3 GW Dogger Bank South Offshore Wind Farms Reach New Development Stage
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
The UK Planning Inspectorate has accepted into the examination phase the Development Consent Order (DCO) application for the Dogger Bank South (DBS) Offshore Wind Farms developed by RWE and Masdar.
The first two paragraphs give a brief description of the wind Farm.
The DBS East and DBS West offshore wind farms, which could provide electricity for up to three million typical UK homes, are located in shallow waters on the Dogger Bank over 100 kilometres off the northeast coast of England. The acceptance of the DCO application moves the projects into the pre-examination phase, which will become subject to a public examination later in 2024.
Together, the projects will have up to 200 turbines with a combined estimated capacity of 3 GW. Investment by RWE and Masdar during development and construction is predicted to deliver an economic contribution (Gross Value Added) to the UK of almost GBP 1 billion, including GBP 400 million in the Humber region.
There is a detailed map in the article on offshoreWIND.biz.
The Next Steps
These are given in the article.
The next steps for the projects, following a successful Development Consent Order, would be to secure Contracts for Difference (CfD), followed by financing and construction, the developers said.
It certainly looks like the 3 GW Dogger South Bank Wind Farm is on its way.
These are my thoughts about the project.
The Turbines To Be Used
The article says this about the turbines.
Together, the projects will have up to 200 turbines with a combined estimated capacity of 3 GW.
This means that the turbines will be 15 MW.
In RWE Orders 15 MW Nordseecluster Offshore Wind Turbines At Vestas, I said this.
Does this mean that the Vestas V236-15.0 MW offshore wind turbine, is now RWE’s standard offshore turbine?
This would surely have manufacturing, installation, operation and maintenance advantages.
There would surely be advantages for all parties to use a standard turbine.
It’s A Long Way Between Yorkshire And The Dogger Bank
The article says it’s a hundred kilometres between the wind farm and the coast of Yorkshire.
Welcome To The Age Of Hydrogen
This is the title of this page of the RWE web site.
The page starts with this paragraph.
RWE is actively involved in the development of innovative hydrogen projects. The H2 molecule is considered to be an important future building block of a successful energy transition. RWE is a partner in over 30 H2 projects and is working on solutions for decarbonising the industry with associations and corporations like Shell, BASF and OGE. Hydrogen projects are comprehensively supported in the separate Hydrogen department of the subsidiary RWE Generation.
AquaVentus
I also suggest, that you read this page on the RWE web site called AquaVentus.
The page starts with this RWE graphic.
It appears that 10.3 GW of hydrogen will be created by wind farms and piped to North-West Germany.
These two paragraphs outline the AquaVentus initiative .
Hydrogen is considered the great hope of decarbonisation in all sectors that cannot be electrified, e.g. industrial manufacturing, aviation and shipping. Massive investments in the expansion of renewable energy are needed to enable carbon-neutral hydrogen production. After all, wind, solar and hydroelectric power form the basis of climate-friendly hydrogen.
In its quest for climate-friendly hydrogen production, the AquaVentus initiative has set its sights on one renewable energy generation technology: offshore wind. The initiative aims to use electricity from offshore wind farms to operate electrolysers also installed at sea on an industrial scale. Plans envisage setting up electrolysis units in the North Sea with a total capacity of 10 gigawatts, enough to produce 1 million metric tons of green hydrogen.
The page also gives these numbers.
- Total Capacity – 10 GW
- Tonnes Of Green Hydrogen – 1 million
- Members – 100 +
The web site says this about commissioning.
Commissioning is currently scheduled for early/mid 2030s.
The Germans can’t be accused of lacking ambition.
AquaVentus And The UK
This video shows the structure of AquaVentus.
I clipped this map from the video.
Note.
- There is a link to Denmark.
- There appears to be a undeveloped link to Norway.
- There appears to be a link to Peterhead in Scotland.
- There appears to be a link to just North of the Humber in England.
- Just North of the Humber are the two massive gas storage sites of Aldbrough owned by SSE and Brough owned by Centrica.
- There appear to be small ships sailing up and down the East Coast of the UK. Are these small coastal tankers distributing the hydrogen to where it is needed?
In the last century, the oil industry, built a substantial oil and gas network in the North Sea. It appears now the Germans are leading the building of a substantial hydrogen network.
AquaVentus And Aldbrough And Rough Gas Storage
Consider.
- In The Massive Hydrogen Project, That Appears To Be Under The Radar, I describe the Aldbrough Gas Storage.
- In Wood To Optimise Hydrogen Storage For Centrica’s Rough Field, I describe Centrica’s plans to turn Rough Gas Storage into the world’s largest hydrogen store.
- There is a small amount of hydrogen storage at Wilhelmshaven.
It looks like the East Riding Hydrogen Bank, will be playing a large part in ensuring the continuity and reliability of AquaVentus.
Dogger Bank South And AquaVentus
This Google Map shows the North Sea South of Sunderland and the Danish/German border.
Note.
- Sunderland is in the top-left hand corner of the map.
- A white line in the top-right corner of the map is the Danish/German border.
- Hamburg and Bremen are in the bottom-right hand corner of the map.
If you lay the AquaVentus map over this map, I believe that Dogger Bank South wind farm could be one of the three 2 GW wind farms on the South-Western side of the AquaVentus main pipeline.
- Two GW would be converted to hydrogen and fed into the AquaVentus main pipeline.
- One GW of electricity would be sent to the UK.
But this is only one of many possibilities.
Hopefully, everything will be a bit clearer, when RWE publish more details.
Conclusion
I believe, that some or all of the Dogger Bank South electricity, will be converted to hydrogen and fed into the AquaVentus main pipeline.
I also believe, that the hydrogen stores in the East Riding of Yorkshire, will form an important part of AquaVentus.
How Clean Energy Will Help Deliver UK Economic Growth
The title of this post, is the same as this press release from SSE.
This is the sub-heading.
How To Actually Deliver UK Economic Growth
This press release appears to have been written by Alistair Phillips-Davies, who is Chief Executive of SSE.
These three paragraphs introduce the press release.
Prior to the election Labour had committed to tackling the planning system head on in order to unlock economic growth and get Britain building again.
If Rachel Reeves’ first speech as Chancellor is anything to go by, winning a commanding majority has only galvanised that intent.
The challenge is for policymakers to deliver at pace across the whole of the UK, including in Scotland where reform is devolved but is also urgently needed.
Alistair Phillips-Davies seems impressed.
Why We Need Planning Reform Urgently
Under this heading, he says this.
Let me give you two examples of how planning acts as a drag on economic growth and jobs.
It currently takes around 12 years to deliver a large offshore wind farm in UK waters. But only two or three years of that is the construction phase.
And when it comes to electricity grids that span the country it only takes one local authority in Scotland to object to a project for it to go to a public inquiry, adding costs and years of delay.
No-one wants to avoid appropriate scrutiny and proper engagement with communities but allowing decision making to drag on for years suits nobody and setting a reasonable 12-month limit is surely sensible for everyone involved, as is giving ministers greater discretion where projects are clearly deemed to be in the national interest.
I very much agree with what he says.
I also suspect that what he says, applies to England, Wales and Northern Ireland, just as much as Scotland.
Declaring His Ambitions
The next two section declare Alistair Phillips-Davies’s ambitions.
- Making The UK The Easiest Place In The world To Invest And Actually Build Projects
- Creating Good Jobs Here In The UK
They are certainly sections that need a full read.
We Need To Get A Move On
This is his final section, which I’ll insert in full.
Having worked in the energy industry for almost 30 years I have never been more excited about the prospects for this country.
As one of the largest investors in the UK, SSE alone has a current investment programme of more than £20bn, but we are ready to go further and many others in the industry will join us.
Britain has no shortage of opportunities. But we need to make them happen. If we can deliver on the clean energy mission, the growth will come. There’s a long way to go, but unblocking the planning gridlock is the right place to start.
I was there at the start of North Sea Oil and Gas, writing project planning software in a Suffolk attic.
Hopefully, I’ll see North Sea Energy turn full circle to renewables.
Sunak’s Terrible Decision To Call The Election
As a control engineer and mathematical modeller, whose software planned many of the world’s major projects in the last thirty years of the last century, I feel that Rishi Sunak’s decision to call the election, when he did, was one of the worst political decisions of a UK Prime Minister in the last century.
Consider.
- Inflation was coming down and it was likely interest rates could fall soon.
- The Rwanda plan could have started to work.
- A new round of wind farm Contracts for Difference for wind farms are due to be announced soon and signs, that there could be a large amount of wind to add to the future pipeline could be a record. I wrote about it in UK Can Secure Record Number Of Offshore Wind Farms In This Year’s Auction For New Projects.
- There is 4 GW of new offshore wind to be commissioned in the next eighteen months.
When, he called the election, I believed Sunak had a very large rabbit to pull out of a hat. But there was none!
I wrote Where’s The Plan, Rishi?, because I felt these must be something more to come.
Conclusion
Now Starmer and the Labour Party, will reap all the benefits of selling Europe and principally, the Germans, the electricity and hydrogen they need.
UK’s First Offshore Hydrogen Production Trials Kick Off in South Wales
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
After six years of development, sustainability consultancy ERM has launched offshore trials to test its Dolphyn Hydrogen process which combines electrolysis, desalination, and hydrogen production on a floating wind platform, marking the first time hydrogen has been produced from seawater in a marine environment in the UK.
These are the first three paragraphs.
The trials conducted in Pembroke Port, South Wales, through July 2024 are said to represent an important step forward in enabling the UK to produce low-carbon hydrogen safely, reliably, and at scale.
In ERM’s Dolphyn Hydrogen process, hydrogen is transported to shore via a pipeline and it can be used directly for power generation, transport, industrial purposes, and heating.
The development of the Dolphyn Hydrogen process has been supported by the UK Government’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, through the Low Carbon Hydrogen Supply 2 Competition in the GBP 1 billion (approximately USD 1.2 billion) Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP). It has been awarded funding of over GBP 8 million (about USD 10.13 million) to date and has also been championed by devolved Governments in Wales and Scotland.
There’s more about Dolphyn Hydrogen on their web site.
Conclusion
This self-contained floating hydrogen factory could be very useful operating either singly or as a small fleet.
It would help if Dolphyn Hydrogen disclosed some hydrogen production capacities.
This is said in a press release.
The pilot project at Vattenfall’s Offshore Wind Farm in Aberdeen Bay will have an output of 8.8MW and will be able to produce enough hydrogen every day to power a hydrogen bus to travel 24,000km.
That looks about right.
I shall be following Dolphyn Hydrogen.
RWE Plans Hydrogen-Ready Combined-Cycle Gas Turbine At Gersteinwerk In Werne
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from RWE.
These two bullet points act as sub-headings.
- Italian-Spanish consortium commissioned to plan 800-megawatt plant
- Investment decision to be made once H2 grid connection and regulatory framework are in place and economic viability has been established
These two paragraphs introduce the project.
RWE is planning to build hydrogen-ready gas-fired power plants at the company’s power plant sites in Germany to contribute to a successful coal phase-out by 2030. Following Weisweiler in the Rhenish mining area, the company is now pressing ahead with plans for such a plant at a possible second site in Werne in the southern Münsterland region. An H2-ready combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant with a nominal capacity of around 800 megawatts may be built at the Gersteinwerk power plant.
Following intensive technical soundings, RWE has commissioned an Italian-Spanish consortium to plan the project. Work on the planning approval process is already underway.
These are my thoughts.
The current coal-fired power station at Gersteinwerk has a capacity of 2127 MW and was built in 1984.
This is a visualisation of the two power stations.
Note.
- The new gas/hydrogen-fired power station is in the foreground.
- The coal-fired power station, with its three cooling towers is behind.
This Google Map shows the site.
I suspect that due to the size of the original coal-fired power station, more than one hydrogen-fired power station will be needed.
Project Timeline
These paragraphs lay out the project timeline and the route to 100 % hydrogen operation.
Work on the planning process is already underway. This is the prerequisite for RWE to be able to start implementing the project as soon as an investment decision has been made.
According to current planning, the plant in Werne could start producing electricity by 2030.
At the time of commissioning, the plant should be able to use a fuel mix with at least 50 per cent hydrogen content, and it is intended to run it entirely on hydrogen at a later stage.
Germany is aiming for a coal phase-out by 2030.
The Scale Of German Power Decarbonisation
This article on Power Technology is entitled Germany To Invest €16bn In Hydrogen-Ready Gas-Fired Power Plants.
These are the first two paragraphs.
Germany’s Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) has agreed to provide subsidies of €16bn for the construction of 10GW of hydrogen-ready gas-fired power plants.
The subsidy scheme has been significantly reduced since August 2023 when the proposal was first unveiled. A maximum of 23.8GW was anticipated at that time.
These power stations will need a lot of green hydrogen and I believe the most convenient place to source some of the hydrogen, will come from the windy waters of the UK’s North Sea.
RWE already have leases to build 7.2 GW of wind farms in UK waters.
Wood To Optimise Hydrogen Storage For Centrica’s Rough Field
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Wood plc.
These are the first three paragraphs.
Wood, a global leader in consulting and engineering, has been awarded a contract by Centrica Energy Storage (CES) for the redevelopment of the UK’s Rough field in readiness for future hydrogen storage.
The Rough reservoir, located in the Southern North Sea, has been used to store natural gas safely for over thirty years and has the potential to provide over half of the UK’s hydrogen storage requirements.
The front-end engineering design (FEED) contract, awarded to Wood, entails new pipelines, a new unmanned installation, as well as onshore injection facilities at the Easington Gas Terminal, is the first step in making the field hydrogen ready.
Offshore Magazine has this article about the deal, which is entitled Wood Assessing Hydrogen Storage Needs For North Sea Rough Reservoir.
This is a paragraph from the Offshore Magazine article.
Centrica aims to position the Rough Field as the world’s largest long-duration hydrogen storage facility, although FID on the redevelopment project would depend on government support.
It would be a very important project.
Why would Centrica be planning for this massive increase in hydrogen storage?
There could only be one reason.
There is going to be a massive increase in hydrogen production and use.
In Where’s The Plan, Rishi?, I laid out what I believe will happen in the next few years.
- In RWE Goes For An Additional 10 GW Of Offshore Wind In UK Waters In 2030, I detailed how RWE intended to add an extra 10 GW of offshore wind to the seas around the UK.
- As our current offshore wind capacity is around 15 GW, so another 10 GW would surely be very welcome.
- The Germans will develop H2ercules, which is their massive project to create a hydrogen network to bring hydrogen to Southern Germany.
- A hydrogen hub at Wilhelmshaven is being built by Uniper to feed H2ercules with green hydrogen from around the world.
But would it not be better, if instead of feeding H2ercules with hydrogen from around the world, some came from the UK, a few hundred miles across the North Sea?
- RWE are developing the 3 GW Dogger Bank South wind farm, which is not in the best place for a cable to the UK. So could this wind farm have an offshore electrolyser and send the hydrogen to Wilhelmshaven, by pipeline or coastal tanker?
- RWE are also developing the 4.2 GW Norfolk cluster of wind farms to the North-East of Great Yarmouth. It might be better, if the output of these wind farms took a hydrogen route to Wilhelmshaven.
- I also believe that a third offshore electrolyser might be situated North of the Wash to bring more hydrogen to Germany.
- Hydrogen could also be sent from the Rough facility to Wilhelmshaven.
The coastal tanker route gives flexibility, so green hydrogen could be sent as required to the UK mainland.
Rishi Sunak’s Manifesto Speech – June 11
I also reported on Rishi Sunak’s Manifesto Speech, which he made on June 11th. This is an extract
This document on the Policy Mogul web site is entitled Rishi Sunak – Conservative Party Manifesto Speech – Jun 11.
These are three paragraphs from the speech.
We don’t just need military and border security. As Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has shown, we need energy security too. It is only by having reliable, home-grown sources of energy that we can deny dictators the ability to send our bills soaring. So, in our approach to energy policy we will put security and your family finances ahead of unaffordable eco zealotry.
Unlike Labour we don’t believe that we will achieve that energy security via a state-controlled energy company that doesn’t in fact produce any energy. That will only increase costs, and as Penny said on Friday there’s only one thing that GB in Starmer and Miliband’s GB Energy stands for, and that’s giant bills.
Our clear plan is to achieve energy security through new gas-powered stations, trebling our offshore wind capacity and by having new fleets of small modular reactors. These will make the UK a net exporter of electricity, giving us greater energy independence and security from the aggressive actions of dictators . Now let me just reiterate that, with our plan, we will produce enough electricity to both meet our domestic needs and export to our neighbours. Look at that. A clear, Conservative plan not only generating security, but also prosperity for our country.
It is now nineteen days since Rishi made that speech and I can’t remember any reports about an energy security policy, which he outlined in the last paragraph of my extract from his speech.
He particularly mentioned.
- New gas-powered stations
- Trebling our offshore wind capacity
- Having new fleets of small modular reactors.
He also said we would have sufficient electricity to export to our neighbours. As I said earlier some of this energy will be in the form of hydrogen, which has been created by offshore electrolysers.
If we are exporting electricity and hydrogen to Europe, this is likely to have three effects.
- An improvement in Europe’s energy security.
- H2ercules will improve and decarbonise German industry, using UK hydrogen.
- The finances of UK plc will improve.
It looks like there will be winners all round.
Conclusion
Centrica’s plan for a massive hydrogen store at Rough, close to SSE’s existing gas storage in the salt caverns at Aldbrough, would appear to make sense, if the UK’s excess of offshore wind is converted into green hydrogen, which is then stored and distributed as needed.
Where’s The Plan, Rishi?
In RWE Goes For An Additional 10 GW Of Offshore Wind In UK Waters In 2030, I detailed how RWE intended to add an extra 10 GW of offshore wind to the seas around the UK.
As our current offshore wind capacity is around 15 GW, another 10 GW would surely be very welcome.
My post also outlined H2ercules, which is Germany’s massive project to create a hydrogen network to bring hydrogen to Southern Germany.
I also gave details of the hydrogen hub at Wilhelmshaven, which is being built by Uniper to feed H2ercules with green hydrogen from around the world.
I believe that some of this hydrogen for H2ercules will take a short trip across the North Sea from UK waters, after being created by offshore electrolysers.
Rishi Sunak’s Manifesto Speech – June 11
I also reported on Rishi Sunak’s Manifesto Speech, which he made on June 11th. This is an extract
This document on the Policy Mogul web site is entitled Rishi Sunak – Conservative Party Manifesto Speech – Jun 11.
These are three paragraphs from the speech.
We don’t just need military and border security. As Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has shown, we need energy security too. It is only by having reliable, home-grown sources of energy that we can deny dictators the ability to send our bills soaring. So, in our approach to energy policy we will put security and your family finances ahead of unaffordable eco zealotry.
Unlike Labour we don’t believe that we will achieve that energy security via a state-controlled energy company that doesn’t in fact produce any energy. That will only increase costs, and as Penny said on Friday there’s only one thing that GB in Starmer and Miliband’s GB Energy stands for, and that’s giant bills.
Our clear plan is to achieve energy security through new gas-powered stations, trebling our offshore wind capacity and by having new fleets of small modular reactors. These will make the UK a net exporter of electricity, giving us greater energy independence and security from the aggressive actions of dictators . Now let me just reiterate that, with our plan, we will produce enough electricity to both meet our domestic needs and export to our neighbours. Look at that. A clear, Conservative plan not only generating security, but also prosperity for our country.
It is now nine days since Rishi made that speech and I can’t remember any reports about an energy security policy, which he outlined in the last paragraph of my extract from his speech.
He particularly mentioned.
- New gas-powered stations
- Trebling our offshore wind capacity
- Having new fleets of small modular reactors.
He also said we would have sufficient electricity to export to our neighbours. As I said earlier some of this energy will be in the form of hydrogen, which has been created by offshore electrolysers.
If we are exporting electricity and hydrogen to Europe, this is likely to have three effects.
- An improvement in Europe’s energy security.
- H2ercules will improve and decarbonise German industry, using UK hydrogen.
- The finances of UK plc will improve.
It looks like there will be winners all round.
Rishi also said this, in his speech.
As Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has shown, we need energy security too.
The gas-powered stations, offshore wind farms and the fleets of small modular reactors, will be part of the equation.
But I believe, we need three other components to complete our energy security.
- The upgrading of the National Grid.
- The building of four x 2 GW interconnectors between Scotland and Eastern England.
- Large amounts of energy storage.
Note.
- The Great Grid Upgrade and the four x 2 GW interconnectors are being planned.
- In Huge Boost To UK Supply Chain As National Grid Launches The Great Grid Partnership With Seven New Industry Partners, All United In The Drive To Deliver The Great Grid Upgrade, I describe how National Grid has setup the Great Grid Partnership to deliver the Great Grid Upgrade.
- In UK Infrastructure Bank, Centrica & Partners Invest £300M in Highview Power Clean Energy Storage Programme To Boost UK’s Energy Security, I describe how the big boys do a deal with Highview Power to create affordable batteries for the UK and the world.
- In Grid Powers Up With One Of Europe’s Biggest Battery Storage Sites, I describe how the very large Swardeston BESS is to be built near Norwich.
- In Mercia Power Response & RheEnergise Working Together To Build Long Duration Energy Storage Projects In The UK, I describe another UK-developed long duration energy storage system, which is now being planned.
- In National Grid Shares Proposals For Green Electricity Projects In Lincolnshire And West Norfolk, Needed To Boost Home-Grown Energy Supplies And Progress Towards Net Zero, I describe National Grid’s projects in the East of England.
- In UK ESO Unveils GBP 58 Billion Grid Investment Plan To Reach 86 GW of Offshore Wind By 2035, I show how we’re not that far away from 86 GW by 2035.
- In 400k For National Grid Innovation Projects As Part Of Ofgem Fund To Help Shape Britain’s Net Zero Transition, I describe how National Grid is using innovation to help target net-zero by 2035.
- In Iberdrola Preparing Two East Anglia Offshore Wind Projects For UK’s Sixth CfD Round, I describe how Iberdrola is getting 1.7 GW ready for commissioning in 2026.
- In National Grid To Accelerate Up To 20GW Of Grid Connections Across Its Transmission And Distribution Networks, I describe how National Grid are accelerating the development of the electricity networks. 10 GW of battery storage is a collateral benefit.
These ten projects, most of which are financed and/or underway, would appear to be good foundations, on which to build the Great Grid Upgrade.
It looks to me, that National Grid, RWE, Centrica, Iberdrola and others, by just doing what comes naturally have offered the next government a road to a future.
It will be interesting, what gets said before the election.
Norway’s Sovereign Wealth Fund Acquires Stake In 573 MW Race Bank Offshore Wind Farm
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
A consortium made up of investment funds belonging to Australia-headquartered Macquarie Asset Management and Spring Infrastructure Capital has reached an agreement to divest a 37.5 per cent stake in the 573 MW Race Bank offshore wind farm in the UK to Norges Bank Investment Management.
These four paragraphs give more details of the deal.
The stake was sold to the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund for approximately GBP 330 million (about EUR 390.6 million).
According to Norges Bank Investment Management, the fund acquired Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 5’s 25 per cent stake and Spring Infrastructure 1 Investment Limited Partnership’s 12.5 per cent interest in the Race Bank offshore wind farm.
A Macquarie Capital and Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 5 consortium acquired a 50 per cent stake in Race Bank during the construction phase in 2016. Macquarie Capital divested its 25 per cent stake in the wind farm in 2017.
With the deal, Arjun Infrastructure Partners will remain co-investor for 12.5 per cent of the wind farm and Ørsted will remain a 50 per cent owner and operator of Race Bank.
These are my thoughts.
The Location of Race Bank Wind Farm
This map from the Outer Dowsing Web Site, shows Race Bank and all the other wind farms off the South Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Norfolk coasts.
From North to South, wind farm sizes and owners are as follows.
- Hornsea 1 – 1218 MW – Ørsted, Global Infrastructure Partners
- Hornsea 2 – 1386 MW – Ørsted,Global Infrastructure Partners
- Hornsea 3 – 2852 MW – Ørsted
- Hornsea 4 – 2600 MW – Ørsted
- Westernmost Rough – 210 MW – Ørsted and Partners
- Humber Gateway – 219 MW – E.ON
- Triton Knoll – 857 MW – RWE
- Outer Dowsing – 1500 MW – Corio Generation, TotalEnergies
- Race Bank – 573 MW – Ørsted,
- Dudgeon – 402 MW – Equinor, Statkraft
- Lincs – 270 MW – Centrica, Siemens, Ørsted
- Lynn and Inner Dowsing – 194 MW – Centrica, TCW
- Sheringham Shoal – 317 MW – Equinor, Statkraft
- Norfolk Vanguard West – 1380 MW – RWE
Note.
- There is certainly a large amount of wind power on the map.
- Hornsea 1, 2 and 3 supply Humberside.
- Hornsea 4 will supply Norwich and North Norfolk.
- Norfolk Vanguard West would probably act with the other two wind farms in RWE’ Norfolk cluster.
- Ignoring Hornsea and Norfolk Vanguard West gives a total around 4.5 GW.
- There are also two 2 GW interconnectors to Scotland (Eastern Green Link 3 and Eastern Green Link 4) and the 1.4 GW Viking Link to Denmark.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see a large offshore electrolyser being built in the East Lincolnshire/West Norfolk area.
The primary purpose would be to mop up any spare wind electricity to avoid curtailing the wind turbines.
The hydrogen would have these uses.
- Provide hydrogen for small, backup and peaker power stations.
- Provide hydrogen for local industry, transport and agriculture,
- Provide hydrogen for off-gas-grid heating.
- Provide methanol for coastal shipping.
Any spare hydrogen would be exported by coastal tanker to Germany to feed H2ercules.
Do We Need Wind-Driven Hydrogen Electrolysers About Every Fifty Miles Or so Along The Coast?
I can certainly see a string along the East Coast between Humberside and Kent.
- Humberside – Being planned by SSE
- East Lincolnshire/West Norfolk – See above
- North-East Norfolk – See RWE Goes For An Additional 10 GW Of Offshore Wind In UK Waters In 2030.
- Dogger Bank – See RWE Goes For An Additional 10 GW Of Offshore Wind In UK Waters In 2030.
- Sizewell – See Sizewell C And Hydrogen.
- Herne Bay – Under construction
I can see others at possibly Freeport East and London Gateway.
The Core Of Sunak’s Manifesto
I have a feeling, that the core of Sunak’s manifesto is a massive German project called H2ercules, which is intended to bring low-carbon hydrogen to industry in South Germany.
There will be a massive hydrogen hub at Wilhelmshaven on the North-Western coast, which is being built by Uniper, from which hydrogen will be imported and distributed.
I suspect that the Germans aim to source the hydrogen worldwide from places like Australia, the Middle East and Namibia. It would be brought from and round the Cape by tanker. The Suez route would be too risky.
But RWE, who are one of the UK’s largest electricity suppliers, are planning to deliver 7.2 GW of electricity in British waters on the Dogger Bank and North-East of Great Yarmouth.
Both wind farms would be difficult to deliver profitably to the UK, because Eastern England already has enough electricity and the Nimbies are objecting to more pylons.
I believe that RWE will build offshore electrolysers and coastal hydrogen tankers will take the hydrogen to Wilhelmshaven.
H2ercules will be fed with the hydrogen needed.
By the end of the next parliament, the Germans could be paying us substantial sums for green hydrogen, to decarbonise their industry.
Rishi Sunak hinted in his speech, that we will be exporting large amounts of energy.
Much of it will be in the form of green hydrogen to Germany.
If we need hydrogen for our industry, we would create it from some of our own wind farms.
The Anonymous Widower 