Jurgen Maier To Chair Great British Energy
This article in The Times is entitled Pylons Are The Price Of Lower Bills, Keir Starmer Tells Rural Britain.
These are two paragraphs from the article.
Starmer confirmed that Jürgen Maier, the former UK chief executive of the Siemens conglomerate, would chair the energy company.
Maier has advised Labour on rail and transport since December. He was openly critical of the party’s decision to drop a pledge to spend £28 billion a year on green investment, saying the figure was an “absolute minimum” and that scrapping the promise was “not good for climate change or for the growth of our economy”.
Note.
- His Wikipedia entry is impressive.
- He has dual Austrian and British citizenship.
- He went to school in Leeds and is a graduate of Nottingham Trent University.
- He rose to be Chief Executive of Siemens UK and retired in 2019 at 55.
- I have heard him several times on the radio and he seems to talk a lot of sense.
In my view he could be an excellent choice as Chair of Great British Energy.
I also have some further thoughts.
Jürgen Maier And Peter Hendy
Jürgen Maier and Peter Hendy, who is Starmer’s Rail Minister, have remarkably similar backgrounds and I wouldn’t be surprised if they know each other well, through dealings around Siemens’ contract for Transport for London’s new trains for the Piccadilly Line.
When last, were two technological heavyweights, so close to the heart of a UK government?
RWE
German energy company; RWE are the UK’s largest power generator.
- RWE have five gas-fired power stations with a total output of 6.56 GW.
- RWE have two onshore wind farms in operation with a total output of 67 MW.
- RWE have four offshore wind farms in operation with a total output of 1.88 GW.
- RWE have eight offshore wind farms under development with a total output of 9.90 GW.
- RWE also has other electrical gubbins, like an electrolyser in South Wales.
Would Jürgen Maier be an ideal person, to persuade RWE to keep investing in the UK?
When he was with Siemens, he certainly invested heavily in the UK.
The German Problem
Germany’s problem is how they generate electricity.
Sources are as follows for Germany and the UK.
- Coal – 26 % – 1 %
- Natural Gas – 10.5 % – 32 %
- Wind – 32 % – 29.4 %
- Solar 12.2 % – 4.9 %
- Biomass – 9.7 % – 12.3 %
- Nuclear – 1.5 % – 14.2 %
- Hydro – 4.5 % – 1.8 %
- Oil – 0.7 % – 0 %
- Other – 2.9 % – 0 %
- Storage – 0 % – 1 %
- Imports – 0 % – 10.7 %
Note.
- Figures are for 2023.
- Germany is the first percentage.
- UK is the second percentage.
- Germany has pledged to end coal-fired electricity production by 2030.
- Both countries seem to generate similar amounts of electricity from wind, biomass and hydro.
To replace the coal and make up for lack of nuclear, Germany needs to find a new power source.
The German Solution
The Germans are going for hydrogen in a big way.
The title of this page of the RWE web site is Welcome To The Age Of Hydrogen.
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.
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 RWE’s 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.
- Two GW of hydrogen will be a nice little earner for UK plc.
- One GW of electricity would be sent to the UK.
But this is only one of many possibilities.
Conclusion
Could Jürgen Maier, be the man to develop British links to AquaVentus for the benefit of both the UK and Germany?
- The UK’s wind farms could provide a lot of hydrogen for AquaVentus.
- Aldbrough And Rough Gas Storage are conveniently places to add the hydrogen storage, that AquaVentus needs.
- AquaVentus can certainly be expanded to Norway, and possibly Orkney and Shetland.
He certainly has a lot of relevant experience.
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.
Site Investigations Underway At RWE’s Three Norfolk Offshore Wind Project Sites
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
RWE has kicked off geophysical and geotechnical site investigations at the Norfolk Boreas, Norfolk Vanguard East, and Norfolk Vanguard West offshore wind project sites in the UK, rights to which the German company acquired from Vattenfall earlier this year.
All three projects in RWE’s 4.14 GW wind farm off the Norfolk coast, at last seem to be making progress.
According to the Wikipedia entry for the List Of Offshore Wind Farms In The United Kingdom, this is the last status.
Norfolk Boreas
Owner: RWE
Turbines: Vestas
Status: Contract for Difference – Round 4
Commissioning Date: 2027
Norfolk Vanguard East
Owner: RWE
Turbines: Vestas
Status: Early Planning
Commissioning Date: Before 2030
Norfolk Vanguard West
Owner: RWE
Turbines: Vestas V236-15.0 MW
Status: Early Planning
Commissioning Date: Before 2030
Note.
- All three Norfolk wind arms, will be using Vestas turbines.
- The data for Norfolk Vanguard West shows that Vestas V236-15.0 MW turbines will be used.
- In SeAH To Deliver Monopiles For Vattenfall’s 2.8 GW Norfolk Vanguard Offshore Wind Project, I discussed the monopiles for the Norfolk wind farms. Will these be standardised across the Norfolk wind farms?
- In RWE Orders 15 MW Nordseecluster Offshore Wind Turbines At Vestas, I speculated that RWE had standardised on these large turbines for their North Sea wind farms, which would surely be a sensible action to take.
Using the same large turbines and monopiles for a number of wind farms, will surely give advantages in manufacture, installation, operation and and servicing for RWE, SeAH Wind and Vestas.
The finances should also be more beneficial.
These are my thoughts.
Will The Norfolk Wind Farms Produce Hydrogen For Germany?
Consider.
- As Hornsea 4 wind farm makes landfall in Norfolk, Norfolk should have enough renewable electricity.
- The Norfolk Nimbies will object to more electricity transmission lines across Norfolk.
- H2ercules, which is the large German hydrogen network will need lots of green hydrogen.
- Wilhelmshaven, which will be the main hydrogen feed point for H2ercules, is just across the North Sea at Wilhelmshaven.
- There are no Houthis roaming the North Sea.
- Hydrogen could be transported from the Norfolk wind farms to Wilhelmshaven by pipeline or coastal tanker.
- German companies are building the Norfolk wind farms.
I believe that there is a good chance, that the Norfolk wind farms will produce hydrogen for Germany.
This will have the following benefits.
- Germany will get the hydrogen it needs.
- The hydrogen link will improve energy security in Europe.
- The UK government will receive a nice cash flow.
The only losers will be the dictators, who supply Europe with energy.
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.
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.
RWE Orders 15 MW Nordseecluster Offshore Wind Turbines At Vestas
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Vestas has now revealed the name of the project and the client for a conditional contract the company signed in May as an unconditional order came in from RWE for the first phase of its 1.6 GW Nordseecluster offshore wind development in Germany.
This is the first paragraph.
The Denmark-based wind turbine OEM has received a firm order for 44 of its V236-15.0 MW offshore wind turbines for the 660 MW Nordseecluster A, the first phase of RWE’s two-phased Nordseecluster project in Germany.
Note.
- The V236-15.0 MW offshore wind turbine would appear to be Vesta’s largest turbine.
- On the Internet RWE’s Norfolk Vanguard West wind farm is shown as using the same turbine.
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.
These wind farms in the UK could use the V236-15.0 MW offshore wind turbines.
- Norfolk Boreas – 1380 MW – 92 turbines
- Norfolk Vanguard East – 1380 MW – 92 turbines
- Norfolk Vanguard West – 1380 MW – 92 turbines
- Dogger Bank South – 3000 MW – 200 turbines
- Awel y Môr – Up to 1100 MW – 73 turbines
- Five Estuaries – up to 1185 MW – 79 turbines
- North Falls – up to 504 MW – 34 turbines
Notes.
- The capacity us as sown on the RWE web site for each wind farm.
- The turbine numbers assume 15 MW turbines.
- The total capacity is 9929 MW.
- The number of turbines is 662.
The Nordseecluster will generate 1600 MW from 107 turbines.
Conclusion
I don’t see any reason, why all these wind farms couldn’t use the V236-15.0 MW offshore wind turbines.
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.
H2ercules
H2ercules is a project that will create the German hydrogen network.
The H2ercules web site, introduces the project with these two paragraphs.
A faster ramp-up of the hydrogen economy in Germany is more important than ever in order to drive forward the decarbonisation programme, put the German energy system on a more robust footing, and thus contribute towards a green security of supply. What this needs is a geographical realignment of the infrastructure for energy in gas form: Instead of flowing from the east of Germany to the west and south of the country, the gas – natural gas now, hydrogen in the future – will have to make its way in future from generation locations in the north-west to centres of consumption located mainly in the west and south. That also means that new sources will have to be connected, and gaps in existing pipeline networks will have to be closed. To speed up this vital process, OGE and RWE have developed the national infrastructure project “H2ercules”, which is intended to supply consumers in Germany’s south and west with domestically produced green hydrogen from the north of the country, in addition to imported sources. This will involve connecting up the electrolyser capacities that are currently being planned and developing more besides. RWE wants to create up to 1 GW of additional electrolyser capacity as part of the H2ercules project. For the connection component, OGE is planning to put 1,500 km of pipelines in place. For the most part, this will mean converting pipelines from the existing natural gas network to hydrogen, supplemented by newly constructed facilities. Converting natural gas pipelines is not only the more cost-efficient solution, but it also allows for a faster schedule. The system is expected to be supplemented by the planned hydrogen storages of RWE.
The current plan is to complete the project in three stages between 2026 and 2030, in order to connect industries to the hydrogen supply as soon as possible. The aim of this collaboration across multiple value levels is to resolve the chicken-and-egg problem on a super-sized scale and also smooth the way forward for other projects.
Note.
There will be a lot of conversion of the existing natural gas network to hydrogen.
RWE wants to create up to 1 GW of additional electrolyser capacity as part of the H2ercules project.
The second paragraph indicates to me, that they want to move fast.
This map from the H2ercules web site, indicate the proposed size of the network in 2030.
These three paragraphs describe how H2ercules will be developed.
OGE and RWE are both strong companies that aim to combine forces as part of the H2ercules project in order to overcome this Herculean task. While the task for OGE will be to convert the required gas pipelines to hydrogen and construct new pipelines, RWE will expand its electrolyser capacity and import green hydrogen in addition. Gas-fired power stations with a capacity of at least 2 GW will be converted to hydrogen, and new H2 -storages as well as H2-storages repurposed from gas storages on the Dutch border will be connected to the hydrogen supply system.
H2ercules also opens up new opportunities to connect Germany’s future centres of hydrogen consumption to key import routes, first via pipelines from Belgium and the Netherlands, and later via Norway and also from southern and eastern Europe, with the added prospects of import terminals for green molecules in Germany’s north. The project is thus contributing significantly to the creation of a European hydrogen market.
The first additional companies and organisations have already indicated their interest in this project, and it is expected that in the future smaller businesses will benefit in addition to large-scale customers, as the entire industry is guided towards a decarbonised future.
These are my thoughts.
Why Is It Called H2ercules?
I suspect, it’s nothing more, than the Germans wanted a recognisable and catchy name.
- Name selection is not helped by the German for hydrogen, which is wasserstoff.
- Hercules is Herkules in German, which doesn’t really help.
- Projekt Wasserstoff isn’t as memorable as H2ercules, which at least isn’t English.
It looks to me, that the Germans have come up with a good acceptable compromise.
The Wilhemshaven Hydrogen Import Terminal
German energy company; Uniper is building a hydrogen import terminal at Wilhemshaven to feed H2ercules and German industry with hydrogen from places like Australia, Namibia and the Middle East. I wrote about this hydrogen import terminal in Uniper To Make Wilhelmshaven German Hub For Green Hydrogen; Green Ammonia Import Terminal.
Wilhelmshaven and Great Yarmouth are 272 miles or 438 kilometres apart, so a pipeline or a tanker link would be feasible to export hydrogen from Notfolk to Germany.
I suspect RWE will build a giant offshore electrolyser close to the Norfolk wind farms and the hydrogen will be exported by tanker or pipeline to Germany or to anybody else who pays the right price.
RWE’s Norfolk Wind Farms
What is interesting me, is what Germany company; RWE is up to. Note they are one of the largest UK electricity producers.
In December 2023, they probably paid a low price, for the rights for 3 x 1.4 GW wind farms about 50 km off North-East Norfolk from in-trouble Swedish company; Vattenfall and have signed contracts to build them fairly fast.
In March 2024, I wrote about the purchase in RWE And Vattenfall Complete Multi-Gigawatt Offshore Wind Transaction In UK.
This map from RWE shows the three wind farms, with respect to the Norfolk coast.
Could it be, that RWE intend to build a giant offshore electrolyser to the East of Great Yarmouth?
- The planning permission for an electrolyser, which is eighty kilometres offshore, would be far easier, than for one onshore.
- The hydrogen pipeline between Norfolk and Germany would be less than 400 kilometres.
- Hydrogen could also be brought ashore in Norfolk, if the price was right.
- The Bacton gas terminal is only a few miles North of Great Yarmouth.
But the big advantage, is that the only onshore construction could be restricted to the Bacton gas terminal.
Adding More Wind Farms To The Electrolyser
Looking at the RWE map, the following should be noted.
South of Norfolk Vanguard East, there is the East Anglian Array wind farm, which by the end of 2026, will consist of these wind farms.
- East Anglia One – 714 MW – 2020
- East Anglia One North – 800 MW – 2026
- East Anglia Two – 900 MW – 2026
- East Anglia Three – 1372 MW – 2026
Note.
- The date is the commissioning date.
- There is a total capacity of 3786 MW
- All wind farms are owned by Iberdrola.
- There may be space to add other sections to the East Anglian Array.
I doubt, it would be difficult for some of Iberdrola’s megawatts to be used to generate hydrogen for Germany.
To the East of Norfolk Boreas and Norfolk Vanguard East, it’s Dutch waters, so I doubt the Norfolk cluster can expand to the East.
But looking at this map of wind farms, I suspect that around 4-5 GW of new wind farms could be squeezed in to the North-West of the the Norfolk Cluster and South of the Hornsea wind farms.
The 1.5 GW Outer Dowsing wind farm, which is being planned, will be in this area.
I can certainly see 8-10 GW of green electricity capacity being available to electrolysers to the North-East of Great Yarmouth.
Conclusion
UK offshore electricity could be the power behind H2ercules.
- The hydrogen could be sent to Germany by pipeline or tanker ship, as the distance is under 400 kilometers to the Wilhelmshaven hydrogen hub.
- Extra electrolysers and wind farms could be added as needed.
- The hydrogen won’t need to be shipped halfway round the world.
The cash flow won’t hurt the UK.
.
UK Offshore Wind In 2030
The next general election is likely to be held in 2029, so how much wind energy will be added during the next Parliament?
The Current Position
The Wikipedia entry for the list of operational wind farms in the UK, says this.
In October 2023, there were offshore wind farms consisting of 2,695 turbines with a combined capacity of 14,703 megawatts.
Due To Be Commissioned In 2024
It would appear these wind farms will come on-line in 2024.
- Neart Na Gaoithe – 450 MW – Fixed
- Doggerbank A – 1235 MW – Fixed
- Doggerbank B – 1235 MW – Fixed
This would add 2920 MW to give a total of 17,623 MW.
Due To Be Commissioned In 2025
It would appear these wind farms will come on-line in 2025.
- Moray West – 882 MW – Fixed
- Doggerbank C – 1218 MW – Fixed
This would add 2100 MW to give a total of 19,723 MW.
Due To Be Commissioned In 2026
It would appear these wind farms will come on-line in 2026.
- Sofia – 1400 MW – Fixed
- East Anglia 3 – 1372 MW – Fixed
- East Anglia 1 North – 800 MW – Fixed
- East Anglia 2 – 900 MW – Fixed
- Pentland – 100 MW – Floating
This would add 4572 MW to give a total of 24,295 MW.
Due To Be Commissioned In 2027
It would appear these wind farms will come on-line in 2027.
- Hornsea 3 – 2852 MW – Fixed
- Norfolk Boreas – 1380 MW – Fixed
- Llŷr 1 – 100 MW – Floating
- Llŷr 2 – 100 MW – Floating
- Whitecross – 100 MW – Floating
This would add 4532 MW to give a total of 28,827 MW.
Due To Be Commissioned In 2028
It would appear these wind farms will come on-line in 2028.
- Morecambe – 480 MW – Fixed
This would add 480 MW to give a total of 29,307 MW.
Due To Be Commissioned In 2029
It would appear these wind farms will come on-line in 2029.
- West Of Orkney – 2000 MW – Fixed
This would add 2000 MW to give a total of 31,307 MW.
Due To Be Commissioned In 2030
It would appear these wind farms will come on-line in 2030.
- Ramplion 2 Extension – 1200 MW – Fixed
- Norfolk Vanguard East – 1380 MW – Fixed
- Norfolk Vanguard West – 1380 MW – Fixed
- Awel y Môr – 1100 MW – Fixed
- Berwick Bank – 4100 MW – Fixed
- Outer Dowsing – 1500 MW – Fixed
- Hornsea 4 – 2600 MW – Fixed
- Caledonia – 2000 MW – Fixed
- N3 Project – 495 MW – Fixed/Floating
This would add 15755 MW to give a total of 47.062 MW.
Capacity Summary
- 2023 – None – 14703 MW
- 2024 – 2920 MW – 17,623 MW
- 2025 – 2100 MW – 19,723 MW
- 2026 – 4572 MW – 24,295 MW
- 2027 – 4532 MW- 28,827 MW
- 2028 – 480 MW – 29,307 MW
- 2029 – 2000 MW – 31,307 MW
- 2030 – 15755 MW – 47,062 MW
Note that capacity has increased more than threefold.
If we assume the following.
- New wind farms are commissioned throughout the year.
- 14703 MW of wind power, with all our gas-fired, nuclear and onshore wind farms is enough to power the UK.
- The average capacity factor is 45 %.
- The strike price is £35/MWh.
The levels I have set are deliberately on the low side.
The amount of energy and cash flow generated by new wind farms in a year can be calculated as follows.
{Average New Capacity In Year}= ({Capacity at Year Start}+{Capacity at Year End})/2-14703
{Extra Electricity Generated In Year}= {Average New Capacity In Year}*365*24*{Capacity Factor}
{Cash Flow}={Extra Electricity Generated In Year} * {Strike Price}
The following figures are obtained.
- 2024 – 1460 MW – 5,755,320 MWh – £ 201,436,200
- 2025 – 3970 MW – 15,649,740 MWh – £ 547,740,900
- 2026 – 7306 MW – 28,800,252 MWh – £ 1,008,008,820
- 2027 – 11858 MW – 46,744,236 MWh – £ 1,636,048,260
- 2028 – 14,364 MW – 56,622,888 MWh – £ 1,981,801,080
- 2029 – 15,604 MW – 61,510,968 MWh – £ 2,152,883,880
- 3030 – 23,931.5 MW – 94,337,973 MWh – £ 3,301,829,055
Nate.
- The first column is the cumulative amount of new capacity about the 14,703 MW in December 2023.
- The second column is the extra electricity generated in the year over December 2023.
- The third column is the extra cash flow in the year over December 2023.
As the installed base of wind farms increases, the cash flow increases.
It should also be noted that there are a large number of wind farms, already pencilled in for 2031-2035.
What Will We Do With All This Extra Electricity?
We need more industries that will consume a lot of electricity, like cement, chemicals and steel.
But I suspect that the easiest thing to do, is to convert the excess electricity to hydrogen and export it to the Continent and especially the Germans by pipeline or tanker.
Conclusion
Whoever wins this year’s General Election, should have a growing source of revenue for the life of the parliament and beyond.
Do RWE Have A Comprehensive Hydrogen Plan For Germany?
What is interesting me, is what Germany company; RWE is up to. They are one of the largest UK electricity producers.
In December 2023, they probably paid a low price, for the rights for 3 x 1.4 GW wind farms about 50 km off North-East Norfolk from in-trouble Swedish company; Vattenfall and have signed contracts to build them fairly fast.
In March 2024, wrote about the purchase in RWE And Vattenfall Complete Multi-Gigawatt Offshore Wind Transaction In UK.
Over the last couple of years, I have written several posts about these three wind farms.
March 2023 – Vattenfall Selects Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone O&M Base
November 2023 – Aker Solutions Gets Vattenfall Nod To Start Norfolk Vanguard West Offshore Platform
December 2023 – SeAH To Deliver Monopiles For Vattenfall’s 2.8 GW Norfolk Vanguard Offshore Wind Project
Then in July 2023, I wrote Vattenfall Stops Developing Major Wind Farm Offshore UK, Will Review Entire 4.2 GW Zone
Note.
- There does appear to be a bit of a mix-up at Vattenfall, judging by the dates of the reports.Only, one wind farm has a Contract for Difference.
- It is expected that the other two will be awarded contracts in Round 6, which should be by Summer 2024.
In December 2023, I then wrote RWE Acquires 4.2-Gigawatt UK Offshore Wind Development Portfolio From Vattenfall.
It appears that RWE paid £963 million for the three wind farms.
I suspect too, they paid for all the work Vattenfall had done.
This transaction will give RWE 4.2 GW of electricity in an area with very bad connections to the National Grid and the Norfolk Nimbies will fight the building of more pylons.
So have the Germans bought a pup?
I don’t think so!
Where Is Wilhemshaven?
This Google Map shows the location of Wilhemshaven.
Note.
- Heligoland is the island at the top of the map.
- The Germans call this area the Wdden Sea.
- The estuaries lead to Wilhelmshaven and Bremerhaven.
- Cuxhaven is the port for Heligoland, which is connected to Hamburg by hydrogen trains.
This second map shows between Bremerhaven and Wilhelmshaven.
Note.
- Wilhelmshaven is to the West.
- Bremerhaven is in the East.
- The River Weser runs North-South past Bremerhaven.
I’ve explored the area by both car and train and it is certainly worth a visit.
The Wilhemshaven Hydrogen Import Terminal
German energy company; Uniper is building a hydrogen import terminal at Wilhemshaven to feed German industry with hydrogen from places like Australia, Namibia and the Middle East. I wrote about this hydrogen import terminal in Uniper To Make Wilhelmshaven German Hub For Green Hydrogen; Green Ammonia Import Terminal.
I suspect RWE could build a giant offshore electrolyser close to the Norfolk wind farms and the hydrogen will be exported by tanker or pipeline to Germany or to anybody else who pays the right price.
All this infrastructure will be installed and serviced from Great Yarmouth, so we’re not out of the deal.
Dogger Bank South Wind Farm
To make matters better, RWE have also signed to develop the 3 GW Dogger Bank South wind farm.
This could have another giant electrolyser to feed German companies. The wind farm will not need an electricity connection to the shore.
The Germans appear to be taking the hydrogen route to bringing electricity ashore.
Energy Security
Surely, a short trip across the North Sea, rather than a long trip from Australia will be much more secure and on my many trips between the Haven Ports and The Netherlands, I haven’t yet seen any armed Houthi pirates.
RWE And Hydrogen
On this page on their web site, RWE has a lot on hydrogen.
Very Interesting!
H2ercules
This web site describes H2ercules.
The goal of the H2ercules initiative is to create the heart of a super-sized hydrogen infrastructure for Germany by 2030. To make this happen, RWE, OGE and, prospectively, other partners are working across various steps of the value chain to enable a swift supply of hydrogen from the north of Germany to consumers in the southern and western areas of the country. In addition to producing hydrogen at a gigawatt scale, the plan is also to open up import routes for green hydrogen. The transport process will involve a pipeline network of about 1,500 km, most of which will consist of converted gas pipelines.
Where’s the UK’s H2ercules?
Conclusion
The Germans have got there first and will be buying up all of our hydrogen to feed H2ercules.
The Anonymous Widower 