New Mobile Rail Charging Facility For Long Marston
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article from Rail Technology Magazine.
This is the sub-heading.
Porterbrook has signed a £1.7 million deal with Siemens Mobility to purchase an innovative Rail Charging Converter (RCC) for its Long Marston Rail Innovation Centre. The cutting-edge technology will make battery charging and 25kV power supply possible in areas of the UK railway where overhead line equipment is not currently available.
This first paragraph describes the system.
The RCC is a modular and containerised system that uses power electronics to provide a fully compliant, standard connection between the modern three-wire electricity grid and the single-wire railway. It essentially reduces the electrification infrastructure needed by being able to plug into existing power cables and deliver the ideal power supply for trains.
These two paragraphs describe how the RCC was designed and funded, and how it will be used in the future.
The original development of the RCC was supported by the Department for Transport through Innovate UK’s First of a Kind programme. The team will install the novel charging solution at Long Marston, enabling the charging of trains with batteries, fed from existing standard local power supply cables.
Compatible with all overhead line equipment powered trains, the small, low-cost design of the RCC enables the removal of diesel passenger train operation on routes without continuous electrification.
I suspect we’ll see other manufacturers like Hitachi ABB Power Grids and Furrer+Frey launch similar products.
This page gives full details of the award to Siemens Mobility.
Project Title: 25kV Battery Train Charging Station Demonstration
Lead Organisation: Siemens Mobility Ltd.
Project Grant: £59,910
Public Description:
The UK rail industry is committed to decarbonisation, including the removal of diesel trains by 2040.
Replacing diesel trains with electric, hydrogen or battery bi-mode rolling stock provides faster, smoother and more reliable journeys, as well as eliminating local pollution and greatly reducing carbon dioxide.
To enable clean, green electric bi-mode operation without continuous electrification requires enhancement of the power supply to existing electrification and novel charging facilities to support bi-mode trains.
No small, low-cost solution is currently available for charging facilities that are compatible with standard UK trains and locally available power supplies and space.
Siemens Mobility, working with ROSCO, TOCs and Network Rail, will deliver a novel AC charging solution enabling simple installation of small, low-cost rapid charging facilities fed from existing standard local power supply cables.
Compatible with all OLE-powered trains, the novel design enables the removal of diesel passenger train operation on non-electrified routes across the UK, while minimising land requirements and modifications required to existing station structures.
£59,910 seems to be good value for the helping with the design of a universal charging system for 25 KVAC battery-electric trains in the UK.
I have a few thoughts.
Will The Rail Charging Converter (RCC) Charge Third Rail Trains?
As new third-rail systems are effectively systems non grata, I suspect that third-rail trains will be charged by fitting a pantograph and the appropriate electrical gubbins.
Most modern third-rail electrical multiple units have a roof that is ready for a pantograph and can be converted into dual-voltage trains.
What Trains Will Be Able To Be Charged Using An RCC?
I suspect it will be any train with a battery, a pantograph and the appropriate electrical gubbins.
Battery-electric trains that could have a pantograph include.
- Alstom Electrostar and Aventra
- CAF Civity
- Hitachi Class 385 train
- Hitachi Class 800 train
- Siemens Desiro and Mireo
- Stadler Class 777 train
- Stadler Flirt and Akku
- Vivarail Class 230 train
I suspect it could charge all trains in the UK, where batteries have been proposed to be added.
What Is Meant By Mobile?
I suspect transportable and temporary would be a better description.
This gallery show Felixstowe station and a Class 755 train, which can be fitted with batteries.
Suppose that testing was to be done at Felixstowe of a battery-electric Class 755 train.
- The containerised electrical system would be placed somewhere convenient.
- A short length of overhead wire would be erected in the platform.
- The system would then be connected together and to the electrical supply.
- After testing, it could be used to charge a train.
It would be very convenient for operation of the railway, if it could be installed and taken out overnight.
Conclusion
It looks a well-designed system.
RWE’s Welsh Offshore Wind Project Powers Ahead
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Natural Resources Wales has awarded marine licences for RWE’s Awel y Môr offshore wind project off the North Wales Coast.
These two paragraphs outline the project.
The offshore wind farm, which could power more than half of Wales’ homes, has secured all of its necessary planning approvals with the award of its marine licences from Natural Resources Wales, RWE said.
The marine licences have been awarded on behalf of Welsh Government ministers following the granting of a Development Consent Order in September.
With all the wind action in the East, we tend to forget that the Liverpool Bay area has a lot of wind.
- Awel y Môr – 500 MW – Before 2030
- Barrow – 90 MW – 2006
- Burbo Bank – 90 MW – 2007
- Burbo Bank Extension – 258 MW – 2017
- Gwynt y Môr – 576 MW – 2015
- Mona – 1500 MW – 2029
- Morecambe – 480 MW – 2028
- Morgan – 1500 MW – 2029
- North Hoyle – 60 MW – 2003
- Ormonde – 150 MW – 2012
- Rhyl Flats – 90 MW – 2009
- Walney – 367 MW – 2010
- Walney Extension – 659 MW – 2018
- West Of Duddon Sands – 389 MW – 2014
Note.
- This is a total of 6709 MW to be delivered before 2030.
- All the wind farms have fixed foundations.
- RWE have an interest in three of the Welsh wind farms.
The Times today has this article which is entitled Energy Minnow Sees Pathway To Irish Sea Gasfield Via London IPO, where these are the first three paragraphs.
An energy minnow that is seeking to develop a gasfield in the Irish Sea is planning to list on Aim, the junior London stock exchange, in an attempt to buck the downturn in initial public offerings.
EnergyPathways has announced its intention to float, seeking to raise at least £2 million.
It owns the rights to Marram, a small gasfield discovered in 1993 about 20 miles offshore from Blackpool. It is seeking permission from the government for its plan to develop the field in the Irish Sea quickly by connecting it with existing infrastructure that serves the already-producing gasfields in Morecambe Bay. It aims to be producing gas as soon as 2025.
This gasfield should produce enough gas until the large Liverpool Bay wind farms come on stream at the end of the decade.
Masdar To Invest In Iberdrola’s 1.4 GW East Anglia Offshore Wind Project
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Iberdrola and Masdar have signed a strategic partnership agreement to evaluate the joint development of offshore wind and green hydrogen projects in Germany, the UK, and the US, which also includes an investment in Iberdrola’s 1.4 GW East Anglia 3 offshore wind project in the UK.
These first two paragraphs outline the del.
After the parties’ successful co-investment in the Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm in Germany, the new milestone of this alliance will be to achieve a further co-investment concerning the 1.4 GW East Anglia 3 offshore wind project in the UK, said the companies.
According to the partners, the deal has been under negotiation for the last few months and could be signed by the end of the first quarter of 2024. Masdar’s stake in the wind farm could be 49 per cent.
This deal appears to be very similar to Masdar’s deal with RWE, that I wrote about in RWE Partners With Masdar For 3 GW Dogger Bank South Offshore Wind Projects.
- The Iberdrola deal involves the 1.4 GW East Anglia 3 wind farm, which has a Contract for Difference at £37.35 £/MWh and is scheduled to be completed by 2026.
- The RWE deal involves the 3 GW Dogger Bank South wind farm, which doesn’t have a Contract for Difference and is scheduled to be completed by 2031.
- Both deals are done with wind farm developers, who have a long track record.
- Both wind farms are the latest to be built in mature clusters of wind farms, so there is a lot of production and maintenance data available.
I suspect, that many capable engineers and accountants can give an accurate prediction of the cash flow from these wind farms.
I will expect that we’ll see more deals like this, where high quality wind farms are sold to foreign energy companies with lots of money.
Just over five years ago, I wrote World’s Largest Wind Farm Attracts Huge Backing From Insurance Giant, which described how and why Aviva were investing in the Hornsea 1 wind farm.
Conclusion
It appears that Masdar are doing the same as Aviva and usind wind farms as a safe investment for lots of money.
RWE Partners With Masdar For 3 GW Dogger Bank South Offshore Wind Projects
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
RWE has signed an agreement with UAE’s Masdar as a partner for its 3 GW Dogger Bank South (DBS) offshore wind projects in the UK.
These three paragraphs outline the deal.
The partners acknowledged the signing of the new partnership during a ceremony at COP28 in Dubai.
Masdar will acquire a 49 per cent stake in the landmark renewables projects while RWE, with a 51 per cent share, will remain in charge of development, construction, and operation throughout the life cycle of the projects.
RWE’s proposed DBS offshore wind project is made up of two offshore wind farms, Dogger Bank South East and Dogger Bank South West (DBS East and DBS West), each 1.5 GW, which are located over 100 kilometres offshore in the shallow area of the North Sea known as Dogger Bank.
Note.
- Masdar is an energy company headquartered in Abu Dubai.
- The Chairman of Masdar is President of COP28.
Does this deal indicate that wind farms are good investments for those individuals, companies and organisations with money?
Plans for Hydrogen Development At Dogger Bank D Gain Ground
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Dogger Bank D, the potential fourth phase of the world’s largest offshore wind farm under construction, Dogger Bank Wind Farm, has awarded contracts to engineering consultants to support the feasibility and optimization of a large-scale green hydrogen development option on the project
These three paragraphs outline the project.
SSE Renewables and Equinor, the developers of the Dogger Bank wind farm in the UK, awarded contracts for green hydrogen concept and engineering and optimization studies to Genesis, H2GO Power, and Fichtner.
If progressed for delivery, Dogger Bank D would be located in the North Sea around 210 kilometers off the northeast coast of England. Subject to the successful outcome of further technical studies, the project could be capable of generating up to around 2 GW of renewable power.
The 2 GW offshore wind farm is currently planned to comprise 128 wind turbines and up to six offshore platforms.
Note.
According to the article, this would be one of the UK’s largest green hydrogen production facilities.
The partners said, that the project could contribute to the UK Government’s electrolytic hydrogen ambitions for 5 GW by 2030.
This is said about the studies.
Using AI machine learning and robust modeling, these studies will investigate the multitude of interdependent variables required to optimize a potential green hydrogen production facility, such as offshore wind farm sizing, electrolysis capacity, transport and storage capacity, water availability, and offtake optionality.
I was using robust modelling on projects such as these fifty years ago, both with Artemis and bespoke software.
To my mind, SSE Renewables and Equinor are doing the right thing. If anybody has a similar project with lots of variables, I’d love to give my opinion.
I have some thoughts.
How Much Hydrogen Will Be Produced?
Ryze Hydrogen are building the Herne Bay electrolyser.
- It will consume 23 MW of solar and wind power.
- It will produce ten tonnes of hydrogen per day.
The electrolyser will consume 552 MWh to produce ten tonnes of hydrogen, so creating one tonne of hydrogen needs 55.2 MWh of electricity.
This would mean that if the Japanese built one Herne Bay-size electrolyser, then it would produce around three hundred tonnes of hydrogen in an average month.
Consider.
- Dogger Bank D is likely to be a 2 GW wind farm.
- This document on the OFGEM web site, says that the Dogger Bank wind farms will have a capacity factor of 45 %.
- This means that Dogger Bank D wind farm will produce an average of 900 MW over a year.
- This works out at 7,884 GWh of electricity in a year.
As each tonne of hydrogen needs 55.2 MWh to be produced, this means if all the electricity produced by Dogger Bank D, is used to create green hydrogen, then 142,826.1 tonnes will be produced.
How Will The Hydrogen Be Brought Ashore?
142,826.1 tonnes is a lot of green hydrogen and the easiest ways to transfer it to the shore would be by a pipeline or a tanker.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see the use of tankers, as this would give more flexibility and allow the export of hydrogen to countries in need of hydrogen.
Will There Be Hydrogen Storage In The Dogger Bank D Wind Farm?
This would surely be a possibility, but there are security considerations.
Cost would also be a factor!
The Location Of The Dogger Bank D Wind Farm
I clipped this map of Dogger Bank A, B, C and D wind farms from this page of the Dogger Bank D web site.
Note.
- RWE’s Dogger Bank South wind farm is not shown on the map.
- Dogger Bank D wind farm is the most Easterly of the four wind farms being developed by SSE Renewables and Equinor.
- Dogger Bank D wind farm must be the closest of the Dogger Bank wind farms to the Eastern border of the UK’s Exclusive Economic Zone or EEZ.
Dogger Bank D wind farm would appear to be ideally placed to supply hydrogen to a number of places, by either pipeline or tanker.
Could Dogger Bank South Wind Farm Also Produce Hydrogen?
In RWE Partners With Masdar For 3 GW Dogger Bank South Offshore Wind Projects, I talked about the change of ownership of the Dogger Bank South wind farm.
I would assume that the Dogger Bank South wind farm will be located to the South of the Dogger Bank A,B, C and D wind farms.
Whether it will produce hydrogen will be a matter for the owners and market conditions.
I do believe though, that it could share some facilities with the those that might be built for Dogger Bank D wind farm.
Conclusion
After this brief look, Dogger Bank D could be an ideal place to build a large hydrogen production facility.
Wales’ Public Transport Priorities All Wrong, Expert Says
The title of this post, is the same as that if this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
The Welsh government has got its priorities wrong over public transport, an expert has said.
These five paragraphs outline the story.
Ministers should have improved bus and train services before reducing speeds from 30mph to 20mph on many Welsh roads, said Stuart Cole, Emeritus Professor at University of South Wales.
He said public transport facilities should have been “put in before any other anti-motorist legislation”.
The Welsh government said current arrangements were complex across Wales.
But Prof Cole said the Welsh government had “gone about it the wrong way round” although “what they’ve done is not in itself a bad idea”.
He said he wanted to see Wales emulate the Netherlands, where there’s been massive investment in trains and buses to entice motorists out of their cars.
I agree with Professor Cole and I feel that the Welsh Government’s approach has been all stick and no carrot!
He also criticises the lack of a Welsh travel card.
The article gives a classic example of bad transport planning.
Llanelli, in Carmarthenshire, which happens to be Transport Minister Lee Waters’ constituency, is a good example of how buses and trains are not integrated.
The bus station is a mile away from the train station, and there are no buses linking the two.
In fact there are no buses at all from the railway station.
There must be other examples like this all over the country.
Perhaps we need a UK-wide complaints department for idiocies like this.
British Land Unveils Plans To Transform London’s Euston Tower Into A Life Sciences And Innovation Hub
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from British Land.
The Wikipedia entry for the Euston Tower gives this paragraph of history.
The site was developed by Joe Levy who bought properties along the north side of Euston Road to enable him to build a complex of two tower blocks with office shops and apartments. The building, which was designed by Sidney Kaye Eric Firmin & Partners in the International style and built by George Wimpey, was completed in 1970. It is 36-storeys and 124 metres (407 ft) high. Early tenants included Inmarsat and Capital Radio.
When you get to over fifty years old, various parts of your body get tired and I suspect it is the same with buildings.
These are the two bullet points of the press release.
- Euston Tower represents a major retrofit and redevelopment opportunity at the heart of London’s Knowledge Quarter
- Proposals aim to transform the building into a world-class net zero home for world-leading life science and innovation occupiers
These two paragraphs then add a bit more vision.
Leading property company British Land has unveiled plans to redevelop Euston Tower through an innovative combination of retention, re-use and an ultra-low carbon new structure. The plans would transform the building into a pioneering, modern, net zero workspace for cutting-edge businesses of all sizes, including new world-class, lab-enabled spaces at the heart of London’s Knowledge Quarter.
Currently under discussion with Camden Council and other local stakeholders, the vision for Euston Tower will lead the way in low carbon retrofit and construction techniques, using inclusive design which creates high quality workspaces and continues to support the local community and economy. The current proposals will bring forward lab-enabled spaces for start-up and scale-up innovation businesses, as well as spaces for the local community to support education and training opportunities.
These are points from the press release.
- Leading the design are award-winning Danish architecture practice 3XN.
- They are supported by London-based architecture and landscape studio DSDHA who re-designed much of Broadgate’s public realm, including Exchange Square.
- In line with British Land’s longstanding commitment to net zero development, the design’s sustainability strategy is based on retaining, re-using and re-cycling existing material, specifying low carbon and recycled materials where new is required and only using certified carbon offsets as an action of last resort.
- This multi-layered approach to net zero development aims to create a blueprint for the sustainable redevelopment of challenging, inflexible old buildings that can be used in the future.
British Land has owned and operated Regent’s Place for nearly 40 years, which means they must have a lot of knowledge about how best to develop the building and its surroundings.
They certainly seem to be applying a modern net-zero approach to a building that was iconic and modern in the 1970s.
This afternoon I walked down the Euston Road between Euston and Great Portland Street stations and took these pictures.
Note.
- Euston Station is a shadow of its former self.
- Euston Tower is the boxy tower on the North side of Euston Road.
- University College London Hospital (UCLH) is the tower on the South side of Euston Road.
- I believe the glass-fronted building opposite the hospital and Euston Tower contains a lot of BT infrastructure.
I have some thoughts.
Traffic Along The Euston Road
I took the pictures around 1400 in a Friday and they show how busy the Euston Road is most of the time.
According to the Wikipedia entry for the Euston Road, there was a plan to remove the underpass.
In the early-21st century, the Greater London Authority commissioned a plan to improve the road from the architectural firm, Terry Farrell and Partners. The original study proposed removing the underpass (which was subsequently cancelled) and providing a pedestrian crossing and removing the gyratory system connecting the Tottenham Court Road and Gower Street. The scheme was approved by the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone as “the start of changing the Marylebone to Euston road from a highway into a series of linked public spaces.” The pedestrian crossing opened in March 2010. Livingstone’s successor, Boris Johnson, favours keeping the Euston Road underpass and declared it to be a good place to test his nerves when cycling around London.
Nothing is said about, where the traffic would have gone, if the underpass had been closed.
I walked along the South side of the Euston Road past the hospital and the air couldn’t be considered clean. As I write this, this website rates it Hazardous.
If we ignore the pollution for pedestrians and cyclists, is it really a road, that is fit for the purpose of moving traffic between King’s Cross and Baker Street, and vice-versa? I don’t think so!
The UK Needs More Lab Space
Cambridge innovators and developers were always saying they needed more lab space.
I also suspect, they are moaning in Oxford too!
So building high-quality space in London could reduce the pressure.
In Canary Wharf Boosts Its Science Ambitions, I talked about the ambitions of Canary Wharf to be a life sciences hub.
The Euston Tower Is Well-Connected
Consider.
- The Euston Tower is within walking distance of Euston, King’s Cross and St. Pancras stations, with all their long distance connections.
- The Euston Tower is within walking distance of Euston Square, Great Portland Street, King’s Cross St. Pancras and Warren Square stations, with all their Underground connections.
- There are buses everywhere.
But that’s not to say, that these links cannot be improved.
Euston High Speed Two Station Could Be Euston Tower’s Sister?
This Google Map shows the location of Euston Town and the proposed Euston High Speed Two station.
Note.
- Euston Tower is marked by a red arrow in the South-West corner of the map.
- The existing Euston station is in the North-East corner of the map.
- The High Speed Two station will be built along the Western side of the existing station.
With good landscaping, an excellent walking route, and perhaps a people mover Euston Tower could have superb connections to the rest of the UK.
Cycling And Walking Could Be A Possibility!
This Google Map shows the wider area around Euston Tower.
Note.
- Euston Tower is marked by the red arrow towards the bottom of the map.
- To its West lies the cycling- and walking-friendly spaces of Regents Park and Primrose Hill.
In the 1970s, I regularly walked or cycled across the park from where we lived near Primrose Hill to a client in Great Portland Street.
I also suspect other cycling and walking routes could be developed to Euston Tower from Euston, King’s Cross, St. Pancras and other stations.
Crossrail 2
Crossrail 2 would certainly help travelling to the Euston Tower, by linking Euston, King’s Cross and St.Pancras to North-East and South-West suburbs of London, with trains at frequencies of up to 30 thirty trains per hour (tph) in the central tunnel.
But.
- The new line will cost at least £31.2 billion. Who can afford it?
- The Elizabeth Line took sixteen years from approval to full opening.
- Crossrail 2 would still be a walk from Euston Tower.
So Crossrail 2 is unlikely to be any help to the redevelopment of Euston Tower.
Improving The Sub-Surface Lines
The Euston Tower is close to two stations on the sub-surface lines; Euston Square and Great Portland Street.
Services through these stations are currently as follows.
- Circle Line – 6 tph – In both directions all day.
- Hammersmith & City Line – 6 tph – In both directions all day.
- Aldgate and Amersham- 2 tph – In both directions all day.
- Aldgate and Chesham – 2 tph – In both directions all day.
- Aldgate and Uxbridge – 6 tph Peak – 8 tph – Off-Peak
- Aldgate and Watford – 4 tph – Peak
Note.
- In the Peak there are 26 tph through Great Portland Street and Euston Square stations.
- In the Off Peak there are 24 tph through Great Portland Street and Euston Square stations.
- In this article on Modern Railways,it is said that after digital signalling is installed on the sub-surface lines, the capacity on the lines, will be 32 tph in the Peak and 27 tph in the Off-Peak.
These figures give a 33 % capacity increase in the Peak and a 28 % increase in the Off Peak.
Both Great Portland Street and Euston Square stations are cramped and not fully step-free stations and could struggle with a 28 % and upwards increase in passenger numbers.
In The New Step-Free Entrance At Euston Square Station, I detailed TfL’s plans to put a new full step-free entrance South of Euston Road at Euston Square station.
This would not directly help travellers going between Euston Tower and Euston station, but hopefully, it would help to make Euston station less crowded and more passenger-friendly.
It would certainly ease walking between University College and the hospital, and the station.
This map from cartometro shows the Underground lines at Great Portland Street station.
Note.
- The yellow and mauve tracks are the sub-surface lines.
- The black tracks are the Northern Line.
- The blue tracks are the Victoria Line.
This Google Map shows the Euston Tower, Great Portland Street and Warren Street stations.
Note.
- The Euston Tower is indicated by a red arrow in the top-right corner of the map.
- Great Portland Street station is in the bottom-left corner of the map.
- Warren Street station is at the left of the map.
I wonder if the platforms were to be extended Eastwards at Great Portland Street station, that a new entrance to the station could be created perhaps fifty metres from Euston Tower.
I am convinced that the extra passenger traffic created by the life sciences and innovation hub can be handled by an augmented transport infrastructure, which would rely mainly on planned improvements to the sub-surface lines, which are approaching their final stages.
Conclusion
Converting Euston Tower into a life sciences and innovation hub is a plan that I believe can work well!
I would recommend the following improvements to public transport.
- The planned extra step-free entrance to Euston Square station on Gordon Street is constructed.
- An extra fully step-free entrance is built at the Eastern ends of the platforms at Great Portland Street station, which would be about halfway between Euston Tower and the station.
As improvements to the signalling of the sub-surface lines will deliver an upwards of 27 % capacity on the sub-surface lines, the life sciences and innovation hub might as well take advantage.
Treforest Estate Station – 28th November 2023
On Tuesday, I went to South Wales to look at the progress of the South Wales Metro.
I took these pictures at Treforest Estate station.
Note.
- The station has a narrow island platform.
- Aberdare, Merthyr Tydfil and Treherbert trains go through here. but on Tuesday not all were stopping.
- It was rather cold and draughty.
- The electrification looks to be of high quality.
This OpenRalwayMap shows the tracks through the station.
Note.
- Electrified lines are shown in red.
- Unelectrified lines are shown in black.
- Pontypridd, where the tracks are not electrified is at the top of the map.
- The strange squiggle in the South-East corner of the map is Taff’s Well Depot.
- The blue arrow indicates the position of Treforest Estate station.
This OpenRalwayMap shows the station at a larger scale.
Note.
- Electrified lines are shown in red.
- Unelectrified lines are shown in black.
I wonder if the drivers will raise and lower the pantograph in Treforest Estate station. Or will this be automatic?
Highview Power, Ørsted Find Value In Integrating Offshore Wind With Liquid Air Energy Storage
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Highview Power and Ørsted have completed their joint investigation into how combining the technologies of Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES) and offshore wind could unlock greater value for investors and consumers.
These three paragraphs outline the findings.
The results show that there is value in combining offshore wind with LAES to support reducing wind curtailment, increasing productivity, and helping the move to a more flexible, resilient zero-carbon grid, according to Higher Power.
The two companies have carried out analysis of technical performance, route to planning approval, and route to market with a regulatory and economic assessment.
As a result of this study, the companies believe a project can be developed and built aligned with the timeline of an offshore wind farm.
I feel very strongly, that putting the two technologies together is a good idea.
In the simplest cases, the storage could be built into the offshore sub-station.
Could LAES Be Used With Hornsea 4 Wind Farm?
The Wikipedia entry for the Hornsea Wind Farm says this about Hornsea 4.
In July 2023, British government officials gave the final approval for Hornsea Four, the fourth phase of the wind project. Hornsea Four is expected to generate 2.6GW, have 180 giant wind turbines, and has the capability to generate enough renewable energy to power 1 million homes in Britain.
The Wikipedia entry also says this about Hornsea 3.
Project 3 will be to the east of Projects 1 and 2, with an estimated maximum capacity of 2.4 GW over 696 square kilometres (269 sq mi). DONG Energy (which in November 2017 changed its name to Ørsted) began consultation on the project’s development in May 2016. Ørsted submitted a Development consent application in 2018 and consent was granted on 31 December 2020.[69] In early 2023, consent was also given to a battery storage power station at Swardeston. The project is expected to begin construction in 2022, and be completed by 2025.
If Ørsted are adding a battery to the 2.4 GW Hornsea 3 wind farm, I would feel, that Ørsted would think about a battery on the 2.6 GW Hornsea 4 wind farm.
The Energy Storage The UK Needs
This is the last paragraph of the article.
The UK will need up to 100 GWh of energy storage by 2050 according to the estimates from National Grid ESO’s Future Energy Systems Scenario.
SSE Renewables are planning two large pumped-storage hydroelectric power stations in Scotland.
- Coire Glas – 1.5 GW/30 GWh – Possible completion in 2031.
- Loch Sloy – 152.5 MW/25 GWh – See SSE Unveils Redevelopment Plans For Sloy Hydro-Electric Power Station.
A quick calculation, says we’d need seven pumped-storage hydroelectric power stations, which need a lot of space and a handy mountain.
I don’t think pumped-storage hydroelectric would be feasible.
Highview Power say this about their next projects on this page of their web site.
Highview Power’s next projects will be located in Scotland and the North East and each will be 200MW/2.5GWh capacity. These will be located on the national transmission network where the wind is being generated and therefore will enable these regions to unleash their untapped renewable energy potential and store excess wind power at scale.
Note.
- This is more like the size.
- Work is now underway at Carrington – a 50MW / 300MWh plant at Trafford Energy Park near Manchester.
- Highview’s technology uses liquid air to store energy and well-proven turbo-machinery.
They are a definite possibility, as only eighteen 200MW/2.5GWh systems would be needed.
Abercynon Station – 28th November 2023
On Tuesday, I went to South Wales to look at the progress of the South Wales Metro.
I took these pictures at Abercynon station.
Note.
- The station has a wide island platform.
- The Aberdare and the Merthyr Tydfil branches merge here.
- It was rather draughty.
- The electrification looks to be of high quality.
This OpenRalwayMap shows the tracks through the station.
Note.
- Electrified lines are shown in red.
- Unelectrified lines are shown in black.
- The single-track going North is the Aberdare branch.
- The single-track going North-East is the Merthyr Tydfil branch.
- There is a crossover to the North of the station, so that trains can go where they should.
- The single platform is the grey-shaded area between the two tracks.
- The tracks are electrified to the South.
It is a neat simple station, that also allows passengers to travel between stations on different Northern branches.
The Increase In Passenger Capacity
Consider.
- Currently, there are two Class 150/2 tph on both Northern branches.
- This means current capacity is 596 passengers per hour.
- After electrification, there will be four Class 398 tph on both Northern branches.
- This means future capacity is 2016 passengers per hour.
That is an increase of 238 % in the capacity.
The Anonymous Widower 