Grid Powers Up With One Of Europe’s Biggest Battery Storage Sites
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in The Times.
This is the sub-heading.
Orsted’s huge facility in Norfolk will store energy generated by its offshore wind farm
These three paragraphs give more details of the project.
The world’s largest developer of offshore wind farms is planning to build a vast battery storage facility near Norwich.
Orsted will install the energy storage system, which will be one of the largest in Europe, on the same site as the onshore converter station for its Hornsea 3 wind farm in Swardeston, Norfolk.
The project will store energy generated by Hornsea 3 when weather conditions are windy and when electricity supply exceeds demand so that it can be discharged later to help to balance the nation’s electricity grid.
Note.
- There is also a visualisation and a map.
- Tesla batteries will be used.
- The The battery will have an output of 300 MW, with a capacity of 600 MWh. So it is another two-hour BESS.
- It should be operational in 2026.
- The battery is on a 35-acre site.
- Cost is given as £8.5 billion, but that would appear to include the 2852 MW Hornsea 3 wind farm.
The BBC is reporting that local residents are worried about fire safety.
I have some thoughts of my own.
The Location Of The Swardeston Substation
This Google Map shows the location of the Swardeston substation, which will also host the Swardeston BESS.
Note.
- The East-West road is the A 47 Norwich by-pass.
- Norwich is to the North of the by-pass.
- Just to the left-centre of the map, the main A 140 road runs between Norwich and Ipswich, which has a junction with the A 47.
- The A 140 passes through the village of Dunston, which is to the East of the National Grid sibstation, which will host the connection to the Hornsea Three wind farm.
This second Google Map shows the A 140 in detail from the junction to the A 47 to the Swardeston substation.
Note.
- The Swardeston substation is on a substantial site.
- The Norwich to Tilbury transmission line will have its Northern end at Swardeston substation.
- Once the infrastructure is complete at Swardeston substation, Hornsea Three wind farm will be connected to the electricity infrastructure around London.
There would appear to be plenty of space at the site for all National Grid’s plans.
Capital Cost Compared To Big Nuclear
Hornsea Three is a 2852 MW wind farm, that will cost with the battery and a few extras £8.5 billion or around around £ 3 billion per gigawatt.
Hinckley Point C on the other hand will cost between £ 31-35 billion or £ 9.5-10.7 billion per gigawatt.
Conclusion
National Grid would appear to be using a BESS at Swardeston substation to improve the reliability and integrity of the Hornsea Three wind farm.
How many other big batteries will be placed, where large wind farms connect to the National Grid?
As an Electrical and Control Engineer, I certainly, believe that energy storage at major substations, is a proven way to improve the grid.
The Core Of Sunak’s Manifesto
I have a feeling, that the core of Sunak’s manifesto is a massive German project called H2ercules, which is intended to bring low-carbon hydrogen to industry in South Germany.
There will be a massive hydrogen hub at Wilhelmshaven on the North-Western coast, which is being built by Uniper, from which hydrogen will be imported and distributed.
I suspect that the Germans aim to source the hydrogen worldwide from places like Australia, the Middle East and Namibia. It would be brought from and round the Cape by tanker. The Suez route would be too risky.
But RWE, who are one of the UK’s largest electricity suppliers, are planning to deliver 7.2 GW of electricity in British waters on the Dogger Bank and North-East of Great Yarmouth.
Both wind farms would be difficult to deliver profitably to the UK, because Eastern England already has enough electricity and the Nimbies are objecting to more pylons.
I believe that RWE will build offshore electrolysers and coastal hydrogen tankers will take the hydrogen to Wilhelmshaven.
H2ercules will be fed with the hydrogen needed.
By the end of the next parliament, the Germans could be paying us substantial sums for green hydrogen, to decarbonise their industry.
Rishi Sunak hinted in his speech, that we will be exporting large amounts of energy.
Much of it will be in the form of green hydrogen to Germany.
If we need hydrogen for our industry, we would create it from some of our own wind farms.
The Anonymous Widower 