Journal
ENERGIES
Volume 11, Issue 5, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/en11051084
Keywords
wind power; wave power; offshore oil platforms; Gulf of Mexico; Geographic Information Systems; WaveWatch III
Categories
Funding
- CONACYT (Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia)
- COTACYT (Consejo Tamaulipeco de Ciencia y Tecnologia) [218681]
- Texas A&M University-Kingsville
- Eagle Ford Center for Research and Outreach
- Center for Research Excellence in Science and Technology-Research on Environmental Sustainability in Semi-Arid Coastal Areas (CREST-RESSACA)
- National Science Foundation [EEC 1359414]
- Div Of Engineering Education and Centers
- Directorate For Engineering [1359414] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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Offshore oil platforms operate with independent electrical systems using gas turbines to generate their own electricity. However, gas turbines operate very inefficiently under the variable offshore conditions, increasing fuel costs and air pollutant emissions. This paper focused on investigating the feasibility of implementing a hybrid electricity supply system for offshore oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, both for the United States and Mexico Exclusive Economic Zones. Geographic Information Systems methodologies were used to analyze the data from various sources. Three different scenarios were studied, including wind power only, wave power only, and wind and wave power combined. The results showed that all the offshore locations were within accepted feasible distance to the coast for connecting to the onshore grid. Most of the locations had acceptable power levels of either wind or wave energy while the combination of both resources can improve the overall energy harvesting efficiency and reduce the variability in a significant number of locations. The proposed methodology can be applied for specific locations with finer spatial and time resolution, which will allow stakeholders to improve the decision making process, generate important savings on the normal operation, reduce pollution, and potentially increase income by selling surplus energy from renewable sources.
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