Our nearest neighbours need our help. The Pacific region is in a uniquely vulnerable position to confront the increasing climatic changes and their implications on a day-to-day basis.
The Pacific Islands are facing devastating impacts of climate change including increasing droughts and water scarcity, coastal flooding and erosion, changes in rainfall that affect ecosystems and food production, and adverse impacts to human health (IPCC, 2014, 2018).
These island communities are extremely vulnerable to climate change with the most substantial impacts of climate change include losses of coastal infrastructure and land, more intense cyclones and droughts, failure of subsistence crops and coastal fisheries, losses of coral reefs and mangroves, and the spread of certain diseases.
Villages are primarily located along the shoreline and are affected by coastal flooding during typhoons and high tide events. The communities rely on a combination of water tanks, aquifers, streams, and wells but freshwater security is threatened by drought and saltwater intrusion. Human impacts are also adversely affecting these freshwater sources and the coastal environment (e.g., pollution from dump sites, waste from pig pens, inadequate sanitation systems, erosion from unpaved pathways, solid waste dumping, and sediment runoff from inland clearing).
Experiencing a combination of increasing seal levels and more intense weather systems the incidents of sea water inundation and ground water subsurface level rises is increasing year on year.
Sinking of low-lying areas has become a stark reminder and potent symbol of climate change. Most research ‘predict these low-lying islands will be submerged by the end of the century [and] some islands might run out of freshwater long before they run out of land’ (Cassella, 2019)
Challenge 1: Ensuring a safe potable water supply for use in community drinking water, agricultural, irrigation, and commercial applications.
The Pacific region faces a unique set of energy challenges. Its limited supply of domestic fossil fuel resources has led to a historical dependence on imported diesel for power generation, and a corresponding vulnerability to fluctuating energy prices. At the same time, outdated power infrastructure, geographical dispersion, small economies of scale, and limited generation capacity lead to high electricity tariffs (or costly subsidies), transmission and distribution losses, and low electrification rates in a number of the Pacific communities.
To overcome regional energy constraints, many of the Pacific communities have embarked on a structural shift toward renewable energy, and away from diesel power generation—many Pacific DMCs are targeting as much as 100% renewables for their power generation mix, alongside increased access to electricity and more resilient infrastructure. The transition to cleaner, more efficient power is reducing dependency on imported fossil fuels, increasing access to affordable and reliable electricity, and supporting climate change mitigation by reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
Challenge 2: Reconfiguring and updating electrical generation and infrastructure to renewable sources to sharply reduce diesel and other fossil fuel use.
The need to act on these challenges is now. How can these affected communities’ key utilities for life and economic survival be sustained in this dynamic evolving change continuum they find themselves in? The solutions must address these core sustainment requirements whilst not creating a wider impact in land encroachment, ensuring base load / service provision, and providing economic or employment opportunity.
The solutions will not be a single point but contain an evolving technology mix to optimise and maintain outcomes.
Wind and solar are both seen as immediate inclusions, but the requirements for large battery storage or diesel generation back-up for low or high wind speed days or low light or night conditions highlight the technological limitations. Islands are by nature restricted in available landmass and the soil footprint required could again have negative impacts both from it impingement on arable land, but in the visual impact for the community. Offshore wind has its advantages in offsetting the land impact, but again they need to be arrayed in visual positions and effect horizonal sight and potential ecological contact.
Technology developed in New Zealand and Australia can provide a uniquely placed solution to these primary challenges, whilst negating land-based impact, yet providing employment creation within the region in design and construction and additionally ongoing jobs at the deployment site.
AZURA Ocean Wave Technology has been developed over 15 years of exhaustive theoretical and ocean deployment actions covering prototypes being optimised, exposed to harsh ocean and weather conditions, and rigorous third-party verification and monitoring. The system is flexible in its deployment requirements, can be optimised for site specific conditions, and creates a minimal footprint offshore. In fact, the tethering system can assist in providing ecological benefits!
Potable water and power in combination or in exclusivity can be created and generated offshore and supplied to meet the needs of the community. Flexibility in supply permutations and deployment configurations make AZURA the preferred option.
AZURA offers the optimised solutions for coastal or seaborne energy and water requirements.
Michael Byrne is the Australian Director of EHL Group who are undertaking the commercialisation phase of the Australian and New Zealand designed and developed AZURA Ocean Wave Technology. AZURA’s technology has successfully completed multiple prototype testing and ocean deployments and is ready for commercialisation. Investment and project linkage partners are invited to contact EHL Group for more information on this unique Australian and New Zealand designed and made green energy generation and potable water production system.
Investment partners: investors@ehlsolutions.com
Direct: michael.byrne@ehlsolutions.com
Web: www.ehlsolutions.com
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Rising Sea levels threaten low lying Island communities