The Rolls-Royce SMR Web Site
Rolls-Royce now have a web site for their proposed small modular reactor (SMR) design.
This page is entitled Why Rolls-Royce SMR?, has this outline of the reactor program.
Rolls-Royce SMR offers a radically different approach to delivering nuclear power, we have drastically reduced the amount of construction activities and transformed the delivery environment, from a large complex infrastructure programme into a factory built commoditised product.
Our design has evolved in response to a definitive set of market driven outcomes, this is not technology for technology’s sake, but innovation, to create a transformational clean energy solution that will deliver clean affordable energy for all.
This would appear to be an approach driven by proven engineering principles and excellence, good low-risk design, backed up by the best project management.
These are all traditions inherent in the Rolls-Royce DNA.
But I also believe that Rolls-Royce have looked at the world market for nuclear reactors and designed a product to fit that market.
This paragraph is in a long section entitled Global & Scalable.
The compact footprint increases site flexibility and maximises potential plant locations, including replacement for existing coal or gas-fired plants.
Many things said on the Rolls-Royce SMR Web Site, appear to be very much market led.
In my view, this is the web site of a product designed to dominate the world market for nuclear energy.
Significant Step Forward For Keadby 3 Carbon Capture Power Station
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from SSE.
These three paragraphs outline the project.
A landmark project in the Humber which could become the UK’s first power station equipped with carbon capture technology has taken a major leap forward following an announcement by the UK Government today.
Keadby 3 Carbon Capture Power Station, which is being jointly developed by SSE Thermal and Equinor, has been selected to be taken forward to the due diligence stage by the Department for Business, Energy and Industry Strategy (BEIS) as part of its Cluster Sequencing Process.
This process will give the project the opportunity to receive government support, allowing it to deploy cutting edge carbon capture technology, and to connect to the shared CO2 pipelines being developed through the East Coast Cluster, with its emissions safely stored under the Southern North Sea. The common infrastructure will also supply low-carbon hydrogen to potential users across the region.
The press release also says this about the power station.
- Keadby 3 power station could have a generating capacity of up to 910MW.
- It could be operational by 2027.
- It would capture up to one and a half million tonnes of CO2 a year.
It would provide low-carbon, flexible power to back-up renewable generation.
The H2H Saltend Project
The press release also says this about the H2H Saltend project.
Equinor’s H2H Saltend project, the ‘kick-starter’ for the wider Zero Carbon Humber ambition, has also been taken to the next stage of the process by BEIS. The planned hydrogen production facility could provide a hydrogen supply to Triton Power’s Saltend Power Station as well as other local industrial users. In June, SSE Thermal and Equinor entered into an agreement to acquire the Triton Power portfolio.
I wrote about H2H Saltend and the acquisition of Triton Power in SSE Thermal And Equinor To Acquire Triton Power In Acceleration Of Low-Carbon Ambitions.
In the related post, I added up all the power stations and wind farms, that are owned by SSE Thermal and it came to a massive 9.1 GW, which should all be available by 2027.
Collaboration Between SSE Thermal And Equinor
The press release also says this about collaboration between SSE Thermal and Equinor.
The two companies are also collaborating on major hydrogen projects in the Humber. Keadby Hydrogen Power Station could be one of the world’s first 100% hydrogen-fuelled power stations, while Aldbrough Hydrogen Storage could be one of the world’s largest hydrogen storage facilities. In addition, they are developing Peterhead Carbon Capture Power Station in Aberdeenshire, which would be a major contributor to decarbonising the Scottish Cluster.
This collaboration doesn’t lack ambition.
I also think, that there will expansion of their ambitions.
Horticulture
Lincolnshire is about horticulture and it is a generally flat county, which makes it ideal for greenhouses.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see a large acreage of greenhouses built close to the Humber carbon dioxide system, so that flowers, salad vegetables, soft fruit, tomatoes and other plants can be grown to absorb the carbon dioxide.
It should also be noted that one of the ingredients of Quorn is carbon dioxide from a fertiliser plant, that also feeds a large tomato greenhouse.
We would have our carbon dioxide and eat it.
Other Uses Of Carbon Dioxide
Storing carbon dioxide in depleted gas fields in the North Sea will probably work, but it’s a bit like putting your rubbish in the shed.
Eventually, you run out of space.
The idea I like comes from an Australian company called Mineral Carbonation International.
- I wrote about their success at COP26 in Mineral Carbonation International Win COP26 Clean Energy Pitch Battle.
- The company has developed the technology to convert carbon dioxide into building products like blocks and plasterboard.
- Their mission is to remove a billion tonnes of CO2 by 2040 safely and permanently.
We would have our carbon dioxide and live in it.
I also think other major uses will be developed.
A Large Battery
There is the hydrogen storage at Aldbrough, but that is indirect energy storage.
There needs to be a large battery to smooth everything out.
In Highview Power’s Second Commercial System In Yorkshire, I talk about Highview Power’s proposal for a 200MW/2.5GWh CRYOBattery.
This technology would be ideal, as would several other technologies.
Conclusion
Humberside will get a giant zero-carbon power station.
Sizewell C Nuclear Plant Campaigners Challenge Approval
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
These three paragraphs introduce the article.
Campaigners against the Sizewell C nuclear power station have written to Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng to legally challenge his decision to give the scheme the go-ahead.
The £20bn project for the Suffolk coast was given government approval in July.
However, the decision was against the advice of the Planning Inspectorate and those against the scheme said the consent was therefore “unlawful”.
I summed up my attitude to nuclear power in Sizewell C: Nuclear Power Station Plans For Suffolk Submitted, where I said this.
As a well-read and experienced engineer, I am not against the technologies of nuclear power.
But I do think, by the time it is completed , other technologies like wind and energy storage will be much better value. They will also be more flexible and easier to expand, should we get our energy forecasts wrong.
I wrote that in May 2020, which was before Vlad the Mad started his war in Ukraine. So our energy forecasts are totally wrong! Thanks for nothing, Vlad!
In Plan To Build £150m Green Hydrogen Plant At Felixstowe Port, I talked about ScottishPower’s plan to build a large electrolyser at Felixstowe.
The Port of Felixstowe has in the past talked of using electricity from Sizewell C to create hydrogen.
So is the port backing another horse or just playing safe?
Have We Enough LNG Carriers To Distribute The Natural Gas We Need?
I recently, asked this question of myself, as liquefied natural gas (LNG), now seems to be being moved all over the world.
Note, that the we in the title of this post, is a global we!
I stated by reading the Wikipedia entry for LNG Carrier.
This paragraph outlines the history of LNG carriers.
The first LNG carrier Methane Pioneer (5,034 DWT), classed by Bureau Veritas, left the Calcasieu River on the Louisiana Gulf coast on 25 January 1959. Carrying the world’s first ocean cargo of LNG, it sailed to the UK where the cargo was delivered. Subsequent expansion of that trade has brought on a large expansion of the fleet to today where giant LNG ships carrying up to 266,000 m3 (9,400,000 cu ft) are sailing worldwide.
The Methane Pioneer carried only 27,000 m3 of LNG.
Things have come a long way since the Methane Pioneer.
This is said in the Wikipedia entry for LNG Carrier.
According to SIGTTO data, in 2019 there were 154 LNG carriers on order, and 584 operating LNG carriers.
I don’t think capacity is a problem.
The Wikipedia entry also talks in detail about Cargo Handling and a Typical Cargo Cycle.
It is a very worthwhile read.
LED Lights Illuminate London’s Elizabeth Line
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on E & T Magazine.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Using LEDs to light up the stations, escalator shafts and concourses of the Elizabeth line was a bold move from Transport for London; especially as when they decided on its use back in the late 2000s, LED technology was yet to break into the lighting world.
These points are also made in the article.
- The Elizabeth line is one of the first sub-surface infrastructure projects to be lit entirely by LEDs.
- The decision to use the technology was based on industry evidence that its use will help reduce energy consumption and maintenance requirements.
- The Crossrail team used the light-grey, matt-textured, glass-reinforced concrete lining of the station and escalator tunnels to reflect light onto the passenger areas.
- The main lighting and the emergency lighting are incorporated in the wayfinding totems.
The article certainly explains how the excellent lighting was designed.
These pictures show some of the LED lighting on the Elizabeth Line.
Note that uplighters on the Underground are not new, as these pictures from Turnpike Lane station show.
They were installed in the 1930s and were also used on the Moscow Metro, where London Transport installed the escalators.
Lighting Can Calm Passengers
This is a paragraph from the article.
Both Kerrigan and Clements agree that the lighting infrastructure makes the Elizabeth line unique to all its predecessors seen across the London Underground and that they have met their goal to create a soothing environment to enhance the passenger experience. “We wanted to create a relaxed commuting environment that is the opposite to the poorly lit and cramped environment of the Central line, for example,” Clements admits. “And we believe that the lighting has a massive amount to do with this.”
Does this explain why passengers seem generally calm?
The Australian Tycoon With Designs On U.S. Coal Mines
The title of this post, is the same as that as this article on Politico.
The article is a must-read, as it is an interview with Andrew Forrest about his very strong views on the future of the coal industry in the United States.
This is a typical question from the interview and Forrest’s forthright answer.
Biden put jobs at the center of his climate messaging. Does the messenger actually need to be someone with a track record of creating jobs?
It’s a bloody good point. I think I can deliver that message much stronger, because I’m not a politician. I’m not looking for votes, this is the hardcore reality.
Boson Energy To Use Nonrecyclable Trash To Make Carbon-Negative Hydrogen
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Hydrogen Fuel News.
This is the first paragraph.
Boson Energy, an Israeli-Swedish-Polish startup is preparing to move ahead with a form of carbon-negative hydrogen production using nonrecyclable garbage.
It is worth reading the Boson Energy web site.
Equinor Is Counting On Tax Breaks With Plans For North Sea Oilfield
The title of this post, is the same as that, of this article in The Times.
These paragraphs outline the project.
Norway’s state-owned oil company is pushing ahead with plans to develop Britain’s biggest untapped oilfield after confirming that it stands to benefit from “helpful” tax breaks introduced alongside the windfall levy.
Equinor could lower its windfall tax bill by as much as £800 million in the years to come thanks to investment relief if it develops the Rosebank field, according to Uplift, a campaign group.
Rosebank, to the west of Shetland, could cost £4.1 billion to develop and may account for about 8 per cent of British oil output in the second half of this decade, producing 300 million barrels of oil by 2050.
Equinor said yesterday that it hoped to take a final investment decision on the field by next year and to start production by 2026. It has applied for environmental approval from the government.
Needless to say Greenpeace are not amused.
We Have Both Long Term And Short Term Energy Problems
In the UK, energy is generally used as electricity or gas and to power industry and transport.
Electricity
In the long term, we need to decarbonise our electricity production, so that all our electricity is produced from zero-carbon sources like nuclear, solar, tidal, wave and wind.
- As I write this, our electricity production is around 26.8 GW of which 62 % is coming from renewable sources.
- Surprisingly around 45 % of the renewables is coming from solar. Who’d have ever thought that in an predominantly-grey UK?
- As we have committed to around 50 GW of wind power by 2030 and the 3.26 GW Hinckley Point C will be on stream by the end of the decade, the long term future of electricity production looks to be fairly secure.
- It would be even more secure, if we added around 600 GWh of storage, as proposed in Highview Power’s Plan To Add Energy Storage To The UK Power Network, which would be used as backup when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow.
It looks to me, that our long term electricity problem is capable of being solved.
For the next few years, we will need to rely on our existing gas-fired power stations until the renewables come on stream.
Gas
Gas could be more of a problem.
- I wouldn’t be surprised to see a lot of resistance to the replacement of natural gas for heating, cooking and industrial processes.
- Natural gas is becoming increasingly difficult to source.
- As I said in the previous section, we will still need some gas for electricity generation, until the massive wind farms are completed.
On the other hand, there is HyDeploy.
I like the HyDeploy concept, where up to 20 % of hydrogen is blended with natural gas.
- Using a blend of hydrogen and natural gas doesn’t require any changes to boilers, appliances or industrial processes.
- The hydrogen blend would make the most of our existing world class gas network.
- Customers do not require disruptive and expensive changes in their homes.
- Enormous environmental benefits can be realised through blending low carbon hydrogen with fossil gas.
- The hydrogen blending could happen, where the natural gas enters the network at terminals which receive gas from the UK continental shelf or where liquified natural gas is imported.
- Alternatively, it may be possible to surround a gas production platform with an offshore wind farm. This could enable hydrogen production and blending to be performed offshore.
The amount of gas we need would drop by twenty percent.
In The Mathematics Of Blending Twenty Percent Of Hydrogen Into The UK Gas Grid, I calculated that 148.2 tonnes per hour of hydrogen would be needed, to blend twenty per cent of hydrogen into UK natural gas supplies.
I also said this about the electricity needed.
To create 148.2 tonnes per hour of hydrogen would need 8,180.64 MW of electricity or just under 8.2 GW.
I also calculated the effect of the hydrogen on carbon dioxide emissions.
As twenty percent will be replaced by hydrogen, carbon dioxide emission savings will be 24,120,569.99 tonnes.
I believe that generating the 8.2 GW of electricity and delivering the 148.2 tonnes per hour of hydrogen is feasible.
I also believe that HyDeploy could be a valuable way to reduce our demand for natural gas by twenty per cent.
Transport
Not every vehicle, ship, aircraft and train can be powered by electricity, although batteries will help.
Hydrogen will help, but we must also develop our capability for sustainable fuels made from rubbish diverted from landfill and biologically-derived ingredients like used cooking oil.
Summing Up Our Long Term And Short Term Energy Problems
We obviously have got the problem of creating enough renewable energy for the future, but there is also the problem of how we keep everything going in the interim.
We will need gas, diesel, petrol and other fossil fuel derived products for the next few years.
Is Rosebank Our Short Term Solution?
This page on the Equinor web site is entitled Rosebank Oil And Gas Field.
This introductory paragraph described the field.
Rosebank is an oil and gas field 130 kilometres off the coast of the Shetland Islands. Equinor acquired the operatorship in 2019 and has since then been working to optimise and mature a development solution for the field together with our partners.
Could the field with its resources of oil and gas, be just the sort of field to tide us over in the next few difficult years.
But given the position, it will surely not be an easy field to develop.
These two paragraphs set out Equinor’s strategy in developing the field.
Equinor believes the field can be developed as part of the UK Government North Sea Transition deal, bringing much needed energy security and investment in the UK while supporting the UKs net zero target. According to a socioeconomic study (see link below) based on data and analysis by Wood Mackenzie and Voar Energy, if sanctioned Rosebank is estimated to create GBP 8.1 billion of direct investment, of which GBP 6.3 billion is likely to be invested in UK-based businesses. Over the lifetime of the project, Rosebank will generate a total of GBP 24.1 billion of gross value add (GVA), comprised of direct, indirect and induced economic impacts.
Equinor together with our partners are working with the supply chain to ensure that a substantial part of investment comes to Scotland and the UK. A supplier day was held in Aberdeen in partnership with EIC in order to increase the number of local suppliers to tender.
Note.
- The sums that could accrue to the UK economy are worthwhile.
- The Government North Sea Transition Deal is worth a read.
- A lot of the deal is about converting oil and gas skills to those of a renewable energy economy.
Planned properly, we should get all the oil and gas we need to get through difficult years.
I particularly like these two paragraphs, which are towards the end of the Government North Sea Transition Deal.
Through the Deal, the UK’s oil and gas sector and the government will work together to deliver
the skills, innovation and new infrastructure required to decarbonise North Sea oil and gas
production as well as other carbon intensive industries. Not only will it transform the sector in
preparation for a net zero future, but it will also catalyse growth throughout the UK economy.
Delivering large-scale decarbonisation solutions will strengthen the position of the existing UK
energy sector supply chain in a net zero world, securing new high-value jobs in the UK,
supporting the development of regional economies and competing in clean energy export
markets.
By creating the North Sea Transition Deal, the government and the UK’s oil and gas sector are
ambitiously seeking to tackle the challenges of reaching net zero, while repositioning the UK’s
capabilities to serve the global energy industry. The Deal will take the UKCS through to
maturity and help the sector pivot towards new opportunities to keep the UK at the forefront of
the changing 21st century energy landscape.
I believe that developing Rosebank could enable the following.
- The oil and gas we need in the next few years would be obtained.
- The economic situation of the UK would be improved.
- The skills and techniques we need to decarbonise the UK would be delivered.
- Net-zero would be reached in the required time.
- Jobs will be created.
- The export of surplus oil and gas.
I strongly believe that developing the Rosebank field would be worthwhile to the UK.
I have some other thoughts.
Electrification Of Platforms
This page on the Equinor web site is entitled Electrification Of Platforms.
This paragraph explains what that means.
Electrification means replacing a fossil-based power supply with renewable energy, enabling a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Equinor is fully committed to reducing emissions from our offshore oil & gas production.
Note.
- Typically, platforms use gas turbine engines running on natural gas to provide the electricity needed on the platform.
- Platforms in the future will get their electricity from renewable sources like wind and will have an electricity cable to the shore.
- Rosebank will be powered in this way.
This document on the Equinor web site is entitled Rosebank: Investing In Energy Security And Powering A Just Transition, which has a section called How Is Rosebank Different?, where this is said.
The key difference of Rosebank compared to other oil fields is that it
aims to draw on new technology applications to help reduce carbon
emissions from its production, through FPSO electrification.Building offshore installations that can be powered by electricity reduces
reliance on gas powered generators which are the biggest source
of production emissions. The electrification of UKCS assets is vital to
meeting the North Sea Transition Deal’s target of reducing production
emissions by 50% by 2030, with a view to being net zero by 2050.Electrification of Rosebank is a long-term investment that will drastically
cut the carbon emissions caused by using the FPSO’s gas turbines for
power. Using electricity as a power source on Rosebank results in a
reduction in emissions equivalent to taking over 650,000 cars off the
road for a year compared with importing 300 million barrels of oil from
international sources.
Note.
- An FPSO is a Floating Production Storage And Offloading Unit, which is the method of production, that Equinor have chosen for the Rosebank field.
- If we are going to extract fossil fuels then we must extract them in a manner, that doesn’t add to the problem by emitting extra carbon dioxide.
- We will probably extract fossil fuels for some years yet, as they are the easiest route to some important chemicals.
- I also believe that we will increasingly find uses for any carbon dioxide captured in combustion and chemical processes.
I already know of a farmer, who heats greenhouses using a gas-powered combined heat and power unit, who pipes the carbon dioxide to the tomatoes in the greenhouses.
Despite what Greenpeace and others say, carbon dioxide is not all bad.
Energy Security
The last page of this document on the Equinor web site is entitled Rosebank: Investing In Energy Security And Powering A Just Transition, is entitled Energy Security.
Look at the numbers.
- £8.1 billion – Total field investment with 78% of this being spent in the UK
- 1600 – Estimated peak number of direct FTE jobs
- £24.1 billion – Estimated gross value add
- 8 % – Of UK oil production from Rosebank to 2030
- 39 million cubic feet per day – Average daily gas production over the first 10 years of field life, equivalent to almost twice Aberdeen’s daily gas consumption
- 250kt CO2 – Carbon avoided by reusing existing FPSO
And if you have time read it fully.
Could The Rosebank FPSO Be Powered By Floating Offshore Wind?
Floating wind turbines are now being installed around the world.
- They can use the largest turbines.
- Some designs perform in the roughest of seas.
- They have a high capacity factor.
- They are generally brought into a suitable port for servicing and updating.
- Floating wind farms can be connected to floating substations
There is at least 20 GW of floating wind turbines planned for UK waters.
So could an appropriately-sized floating wind farm be placed near the Rosebank FPSO to provide it with electricity?
I don’t see why not, if there were some energy storage in the system, for when the wind wasn’t blowing.
Floating Offshore Wind Close To The Rosebank FPSO Would Be Challenging
Rosebank is an oil and gas field 130 kilometres off the West coast of the Shetland Islands.
That would be a challenging location for floating wind turbines.
But solving the installation problems would set precedents for floating wind farms all over the world.
Could The Rosebank FPSO Handle Hydrogen From Floating Offshore Wind?
It would surely be possible to put an electrolyser in the system somewhere, so that hydrogen was also stored in the tanks of the FPSO.
I also don’t think it unfeasible, that twenty percent of hydrogen could be blended into the natural gas to create the low-carbon natural gas, that has been proposed by the HyDeploy project.
Long Duration Energy Storage Would Reduce The UK’d Gas Usage By 10 Megatonnes By 2035
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release on the Highview Power web site.
The press release gives these three bullet points.
- UK has wasted over 1,300 GWh of wind since the start of the energy crisis in September 2021 due to an inability to store excess generation – enough to power 500,000 homes a day.
- A new survey from YouGov, commissioned by Highview Power, reveals that 43% of UK adults think the UK imports too much gas, rising to 54% among Conservative voters at the 2019 General Election.
- Long-duration energy storage (LDES) would reduce UK’s gas usage by 10 megatonnes in 2035 and save the grid around £2 billion a year, passing on savings of up to £50 a year.
In Highview Power’s Plan To Add Energy Storage To The UK Power Network, I talked about Highview Power’s possible 30 GWh CRYOBattery.
This project has not been fully revealed and I expect something will be announced before the end of this year.
Rio Tinto’s Big Energy Project Attracts Multiple Bidders
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Mining Technology.
The article has this subtitle.
The company seeks to offset its power consumption with a massive renewable plant.
These two paragraphs introduce the project.
British and Australian mining giant Rio Tinto has attracted multiple bids for a massive renewable power infrastructure project.
The company currently seeks suppliers to build up to 4GW of renewable generation for its alumina and aluminium operations in Queensland, Australia. Speaking to the Melbourne Mining Club, the company’s CEO of Australia, Kellie Parker, said that it had received proposals for “a lot more than 4GW”. Parker also said that construction of the project “would not be easy” due to the cost of construction for Australian projects.
In the UK, we may talk of wind farms like Hornsea, which could produce 6 GW, but the Aussies can produce similar amounts of energy from the sun.
This will be the fourth major renewable power development in Australia to be announced in the last few months.
- The Asian Renewable Energy Hub could generate up to 26 GW in Western Australia.
- I wrote about Andrew Forrest’s ambitions in Andrew Forrest Snaps Up Pilbara And Gascoyne Cattle Stations For Green Energy Production.
- The Australia-Asia Power Link will export solar power from Australia to Singapore.
Australia is certainly looking to power the world.
Energy Storage
Rio Tinto are also talking about energy storage, as other systems of this type and size do. Could this be one of a number of Australian projects mentioned on the Highview Power web site?
The Anonymous Widower 