically to shuttle tankers via a loading hose.
What Is The Future Going To Look Like For The FPSO Industry?
Our reliance on oil is contributing to the emission of Greenhouse gases around the world. When fossil fuels are burned, they release large amounts of carbon dioxide. a greenhouse gas, into the air. Greenhouse gases trap heat in our atmosphere, causing global warming.
The reduction of greenhouse gases is one of the greatest challenges facing operators and service companies in the FPSO industry.
SBM Offshore Fast4ward programs focus on two main sources of greenhouse gas emissions from FPSO, which are energy generation and flaring. They include investigating a carbon capture and storage solution. The Liza Unity FPSO is the first vessel being built under Fast4Ward®, which will reduce cycle time to deliver energy.
At the same time, it is gear up with electrification technology to reduce emissions from the power generators. Digital solutions are applied to analyze data to increase its operational reliability.
SBM Offshore is undertaking a number of innovative approaches to reduce the carbon footprint of its fleet. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Bruno Chabas stated that the Company is looking at the possibilities of generating an FPSO with a gas recycling unit as well as linking an FPSO with a renewable source of energy. This could be in the form of wind or solar energy in order to generate power for the FPSO.
Natural Gas Is A Great Backup When The Sun Is Not Shining
Natural Gas produces less carbon than either coal or fuel oil and it has several key advantages. It can be used for heating, cooling, cooking, waste disposal, and transportation. It provides feedstock for chemicals, fertilizers, and pharmaceutical products.
Natural gas is useful when the wind isn’t blowing or the sun isn’t shining. They provide a potential complement to renewable energy.
In another word, Natural gas can provide low carbon backup at peak energy usage times instead of round-the-clock baseload. It might prove to be its greatest contribution from FPSO Industry.
During a return voyage between New York and Southampton, an 88m² permanent repair was undertaken onboard Carnival UK’s flagship, the Queen Mary 2. The SPS steel reinstatement repair technique facilitated this in-service repair on the tween deck (deck 8) and took just 11 days to complete. The SRC team undertook all steelwork preparation and installation.…
During a return voyage between New York and Southampton, an 88m² permanent repair was undertaken onboard Carnival UK’s flagship, the Queen Mary 2. The SPS steel reinstatement repair technique facilitated this in-service repair on the tween deck (deck 8) and took just 11 days to complete.
The SRC team undertook all steelwork preparation and installation. Working in a height restricted area twenty four cavities were created into which the SPS elastomer core was injected to fully reinstate the strength and integrity of the structure.
Deliver the project with minimal disruption
Andrew Menzies, Deck & Safety SME, Carnival UK commented, “The team was able complete the repair under challenging circumstances whilst the vessel was in-service. In order not to impact on our guests’ cruise experience, restrictions were placed on when works could be undertaken which the team worked around delivering the project on time, with minimal disruption.”
“SPS is ideally suited for cruise vessel repairs. Projects can be undertaken as and when they come to light, with no need to disrupt passenger schedules or extend docking periods. SRC’s team performed a first-rate job and we were pleased to be able to deliver the project ahead of schedule. ”
SPS Project Manager, Farihim Mohammad
This permanent repair was inspected and approved by Lloyd’s Register on both sides of the Atlantic.
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