Wales Puts Another Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Power Station Into Play
This page on World Energy is entitled Fortune Hydro AG and Voith Acquire 450 MW Dorothea Lakes Pump Storage.
This paragraph introduced the article.
Fortune Hydro AG, in collaboration with Voith Small Hydro, has acquired the 450 MW Dorothea Lakes Pump Storage project as part of an £800 million (US$1 billion) strategic investment in renewable energy in the UK.
It looks to me that this was a good buy in July 2023, as after last week, when I wrote Price Framework Paves Way For Vast Electricity Storage Scheme, in response to a UK Government announcement about funding pumped storage hydroelectricity.
These two paragraphs give more details of the project.
Located in Snowdonia, Northern Wales, this green storage facility presents a unique opportunity to integrate wind, solar and hydroelectric power, Fortune Hydro said. The Dorothea Lakes site was one of the largest slate quarries in Europe and the largest in North Wales.
Electricity produced by solar and wind during low demand can be stored until demand is there. This storage allows balancing of the production cycle in the large solar and wind farms in the north against the demand cycle of consumers and businesses in central and southern UK. It will generate up to 600 jobs and bring economic development and new business opportunities to the local community, the company said.
This map shows the location of Dorothea Lakes.
Note.
- Dorothea Lakes is indicated by the red arrow.
- The Menai Strait between Bangor and Caernarfon is at the top of the map.
- It is certainly in a convenient place, with all the wind farms off the North Wales Coast.
At 450 MW, it’s about a third the size of Electric Mountain, so I suspect it could hold about 3 GWh of electricity.
UK Offshore Wind In 2030
With the election coming up in the next year, I thought I’d add how much offshore wind will be available in the next few years.
In October 2023, according to this Wikipedia entry, there were offshore wind farms consisting of 2,695 turbines with a combined capacity of 14,703 megawatts.
These wind farms are due to be commissioned between now and the end of 2030.
- Dogger Bank A – 1235 MW – 2023
- Neart Na Gaoithe – 450 MW – 2024
- Dogger Bank B – 1235 MW – 2024
- Forthwind – 12 MW – 2024
- Moray West – 882 MW – 2025
- Dogger Bank C – 1218 MW – 2025
- Sofia Offshore Wind Farm – 1400 MW – 2026
- East Anglia 3 – 1372 MW – 2026
- East Anglia One North – 800 MW – 2026
- East Anglia Two – 900 MW – 2026
- Pentland – 100 MW – 2026 – Floating
- Hornsea Three – 2852 MW – 2027
- Norfolk Boreas, Phase 1 – 1380 MW – 2027
- Llŷr 1 – 100 MW – 2027 – Floating
- Llŷr 2 – 100 MW – 2027 – Floating
- Whitecross – 100 MW – 2027 – Floating
- Morecambe – 480 MW – 2028
- Bellrock – 1200 MW – 2028 – Floating
- Mona – 1500 MW – 2029
- Morgan – 1500 MW – 2029
- West of Orkney – 2000 MW – 2029
- Rampion 2 Extension – 1200 MW – 2030
- Norfolk Vanguard East – 1380 MW – 2030
- Morven – 2907 MW – 2030
- Norfolk Vanguard West – 1380 MW – 2030
- Berwick Bank – 4100 MW – 2030
- Outer Dowsing – 1500 MW – 2030
- Broadshore – 900 MW – 2028 – Floating
- Caledonia – 2000 MW – 2030
- Stromar – 1000 MW – 2028 – Floating
- N3 Project – 495 MW – 2030
- Muir Mhòr – 798 MW – 2030 – Floating
- North Falls – 504 MW – 2030
- Spiorad na Mara – 840 MW – 2031
- Bowdun – 1008 MW – 2033
- Ayre – 1008 MW – 2033 – Floating
- Buchan – 960 MW – 2033 – Floating
These can give these totals for the next few years.
- 2023 – 14.70 GW
- 2024 – 17.64 GW
- 2025 19.74 GW
- 2026 – 24.31 GW
- 2027 – 28.81 GW
- 2028 – 32.39 GW
- 2029 – 37.39 GW
- 2030 – 53.65 GW
- 2031 – 54.50 GW
- 2032 – 54.50 GW
- 2033 – 57.47 GW
Note.
- The Government’s 50 GW target of offshore wind power by 2030 has been achieved.
- A total of 7.27 GW of floating wind power has been installed.
- The Government’s target of 5 GW of floating offshore wind power by 2030 has also been achieved.
Currently, the UK is generating 37.49 GW of electricity.
Price Framework Paves Way For Vast Electricity Storage Scheme
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Times.
This is the sub-heading.
SSE welcomes step forward in plans to build the £1.5bn Coire Glas hydroelectric project
These two paragraphs outline the article.
Ministers have provisionally agreed to a power pricing framework that could pave the way for more pumped storage hydroelectricity projects in Britain, including a gigantic £1.5 billion scheme from SSE that is starting to take shape in the Scottish Highlands.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said it intended to develop a “cap and floor” pricing mechanism that would advance the Coire Glas storage project being developed by SSE, the energy company, and could unlock further pumped storage power stations.
Coire Glas will be one of the largest renewable power projects ever built in the UK.
- It will have a power output of 1.5 GW, which is comparable with some of the large wind farms in the North Sea or four gas-fired power station or Rolls-Royce SMRs.
- It will be able to store 30 GWh of electricity and provide 1.5 GW for twenty hours.
- Coire Glas has a web site.
- Coire Glas will more than double pumped storage hydroelectric capacity in the UK.
Bath County Pumped Storage Station in Virginia, US claims to be the world’s largest battery, but Coire Glas will be able to store more electricity.
You wait decades for one of these monsters to come along in the UK and SSE also have another on the way.
- Loch Sloy hydroelectric power station is the largest conventional hydroelectric power station in the UK.
- It has an output of 152 MW.
- It opened in 1950 and was largely built by German and Italian prisoners-of-war.
SSE plan to convert Loch Sloy power station into a pumped storage hydroelectric power station.
- It will be able to store 25 GWh of electricity.
- Loch Sloy will be the upper lake.
- Loch Lomond will be the lower lake.
- The existing dam, upper lake, pipes and powerhouse will be retained.
- The developments have a web page.
The project is aimed at a commissioning date of 2028.
This paragraph explains how the ‘cap and floor’ mechanism works.
In the scheme, operators would be guaranteed a minimum level of revenue, while consumers would be protected by a price ceiling, above which surplus revenue would be returned to them.
And these two paragraphs give SSE’s reaction.
Finlay McCutcheon, 46, director of onshore Europe at SSE, said the pricing framework was welcome news. He said that a deal for Coire Glas was needed by the end of this year to secure a firm investment decision by early 2026. Planning for the project started in 2007.
“Given the time taken to reach this point, much work is now needed to ensure an effective mechanism is finalised and put in place as early as possible to enable Coire Glas to take final investment decisions and move into construction,” he said.
I believe that the negotiations between the Government and SSE will lead to a monster on Loch Lochy and another one on Loch Lomond.
Conclusion
There are also these pumped storage hydroelectric schemes under development.
- Balliemeanoch Pumped Hydro – 1.5 GW/45 GWh
- Balmacaan Pumped Hydro – 600 MW/15-20 GWh
- Corrievarkie Pumped Hydro – 1.5 GW/14.5 GWh
- Fearna Pumped Hydro – 1.8 GW/37 GWh
- Glenmuckloch Pumped Hydro – 400 MW/1.6 GWh
- Loch Earba Pumped Storage Hydro – 900MW/33 GWh
- Loch Kemp Pumped Storage Hydro – 300MW/9 GWh
- Loch Na Cargeach/Red John Pumped Storage Hydro – 450 MW/2.8 GWh
These total up to 7.4 GW/100+ GWh.
This page on the Strathclyde University web site, gives these GWh figures for the possible amounts of pumped-storage that can be added to existing schemes.
- Errochty – 16
- Glasgarnock – 23
- Luichart – 38
- Clunie – 40
- Fannich – 70
- Rannoch – 41
- Fasnakyle – 78
- Tummel – 38
- Ben Lawers – 12
- Nant – 48
- Invermoriston – 22
- Invergarry – 41
- Quoich – 27
- Sloy – 20
That is a total of 514 GWh.
Scotland will be the Saudi Arabia of energy storage.
Japanese Offshore Wind And Battery Storage Project Begins Commercial Operation
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
On 1 January 2024, JERA and Green Power Investment Corporation (GPI) began commercial operations at the 112 MW Ishikari Bay New Port Offshore Wind Farm in Japan, which they own through Green Power Ishikari GK, a special-purpose corporation (SPC).
The most significant thing about this wind farm, is that it has been designed from Day One to operate with a battery, which is detailed in the last paragraph.
The project also features a battery storage component with 100 MW x 180 MWh of capacity.
Note that the output of the battery is 89 % of that of the wind farm. Is that the ideal ratio between battery and wind farm capacities?
Conclusion
Because of my training, as an Electronics and Control Engineer, I belief that most renewable energy can be smoothed with the adding of a battery.
Aker Solutions To Pilot Floating-Wind Power Hub
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Aker Solutions.
This is the sub-heading.
Aker Solutions to pilot world’s first subsea power distribution system for floating offshore wind at Norway´s METCentre
These four paragraphs describe the system and explain how it works.
Note.
Aker Solutions has signed a front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract with the Marine Energy Test Centre (METCentre) in Norway to pilot new subsea power system technology which has the potential to significantly reduce the costs and complexity of offshore wind farms.
The project will see Aker Solutions provide new power transmission technology, Subsea Collector, for the METCentre’s offshore wind test area which today consists of two floating offshore wind turbines located 10 kilometers off the southwestern coast of Karmøy, Norway. The test area will expand to seven floating offshore wind turbines from 2026.
Subsea Collector provides an alternative solution to connect multiple wind turbines electrically in a star configuration instead of the traditional daisy chain pattern, allowing for more flexibility in offshore wind farm architecture and construction. The design also allows for reduced cable length per turbine and park, as well as less vessel time and installation costs. Initial findings support total cost savings on a 1GW floating wind farm of up to 10 percent.
The main component parts of the Subsea Collector comprise a 66kV wet mate connection system provided by Benestad and subsea switchgear with supervisory control and data acquisition by subsea power and automation alliance partner, ABB. Installation will be carried out by Windstaller Alliance, an alliance between Aker Solutions, DeepOcean and Solstad Offshore. Aker Solutions will also provide the static export cable to shore.
Total cost savings of ten percent on any large project are not to be sneezed at.
I also feel that this sort of architecture will be ideal for a test centre, where configurations are probably changed more often.
Offshore Wind Turbines In 2023: 16 MW Model Installed Offshore, 18 MW WTGs Selected For New Project, 22 MW Turbine Announced
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
The biggest wind turbines also make for some of the biggest news on offshoreWIND.biz. In 2023, wind turbine OEMs continued making headlines with their models in development and on the path to commercialisation, and by announcing brand new wind turbine generators (WTGs) that further raise the bar in generation capacity and size. Here, we are bringing an overview of the biggest and most powerful wind turbines we reported about in 2023.
This is the first paragraph.
Some of the wind turbines from our lookback article from a year ago, which were announced or launched in 2022, have now advanced to being installed offshore and/or are already being selected for commercial offshore wind projects that are planned to be built in the not-so-distant future.
Offshore wind turbines are certainly getting larger.
- The Chinese seem to be leading the way with turbines that produce over 20 MW, but European and US manufacturers appear to be looking at 16-18 MW.
- This compares with typical farms commissioned in the last few years of about 13-14 MW, which is roughly a 26 % increase in size.
- In Crown Estate Mulls Adding 4 GW Of Capacity From Existing Offshore Wind Projects, I talk about how bigger turbine sizes could be increased in wind farms, that are being planned.
I feel the UK, could benefit from this increase in wind turbine size.
The Invisible £20 Billion North Sea Project
I introduced Cerulean Winds in the two posts What Is INTOG? and Cerulean Winds Is A Different Type Of Wind Energy Company.
They have now expanded their page on the North Sea Renewables Grid.
It is well worth a look!
World’s Tallest Wooden Wind Turbine Starts Turning
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
What is made from the same wood as a Christmas tree, held together by glue and manufactured in a Swedish factory for assembly later?
These three paragraphs outline the design of a revolutionary wind turbine tower.
If that calls to mind flat-pack furniture and meatballs, you’re wrong.
If you answered “a wooden wind turbine”, you could be a visionary.
According to Modvion, the Swedish start-up that has just built the world’s tallest wooden turbine tower, using wood for wind power is the future.
I feel that it is not as revolutionary as some people might think.
Forty years ago, I built an extension on my house that included a swimming pool and a barn. The swimming pool roof was based on laminated wood beams and the barn was constructed using traditional wooden beams, that were bolted together.
But surely the most amazing wooden structure of the last century is the DH 98 Mosquito.
This paragraph introduces the Wikipedia entry for this amazing aeroplane.
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the Second World War. Unusual in that its airframe was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the “Wooden Wonder”, or “Mossie”. Lord Beaverbrook, Minister of Aircraft Production, nicknamed it “Freeman’s Folly”, alluding to Air Chief Marshal Sir Wilfrid Freeman, who defended Geoffrey de Havilland and his design concept against orders to scrap the project. In 1941, it was one of the fastest operational aircraft in the world.
One of my friends from the twentieth century, had been an RAF Mosquito pilot in the 1950s and felt it was an unequalled design of aircraft.
The airframe of the Mosquito was built using similar materials and methods as Modvion’s turbine tower.
I have just found out, that the de Havilland Aircraft Museum, where the prototype Mosquito is displayed, is open at least until the 7th of January.
I shall be going by public transport and if anybody would like to accompany me, use the Contact Page to get in touch.
UK Transmission-Connected 100MW BESS Online At Former Coal Plant Site
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Energy Storage News.
These are the first three paragraphs.
A 100MW battery storage project in the UK connected to National Grid’s transmission network has gone online, developed by Pacific Green on the former site of a coal plant.
UK transmission system operator (TSO) National Grid has plugged in the 100MW/100MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) project to its 400kV Richborough substation.
The project, dubbed the Richborough Energy Park battery, is owned by asset manager Sosteneo Infrastructure Partners which acquired it from developer Pacific Green in July 2023.
A Transmission-Connected Battery
Thye Energy Storage News article says this about transmission-connected batteries.
Most BESS projects in the UK connect into the lower-voltage networks run by distribution network operators (DNOs) rather than National Grid’s high-voltage network. Benefits of the latter include a more reliable connection and better visibility in National Grid control rooms.
This would look to be a better way to connect a battery to the grid, but the battery must be able to supply electricity at 400 kV.
This Google Map shows the location of Richborough Energy Park.
Note.
- Richborough Energy Park is marked by the red arrow.
- The coast is the East Coast of Kent.
- The Prince’s Golf Club lies between the Energy Park and the sea.
This second Google Map shows the energy park in more detail.
Note.
- Richborough Energy Park is marked by the red arrow.
- The 336 MW coal-fired Richborough power station used to occupy the site.
- To its West is Richborough 400kV substation.
- There is a large solar park to the North.
- The 1 GW Nemo Link connects to the grid at the energy park.
- The 300 MW Thanet Wind Farm connects to the grid here.
It looks like an ideal place to put a 100MW/100MWh battery energy storage system, so that it can balance the wind and solar farms.
Sheaf Energy Park
This page on the Pacific Green web site is entitled Delivering Grid-Scale Energy Storage With A Global Reach.
Four battery projects are shown.
- Richborough Energy Park – In Operation
- Sheaf Energy Park – In Construction
- Limestone Coast Energy Park – In Origination
- Portland Energy Park – In Origination
The first two projects are in Kent and the others are in Australia. That is certainly global reach by Pacific Green.
I then found this page on the Pacific Green web site, that is entitled Pacific Green Acquires Sheaf Energy Limited – 249 MW / 373.5 MWh Battery Energy Storage Development In The UK.
These two paragraphs describe the acquisition and development of Sheaf Energy Park.
Pacific Green Battery Energy Parks 2 Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pacific Green Technologies, Inc. has acquired 100% of the shares in Sheaf Energy Limited (“Sheaf Energy Park”) for £7.5 million (US$9.1 million) from UK-based energy originator, Tupa Energy (Holdings) Limited.
Sheaf Energy Park will be a 249 MW / 373.5 MWh battery energy storage system (“BESS”) located next to the Richborough Energy Park in Kent, England. Design and construction will begin in the first half of 2023, with the energy park commencing its 35-year operating life in April 2025.
It looks to me that Pacific Green have found the figures for the construction and operation to their liking at Richborough Energy Park and have decided that to more than triple their investment in energy storage at the site will be very much to their advantage.
Conclusion
I suspect we’ll see other locations in the UK and around the world, with wind, solar, interconnectors and batteries working in harmony to make the most of the electricity available.
The Anonymous Widower 