UK Onshore Wind Capacity Hits 15GW
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on reNEWS.BIZ.
This is the sub-heading.
Milestone reached after 30MW West Benhar project entered operations.
These are the first three paragraphs.
RenewableUK has revealed the UK has installed 15,000MW of operational onshore wind capacity.
The project which enabled the UK to cross the threshold was EDF Renewables UK’s 30.1MW West Benhar onshore wind farm in North Lanarkshire, consisting of seven turbines.
The UK now has 2631 operating onshore wind schemes.
These are my thoughts.
I Am Surprised At The Total Of Onshore Wind
The title says it all.
But 15 GW is almost the same power as five big nuclear power stations, the size of the running-late Hinckley Point C.
Should Some Strategically-Placed Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) Be Added?
Some wind farms have been built with wind farms and I very much feel, that with some mathematical modelling some excellent BESS sites could be found.
We should also use batteries, so that no wind farm is ever shut down, because too much wind is being generated.
Where Is West Benhar?
West Benhar wind farm has a web site, where this is the sub-heading.
West Benhar is a 7 turbine wind farm capable of powering up to 18,000 homes located near Shotts in North Lanarkshire.
It was opened on 28 February 2024.
This Google Map shows the location of West Benhar between Edinburgh and Glasgow.
West Benhar is North-East of Shotts and just South of the M8.
There’s More Onshore Wind To Come
These onshore wind farms appear to have Contracts for Difference, but have not been completed.
- Arecleoch Wind Farm Extension – 72.8 MW – Completion 2024/25
- Broken Cross – 48 MW – Completion 2024/25
- Chirmorie – 81.6 MW – Completion 2024/25
- Cumberhead West – 126 MW – + 40 MW BESS – Completion 2024/25
- Douglas West Extension – 78 MW – Completion 2024/25
- High Constellation – 50 MW – Completion 2024/25
- Kilgallioch Windfarm Extension – 51.3 MW – Completion 2024/25
- North Kyle – 206 MW – Completion 2024/25
- Stornoway – 200 MW – Completion 2024/25
- Stranoch – 84 MW – Completion 2024/25
- Viking – 443 MW – Completion 2024
All of these are in Scotland.
But that’s another 1,440.7 MW of onshore wind.
Community Wind Funds
Scotland seems to be continuing to build onshore wind farms.
Could it be that communities have seen the benefits of Community Wind Funds?
This is said about the fund at Stronach.
When operational, EDF Renewables will provide a community benefit fund in line with the Scottish Government Good Practice Principles for Community Benefits from Onshore Renewable Energy Developments. The fund value for the community benefit fund would be £5,000 per megawatt for the lifetime of the wind farm. In the coming months we will begin to form a Community Liaison Group with local interested parties to decide how the funds will be disseminated once the wind farm becomes operational.
If the fund is yearly, then £420,000 is not money to be sneezed at!
Conclusion
It looks like in Scotland that Community Wind Funds promote the building of onshore wind.
UK’s Green Power Industry Receives Surprise £10bn Pledge
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in the Guardian.
This is the sub-heading.
Potential investment by NatPower would create largest portfolio of battery storage projects in Britain
These five paragraphs outline the proposed investment.
Britain’s under-pressure green power industry has received a surprise fillip after a renewables developer pledged to plough £10bn into what would become the largest portfolio of battery storage projects in the country.
NatPower, a UK startup that is part of a larger European energy group, is poised to submit planning applications for three “gigaparks”, with a further 10 to follow next year.
Battery storage projects are seen as a key part of the jigsaw to decarbonise Britain’s power grid, allowing electricity generated by wind turbines and solar panels to be stored for use when weather conditions are still or not sunny.
The NatPower investment would lead to the construction of 60 gigawatt hours of battery storage, with solar and wind projects also in the pipeline.
The two gigaparks would be located in the north of England, with a further site in the west of the country planned later this year. The projects would be built on industrial land, and also through leasing deals with farmers.
Note.
- To gauge the scale of this development; the largest energy storage development in the UK at present is SSE Renewable’s massive Coire Glas pumped storage hydro in the Highlands of Scotland, which is a 1.5 GW/30 GWh monster, that is budgeted to cost £1.5 billion.
- NatPower has a web site, which has an opening video, which is all landscape, sun, water and wind, that would be worthy of an epic from Hollywood or by Eisenstein.
- NatPower’s investment of £10 billion, buys them 60 GWh of storage and if it’s a proportionate amount of capacity to Coire Glas, perhaps around 3GW or around the capacity of Hinckley Point C.
I have a few thoughts.
Is It All A Hoax?
Those who were alive and sober in 1977, may well remember the April Fools’ Day Hoax of the Guardian of that year, which concerned a fake supplement in the paper promoting the island of San Serriffe.
The story has its own Wikipedia entry.
The web site; http://www.sanserriffe.com, doesn’t seem to be accessible.
Today’s story seems genuine, although some will smell a rat.
Form Energy To Begin Manufacturing Iron Air Batteries In Weirton To Stabilize Electrical Grid
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on wesa.fm.
These three paragraphs detail the story.
A company pioneering electrical grid batteries that will provide days of backup power for power plants reliant on renewable energy is building out its manufacturing arm throughout the greater Pittsburgh region.
Form Energy is on track to begin manufacturing the new kind of grid asset this spring, one the company says is sorely needed in a destabilized climate. As bonuses, it’s cheap — made of earth-abundant and predominantly domestically sourced materials — and Form needs a large, maker workforce to pull it off.
This is a welcomed development in the community of Weirton, West Virginia, which has seen population and industry decline steadily since the 1970s. Most recently, Cleveland-Cliffs — a neighbor company in the small town — announced it would idle its tinplate production plant and lay off up to 900 employees.
I like Form Energy’s iron-air batteries.
They would appear to be a direct replacement for lithium-ion batteries in stationary applications likeBattery-Energy Storage Systems (BESS).
I suspect they will work eoth the grid-balancing software developed for lithium-ion batteries.
- They use rust and air to store energy.
- The science came out of MIT.
- The venture is well-backed by the likes of Bill Gates.
There’s more about this factory on this page of their web site.
- The web site talks of innovative software, like grid modelling software.
- They aim to start production in the second half of this year.
- At full production the factory will employ 750 people.
- The annual production will be 500 MW of batteries.
This is a company to watch.
Fire Safety Of Battery-Electric Vehicles
I notice that there has been talk of fires in battery-electric vehicles on this blog.
So I thought I’d put up a post with an appropriate topic.
There are some things that already could worry me.
- Vivarail had a fire early on.
- The Merseyrail Class 777 trains go in the tunnels under Liverpool.
- The new Piccadilly Line trains will have batteries.
- Did electric vehicle batteries contribute to the ferocity of the fire in the Luton Airport car park?
- Fire brigades are getting very worried about e-scooter and e-bike fires.
- This page on the Internet gives details of recent BESS fires.
- Do we investigate fires and publish the results properly?
I have some questions.
- Would it be sensible to have nationwide database of all batteries?
- Should we use more non-lithium methods in large stationary batteries?
- Should we use more capacitors?
- Should we make it a criminal offence to build or use a non-compliant e-bike or e-scooter?
- Should installing a battery in your house, need a safety certificate?
One half of me says yes and the other says no, to some of these questions.
Pension Power Backing For New Battery Energy Storage Plant
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Nation.Cymru.
These paragraphs outline the project,
A new battery energy storage plant at the site of a decommissioned power station will be funded by Welsh pensioners.
The plan for the facility at the former Uskmouth B Power Station at the Gwent Wetlands on the edge of Newport, was approved by the city council’s planning committee this January.
The batteries will store excess power during times of “excess supply” and then put that electricity back into the grid when demand is higher.
The Greater Gwent Pension Fund, which manages the retirement savings of more than 65,000 members from Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire Newport and Torfaen councils as well as 52 other active employers in the Gwent region, has revealed it is investing in the project.
According to their Wikipedia entry, the Uskmouth power stations have had rather a chequered history and both appear to be currently non-productive.
- The original coal-fired Uskmouth A has been demolished and the site is now occupied by an 832 MW gas-fired CCGT power station. Currently, it is in a ‘dormant’ state, after its owner entered administration.
- The original coal-fired Uskmouth B has been converted and now can generate 363 MW on a mixture of biomass and waste plastic. Uskmouth B is currently being demolished.
This press release from Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners is entitled Quinbrook To Build Large-Scale Battery Storage Project At Uskmouth, South Wales.
This is the sub-heading.
Uskmouth will be one of the largest storage projects in the UK and will directly support the UK’s energy transition.
These first two paragraphs outline the project.
Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners (“Quinbrook”), a specialist investment manager focused on renewables, storage and grid support infrastructure has acquired the exclusive development rights for one of the UK’s largest battery storage projects to date.
The planned 230MW / 460MWh Battery Energy Storage System (“BESS”), will be located at the site of the former Uskmouth coal fired power station in south Wales (“Project Uskmouth”) and will seek to utilise existing power transmission infrastructure and provide a new lease of life to the area. Uskmouth was acquired from Simec Atlantis Energy Limited (“SAE”). Quinbrook has partnered with Energy Optimisation Solutions Limited (“EOS”) in the origination and development of Project Uskmouth, which represents a major anchoring project in the planned re-development and regeneration of the Uskmouth site into a Sustainable Energy Park that will support innovative future industry. Quinbrook considers these types of regeneration projects as key to making meaningful contributions to delivery of the Government’s Levelling Up ambitions.
Note.
- The battery can supply 230 MW for two hours.
- It looks like the battery will replace the older of the two power stations and work with the relatively-modern 832 MW gas-fired CCGT power station.
- Will they act as backup to renewables?
As there are very few renewables in the area, will this work with the wind farms being developed in the Celtic Sea or are Quinbrook anticipating wind farms South of Newport in the Bristol Channel?
I have a few thoughts.
Will Uskmouth Work With Hinckley Point C?
This Google Map shows the relative locations of Uskmouth and Hinckley Point C.
Note.
- Uskmouth is just South of Newport, in the North-East corner of the map.
- I estimate that Uskmouth and Hinckley Point C are 24.7 miles apart.
A cable across the Bristol Channel would surely increase the energy security of South Wales.
Will There Be Wind Farms In The Bristol Channel?
I feel that this is inevitable.
This document on the Welsh Government web site is entitled Future Potential For Offshore Wind In Wales, was written by The Carbon Trust.
This paragraph is the document’s assessment of wind farms in the Bristol Channel.
Despite high energy demand and good infrastructure, environmental conditions in the Bristol Channel
makes this area challenging for offshore wind development. In addition to lower average wind speeds,
the Bristol Channel has complex seabed, including areas of hard rock, and is exposed to strong tidal
currents from the Severn Estuary. Seabed conditions and tidal currents were the main drivers behind
cancellation of the Atlantic Array project and it is considered unlikely that a developer would look to
revive this site in the near-term, particularly given competition with other more favourable UK sites.
That doesn’t seem very promising.
But this is the document’s assessment of wind farms in the Pembrokeshire Atlantic area.
Exposure to the prevailing south-westerly Atlantic wind and swells means that the waters off
Pembrokeshire have excellent wind speeds, often exceeding 10 m/s, but also a harsher wave
environment than elsewhere in Wales. Significantly, water depths quickly increase to over 50m,
suggesting that floating foundations are likely to be required, particularly if projects are located
further from shore, which is likely given constraints from environmental impact and seascape near to
the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.Grid infrastructure is constrained for thermal generation but should not be a barrier to new
renewables. The Greenlink interconnector could also support the addition of new capacity. The region
has good port infrastructure at Milford Haven and Pembroke Dock, which is already actively pursuing
upgrades to future proof the port for potential offshore wind deployment.
That is a lot more promising.
- Some demonstration wind farms are under development.
- Hopefully, the steel would be available at Port Talbot.
- I can see this area, having almost 50 GW of floating wind.
I do feel though, that once the sea off Pembrokeshire is full of wind farms, that developers will turn their attention to the more difficult waters of the Bristol Channel.
Is The Uskmouth BESS A Good Investment?
The Nation.Cymru article discusses this and what they say is well worth reading.
My feelings are that the BESS will be very busy balancing electricity on the South Wales Coast and to and from Ireland using the 500 MW Greenlink Interconnector, which opens this year.
These electrical systems are relatively easy to model and I suspect Quinbrook wouldn’t be investing, if the BESS was not going to generate a substantial income.
Mortenson Announces Completion Of Edwards & Sanborn Solar + Storage Project
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Mortenson.
These two paragraphs describe the project,
Terra-Gen and Mortenson have announced the full substantial completion of the Edwards & Sanborn Solar + Energy Storage project, the largest solar plus energy storage project in the United States. Mortenson was the full Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contractor on both the solar and energy storage scopes for this vanguard project in the energy industry.
This project stretches over 4,600 acres and includes more than 1.9 million First Solar modules. In total, the project generates 875 MWdc of solar energy and has 3,287 megawatt-hours of energy storage with a total interconnection capacity of 1,300 megawatts. The project supplies power to the city of San Jose, Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. and the Clean Power Alliance, and Starbucks, among others. A portion of the project is situated on the Edwards Air Force Base and was the largest public-private collaboration in U.S. Department of Defense history. The project uses LG Chem, Samsung, and BYD batteries.
Note.
- 4,600 acres is just over seven square miles.
- There’s more about this massive project on this web page.
- Judging by the fact, they use three different makes of batteries, did Mortenson have a problem sourcing the number needed from a single manufacturer or are the contractors seeing, which perform best in the hot desert?
California and other places can build these projects, if there is masses of sun and flat desert.
Shotwick Solar Park is the largest solar farm in the UK. It has a capacity of 72.2 MW.
BESS Projects Represent ‘Encouraging Progress’ in New York Efforts To Replace Dirty And Polluting Peakers
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Energy Storage News.
These are the first three paragraphs.
Battery storage is playing an active role in helping New York City retire its fleet of peaker power plants, with around 700MW of its most polluting power generation assets already fully retired.
According to a new report, 4,019MW – about two-thirds of a 6,093MW fleet – has either retired or put in place plans to replace turbines with cleaner technologies since New York adopted its climate goals and environment protection policies in 2019.
In addition to 700MW already retired, around the same amount again is actively being moved towards end of life.
Note.
- Just over 6,000 MW seems a lot of extra peaker power, even for a city as large as New York.
- But at least over 4 GW has been retired or the plans to replace it with cleaner technologies are in place.
- The New Yorkers certainly seem to be getting on with the conversion, with about a GW/per year either retired or planned to do so.
The article says this about batteries.
Battery storage is one of a number of different technologies that can be used to replace peaking capacity. While lithium-ion batteries with 4-hour duration might be the most directly analogous in terms of technical capability to peakers, effectively retiring the power plants could be facilitated with a combination of other resources including rooftop solar, offshore wind and energy efficiency measures.
I find the 4-hour duration interesting, but I suspect the Yanks know what they’re doing.
So if you were going to replace the 240 MW Glanford Brigg power station, which Centrica describe as a peaker station, with energy storage, you’d use a 240 MW/960 MWh battery, if you were working to New York rules.
Batteries in the UK, that I’ve talked about lately include.
Amp Hunterston – 400 MW/800 MWh – 2 hours
Amp Kincardine – 400 MW/800 MWh – 2 hours
- Carlton Energy Park – 1040 MW/2080 MWh – 2 hours – Close to an 884 MW gas-fired power station.
- Coalburn – 500 MW/1000 MWh – 2 hours- Close to a 946 MW collection of wind farms.
- Gateway Energy Centre – 450 MW/900 MWh – 2 hours – Close to an 732 MW gas-fired power station.
- Normanton Energy Reserve – 500 MW/1000 MWh – 2 hours
- Richborough Energy Park – 100 MW/100 MWh – 1 hour
- Spalding Energy Centre – 550 MW/1100 MWh – 2 hours – Close to an 860 MW gas-fired power station.
Note.
- The first field is Output/Storage Capacity.
- The second field is the duration.
- I have assumed Spalding Energy Centre is another two hour duration system, like Gateway Energy Centre, which is also being developed by Intergen.
- Two hours seems to be the most common duration for a UK battery.
Adding the batteries up gives a virtual 3940MW/7780MWh battery.
It amazing how they add up to quite large values. But then every little helps!
And these are only the ones I’ve talked about.
Q4 2023 Sees Largest Quarterly Increase In Battery Energy Storage
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Solar Power Portal.
These three paragraphs outline the story.
Energy research consultancy Modo Energy has confirmed that Q4 2023 saw 420MW of new battery energy storage capacity become commercially operational.
This new capacity represents a 13% increase on the previous quarter and, in doing so, becomes the largest ever quarterly increase in operating battery capacity in GB. The previous record was set in Q2 2023 when 413MW was added.
It is worth noting that the additional capacity now means that GB’s operational grid-scale battery energy storage capacity has now reached 4.6GWh. Modo also confirmed that 1.5GW of battery storage was added across 2023 – a record for a one-year period.
Note.
- Modo Energy has a web site.
- Hinckley Point C has a nameplate capacity 3.26 GW.
- The article also says that the average duration of battery storage in GB is now 1.3 hours.
Strangely, this gives a BESS total storage capacity of 4.55 GWh, which is half the capacity of Electric Mountain.
Exagen Given Green light for new 500MW / 1GWh Battery Storage Project In Leicestershire
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on PV Magazine.
This is the outline of the project, which will be called the Normanton Energy Reserve.
The new 500MW / 1GWh battery site will be capable of powering 235,000 homes for two hours, equivalent to 80% of the homes in Leicestershire.
Approximately 45% of the 19-acre site will be set aside to improve biodiversity by extending Normanton Millennium Wood and creating wildflower meadows. The project will deliver more than 25% biodiversity net gain.
Exagen will establish a circa £4M community fund to spend on improvements in the local area, with residents consulted on how the fund is used.
Note.
- A 500MW / 1GWh battery is not small.
- The size probably makes it a good backup for Leicestershire.
- Nineteen acres is a 277 metre square.
- Any biodiversity net gain is worthwhile.
- A £4M community fund is not to be sneezed at.
It all sounds very good.
Normanton Wood has a web site, where this is said on the home page.
Normanton Wood is one of The Woodland Trust’s ‘Woods on Your Doorstep’ woodlands created to commemorate the Millennium. It lies near Earl Shilton Leicestershire and was planted by members of the local community.
This Google map shows the wood.
Note.
- The red arrow indicates Normanton Millennium Wood.
- I suspect that cleared space in the woodland leading South-East from the red arrow is about 300 metres long and 15 metres wide, which is about 1.1 acres
- As Normanton Millennium Wood is 16.75 acres, I suspect it includes all the woodland to the East of the red arrow, up to the cultivated farmland.
- If you look carefully, you can see a large electricity pylon in the wider cleared area, to the South of the red arrow.
- When I created this map, I clipped it so that the next pylons to the North-West and South-East were in the respective corners of the map.
This second map shows the land to the West of the red arrow, which is enclosed by the roads.
Note.
- As before the red arrow indicates Normanton Millennium Wood.
- The electricity pylon is clearly visible on the cleared strip.
- The land to the East of the cleared strip looks like its been planted with trees in the last decade or so.
- The land to the West of the cleared strip looks more like scrub, that has grown up after years of neglect.
- I estimate that the area of the cleared strip and the scrub, is around nineteen acres.
- This news story from Exagen, is entitled Woodland Planting At Normanton Energy Reserve – Becca Leake is a must-read as it outlines how woodland will be planted at the site.
As there is no local substation, it looks to me, that a new substation will be built close to the electricity pylon, with the battery to its West.
Conclusion
It seems a good design for a large battery site, which will be shielded from neighbours by a large area of woodland.
I am also sure, that this battery and the one talked about in New Octopus Energy Makes First Investment To Develop UK’s Largest Battery, are the same battery.
All the numbers in both articles are identical.
The Anonymous Widower 