The Anonymous Widower

Ameresco And Envision Energy To Deploy 624MWh UK BESS For Atlantic Green

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Energy Storage News.

These three paragraphs describe the project.

Developer-operator Atlantic Green has enlisted system integrator Ameresco and clean energy manufacturer Envision Energy for a 300MW/624MWh BESS project in the UK.

The Cellarhead battery energy storage system (BESS) project will be connected to National Grid’s Cellarhead substation in the West Midlands and have a maximum energy capacity of 624MWh. Construction is expected to begin this year, with final connection to the grid slated for the end of 2026.

The deal between the parties is worth £196.5 million (US$250 million). Ameresco will build the project via an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and operation & maintenance (O&M) agreement while Envision Energy will supply the BESS units.

Note.

  1. It is another battery, that can provide full power for two hours.
  2. It is another battery, that is located near to one of National Grid’s substations.

As batteries seem to be made by different companies, it looks to me, that National Grid are possibly checking out, which batteries are best.

May 25, 2024 Posted by | Energy, Energy Storage | , , , , , | 2 Comments

UK Unveils GBP 50 Million Fund To Boost Offshore Wind Supply Chain

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

This is the sub-heading.

The Crown Estate has initiated a Supply Chain Accelerator to stimulate early-stage investment in the UK offshore wind supply chain.

These are the first three paragraphs.

The accelerator is a new GBP 50 million (approximately EUR 58.7 million) fund created to accelerate and de-risk the early-stage development of projects linked to offshore wind.

An initial GBP 10 million round of funding is now open for Expressions of Interest for businesses looking to establish UK projects that could support the development of a new UK supply chain capability for floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea.

The application process opens formally in mid-June and closes at the end of July. The final announcement will be made in October 2024.

This sounds like a very good idea.

This is the next paragraph.

Earlier this year, the Crown Estate published research, the Celtic Sea Blueprint, which predicted that 5,300 jobs and a GBP 4.1 billion economic boost could be generated through deploying the first floating offshore wind capacity, that will result from the current leasing Round 5 process, under which leases for up to 4.5 GW of generation capacity will be awarded in the waters off South Wales and South-West England.

It looks to me, that the £100 million could help prime the pumps to do the following for South Wales and South-West England.

  • Create 5,300 jobs
  • Create a £ 4.1 billion economic boost.
  • Develop up to 4.5 GW of generation capacity.

If we assume the following.

  • 4.5 GW of generation capacity.
  • Capacity factor of 50 %.
  • Strike price of £ 35/MWh.
  • A year has 8,760 hours.

We can say the following.

  • Average hourly generation is 2,250  MWh
  • Average yearly generation is 19,710 GWh or 19,710,000 MWh

This would be a yearly income of £ 689, 850 million.

 

May 25, 2024 Posted by | Energy | , , | 5 Comments

Crown Estate To Spend £1.5bn On New Laboratories

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

These three paragraphs introduce the Crown Estate’s plan.

The Crown Estate is to spend £1.5 billion over the next decade building more laboratories nationwide and will start by redeveloping the old Debenhams store in Oxford city centre.

The King’s property company, which looks after the royal family’s £16 billion historic land portfolio, will invest £125 million to buy the former department store and will turn it into laboratory space.

The building has been empty for omore than three years, having closed down in early 2021 after Debenhams collapsed during the pandemic. The Crown has bought a long leasehold of the store from DTZ Investors, the freeholder, which is keeping the street-level retail units. Subject to planning, construction is expected to start at the site next year, with the labs expected to be fully operational in 2027 or 2028.

This looks very much like a smaller version of British Land’s plan for the Euston Tower, which I wrote about in British Land Unveils Plans To Transform London’s Euston Tower Into A Life Sciences And Innovation Hub.

These are my thoughts.

Helping Start-Ups

I have been involved with perhaps half a dozen start-up ventures. Two were very successful and the others generally scraped along or just failed.

One common theme, was the lack of small convenient premises, where perhaps up to a dozen people could work.

  • I don’t know Oxford well, but I would assume that the Debenhams site, is good for public transport and cycle parking.
  • I also hope there’s a good real ale pub nearby, for some productive group thinking!

If this venture from Crown Estate helps start-ups to get over the first difficult hurdle, then it will be a development to be welcomed.

Location, Location, Location

It has been said, that the three most important things in property development are location, location and location.

This 3D Google Map shows the approximate location of the Debenhams building.

Note.

  1. The red arrow indicates a pub called the Wig and Pen , which is on the opposite side of George Street to the Debenhams building.
  2. The railway with its excellent connections runs North-South down the Western edge of the map.
  3. I estimate that walking distance to the station is about 500-600 metres.

I shall be going to Oxford in the next couple of days to take some pictures of the building and the walk.

We Can’t Have Too Many Laboratories

The British and the sort of people we attract to these isles seem to be born innovators and inventors.

My father’s male line is Jewish and my paternal great-great-great-grandfather had to leave his home city of Königsberg in East Prussia for the sole reasons he was eighteen, male and Jewish. As both Königsberg and London, were on the trading routes of the Hanseatic League, he probably just got on a ship. As he was a trained tailor, he set up in business in Bexley.

My mother’s male line is Huguenot and somewhere in the past, one of her ancestors left France for England. My grandfather was an engraver, which is a common Huguenot craft. Intriguingly, my mother had very French brown eyes.

Why did my ancestors come here?

It was probably a choice between escape to the UK or die!

This Wikipedia entry, which us entitled  History of the Jews in Königsberg, gives a lot of detail.

Note.

  1. My ancestor left Königsberg around 1800.
  2. He probably brought my coeliac disease with him.
  3. In 1942, many of the Jews remaining in Königsberg were sent to the Nazi concentration camps.
  4. About 2,000 Jews remain in Königsberg, which is now Kaliningrad in Russia.

I am an atheist, but some years ago, I did a computing job for a devout Orthodox Jewish oncologist and he felt my personal philosophy was very much similar to his.

This Wikipedia entry, which is entitled  Huguenots, gives a brief history of the Huguenots.

Whatever you’re attitude to immigration, you can’t deny these facts.

  • Immigration increases the population.
  • As the population increases, we’re going to need more innovation to maintain a good standard of living.
  • Just as we need more places to house immigrants, we also need more places, where they can work.
  • Immigration brings in those with all types of morals, sexualities and intelligences.
  • Like the Jews and Huguenots of over two centuries ago, some emigrants will dream of using their skills and intelligence to start a successful business.
  • It is likely, that some immigrants, who came here to study, might also want to stay on and seek employment here, using the skills they’ve learned and acquired. Some may even start successful businesses.

I also wonder, if immigration is difficult, does this mean, that the intelligent and resourceful are likely to be successful migrants. I heard this theory from a Chinese lady, who started her immigration to the UK, by swimming from mainland China to Hong Kong.

I feel, that unless we are prepared to ban immigration completely, not allow students to come here and study and be prepared to accept our current standard of living for the future, then we will need more laboratories and suitable places for entrepreneurs to start new businesses.

Conclusion

The Crown Estate appears to be getting more entrepreneurial.

In UK Unveils GBP 50 Million Fund To Boost Offshore Wind Supply Chain, I describe how they6 are using funds to accelerate the building of wind farms in theCetic Sea.

Has the King changed the boss or the rules?

Or have they employed a world-class mathematical modeller?

It is my experience, that modelling financial systems, can bring surprising results.

May 25, 2024 Posted by | Energy, World | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Reform UK leader Richard Tice To Stand In Boston And Skegness

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

This is the sub-heading.

The leader of Reform UK has announced he is to stand as a candidate in Boston and Skegness at the general election.

Anr this is the first paragraph.

Richard Tice announced his intention to stand in the Lincolnshire constituency on social media on Thursday morning.

This article on The Times is entitled What are Reform UK’s Policies — And How Is The Party Polling?

The article has these two paragraphs on energy, decarbonisation and net-zero.

Energy and net zero is another major area of focus. Tice has referred to net zero as “net stupid” and wants to accelerate the granting of oil and gas licences in the North Sea.

Reform has said all existing carbon emissions targets should be abandoned, due to what it says is an unfair burden being placed on taxpayers and consumers.

I shall do some arithmetic to give a few pointers to the constituency he hopes to win.

The Boston and Skegness constituency is a large green energy hub, where in a few years electricity from various source will be collected for distribution to East Anglia and the South of England.

Currently, in operation, under construction or in planning, are the following sources of green electricity.

  • Viking Link is a 1.4 GW interconnector between Bicker Fen in Lincolnshire and Denmark.
  • EGL3 is a 2 GW interconnector between Lincolnshire and Peterhead in Scotland.
  • EGL4 is a 2 GW interconnector between Lincolnshire and Westfield in Scotland.
  • Lincs is a 270 MW wind farm.
  • Lynn and Inner Dowsing is a 194 MW wind farm.
  • Outer Dowsing is a 1500 MW wind farm.
  • Triton Knoll is a 857 MW wind farm.
  • Race Bank is a 573 MW wind farm.

Note.

  1. The three interconnectors can send electricity in both directions.
  2. The wind farms are in North-South order.
  3. There would appear to be space in the sea for more wind farms.
  4. The 950 MW Spalding gas-fired power station is available locally, when the wind is on strike.
  5. The owners of Spalding power station are rumoured to be putting a large battery alongside the power station.

The totals are as follows.

  • 1.4 GW – Interconnector to Denmark
  • 4 GW – Interconnector to Scotland
  • 3.4 GW – Wind farms
  • 1 GW – Gas-fired power station.

These total up to 9.8 GW of power.

Conclusion

Consider.

  • It would appear that Richard Tice of Reform UK, has decided to stand in a constancy with one of the highest levels of green energy and energy security in the UK.
  • It is also likely to be a constituency, which in the future will benefit from investment and employment, as more wind farms are developed in the North Sea.

It looks to me, that he’s a politician with very little mathematical ability.

 

 

 

May 25, 2024 Posted by | Energy | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Frederick Snow & Partners, The Severn Barrage And Harold Wilson’s Government

In the 1970s, for a few weeks, I did a project management consultancy on the new Belfast international Airport.

I am sure they felt I was more experienced than I was, because they gave me a report on their proposal to barrage the River Severn and asked me to comment.

As consultant engineers, who had designed Gatwick Airport, the main feature of the barrage, was a central spine in the River with a major two-runway airport on top.

  • The runways would have pointed into the prevailing wind, which would have made take-offs and landings, efficient and safe.
  • A few minutes and perhaps five percent of fuel would have been saved on flights to the West.
  • The central spine would have divided the river into two parallel lakes; a high lake and a low one.
  • I seem to remember, that the high lake was on the Welsh side.

At the Western end of the lake and the spine, there would have been a barrage.

  • Sluice gates would have controlled the water flows into and out of the two lakes.
  • The barrage would have also served as the Second Severn Crossing.
  • The barrage would have been designed to reduce flooding along the River Severn.
  • There would have been a lock on the English side, to allow ships to pass through the barrage.

The turbines would have been under the airport.

  • They would have generated power by transferring water from the high to the low lake.
  • About ten percent of England’s power could have been generated.
  • I feel, that if the system were to be built now, pumped storage could be incorporated.

The sequence of operation of the power station would have been as follows.

  • On an incoming tide, the sluices in the barrage to the high lake would be opened.
  • Water would flow into the high lake.
  • So long as the water level in the high lake was high enough and the water level in the low lake was low enough, electricity would be generated.
  • On an outgoing tide, the sluices in the barrage to the low lake would be opened.
  • Water would flow out from the low lake.

I believe that because the water levels can be precisely controlled, this tidal power station, would have been able to provide the power needed.

One of their engineers told me, that Harold Wilson’s government had turned the project down, as the Government believed that large coal power stations were the future.

Can you imagine, Canada, Japan, Korea, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland or many other companies even in the 1970s, taking such a short-sighted decision?

Over the years of this blog, I make no apology about returning to the subject of the Severn Barrage, with these posts.

I still feel strongly, that it was a tragedy for this country, that the Severn Barrage was never built in the last century.

Conclusion

Any engineer, who trained in the 1960s after the Aberfan Disaster knew that coal had no future.

But nobody had seemed to have convinced Harold Wilson of this fact.

So instead of the clean power from the Severn Barrage, we got more polluting coal-fired power stations.

May 21, 2024 Posted by | Energy, Energy Storage | , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Redevelopment Of Scottish Port Begins As Owner Secures GBP 400 Million For Offshore Wind Upgrade

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

This is the sub-heading.

Haventus, the owner of the Ardersier Port in the Moray Firth, Scotland, has taken a final investment decision and kicked off construction work on redeveloping the port to serve both fixed-bottom and floating offshore wind projects. The revamped port is expected to open in the second half of 2025.

These are the first two paragraphs.

This month, Haventus was granted a GBP 100 million (approximately 117 million) joint credit facility from the Scottish National Investment Bank and UK Infrastructure Bank with GBP 50 million (approx. EUR 58.5 million) investment from each.

This follows a GBP 300 million (approx. 351 million) investment commitment by the energy investment firm Quantum Capital Group in 2023 when Haventus began the redevelopment of Ardersier Port.

This page on the Haventus web site, gives more details of the Port of Ardersier.

Included are.

  • Access channel width – 160 m.
  • Access channel depth – 12.4 m.
  • Landside area – 350 acres.
  • 420m main quay.
  • 80 m Ro/Ro capable berth.
  • People-friendly midges
  • Green Freeport tax site designation
  • More space is available if required.

There is also an informative video.

Haventus say they are delivering a world-leading energy transition facility. I can go along with that!

These are my thoughts.

The Location Of The Port of Ardersier

This Google Map shows the location of the Port of Ardersier.

Note.

  1. The large expanse of water in the middle of the map is Moray Firth.
  2. The blue arrow at the bottom of the map indicates Inverness Airport.
  3. Inverness Airport, has a railway station on the Aberdeen and Inverness Line.
  4. The village of Ardersier is on the the Eastern bank of the Moray Firth
  5. The Port of Ardersier is in the North-East corner of the map.

The city of Inverness, with a population of around 48,000, is a few miles South-West of the South-West corner of the map.

Which Windfarms Will Be Built And Serviced From The Port Of Ardersier?

This map shows the various ScotWind leases, around the North of Scotland.

The numbers are Scotwind’s lease number in their documents.

These are the Scotwind wind farms to the North-East of Scotland, that could reasonably be assumed to be built and served from the Port of Ardersier.

  • 7 – DEME Concessions Wind – 200 km² – 1.0 GW – Floating
  • 8 – Falck Renewables Wind – 256 km² – 1.0 GW – Floating
  • 9 – Ocean Winds – 429 km² – 1.0 GW – Fixed
  • 10 – Falck Renewables Wind – 134 km² – 0.5 GW – Floating
  • 11 – Scottish Power Renewables – 684 km² – 3.0 GW – Floating
  • 12 – BayWa r.e. UK  – 330 km² – 1.0 GW – Floating

These are the Scotwind wind farms to the North-West of Scotland, that could reasonably be assumed to be built and served from the Port of Ardersier.

  • 13 – Offshore Wind Power – 657 km² – 2.0 GW – Fixed or Floating
  • 14 – Northland Power – 390 km² – 1.5 GW – Floating
  • 15 – Magnora – 103 km² – 0.5 GW – Floating
  • 16 – Northland Power – 161 km² – 0.8 GW – Floating

These ten wind farms add up to 12.3 GW.

Transport

Consider.

  • Obviously, heavy components will be brought in by sea, using the Ro/Ro capable berth or using a crane to unload a barge.
  • Personnel will be able to fly in for the day.
  • Will some visitors rom London use the Caledonian Sleeper to and from Inverness station to get a full day on site and a good night’s sleep, whilst travelling.

But I do see a problem with local traffic to and from the site.

Hydrogen Buses

This page on the Sizewell C web site, discusses how they will use hydrogen buses.

I could see the Port of Ardersier taking a leaf out of Sizewell C’s book and run hydrogen buses to Inverness, Inverness Airport and other nearby towns.

The North of Scotland certainly won’t be short of green hydrogen to power the buses.

Hydrogen

Conclusion

If you thought that the only useful wind-driven thing to come out of Scotland was bagpipes, you had better think again.

The Port of Ardersier will be the factory and operation and maintenance port for one of the largest offshore wind industries in the world.

May 21, 2024 Posted by | Energy, Hydrogen | , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Fifth Hydro Project Proposed At Loch Ness

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

This is the sub-heading.

The local community is to be asked for its views next week on plans for a new hydro-electric scheme at Loch Ness.

These three paragraphs introduce the new scheme.

Glen Earrach Energy’s, external (GEE) pumped storage hydro project is the fifth hydro scheme proposed for the Loch Ness area.

The company said its project on Balmacaan Estate would create clean energy while protecting the environment, and create 600 on-site jobs.

But concerns have been raised about the number of planned schemes, with Ness District Salmon Fishery Board worried about the effect on wild fish.

The project has a web site, which has a section entitled About The Project, where this is said.

Glen Earrach Energy, which means “Valley of Spring” in Gaelic, stands at the forefront of energy innovation. The Pumped Storage Hydro (PSH) project, located at Balmacaan Estate, Scotland, is a critical component for achieving a net-zero grid by 2030.

The project prioritises environmental preservation and biodiversity enhancement while achieving outstanding efficiency in energy storage and generation.

This ensures a healthier and more sustainable balance between harnessing natural energy resources and the maintenance and reinforcement of the surrounding ecosystem.

Note.

  1. It doesn’t say, but it looks like Glen Earrach Energy aim to complete the project by 2030.
  2. Glen Earrach Energy also seem to be playing a strong environmental card.

But nothing is said about the size of the project.

This article on Business Insider, which is entitled £3 billion Loch Ness Hydro Project Plans Unveiled, does give some details.

  • Potential Investment – More than £2 billion
  • Output – 2 GW
  • Storage Capacity – 30 GWh
  • The project could create at least 600 on-site construction jobs in Scotland over a six-year period, plus many thousands more locally in the supply chain.

It is larger, than SSE’s flagship Coire Glas pumped storage hydroelectric power station, which is planned to be a 1.5 GW/30 GWh station, at the other end of the Great Glen.

I have some thoughts.

The Existing Hydro Schemes On Loch Ness

According to the BBC article, there are two existing hydro schemes on Loch Ness.

  • Foyers is described on this web site and is a reasonably modern 305 MW/6.3 GWh pumped storage hydroelectric power station, that was built by SSE Renewables in the last fifty years.
  • Glendoe is described on this web site and is a modern 106.5 MW conventional hydroelectric power station, that was built by SSE Renewables in the last twenty years.

Foyers and Glendoe may not be the biggest hydroelectric power stations, but they’re up there in size with most solar and onshore wind farms. Perhaps we should look for sites to develop 100 MW hydroelectric power stations?

The Proposed Hydro Schemes On Loch Ness

According to the BBC article, there are four proposed hydro schemes on Loch Ness.

  • Coire Glas is described on this web site and will be a 1.5GW/30 GWh pumped storage hydroelectric power station, that is being developed by SSE Renewables.
  • Fearna is described on this web site and will be a 1.8GW/37 GWh pumped storage hydroelectric power station, that is being developed by Gilkes Energy.
  • Loch Kemp is described on this web site and will be a 600MW/9 GWh pumped storage hydroelectric power station, that is being developed by Statera.
  • Loch Na Cathrach is described on this web site and will be a 450MW/2.8 GWh pumped storage hydroelectric power station, that is being developed by Statktaft.

In addition there is, there is the recently announced Glen Earrach.

  • Glen Earrach is described on this web site and will be a 2GW/30 GWh pumped storage hydroelectric power station, that is being developed by Glen Earrach Energy.

Note.

  1. The total power of the seven pumped storage hydroelectric power stations is 4.76 GW.
  2. The total storage capacity is 85.1 GWh.

The storage capacity is enough to run all turbines flat out for nearly five hours.

Could Glendoe Be Updated To Pumped Storage?

The Wikipedia entry for the Glendoe Hydro Scheme mentions pumped storage several times.

In Glendoe Hydro Power Station, I estimate that a Glendoe pumped storage scheme could be perhaps 50 % bigger than the system at Foyers.

I feel that if more storage capacity is needed in the Highlands, then Glendoe could be converted to pumped storage.

May 19, 2024 Posted by | Energy, Energy Storage | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

RWE And the Norfolk Wind Farms

In March 2024, I wrote RWE And Vattenfall Complete Multi-Gigawatt Offshore Wind Transaction In UK, which described how Vattenfall had sold 4.2 GW of offshore wind farms, situated off North-East Norfolk to RWE.

This map from RWE shows the wind farms.

Note.

  1. The Norfolk Zone consists of three wind farms; Norfolk Vanguard West, Norfolk Boreas and Norfolk Vanguard East.
  2. The three wind farms are 1.4 GW fixed-foundation wind farms.
  3. In Vattenfall Selects Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone O&M Base, I describe how the Port of Great Yarmouth had been selected as the O & M base.
  4. Great Yarmouth and nearby Lowestoft are both ports, with a long history of supporting shipbuilding and offshore engineering.

The wind farms and the operational port are all close together, which probably makes things convenient.

So why did Vattenfall sell the development rights of the three wind farms to RWE?

Too Much Wind?

East Anglia is fringed with wind farms all the way between the Wash and the Thames Estuary.

  • Lincs – 270 MW
  • Lynn and Inner Dowsing – 194 MW
  • Race Bank – 580 MW
  • Triton Knoll – 857 MW
  • Sheringham Shoal – 317 MW
  • Dudgeon – 402 MW
  • Hornsea 3 – 2852 MW *
  • Scroby Sands – 60 MW
  • East Anglia One North – 800 MW *
  • East Anglia Two – 900 MW *
  • East Anglia Three – 1372 MW *
  • Greater Gabbard – 504 MW
  • Galloper – 353 MW
  • Five Estuaries – 353 MW *
  • North Falls – 504 MW *
  • Gunfleet Sands – 172 MW
  • London Array – 630 MW

Note.

  1. Wind farms marked with an * are under development or under construction.
  2. There is 4339 MW of operational wind farms between the Wash and the Thames Estuary.
  3. An extra 6781 MW is also under development.

If all goes well, East Anglia will have over 11 GW of operational wind farms or over 15 GW, if the three Norfolk wind farms are built.

East Anglia is noted more for its agriculture and not for its heavy industries consuming large amounts of electricity, so did Vattenfall decide, that there would be difficulties selling the electricity?

East Anglia’s Nimbies

East Anglia’s Nimbies seem to have started a campaign against new overground cables and all these new wind farms will need a large capacity increase between the main substations of the National Grid and the coast.

So did the extra costs of burying the cable make Vattenfall think twice about developing these wind farms?

East Anglia and Kent’s Interconnectors

East Anglia and Kent already has several interconnectors to Europe

  • Viking Link – Bicker Fen and Jutland – 1.4 GW
  • LionLink – Suffolk and the Netherlands – 1.8 GW – In Planning
  • Nautilus – Suffolk or Isle of Grain and Belgium – 1.4 GW – In Planning
  • BritNed – Isle of Grain and Maasvlakte – 1.0 GW
  • NeuConnect – Isle of Grain and Wilhelmshaven – 1.4 GW – Under Construction
  • GridLink Interconnector – Kingsnorth and Warande – 1.4 GW – Proposed
  • HVDC Cross-Channel – Sellinge and Bonningues-lès-Calais – 2.0 GW
  • ElecLink – Folkestone and Peuplingues – 1.0 GW
  • Nemo Link – Richborough and Zeebrugge – 1.0 GW

Note.

  1. Five interconnectors with a capacity of 6.4 GW.
  2. A further four interconnectors with a capacity of 6 GW are on their way.

At 12.4 GW, the future capacity of the interconnectors between South-East England and Europe, is nor far short of South-East English wind power.

There are also two gas pipelines from the Bacton gas terminal between Cromer and Great Yarmouth to Europe.

The Wikipedia entry for the Bacton gas terminal gives these descriptions of the two gas pipelines.

Interconnector UK – This can import gas from, or export gas to, Zeebrugge, Belgium via a 235 km pipeline operating at up to 147 bar. There is a 30-inch direct access line from the SEAL pipeline. The Interconnector was commissioned in 1998.

BBL (Bacton–Balgzand line) – This receives gas from the compressor station in Anna Paulowna in the Netherlands. The BBL Pipeline is 235 km long and was commissioned in December 2006.

It would appear that East Anglia and Kent are well connected to the Benelux countries, with both electricity and gas links, but with the exception of the Viking Link, there is no connection to the Scandinavian countries.

Did this lack of connection to Sweden make convincing the Swedish government, reluctant to support Vattenfall in their plans?

Bringing The Energy From The Norfolk Wind Farms To Market

It looks to me, that distributing up to 4.2 GW from the Norfolk wind farms will not be a simple exercise.

  • Other wind farms like the 2852 MW Hornsea 3 wind farm, may need a grid connection on the North Norfolk coast.
  • The Nimbies will not like a South-Western route to the National Grid at the West of Norwich.
  • An interconnector to Denmark or Germany from North Norfolk would probably help.

But at least there are two gas pipelines to Belgium and the Netherlands.

RWE, who now own the rights to the Norfolk wind farms, have a large amount of interests in the UK.

  • RWE are the largest power producer in the UK.
  • They supply 15 % of UK electricity.
  • They have interest in twelve offshore wind farms in the UK. When fully-developed, they will have a capacity of almost 12 GW.
  • RWE are developing the Pembroke Net Zero Centre, which includes a hydrogen electrolyser.

RWE expects to invest up to £15 billion in the UK by 2030 in new and existing green technologies and infrastructure as part of this.

Could this be RWE’s plan?

As the Norfolk wind farms are badly placed to provide electricity to the UK grid could RWE have decided to use the three Norfolk wind farms to produce hydrogen instead.

  • The electrolyser could be placed onshore or offshore.
  • If placed onshore, it could be placed near to the Bacton gas terminal.
  • There are even depleted gas fields, where hydrogen could be stored.

How will the hydrogen be distributed and/or used?

It could be delivered by tanker ship or tanker truck to anyone who needs it.

In Developing A Rural Hydrogen Network, I describe how a rural hydrogen network could be developed, that decarbonises the countryside.

There are three major gas pipelines leading away from the Bacton gas terminal.

  1. The connection to the UK gas network.
  2. Interconnector UK to Belgium.
  3. BBL to The Netherlands.

These pipelines could be used to distribute hydrogen as a hydrogen blend with natural gas.

In UK – Hydrogen To Be Added To Britain’s Gas Supply By 2025, I describe the effects of adding hydrogen to the UK’s natural gas network.

 

 

 

 

May 16, 2024 Posted by | Energy, Hydrogen | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Gresham House BESS Fund Energises 50MWh Asset

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Solar Power Portal.

These three paragraphs detail the project.

Gresham House Energy Storage Fund has energised a 50MW/50MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) in Lancashire.

Situated in Penwortham, south-west of the county capital Preston, the 1-hour duration BESS is set to be expanded to 2-hours in the summer, meaning its capacity would be 50MW/100MWh.

With the commencement of this new BESS, Gresham House Energy Storage Fund’s operational capacity has now reached 790MW/926MWh. The project is the fund’s 25th operational asset since IPO.

Note.

  1. The battery will be upgraded to a two-hour battery in the summer.
  2. The average battery would appear to be 32 MW/37 MWh.
  3. The average full-power duration for all Gresham House’s batteries appears to be around 70 minutes.

This Google Map shows the battery, which is located next to National Grid’s Penwortham substation.

Note.

  1. The battery is the two rows of green containers at the top of the map.
  2. The substation appears to be large.

Co-location like this, must surely bring design, construction and operational advantages.

This page on the National Grid web site is entitled Network And Infrastructure, where this is said.

We own the national electricity transmission system in England and Wales. The system consists of approximately 4,500 miles of overhead line, over 900 miles of underground cable and over 300 substations.

If every substation in the UK were to be fitted with a 32 MW/64 MWh two hour battery, these would have a total capacity of 9.6 GW/19.2 GWh.

Compare that with these operational batteries and pumped-storage systems in the UK.

  • Cruachan – 1000 MW/7.1 GWh – Pumped Storage
  • Dinorwig – 1800 MW/9.1 GWh – Pumped Storage
  • Ffestiniog – 360 MW/1.44 GWh – Pumped Storage
  • Minety -150 MW/266 MWh – BESS
  • Pillswood – 98 MW/196 MWh – BESS

And these systems are under development

There are at least another four substantial pumped storage systems under development.

Conclusion

A twin-track approach of grid-batteries at sub-stations and a few larger grid batteries and pumped storage hydroelectric schemes should be able to provide enough storage.

 

May 15, 2024 Posted by | Energy, Energy Storage | , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Ørsted, Simply Blue, Subsea7 Submit Application For 100 MW Scottish Floating Wind Farm

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

This is the sub-heading.

Ørsted, Simply Blue Group and Subsea7, through their joint venture partnership in Scotland, have submitted an offshore consent application for the proposed 100 MW Salamander floating offshore wind farm, one of the 13 projects selected in Scotland’s Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) leasing round.

The article starts with a map that shows the location of the Salamander floating offshore wind farm and it shows how the sea is getting very crowded 35 kilometres off Peterhead.

This map shows the various ScotWind leases, around the North of Scotland.

 

The numbers are Scotwind’s lease number in their documents.

These are the Scotwind wind farms to the North-East of Scotland.

  • 1 – BP Alternative Energy Investments – 859 km² – 2.9 GW – Fixed
  • 2 – SSE Renewables – 859 km² – 2.6 GW – Floating
  • 3 – Falck Renewables Wind – 280 km² – 1.2 GW – Floating
  • 4 – Shell – 860 km² – 2.0 GW – Floating
  • 5 – Vattenfall – 200 km² – 0.8 GW – Floating
  • 6 – DEME – 187 km² – 1.0 GW – Fixed
  • 9 – Ocean Winds – 429 km² – 1.0 GW – Fixed
  • 10 – Falck Renewables Wind – 134 km² – 0.5 GW – Floating
  • 11 – Scottish Power Renewables – 684 km² – 3.0 GW – Floating
  • 12 – BayWa r.e. UK  – 330 km² – 1.0 GW – Floating

Note.

  1. Salamander is located to the South of wind farms 10, 11 and 12 and to the North-West of wind farm 5.
  2. These windfarms total up to 16 GW.
  3. 4.9 GW are fixed foundation wind farms.
  4. 11.1 GW are floating wind farms.

These are my thoughts.

The Salamander Project

In the big scheme of things, the 100 MW Salamander wind farm, is rather a tiddler of a wind farm.

On the Salamander wind farm web site, a section gives the Project Goals.

  1. Our innovative pre-commercial stepping-stone concept will use novel floating foundations to (i) maximise Scottish content, (ii) enable the Scottish supply chain to gear up for the future floating offshore wind commercial opportunities in ScotWind and (iii) reduce the financial, environmental and technology risks of floating offshore wind.
  2. The Salamander project will contribute to the Scottish Government and UK Government net-zero targets. The project can contribute to the Scottish government’s target of 11 GW of installed offshore wind by 2030, as well as the UK government’s target of 5 GW of operational floating offshore wind by the same date.
  3. We are dedicated to developing a sustainable and transformative project, working with the oceans, and enabling communities to benefit from Project Salamander. Therefore, we commit to having a continuous and strong stakeholder and community engagement.

It appears to me, that the Salamander project will be a pathfinder for the 11.1 GW of floating wind farms to be built off Peterhead.

Bringing The Electricity South

National Grid are building four interconnectors between Eastern Scotland and Eastern England.

  • Eastern Green Link 1 – Torness and Hawthorn Pit
  • Eastern Green Link 2 – Peterhead and Drax
  • Eastern Green Link 3 – Westfield and Lincolnshire
  • Eastern Green Link 4 – Peterhead and Lincolnshire

Note.

  1. All interconnectors are 2 GW.
  2. All interconnectors are offshore for a long part of their route.
  3. It also appears that National Grid are burying much of the onshore sections.

But the 4 GW of interconnectors will only be able to bring a quarter of the offshore electricity generated in the Peterhead area to the South.

What Will Happen To The Excess Electricity?

Consider.

  • There could be 16 GW of planned offshore wind power around Peterhead and North-East Scotland.
  • There is only 4 GW of interconnector capacity between Peterhead and Eastern England.
  • There is another 6.8 GW of electricity around North-West Scotland.
  • There is 2.8 GW of electricity being developed to the East of Shetland.
  • The Crown Estate is thinking of increasing the size of some offshore wind farms.

It is likely, that other wind farms will be built in the seas around the North of Scotland.

It appears that the North of Scotland could have at least 20 GW of excess electricity.

Possible solutions would include.

  • Developing energy intensive industries like metal refining.
  • More interconnectors to Denmark, England, Ireland and Norway.
  • Storage of the electricity in giant pumped storage hydroelectric power stations.
  • Creation of green hydrogen for export.

Note.

  1. Aluminium refining has been developed in the North of Scotland before.
  2. More interconnectors are a possibility, especially as Scotland is developing cable manufacturing capacity.
  3. Some maps show extra interconnectors between West Scotland and Merseyside.
  4. At least 70 GWh of pumped storage hydroelectric power stations are being developed along the Great Glen.
  5. I suspect that the pumped storage hydroelectric power stations could be connected to the wind farms, by cables under the waters of Loch Ness.

But surely, production of green hydrogen for export would be a very good way to go.

  1. Extra electrolysers could be added as required.
  2. Because of the interconnectors down both East and West Coasts, electrolysers could be built in England, where there is a large need for hydrogen.
  3. Hydrogen would be exported initially by tanker ships.
  4. At some point in the future, it might be viable to build a hydrogen pipeline to connect to the growing European hydrogen network.

The giant pumped storage hydroelectric power stations and the hydrogen electrolysers would be sized to make sure, that no wind power is never wasted.

Conclusion

The 100 MW Salamander floating wind farm may only be small, but it will prove the technology, the manufacturing and the supply chains, so that Scotland can have a second energy boom from the North Sea.

But this boom will certainly last longer than a hundred years.

 

 

May 14, 2024 Posted by | Energy, Energy Storage | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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