Two Ports Advance To Next Stage Of UK Gov Funding For Floating Wind
The title of this post, is the same as this article in Ground Engineering.
This is the sub-heading.
Port Talbot in Wales and Port of Cromarty Firth in Scotland have advanced to the next stage of a government funding scheme to develop port infrastructure that will facilitate floating offshore wind.
These three paragraphs introduce the developments.
The UK Government has agreed that the port expansion projects should progress to the next stage of its floating offshore wind manufacturing investment scheme (FLOWMIS) known as the primary list phase.
Up to £160M of grant funding will be allocated to certain investments in the floating offshore wind sector under the scheme.
The money will go towards funding the basic infrastructure necessary to support the assembly of floating offshore wind turbines. This includes the construction, replacement and upgrade of port infrastructure to accommodate large components such as towers and blades, as well as steel and concrete foundations and mooring cables required for floating offshore wind.
The article also says this about Port Talbot.
The Future Port Talbot project in south Wales would see the port transformed into a major hub for the manufacturing, assembly, and integration of floating offshore wind components for projects in the Celtic Sea.
Associated British Ports (ABP), which owns and operates the port, welcomed the government’s decision.
Note.
- Port Talbot will almost certainly use locally produced steel.
- There appears to be at least 4,832 MW of floating wind to be developed in the Celtic Sea in the next few years.
Port Talbot would be ideally placed to handle both English and Welsh coasts and waters in the Celtic Sea.
The article also says this about the Port of Cromarty Firth.
The Port of Cromarty Firth (PoCF) on the east coast of the Scottish Highlands will undergo a fifth phase of expansion work. This will develop the facilities and infrastructure necessary to enable the port to support offshore wind infrastructure projects off the coast of Scotland.
Over £50M has also been earmarked for the port’s expansion.
There appears to be at least 15,216 MW of floating wind to be developed in Scotland in the next few years.
Both ports seem to have welcomed the funding.
Adding the plans for Scotland and the Celtic Sea together gives a figure of just over 20 GW of floating wind to be developed in the next few years.
Conclusion
Surely, the award of funding for floating wind, is a good way to create a new industry and jobs in these two areas and also perform some sensible levelling-up.
I also suspect that spending £160 million to enable the construction of 20 GW of floating wind farm is a good return on the investment.
The Anonymous Widower 
They may have to wait a while if the expanded port is to be transformed into a major hub for the infrastructure necessary to support the assembly of floating offshore wind turbines using steel from Tata’s Steel Works.
The current Blast Furnaces will close this year so that Tata can convert to Electric Arc Furnaces (EAF), which they hope to have operating by 2027. They are also closing the coke ovens, which means no more traditionally produced pig iron.
Unlike Blast Furnaces, without additional iron, which allows the modification of the properties of the steel, EAFs will only be able to recycle scrap steels. Such EAF steels, on their own, have limited use in structural steel production. This is due to the inability to modify the composition of various types of steel.
Tata may build a new plant to make direct reduced iron (DRI), an alternative technology that produces iron using methane or hydrogen, but as things stand, they have made no commitment. Without this plant, the ability to produce a full range of different domestic steels in the future will be difficult.
Of course Tata have one other option that would circumvent the limitation in the range of steel, that is to source and supply hot briquetted iron (HBI) or gas-based direct reduced iron (DRI) from Venezuela, the Middle East and India.
My guess, they’ll be importing HBI or DRI from overseas in the foreseeable future.
The same comments apply to British Steel in Scunthorpe who too want to replace their Blast Furnaces with Electric Arc Furnaces.
Comment by fammorris | March 25, 2024 |
Did you see this post?
https://anonw.com/2024/03/13/orsted-secures-exclusive-access-to-lower-emission-steel-from-dillinger/
Dillinger seem to have developed a way to go from EAF to steel good enough for monopiles.
Comment by AnonW | March 25, 2024 |
Dillinger will add EAF and DRI capacity at the plant by 2027 but will retain he equivalent Blast Furnace capacity until 2030. They won’t fully convert all Blast Furnaces until 2045. This contrasts with Tata’s plans for Port Talbot, where they’re getting rid of BFs very quickly. Frankly, I think Tata will be back with their begging bowl asking HM’s government for support in financing the DRI if they are not to import brickets/pellet.
Can Tata produce the same steel products/quality as Dillinger? Of course, they can.
Comment by fammorris | March 25, 2024 |
Did you see the Welsh steel solar panels, that started as a joint project between Swansea University and Tata?
https://anonw.com/?s=denmark+hill+station#jp-carousel-153489
I wouldn’t be surprised that Swansea University have come up with something, as I saw an interesting program about some of the University’s research on the BBC.
British Steel companies have always been fairly innovative. In my farm, I used some of the first LED spotlights, that had been originally developed by or for British Steel. The local bobby, thought that they were a device to ward off the local low-life, as the colour spectrum was unusual.
Comment by AnonW | March 25, 2024 |
Sadly, like so many British companies, British Steel have ‘gone over to the other side’ and are now owned by China’s Jingye Group, who purchased them in March 2020. Still, since then, they have invested significantly in projects to modernise the plant, looking amongst other things to adopt the same Electric Arc Furnaces that are becoming so common.
It seems that much of Swansea University’s research on photovoltaics involves perovskite, a calcium titanium oxide mineral composed of calcium titanate. They’ve just come out with a version that improves its efficiency. I just wonder if BIVPco will get first refusal on its application. Coincidentally, a friend of ours who was brought up in your neck of the woods is carrying out research at Oxford on materials, including computer modelling for lithium (and sodium) batteries and perovskite solar cells. Maybe if I can risk an overwhelming explanation, I’ll ask him.
Comment by fammorris | March 25, 2024 |