WÄRTSILÄ TECHNICAL JOURNAL f o u r7. 01 Twenty 2020 COVER STORY MODELLING 14 The way to incorporate page renewables into the grid ENERGY 4 Carbon-neutral paradise Machine learning and energy storage are driving renewable generation on islands ENERGY 22 Blowing in the wind Wind power has a key role to play in pushing Europe towards carbon neutrality MARINE 38 Offshore goes onshore New power generation concept needs less on-site maintenance FUTURE 48 Cybersecurity at sea A holistic approach to data storage is revolutionising the industry in detail issue no. 01.2020 WÄRTSILÄ TECHNICAL JOURNAL | WWW.WARTSILA.COM Contents EMBRACING THE POSSIBILITIES OF A CHANGING WORLD ENERGY Sun, sea, and software: Islands are at the forefront We are living through unprecedented times, to say the least . The first of a renewable energy revolution . 4 months of 2020 have upended how we experience the world, the way Fulfilling Africa’s potential for economic we do business, and our vision of the future . This moment, as we plan growth depends on reliable energy . 6 a new path forward, offers us an opportunity to examine the old ways Making power plants better neighbours of doing things and assess how we might change them for the better . through collaboration and technology . 12 As economies around the world ramp up following shutdowns How advanced modelling is transforming imposed due to the novel coronavirus, we have a chance to look at the way we power our industries, and make choices for the coming Ukraine’s post-Soviet power sector . 14 decades that are affordable, reliable, and sustainable . The power of Advanced System Modelling . 18 Africa offers several examples of how taking a chance on Microgrids use renewables to offer efficient, something new offers the opportunity to unlock previously effective solutions to power challenges . 20 unharnessed potential . With a growing, dynamic population, the Wind power has an important role to play as continent has enormous possibilities for economic growth, but Europe pushes for carbon-neutrality . 22 is being held back by a lack of reliable electricity . These energy Biomethane: The next natural gas? . 24 shortages have ramifications for every aspect of social and economic development . Apart from reducing the quality of life, they limit the MARINE continent’s attractiveness for doing business . In some parts of Africa, A new digital solution for revolutionising investors who want to build a new factory, for example, have to port operations arrives just in time . 26 provide all their own infrastructure – from the facility, to the electricity Propelling the maritime industry forward, to power it, to the transport system to get the products to market . But Africa’s lack of infrastructure is also an opportunity . one device at a time . 30 Unhindered by outdated technology and outmoded thinking, African Electric propulsion is key to a zero-emissions countries can leapfrog over outdated fossil fuel installations and go future in cruise . 32 directly to renewables, making choices that are both environmentally POWERING AFRICA How a digitalisation deal could revolutionise friendly and economically competitive . the maritime industry . 36 Deciding to take a chance on a new way of doing things always The continent’s economic future depends on reliable energy. Wärtsilä Power solution for normally requires managing uncertainty, but energy modelling can add some Can renewables lead the way? unattended offshore installations takes clarity . Modelling provides actual data that decisionmakers can use offshore operations onshore . 38 to make informed choices about where to invest to make the most World’s largest semi-submersible crane of renewables . Modelling is playing an important role in building an vessel gets a boost from Wärtsilä . 42 argument for sustainable energy generation in places as disparate as To achieve a sustainable maritime future, post-Soviet Ukraine and the Azores island of Graciosa . we must act now . 46 Making the most of this opportunity to write a new future also requires finding new uses for resources we already have available . FUTURE Biomass is one such resource . Biomethane, a synthetic gas produced from excess biowaste, could be the fuel source the world has been Cybersecurity looks to the cloud waiting for . It can be used with the same infrastructure as natural to protect data at sea . 48 gas and significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions . While at the moment it is challenging to produce at scale and transport, The gas of Getting to port Maritime’s digital it represents one example of how we can find different uses for READ OUR LATEST STORIES ONLINE AT available assets . the future? just in time revolution Web WARTSILA.COM/TWENTYFOUR7 Change is difficult, but it offers opportunities as well as challenges . Biomethane might be the A new solution for improving A groundbreaking deal As we work to discover the post-coronavirus catalyst that drives a 100% ship-to-shore communication between Wärtsilä and Anglo- Publisher: Wärtsilä Corporation, Hiililaiturinkuja 2, economy, it’s important to look to these renewable energy future, but makes shipping more efficient Eastern could dramatically FIN-00180 Helsinki, Finland | possibilities . Editor-in-Chief: Mikael Wideskog | bringing it into wider use is not and decreases emissions. increase digitalisation in Managing editor and editorial office: Virva Äimälä | without its challenges. shipping. Editorial team: Marit Holmlund-Sund, Mari Kankaanranta, Sari Mikael Wideskog Luhanka, Pia Posio, Laura Quinton, Mirja-Maija Santala, Mikaela Terhi | Layout and production: Spoon | General Manager, Printed: May 2020 by PunaMusta, Joensuu, Finland Technology Strategy & Innovation Process ISSN 1797-0032 | Copyright © 2020 Wärtsilä Corporation | Wärtsilä Paper: cover LumiSilk 250g/m², inside pages UPM Fine 120 g/m² Editor-in-Chief of In Detail MORE ON PAGE 24 MORE ON PAGE 26 MORE ON PAGE 36 E-mail and feedback: [email protected] Cover photo: 123RF in detail 3 [ ENERGY / IN DETAIL ] WÄRTSILÄ TECHNICAL JOURNAL 01.2020 ] DETAIL IN / ENERGY [ Machine learning makes reliable wind and solar energy possible for the entire island of Graciosa. Photo: HowardScott had been relying on a diesel-generated heavily involved in making sure we feed disruption wind and solar power represent power plant for decades. The aim was good info to the computers,” he says. for a slow-moving industry. to achieve 65% renewable energy for the While in the future AI will have an “Non-renewable energy has been stable entire population with 100% renewable important role to play in operational and dependable. It has existed for good power capability depending on real-time planning, true “self-learning” isn’t yet a reason,” says Paldanius. “But we have to availability. According to Luke Witmer, feature of energy generation, says Witmer. admit that in the new world of renewables, it General Manager, Data Science, Wärtsilä However, in the case of Graciosa, almost feels like a dinosaur.” Energy Business, things are on track to meet which has a battery big enough to power The industry needs to get used to the this goal. the whole island for just under an hour, idea of being more agile, he says. A nuclear While the most visible step might be machine learning makes reliable wind and power or gas plant used to stay viable for the construction of functional wind farms solar energy possible for the whole island. up to 50 or 60 years, now we’re talking and solar collection, behind the scenes it is On Bonaire, which has a notably larger about plants that can be built in six months, Photo: 123RF energy management software that’s making population, it’s a matter of scaling up the operate for a decade, and then be replaced renewable energy security a present reality. optimisation and statistical forecasting. with newer technology. It’s a game-changer “Wind and solar are potentially excellent Meanwhile, E.ON’s Texas Waves facility is for investors, but this smart investment will renewable energy sources, but they’re working on the storage side of the equation. have huge pay-offs for those who get it right also volatile and unpredictable,” explains These energy storage systems not only – not to mention for the planet. Sun, sea, and software: Islands are at the Witmer. “You have to have ways of keeping store an increasing amount of energy from the electrical grid sound if you’re to let those wind and solar, but they also monitor the No looking back energies into it.” electrical quality of grid conditions, very Towards the end of the commissioning and forefront of a renewable energy revolution Endlessly switching between collecting, quickly responding and balancing supply the beginning of the endurance testing, storing, and doling out power as the needs and demand shortages with bursts of power Witmer’s team realised that they were a of the grid fluctuate, energy input rises and in both directions. button click away from delivering 100% AUTHOR: Sarah Hudson falls, and battery capacity drains or maxes As complex systems are augmented with renewable energy to Graciosa’s entire out is a delicate dance. It relies on hard logic, AI, it has become clear that machines are population for the first time. forecasting, and statistics. With the right now able to process information with a level “We thought: OK, no looking back,” human guidance, machines excel at it. of intelligence that allows them to capably recalls Witmer. They clicked the button. operate autonomously in ways that humans For the first time in decades the diesel Machine-learning software and advances excellent testing grounds thanks to their the smart energy equation: optimisation and Does AI play a part? cannot. That said, sucessful operation is power plant fell silent. The wind blew… in energy storage are changing the high fuel costs but abundant wind and solar storage. Combined with the expansion of AI Witmer explains that while there’s been more about augmenting the human operator and the lights stayed on.