Isle of Man Steam Packet Fears Wind Farm Plans May Disrupt UK Routes
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
These are the first four paragraphs.
Plans to build two new offshore wind farms in the Irish Sea could disrupt Isle of Man ferry services, a Manx operator has warned.
Energy firms have proposed projects named Morgan and Morecambe in areas between the island and Lancashire.
The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company said the developments could cause navigation issues for its sailings to Liverpool and Heysham in bad weather.
But the project’s backers said it was possible to find “ways to co-exist”.
Given, that the approaches to the Ports of Felixstowe, Immingham, Leith, Liverpool, London Gateway and Tilbury, are littered with hundreds of wind turbines, I would suspect that finding a solution will not be difficult.
Perhaps, The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company is angling for a subsidy.
The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company has a current fleet of three ships.
- The company serves Belfast, Dublin, Heysham and Liverpool.
- All routes will likely be through wind farms in a few years.
- The ships were all built in 1998.
- A new ship is being built in South Korea for delivery in 2023.
- All ships are diesel-powered.
Does The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company have a decarbonisation policy?
With the three wind farms having the following sizes.
- Mona – 1500 MW
- Morgan – 1500 MW
- Morecambe – 480 MW
Perhaps, some of the nearly 3.5 GW could be used to power electric or hydrogen ships to the Isle of Man.
The Isle of Man is also powered currently by the Isle of Man to England interconnector and an 85 MW combined cycle gas turbine power station at Pulrose, in the capital, Douglas.
With all of the wind power surrounding the island, perhaps there is some scope for repurposing the island’s economy.
It’s not the island for steelmaking or heavy industry, but what about a few data centres?
The Anonymous Widower 
The new ferry just arrived in Britain. “The highly efficient generators sets will feed electric final drives, coupled to highly efficient propellors to ensure a vibration free crossing. Any excess electricity generated will be stored by the vessel’s on board batteries, which will be used during periods of higher demand, or while the vessel is alongside in port to reduce emissions.” https://www.steam-packet.com/blog/new-vessel-manxman-frequently-asked-questions/
I’ve never actually been to the IoM, but I might to tempted to make the crossing to see whether the engines are as “vibration free” as claimed.
Comment by Peter Robins | June 30, 2023 |
I haven’t either.
Closest I got, was when I was flying from Belfast City Airport to Ipswich, in my Cessna, Ronaldsway Air Traffic Control, suggested I drop in and fill up with duty-free fuel and have a coffee.
But I didn’t, as I was in a hurry.
Comment by AnonW | June 30, 2023 |
I could go up to Heysham, but I’ll probably wait until the new terminal in Liverpool is finally finished https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/isle-man-ferry-terminal-wont-26949257
Comment by Peter Robins | June 30, 2023 |
It seems a second interconnector is planned https://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/date-for-new-interconnector-for-islands-electricity-is-challenging-604690 The report doesn’t mention it, but I would assume this will be HVDC, not AC.
Comment by Peter Robins | June 30, 2023 |
I do wonder, if the IoM will get its own wind or tidal stream power station, so a bi-direction connection could be useful.
Comment by AnonW | June 30, 2023 |
The Island does have ambitious plans for decarbonising energy https://www.current-news.co.uk/isle-of-man-eyes-30mw-of-renewable-generation-by-2026/ There must be scope for tidal too.
A low electric heating tariff would be welcome in Britain too. It’s not clear to me how the country is going to switch from gas to electric unless electric becomes cheaper.
Comment by Peter Robins | June 30, 2023 |