The Anonymous Widower

‘Windiest Part Of The UK’ Could Power Nearly 500,000 Homes

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.

This is the sub-heading.

Power is flowing from the Shetland Isles to mainland Britain for the first time as the UK’s most productive onshore windfarm comes on stream.

These are the first two paragraphs.

SSE says its 103-turbine project, known as Viking, can generate 443 megawatts (MW) of electricity, enough to power nearly 500,000 homes.

Shetland is the windiest part of the UK, which means it will be rare for the blades, which reach a massive 155m at their tip, not to be spinning.

Note.

  1. SSE has built a 160-mile long undersea cable to carry the power from Viking to Noss Head, near Wick, on the Scottish mainland.
  2. The company said it has invested more than £1bn in the windfarm and cable projects.
  3. SSE plans to plough another £20bn into renewables by the end of the decade.

Companies don’t invest billions and banks don’t lend billions, unless they know they’ll get a return, so the finance for this billion pound project must be sound.

A simple calculation, shows why they do.

  • According to Google, the electricity for the average house costs £1926.24 per year.
  • 500,000 houses would spend £963,120,000 per year.

Google says this about the life of a wind farm.

The average operational lifespan of a wind turbine is 20–25 years, but some turbines can last up to 30 years.

If the wind farm lasts 25 years, then it will generate something like £24 billion over its lifetime.

It looks to me, that SSE have borrowed a billion and will get almost as much as that back every year.

SSE also have the experience to keep the turbines turning and the distribution network sending electricity to the Scottish mainland.

I have some further thoughts.

What Happens If Scotland Can Get Cheaper Electricity From Its Own Wind Farms?

Shetland’s turbines can be switched off, but that is effectively throwing away electricity that can be generated.

Any spare electricity can also be diverted to an electrolyser, so that the following is produced.

  • Hydrogen for transport, rocket fuel for SaxaVord Spaceport and to decarbonise houses and businesses.
  • Oxygen for rocket fuel for SaxaVord Spaceport and for fish farms.

Hydrogen may also be exported to those that need it.

Project Orion

Project Orion is Shetland’s master plan to bring all the energy in and around the Shetland Islands together.

This document on the APSE web site is entitled Future Hydrogen Production In Shetland.

This diagram from the report shows the flow of electricity and hydrogen around the islands, terminals and platforms.

Note these points about what the Shetlanders call the Orion Project.

  1. Offshore installations are electrified.
  2. There are wind turbines on the islands
  3. Hydrogen is provided for local energy uses like transport and shipping.
  4. Oxygen is provided for the fish farms and a future space centre.
  5. There is tidal power between the islands.
  6. There are armadas of floating wind turbines to the East of the islands.
  7. Repurposed oil platforms are used to generate hydrogen.
  8. Hydrogen can be exported by pipeline to St. Fergus near Aberdeen, which is a distance of about 200 miles.
  9. Hydrogen can be exported by pipeline to Rotterdam, which is a distance of about 600 miles.
  10. Hydrogen can be exported by tanker to Rotterdam and other parts of Europe.

It looks a very comprehensive plan, which will turn the islands into a massive hydrogen producer.

Orion And AquaVentus

This video shows the structure of AquaVentus, which is the German North Sea network to collect hydrogen for H2ercules.

I clipped this map from the video.

Note.

  1. There is a link to Denmark.
  2. There appears to be a undeveloped link to Norway.
  3. There appears to be a  link to Peterhead in Scotland.
  4. There appears to be a link to just North of the Humber in England.
  5. Just North of the Humber are the two massive gas storage sites of Aldbrough owned by SSE and Rough owned by Centrica.
  6. There appear to be small ships sailing up and down the East Coast of the UK. Are these small coastal tankers distributing the hydrogen to where it is needed?

In the last century, the oil industry, built a substantial oil and gas network in the North Sea. It appears now the Germans are leading the building of a substantial hydrogen network.

This map is only the start and I feel, there would be nothing to stop the connection of the Orion and AquaVentus networks.

SaxaVord Spaceport

SaxaVord Spaceport is now a reality, in that it licensed and tests are being undertaken.

August 10, 2024 Posted by | Energy, Finance, Hydrogen | , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment