Renewable energy systems for the Australian Antarctic stations ...

• Main Author: Brown, CI
• Format: Thesis
• Language: unknown
• Published: University Of Tasmania 2023
• Subjects: Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica; Macquarie Island
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.25959/23236622; https://figshare.utas.edu.au/articles/thesis/Renewable_energy_systems_for_the_Australian_Antarctic_stations/23236622

Large quantities of fossil fuels are imported each year to meet the electrical and thermal energy needs of Australia's scientific research stations in Antarctica. A significant part of this fuel, used by diesel generator sets, could be offset through the introduction of renewable energy systems. Reduced fuel usage would lead to savings in transportation time and costs, lower atmospheric emissions and reduce the risk of fuel spills. Research has been conducted to estimate the renewable energy resources of the four Australian Antarctic stations: Casey, Davis and Mawson and Macquarie Island. To achieve this goal, the following procedures were employed: 1. analysis of local meteorological records to identify the wind and solar energy resources; 2. identification and breakdown of station energy demands; and 3. modelling of renewable energy generation and storage systems to estimate potential fuel savings. Analysis of the wind energy potential indicated high resources for Mawson and Macquarie Island, while low ...