Sector In Focus: Low Carbon Energy

E&P has extended its existing offerings into the Low Carbon Energy market. E&P’s Head of Renewables, John Draper, presents an update on the sector and current E&P activities in the renewables arena.

Understanding Low Carbon Energy

Firstly, what do we mean by Low Carbon Energy? This is any energy that can be created without releasing any CO2 into the atmosphere. For us, this translates into three main categories:

Offshore Wind Energy

This is where 250m tall turbines are put in the sea 10+km from land. Each one produces 14 MegaWatts (that’s enough for 30,000 homes) of electricity and they are fixed to the seabed, so the water cannot be too deep. Globally this is due to quadruple installed capacity over the next 10 years and will need to quadruple again over the subsequent 10 years.

Carbon Capture and Storage

This is a process in which any industrial plant currently releasing CO2 to the atmosphere can remove the CO2 and liquefy it, then pump it into an underground reservoir (often one that has had oil and/or gas extracted) where it will be stored for thousands of years. There are only a few places in the world where it is being done, but it needs to increase by a thousand times over the next 30 years, to achieve net zero globally.

Hydrogen Production

Hydrogen burns like gas, but only produces water vapour so no harmful CO2. And with a little modification it can be used wherever gas is currently used. So, it can replace your home heating, gas power generation etc. If we had enough renewable electricity, then it can be produced via electrolysis without any CO2 emissions. However, for the next 30 years we will need to produce it from natural gas, store the CO2 using Carbon capture and storage. Again, this is going to grow a thousand times.

All our customers are expanding into these areas, so it makes sense for us to continue to support them. However, it’s also going to be a growth market so we can expand into some new customers. It’s also a good thing to do, as we want to help solve the climate crisis.

We’ll be attending some key conferences on the above to continue expanding our understanding and knowledge about the industries, and we’re already working with OSDU (Open Subsurface Data Universe - see https://osduforum.org/ for more info) who are extending their code base into the above technologies.

If you would like to find out more about E&P Consulting’s activities in the renewables sector, get in touch with John Draper at john.draper@eandpconsulting.com