UK’s Largest Solar Park Cleve Hill Granted Development Consent
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Solar Power Portal.
These are the two introductory paragraphs.
Cleve Hill Solar Park, set to be the largest in the UK, has been granted development consent by the energy secretary.
The colossal 350MW project will include 880,000 panels along with battery storage, and sit just one mile northeast of Faversham, in Kent, situated close to the village of Graveney.
Other points from the article.
- Cleeve Hill Solar Park is a £450million project.
- It is the first solar project to be considered a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project.
- It is being developed as a joint venture between Hive Energy and Wirsol.
- It is due to be operational by 2022.
- To complete the project 700 MWh of energy storage will be added later.
The article also contains this quote from Solar Trade Associations chief executive Chris Hewett.
Solar has a significant role to play in boosting the economy in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. With the right policies we can expect to see an 8GW pipeline of solar projects unlocked and rapidly deployed, swiftly creating a wealth of skilled jobs and setting us on the path towards a green recovery.
8 GW of intermittent energy will need a lot of storage.
As Cleeve Hill’s developers are planning to provide 700 MWh of storage for 700 MW of solar panels, it would appear that 8 GW of solar panels could need up to 16 GWh of energy storage.
As our largest energy storage system is the pumped storage Electric Mountain in Snowdonia with a capacity of 9.1 GWh and most of the large solar developments are towards the South of England, the UK needs to develop a lot more energy storage, where the solar is generated and much of the energy is used.
I can see the following environmentally-friendly developments prospering.
- Highview Power‘s CRYOBattery, which uses liquid air to store energy. Systems have a small footprint and up to a GWh could be possible.
- Electrothermal energy storage like this system from Siemens.
- Using electrolysers from companies like ITM Power to convert excess energy into hydrogen for transport, steelmaking and injecting into the gas main.
- Zinc8‘s zinc-air battery could be the outsider, that comes from nowhere.
Developers could opt for conservative decision of lithium-ion batteries, but I don’t like the environmental profile and these batteries should be reserved for portable and mobile applications.
Floatovoltaics
One concept, I came across whilst writing was floatovoltaics.
The best article about the subject was this one on Renewable Energy World, which is entitled Running Out of Precious Land? Floating Solar PV Systems May Be a Solution.
A French company call Ciel et Terre International seem to be leading the development.
Their web site has this video.
Perhaps, some floatovoltaics, should be installed on the large reservoirs in the South of England.
- The Renewable Energy World article says that panels over water can be more efficient due to the cooling effect of the water.
- Would they cut evaporative losses by acting as sunshades?
- As the French are great pecheurs, I suspect that they have the answers if anglers should object.
This Google Map shows the reservoirs to the West of Heathrow.
Note.
- Wraysbury Reservoir has an area of two square kilometres.
- King George VI Reservoir has an area of one-and-a-half square kilometres.
- Using the size and capacity of Owl’s Hatch Solar Farm, it appears that around 65 MW of solar panels can be assembled in a square kilometre.
- All these reservoirs are Sites of Special Scientific Interest because of all the bird life.
- Heathrow is not an airport, that is immune to bird-strikes.
Could floatovoltaics be used to guide birds away from the flightpaths?
Incidentally, I remember a report from Tomorrow’s World, probably from the 1960s, about a porous concrete that had been invented.
- One of the uses would have been to fill reservoirs.
- The capacity of the reservoir would only have been marginally reduced, as the water would be in the voids in the concrete like water in a sponge.
- Soil would be placed at the surface and the land used for growing crops.
I wonder what happened to that idea from fifty years ago!
UK Energy Storage ‘Nears 4GW’
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on ReNews.biz.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Almost 4GW of energy storage capacity is now connected to the UK network with a further 9GW in the planning process, according to a new report released today by the Electricity Storage Network (ESN).
It is a small article, where GW is mentioned nine times.
New Zinc-Air Battery Outperforms Lithium-Ion Battery On All Levels
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Interesting Engineering.
This is the introductory paragraph.
There’s a new battery in town and it’s a game-changer. The novel battery, is cheaper, safer and significantly longer laster-lasting, than lithium-ion batteries reports Recharge.
It does seem that Zinc8 is getting noticed.
I wonder, if the web-site gets read in Cambridge, where I was once told that use of the word Interesting, is very much to be discouraged.
New Zinc-Air Battery Is ‘Cheaper, Safer And Far Longer-Lasting Than Lithium-Ion’
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Recharge.
These are the first two paragraphs.
A new type of battery is coming onto the market that can store multiple days’ worth of energy, that doesn’t degrade, can’t possibly explode and is up to five times cheaper than lithium-ion, claimed its developer as it prepares to pilot the technology in New York state.
The zinc-air hybrid flow battery developed by Canadian company Zinc8 has the potential to disrupt the entire energy-storage market — making wind and solar farms baseload and even replacing the need for transmission grid upgrades in many places.
The article then gives an in depth review of Zinc8, its technology and its future prospects.
- The Chief Executive is a former Canadian MP. Political connections help!
- The company has $100million of funding.
- Zinc8 energy storage systems are made larger by fitting and bigger storage tank and adding more electrolyte.
- The capital cost of an eight-hour Zinc8 storage system is about $250/KWh, but this falls to $100/KWh for a 32-hour system and $60/KWh for a hundred-hour system.
- Lithium-ion systems ttpically cost $300/KWh for any duration over eight hours.
- The cost of Zinc8 systems is expected to fall as manufacturing increases.
The article finishes with a detailed description of how the technology works.
It also details the company’s growth strategy.
Conclusion
This technology looks like it will give lithiujm-ion batteries a good run for its money in grid storage applications and it could be one of those technologies that help the world to embrace renewable energy, like wind, solar and wave power.
It has various advantages.
- Lower cost of installation.
- Falling manufacturing cost.
- Easily scalable.
- No exotic or hazardous materials, just zinc, water and air, which are recycled.
My only worry, is that Zinc8, sounds too good to be true! But having met researchers at ICI, who were concerned in the birth of polythene, this could be a normal cynical reaction.
Battery Storage Trialled To Provide Upward And Downward Flexibility To UK’s National Grid
|The title of this post, if the same as that of this article on Energy Storage News
This is the introductory paragraph.
Battery software company Arenko has teamed up with the Electricity System Operator (ESO) arm of National Grid in the UK to provide upward and downward reserve flexibility in a “first of its kind trial”.
So what do Arenko actually do?
This is the home page of their web site.
It has this title across the page.
Automation Technology For Batteries
Beneath it is a mission statement.
Our vision is to be the preferred software platform to unlock value for batteries worldwide.
Finally you get this explanation.
Arenko is a world leading battery software and controls platform building a differentiated position in the multi-billion dollar battery controls and automation market.
Batteries are software defined assets which are only as valuable as what controls them.
Arenko’s enabling software platform uses our proprietary and proven automation technology for batteries to asset owners, utilities and battery system integrators unlocking and capturing substantially higher returns and protect your battery assets.
Arenko’s automation technology connects and optimises both the battery’s technical and commercial performance using AI, enhanced analytics and deep learning algorithms.
I would think, this could be my kind of company.
- Software-based
- Ambitious
- All about control engineering.
- I suspect they constantly simulate what is happening to batteries and the electricity network.
If they get it right, they could go a long way.
UK’s First Car Battery ‘Gigafactory’ To Be Built By Two Startups
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Guardian.
This is the first two paragraphs.
Two British startups have announced plans to invest as much as £4bn in building the UK’s first large-scale battery factory, in a move that could prove a major boost to the country’s struggling car industry.
AMTE Power and Britishvolt have signed a memorandum of understanding saying they will work together on plans for a plant to make lithium ion batteries, the key component in electric cars as well as energy storage products.
So who are AMTE Power And Britishvolt?
AMTE Power
The AMTE Power web site, has this mission statement.
The cell market demands flexibility in design and chemistry, AMTE has focused on supporting niche customers who want to develop and build solutions where standard cell options fail to deliver against their business design objectives.
The forecast demand for cells production, will see delivery shortages as Automotive and Energy storage markets develop. AMTE can supply its customers with bespoke solutions eliminating the need to accept second best in cell choice.
Give the customers, what they want is rarely a bad philosophy.
Britishvolt
The Britishvolt web site, has this mission statement.
We have identified the United Kingdom as the potential location to build our first Gigaplant. Britishvolt is looking to produce high performance batteries better than anyone else, establishing the country as the leading force in battery technology and the center of sustainable energy storage. We are ready for the World 2023.
Having read both companies web sites, I think the two companies have more than a little in common.
So why not team up and move forward.
Eos To Install 4MWh Of ‘Safe’ Zinc Battery Technology – At Giant Oil Refinery
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Energy Storage News.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Eos Energy Storage will deploy a megawatt-scale, behind-the-meter zinc hybrid cathode battery energy storage system for a large oil refinery in Greece, claiming it be a validation of the safety and environmental benefits of the novel technology.
EOS Energy Storage seem to have developed a zinc battery, that could work along similar lines to the zinc battery produced by zinc8, that I wrote about in Zinc8 Seem To Be A Surprisingly Open Company.
The Energy Storage News article gives more details on the battery and its design.
- This battery is rated at 1 MW/4 MWh, so compared to some, it is quite small.
- It uses a zinc-halide oxidation/reduction cycle to store and output energy.
- The battery is made from five components, all of which are abundant, ethically sourced and recyclable.
- An order for a 40 MWh system has been placed.
- EOS claim to have numerous pilots and demonstrators in use.
Could it appear that using zinc batteries are a feasible method of storing energy, as two companies both appear to be successful at delivering systems?
Hawaii’s Renewable Tender To Deliver Major Solar And Storage Push
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on PVTech.
This is the introductory paragraph.
The largest renewable tender in Hawaii’s history has chosen its winners, contracting a solar and storage pipeline that exceeds anything the US state has ever seen.
The article gives a lot of information about the order and Hawaii’s energy.
- A fleet of 400 MW of solar panels and 3 GWh of energy storage will be installed, with some running in 2022.
- Another fleet of 260 MW of solar panels and 1 GWh of energy storage is in the pipeline, for delivery in 2021.
- The strike price appears to be 9.38 US dollar cents per KWh or $93.80 per MWh. We’re paying £92.50 per MWh for electricity at Hinckley Point C nuclear power station.
- Hawaii aims to be full-powered by renewable energy by 2045.
- Two fossil-fuel plants will shut by 2024.
From this document on the Hawaii State Energy Office, I have found that in 2018, these renewable energy sources contributed to the state’s electricity.
- Geothermal sources – 2.9%
- Wind – 4.9%
- Hydro – 0.9%
- Biomass – 2.8%
- Small-scale solar – 9.3%
- Utility-scale solar – 3.9%
These add up to 24.7%.
I’ll be interested to see, what the percentage will be in 2024!
What Exactly Is Upside Energy?
On Friday, August 9th, 2019, there was a massive power cut in the South of England, that is described in this article on the BBC, which is entitled Lightning Strike ‘Partly To Blame’ For Power Cut.
This is the introductory paragraph.
A lightning strike and the sudden loss of two large electricity generators caused nearly a million people to lose power in England and Wales earlier this month, an interim report has found.
So what exactly happened?
This article on Wired is entitled How Batteries Stopped The UK’s Power Cut Being A Total Disaster, was written after the report into the cut had been written.
This is the third paragraph of the article.
But it could have been even worse. Within seconds of problems hitting the grid, a fleet of batteries dotted around Great Britain were able to pump power into the system, preventing a rapid drop off in transmission frequency.
Is fleet the right collective noun for storage batteries? But it will do for the time-being.
This is the next two paragraphs.
Upside Energy is one firm that lent a helping hand by supplying six megawatts (MW) from five large lithium-ion batteries located on a solar farm near Luton Airport. “Those batteries responded immediately – actually it was sub-second,” says the firm’s chief executive Devrim Celal.
Six megawatts may not sound like much. It’s about the same capacity as a single medium-sized wind turbine, but in the context of national electricity supply that can make a difference, says Tim Green, co-director at Imperial College London’s Energy Futures Laboratory. “A home on average is consuming about two kilowatts – six megawatts gets you 3,000 homes maybe.”
But every little helps!
So who are Upside Energy?
If you look at their web site, this is the headline on the home page.
Smart Energy Management Systems
There is also this description.
Our award-winning cloud-based platform provides our customers with a way to capitalise on new opportunities, while supporting an acceleration in the use of renewable technologies, and overall helping to create a more sustainable and efficient power network.
From what I can gather with further reading, it almost looks like a peer-to-peer network for energy, akin to how Zopa is one for money.
- If you or your company, built a battery or a solar farm, then Upside Energy would control it, in the most efficient way.
- As the Wired article states, they also have a few batteries of their own.
On another page they describe the system as a cloud-based platform can connect with a multitude of devices across commercial, industrial and domestic sites. They give the following examples of devices.
- Battery storage systems.
- \electric-vehicle charging points.
- Uninterruptible power supplies
- Heating and cooling systems.
They then say a bit about how it works.
It uses advanced algorithms and artificial intelligence to match energy demand with the available supply, helping the electricity grid deal with fluctuations and times of peak usage. Supporting the grid in this way, opens the doors to additional revenue streams for our customers, who also benefit from significant reductions in energy costs and carbon emissions.
The platform can manage demand response for more than 100,000 devices running in parallel.
As a Control Engineer, whose friend went on to manage ICI’s power networks in the North West, I know management of these complex networks was difficult even in the 1970s.
It is interesting to look at their funding page.
- Legal & General is an investor.
- systemiQ is an investor.
- Innovate UK is present, as they are in many British technology developments.
Funding would appear to be typical for a company like this.
Conclusion
If I was a farmer, who was investing in a solar farm on a piece of land, I would check out Upside Energy.
But I’m not!
Over eight years ago, I wrote Stability in Financial Systems, where I used my Control Engineering and mathematical experience to postulate that Zopa might have found a way to create a system with an equilibrium between saving and borrowing, that responded to politics, the economy and unforeseen circumstances.
Could Upside Energy have created a system that balances energy production, storage and use, which navigating the perils of the modern world?
The Anonymous Widower 