UK Offshore Wind Farm Now Equipped With Scour Protection Doubling As Marine Life Habitat
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
RWE has installed around 75,000 reef cubes developed by the nature-inclusive technology designer ARC marine at the Rampion offshore wind farm in the UK, in what the Rampion owner says is a “global first”. The cubes are a specially eco-engineered scour protection solution for wind turbine foundations, and this represents their first full-scale deployment at an offshore wind farm.
These four paragraphs add more details.
The solution is designed to protect the energy infrastructure from strong currents in the subsea environment, while creating new and extending existing living marine habitats, RWE says.
The reef cubes, ranging in size from 15 to 35 centimetres, were installed over the last few days at the base of one of the Rampion turbines by the project’s contractor Rohde Nielsen. It is the first real-world deployment of ARC marine’s patented Reef cubes as scour protection at an operational wind farm, according to RWE.
The developer says that at just one of the Rampion turbines, the reef cubes are providing a habitat surface area of 25,000 square metres.
The deployment is part of the Reef Enhancement for Scour Protection (RESP) pilot that RWE and ARC marine announced in July this year.
ARC marine’s reef cubes have their own comprehensive web site, which show all aspects of this fascinating technology.
Better Than A Kick In The Teeth – As C Would Say!
I’ve just had an e-mail from OVO Energy, who have been my energy supplier for at least eight years, that they are going to reduce my Direct Debit by £26 per month.
OVO didn’t give a reason, but then it dawned on me.
In I’m Getting A New Hydrogen-Ready Boiler, I laid out my reasoning for getting a new boiler, as the pump had failed.
It’s only been one billing period, but I suspect other factors have kicked in.
I asked Google AI, if the the efficiency of gas boilers increased in the last ten years, and received this reply.
Yes, gas boiler efficiency has significantly increased in the last ten years, with new models achieving efficiencies over \(90\%\) compared to older ones that could be as low as \(60\%\). This is primarily due to the mandatory use of condensing technology in new boilers, which recovers and reuses heat from exhaust gases to preheat water.
As far as we know, Google are not in the gas boiler business, so I’m sure their answer is unbiased.
It looks like I shall be saving £312 per year, because of the new boiler.
Thus, if it lasts ten years, which is the guarantee period, then it has paid a substantial part of the cost of the new boiler.
As my late wife, C, would often say, that is better than a kick in the teeth.
Should You Get A New Boiler?
I am not qualified to answer that, but I’m you know a man or woman who is!
The Anonymous Widower 