Siemens Gamesa, Ørsted Link Up With UK Universities To Boost Wind Turbine Efficiency
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
A major collaboration between universities and energy companies has made “vital” improvements to offshore wind turbines, which could help them generate more renewable energy and reduce the UK’s reliance on fossil fuels.
This paragraph outlines the research.
The GBP 7.7 million partnership between the Universities of Sheffield, Durham, Hull, and two global energy companies, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy and Ørsted, could help offshore wind turbines run for longer periods of time – boosting the amount of energy each wind farm generates.
We may not manufacture a large proportion of wind turbines, but companies do turn to UK universities, when they need important research to be done.
Hydro-Storage Options To Be Studied For Grängesberg
The title of this post, is the same as that of this news item from Anglesey Mining.
These are the highlights of the news item.
- Anglesey Mining plc, together with its 49.75% owned subsidiary Grängesberg Iron AB (“GIAB”) have entered into an MoU with Mine Storage to investigate the potential for the Grängesberg Mine to be converted into a Pumped Hydro-Storage project at the end of the mine’s producing life.
- Pumped-Hydro Storage is a green-energy storage solution that utilises water and gravity to store electrical energy. An underground mine can provide a closed-loop solution using proven, pumped hydro-power technology. Essentially, the system involves water being gravity fed through pipes down a shaft into the turbines, which produce electricity for supply to the grid and also pump the water back to surface. The mine storage system has a high round-trip efficiency of 75-85% and proven durability.
- The MoU with Mine Storage could lead to numerous future benefits.
I like this project.
Too often, when mines, quarries or other large operations come to the end of their economic lives, they are just abandoned in the hope that something worthwhile will happen.
But here we have a company planning the end of an iron ore mine in a way that will turn it into a source of future revenue.
I have a few thoughts.
Mine Storage
Mine Storage are a Swedish company with an informative web site.
The web site answered most of my questions.
Mines Are Moving From a Liability To A Resource
Consider.
- Gravitricity are using mines to store energy using cables and weights.
- Charlotte Adams and her team at Durham University are developing the use of the heat in abandoned coal mines.
- The Global Centre of Rail Excellence is being developed in a disused opencast mine in Wales.
- RheEnergise are developing their first High Density Hydro system in the Hemerdon Tungsten Mine in Devon.
And now we have this co-operation between Anglesey Mining and Mine Storage working together on pumped storage hydroelectricity.
Where is Grängesberg
This Google Map shows the location of Grängesberg.
It is convenient for storing energy for Stockholm.
Exciting Renewable Energy Project for Spennymoor
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on the Durham University web site.
This is the first paragraph.
In January 2016, local residents Alan Gardner, Cllr Kevin Thompson and Lynn Gibson from the Durham Energy Institute at Durham University, met a team of academics to explore the advantages renewable energy and specifically the use of geothermal resources could bring to Spennymoor.
And this is the last.
Durham University is one of the world leaders in this research field. Spennymoor now has an opportunity to be at the forefront of that research. What the outcomes will eventually be is unknown at this stage but being able to explore the opportunity by the best in the business is encouraging.
Charlotte Adams mentioned in the article is the academic, who did the presentation I saw yesterday and talked about in Can Abandoned Mines Heat Our Future?.
Everybody, who lives in a mining area, should read this article and show it to everyone they know.
Can Abandoned Mines Heat Our Future?
The title of this post, is same as that of the title of a public lecture I attended at The Geological Society this afternoon.
This page on the Geological Society web site, gives a summary of the lecture and details of the speaker; Charlotte Adams of Durham University.
The Concept
The basic concept is simple.
- Abandoned coal mines had their pumps turned off when they are closed and the worked areas have flooded with water, that is now at temperatures of around 12 to 20°C.
- As fifteen billion tonnes of coal have been extracted from UK coalfields, that is a lot of space to flood. An estimate of around two billion cubic metres is given.
- This means that the water holds somewhere between 27.9 and 46.5 GWH of energy in the form of heat.
- Heat pumps would be used to upgrade the temperature of this water, to provide hot water at useful temperatures for space heating.
For those unfamiliar with the concept of a heat pump, Wikipedia gives a good explanation, of which this is the first paragraph.
A heat pump is a device that transfers heat energy from a source of heat to what is called a heat sink. Heat pumps move thermal energy in the opposite direction of spontaneous heat transfer, by absorbing heat from a cold space and releasing it to a warmer one. A heat pump uses a small amount of external power to accomplish the work of transferring energy from the heat source to the heat sink.
In connection with this project, the heat source is the warm water in the mines and the heat sink is the water that is circulated to heat the buildings.
Wikipedia goes on to say this.
In heating mode, heat pumps are three to four times more effective at heating than simple electrical resistance heaters using the same amount of electricity. However, the typical cost of installing a heat pump is also higher than that of a resistance heater.
Wikipedia also has a section, which descries the use of heat pumps in district heating.
It should also be noted, that as with lots of technology, heat pumps are much improved, from the one I installed in a swimming pool in the 1980s.
Gas Is Replaced By Renewable Energy
The electricity to drive the heat pumps could be derived from renewable sources such as hydroelectric, solar, wave or wind.
Effectively, the system is using intermittent sources of electricity to create a constant source of heat suitable for space heating.
Would The Mines Run Out Of Heat Or Water?
As I understand it, the water in the mine will continue to be heated by the heat in the mines. The father of a friend, who came with me to the lecture was a coal miner and my friend confirmed it was hot in a coal mine.
The water will of course continue to flood the mine and the water pumped to the surface will probably be returned.
So the system will continue to supply heat for space heating.
How Long Will The System Supply Heat?
The system has the following characteristics.
- It is electro-mechanical.
- It is powered by electricity.
- Water is the heat transfer medium.
- Additives like anti-freeze will probably be applied to the water used for heat transfer.
There is no reason the system can’t be designed, so that it supplies heat for many years with regular maintenance and updating.
How Does The System Compare To Bunhill 2 Energy Centre?
In Bunhill 2 Energy Centre, I described Islington’s Bunhill 2 Energy Centre which uses heat generated in the Northern Line of the London Underground to provide district heating.
I am fairly sure that a lot of similar technology will be used in both applications.
This page on Wikipedia is entitled London Underground Cooling.
There is a section, which is entitled Source Of The Heat, where this is said.
The heat in the tunnels is largely generated by the trains, with a small amount coming from station equipment and passengers. Around 79% is absorbed by the tunnels walls, 10% is removed by ventilation and the other 11% remains in the tunnels.
Temperatures on the Underground have slowly increased as the clay around the tunnels has warmed up; in the early days of the Underground it was advertised as a place to keep cool on hot days. However, over time the temperature has slowly risen as the heat sink formed by the clay has filled up. When the tunnels were built the clay temperature was around 14ºC; this has now risen to 19–26ºC and air temperatures in the tunnels now reach as high as 30ºC.
So one big difference is that the Underground is warmer than the mine and this should make it a better heat source.
I feel that engineers on both projects will benefit from the ideas and experience of the others.
Would Infrastructure Funds Back This Technology?
In the UK, there are several infrastructure funds set up by companies like Aberdeen Standard, Aviva, Gresham House and L & G.
In World’s Largest Wind Farm Attracts Huge Backing From Insurance Giant, I explained why Aviva had invested nearly a billion pounds in wind farms to support pensioners and holders of their insurance policies.
Comparing the risk of using abandoned mines to heat buildings and that of offshore wind turbines generating electricity, my engineering knowledge would assign a greater risk to the turbines, providing both were built to the highest possible standards.
It’s just the onshore and offshore locations and the vagaries of the weather!
I think it is true to say, that infrastructure funds will back anything, where there is an acceptable long-term income to be made, commensurate with the costs and risk involved.
But then Government or any public or private company or organisation should not pay over the odds for the energy delivered.
Conclusion
Charlotte Adams in her lecture, asked if abandoned mines can heat our future.
The answer could well be yes, but there are other sources of heat like the London Underground, that can also be used.
The Anonymous Widower 