The Aquaculture sector is in a period of disruption, diversification and growth. Marine based aquaculture operators are largely reliant on diesel power generation while shore-based facilities like hatcheries, recirculating, and processing facilities use increasingly volatile and expensive grid supplied electricity, often with diesel powered backup.
Producers are facing increasing regulatory, stakeholder, and market driven pressures to respond to sustainability issues such as reducing emissions and lowering carbon footprints. Securing sources of reliable, affordable, and low risk clean energy is paramount for the future prosperity of the sector in the face of these escalating pressures, identifying pathways to decarbonise operations and supply chains, can facilitate market access (i.e. EU), provide carbon credits and receive price premiums for qualified sustainable products.
Project AquaGrid - Australia’s Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) requested the development of a scalable alternative energy solution to strengthen resilience in a changing climate; and identify novel decarbonisation pathways. Project AquaGrid was selected as an early mover project within Seafood Industry Australia’s (SIA’s) overarching 3-year aquaculture decarbonisation program.
The project analysed, modelled and documented the energy requirements of Southern Ocean Mariculture, an abalone producer in Victoria, Australia. Their aim - facilitate a resilient, reliable, cost effective and secure off grid (or with grid redundancy) energy system, to meet their emission reduction (94% reduction achieved), and business growth targets. Modelling successfully looked beyond their existing onsite solar (PV) array, to design and model a microgrid system that met these aims resulting in project implementation.