Articles From The Engineer
I generally read articles from The Engineer once a week.
Here’s a few that are worth reading.
12th Feburuary 2023 – Hydrogen Ambulance Set For London
A project led by hydrogen fuel specialists ULEMCo is aiming to deliver the UK’s first zero emission hydrogen ambulance later this year
There is an interesting discussion, as to whether hydrogen or battery ambulances are better. Range and hotel power issues seem to favour hydrogen.
11th May 2023 – Bramble Energy Secures £12m For Hydrogen Bus
Bramble Energy has joined forces with Equipmake, Aeristech and Bath University to develop a new hydrogen double-deck bus integrating its printed circuit board fuel cell (PCBFC) technology
Bramble Energy can create bespoke fuel cell stacks in a ‘matter of days at scale and low-cost’.
12th May 2023 – Cornish Geothermal Project Leads Government Heat Scheme
The UK’s first deep geothermal heat network is one of seven new projects to receive funding as part of a new government programme to decarbonise buildings across England.
The full list of projects to receive support today via the Green Heat Networks Fund is detailed.
17th May 2023 – Ricardo Joins Pan-European Hydrogen Shipping Consortium
UK engineering firm Ricardo is set to play a key role in the sustainable HYdrogen powered Shipping (sHYpS) project being funded by the EU’s Horizon Europe programme.
One thing that is disclosed in the article, is that Ricardo have a new 400kW hydrogen fuel cell test chamber at the company’s UK headquarters.
Dutch Stop Offshore Wind Turbines To Protect Migratory Birds In ‘International First’
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
The wind turbines at Borssele and Egmond aan Zee offshore wind farms were stopped for four hours on 13 May, to help migrating birds pass by safely.
These three paragraphs outline the measures taken to protect the migrating birds.
According to the Dutch Government, this is the first time such a measure has been applied and is in line with the approach of the government and participating companies to increasingly focus on ecology and biodiversity in offshore wind farms.
The wind turbines’ speed will be reduced to a maximum of two rotations per minute during the predicted night-time peak migration to give the birds a safe passage.
The shutdown was part of a pilot phase, which could become standard this autumn and will also include wind farms that are still being built or will be constructed in the future.
I wonder how this Dutch action fits with research from Vattenfall, that I wrote about in Unique Study: Birds Avoid Wind Turbine Blades.
SSE Renewables Announces Construction Of Second Utility-Scale Battery Storage System
The title of this post, is the same as that of this news item from SSE Renewables.
These three paragraphs outline the project and its current status.
SSE Renewables has taken a Final Investment Decision to proceed with, and entered into contracts to deliver, its second battery energy storage system (BESS). The 150MW project is located at the site of SSE’s former Ferrybridge coal-fired power station in West Yorkshire, England.
The investment is part of SSE’s £12.5bn Net Zero Acceleration Programme and means construction will now commence later this month at the iconic site.
For decades the Ferrybridge coal-fired power station was a prominent feature of the West Yorkshire landscape, before being decommissioned by SSE in 2016. Now SSE Renewables’ plans to build a new 150MW battery storage project at Ferrybridge will provide flexible generation for Britain’s national grid and a new era for the site.
This Google Map shows the site.
Note.
- The A1(M) runs up the West side of the map, with the East Coast Main Line going up the East.
- The circular structures in the middle of the map appear to be the bases and remains of the eight cooling towers.
- There are a lot of labels saying Ferrybridge power station.
- One existing and one demolished sub-stations can be located.
- The last Ferrybridge power station; C had a capacity of just over 2 GW.
The Wikipedia entry for Ferrybridge C, is worth a read, as it details the struggles of various owners and their engineers to generate electricity efficiently and with regard to the regulations.
The site’s use since 2016 seems to have been varied with two multi-fuel power stations, that were designed to burn mixed fuel including biomass, general waste and waste wood, a carbon capture experiment for Chris Huhne and now the 150 MW battery, which other sources give as having a storage capacity of 300 MWh.
It looks to me that SSE still own the large site and I wonder what their plans envisage for the site.
- A large electrolyser to produce hydrogen could be invaluable for decarbonising the heavy industry in the area.
- According to Wikipedia, there was a plan to build the gas-fired Ferrybridge D and a gas pipeline to connect it to the gas transmission system, but neither were built.
- So could the gas pipeline be built to distribute the hydrogen?
- Or could a large hydrogen store and a small hydrogen-powered power-station be built at Ferrybridge to back up the renewables
- Alternatively, more batteries could be added to the site.
The size of the site, gives lots of possibilities.
Vattenfall: Dolphins Unfazed By Offshore Wind Construction Work
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Concerns have been raised that the installation of the monopiles of the Vesterhav North wind farm offshore Denmark could cause a small pod of dolphins to leave the area. The dolphins have, however, neither left the area nor have they changed their behaviour, Vattenfall, the owner and developer of the wind farm, said.
These are the first two paragraphs.
In 2020, wildlife and underwater photographer Lars Mikkelsen discovered a pod of seven Common Bottlenose dolphins during a sailing trip in the canal between the North Sea and the Limfjord at the Danish coastal town of Thyborøn. Since then, Mikkelsen has been closely following the dolphins that are rare guests in the seas around Denmark.
The small pod of dolphins has for the past three years established residence in the area of the Danish part of the North Sea where Vattenfall is constructing its Vesterhav offshore wind farms.
This Google Map shows the Limfjord, which stretches between the North Sea and the Kattegat.
Thyborøn, is at the Western entrance to the Limfjord, which leads into the large area of water in the South-West of the map.
From its Wikipedia entry, the Limfjord seems to be an ecologically-interesting place.
This paragraph sums up how the construction affected the dolphins.
So, when concerns were raised that the installation of the wind farm’s monopiles could cause the dolphins to leave the area, Vattenfall initiated a collaborative monitoring effort. Fortunately, it showed that the dolphins were still present and have not changed behaviour after completion of the monopile installation.
Note.
- Vattenfall did adopt measures to mitigate the noise, as is detailed in the article.
- A university also took a series of measurements.
But the exercise does show it is possible to install offshore wind farms without disturbing the inhabitants.
ESB, Irish Port Team Up To Make Shannon Estuary Go-To Place For Floating Wind
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Irish energy company ESB and Shannon Foynes Port, the company with statutory jurisdiction over all marine activities on the Shannon Estuary, have entered into a collaboration to develop the region into a centre for the deployment of floating offshore wind projects in both Irish and international waters.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Back in 2021, ESB and its then-partner Equinor announced the development of the 1.4 GW Moneypoint floating wind farm in Ireland, with a broader plan under its Green Atlantic @ Moneypoint project to transform the Moneypoint power station in County Clare into a green energy hub and to support wider plans of Shannon Foynes Port to help make the Shannon Estuary a focal point for the offshore wind industry in Europe.
This Google Map shows the location of Moneypoint power station with respect to the Shannon Estuary.
Note.
- Moneypoint power station, which is indicated by the red arrow is on the River Shannon.
- The city pf Limerick is to the East of Moneypoint.
- There’s certainly a lot of water in the West for floating wind turbines.
This second Google Map shows a close-up of the power station.
This is a shortened version of the first paragraph of the Wikipedia entry for the power station.
Moneypoint power station is Ireland’s largest electricity generation station (output 915 MW) and only coal-fired power station. Commissioned between 1985 and 1987, it is located on the River Shannon near Kilrush, County Clare. It was constructed at a cost of more than £700m in one of the largest capital projects in the history of the state. The station operates largely on coal, making it both unique in the context of Irish electricity production and the country’s single largest emitter of greenhouse gases. It is capable of meeting around 25% of customer demand across the country. It has two Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) storage tanks with a capacity of 50,000 tonnes which can be used as a back-up fuel if required.
In some ways, the only good things about this power station are the grid connection that can handle most of a GW and the large site, which could be used for a variety of energy-related purposes, like green hydrogen generation and storage.
In Shannon Estuary Could Support Build-Out of 30 GW Of Floating Wind, House 2 GW of Electrolysis Capacity, I wrote about the potential of this area.
Those figures of 30 GW of floating wind ans 2 GW of electrolysers will certainly mean a lot of investment going into Moneypoint!
I would also feel, that Moneypoint will need a lot of energy storage to support and balance the grid.
SeaTwirl, Kontiki Winds To Explore Powering Oil & Gas Assets With Floating Wind
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
The Sweden-headquartered SeaTwirl has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Kontiki Winds to identify and discuss the opportunities to electrify oil and gas assets and other offshore applications, with the use of SeaTwirl’s floating wind turbines.
And this is the first paragraph.
Under the MoU, the two companies will explore new opportunities in the market to implement offshore wind into new and existing oil and gas assets and microgrid applications such as the powering of fish farms, desalination plants and/or other small-scale applications that currently are based on fossil fuel electricity generation.
Note.
- The current turbines are only 1 MW.
- They appear to be mounted on a long monopole foundation.
- My mathematical modelling experience suggests to me, that these could be very stable devices.
- I suspect they could be built into specialist equipment like a buoy with a light to mark something.
I suspect that there will be large numbers of applications, especially if the manufacture and installation of Sea Twirl’s turbines is an efficient process.
British Wind Farms Outstrip Gas-Fired Electricity Generation For The First Time
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Wind farms in Britain generated more electricity than gas-fired power stations for the first time in the first quarter of 2023. Offshore and onshore wind turbines supplied 32.4 per cent of electricity while gas-fired power stations delivered 31.7 per cent during the first three months of this year.
It does appear that we’re progressing in the right direction.
There’s a detailed graph showing the UK’s energy generation by source going back to 2010.
Ireland Awards 3.1 GW Offshore Wind Capacity In First ORESS 1 Auction
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Ireland has selected four projects with a combined capacity of nearly 3,100 MW in the first offshore wind auction under the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (ORESS 1).
The four wind farms are.
- The 1,300 MW Codling Wind Park owned and developed by a 50/50 joint venture of Fred Olsen Seawind and EDF Renewables.
- The 824 MW Dublin Array owned and developed by RWE.
- The 500 MW North Irish Sea Array (NISA), owned and developed by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and Statkraft.
- The 450 MW Sceirde Rocks wind farm owned and developed by Fuinneamh Sceirde Teoranta (FST), a joint venture owned by Corio Generation, a portfolio company of Macquarie’s Green Investment Group, and global infrastructure investor, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.
Note.
- That makes a total of 3074 MW.
- All wind farms already have web sites.
- Looking at the web sites, it appears all wind farms will have fixed foundations and some seem to be located on convenient sandbanks.
- This is equivalent to over a third of Ireland’s entire electricity consumption this year and over a quarter of projected 2030 electricity demand.
- This article on offshoreWIND.biz, which is entitled Fred. Olsen Seawind And EDF Renewables Win Big Offshore Ireland, gives more details of the first wind farm.
- This article on offshoreWIND.biz, which is entitled 500 MW for Statkraft And CIP In First Irish Offshore Wind Auction, gives more details of the third wind farm.
- Given SSE’s large presence in Ireland, I’m surprised they didn’t obtain a lease.
The auction results appear to have surpassed the expectations of the Irish government.
Electron Beam Welded Foundation To Debut At Dogger Bank In Late 2023
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
A collaboration between SSE Renewables, Sif Group, Cambridge Vacuum Engineering (CVE), and TWI, has resulted in the first-ever electron beam welded section to be incorporated in an offshore wind turbine monopile foundation.
This is the first paragraph.
The resulting can was incorporated into a monopile transition piece in January 2023 and is scheduled to be installed offshore as part of a foundation in the second phase of Dogger Bank Wind Farm, located more than 130 kilometres off the Northeast coast of England, in late 2023.
And this paragraph details the advantages.
The technology – developed by CVE – has been shown to weld monopiles at least 25 times faster than current methods, whilst using 90 per cent less energy, costing 88 per cent less, and producing 97 per cent less CO2 emissions than SAW methods, the partners said.
Everybody thinks of biotech and electronics, when they think of Cambridge, but this is two Cambridge companies; Cambridge Vacuum Engineering (CVE) and The Welding Institute (TWI) innovating at the heaviest end of mechanical engineering.
Note.
- Cambridge Vacuum Engineering has a comprehensive web site.
- The technology is called Ebflow and is described on this web page.
- The Welding Institute has a comprehensive web site.
When I lived near Cambridge, I used to play real tennis at the Cambridge University Real Tennis Club. One of the guys I played against was a cousin of JRR Tolkien and he sold vacuum engineering machines to the world. He had some fascinating tales about dealing with the Russians, where signed copies of his cousin’s books made excellent bribes.
Irish ESB Joins Northland Power On Two Scottish Offshore Wind Projects
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
ESB will acquire a 24.5 per cent interest in Northland Power’s ScotWind projects, the fixed-bottom offshore wind farm Spiorad na Mara and the floating wind project Havbredey. Northland will retain 75.5 per cent in each project and continue to lead their development, construction, and operation
This is the first paragraph.
The companies have signed definitive agreements on ESB’s purchase of project stakes, with all commitments made prior to the agreements to remain in place.
Last month, I wrote ESB Invests In Floating Offshore Wind Mooring Tech. so are they in acquisitive mode?
This map from Cross Estate Scotland shows all the ScotWind contracts.
ESB now lrasr the following stakes in ScotWind.
Their details are as follows.
- 14 – Havbredey – Floating – 1500 MW – 25 %
- 16 – Spiorad na Mara – Fixed – 840 MW – 25 %
- 20 – Unnamed – Floating – 500 MW – 100 %
These figures mean they lease about a GW.
I have my thoughts.
Will There Be A Multi-Purpose Interconnector between Ireland And Scotland?
Nothing has been mentioned yet, but could new wind farms om the future to the West of the Hebrides be connected to both the North of Scotland and the North of Ireland by a multi-purpose interconnector?
