JERA Nex BP, EnBW Submit Morven Offshore Wind Farm Application
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
A joint venture between JERA Nex BP and EnBW has submitted Section 36 consent applications for the Morven offshore wind farm to the Scottish government
These two paragraphs add a few details.
The developer secured the seabed rights for the Morven offshore wind farm as a single project in the ScotWind Leasing Round in 2022 and split it into two separate projects during the early development phase.
Located around 60 kilometres off the coast of Aberdeenshire at its closest point, the site is planned to house Morven North and Morven South, which would have a combined installed capacity of up to 3 GW and around 190 wind turbines in total.
Morven Offshore Wind Farm now has a comprehensive web site.
The web site says that the electricity will be brought ashore at Hawthorn Pit.
This Google Map shows the location of Hawthorn Pit.
Note.
- Hawthorn Pit is indicated by the red arrow.
- Sunderland is at the top of the map on the coast.
- Aura Power has already obtained planning permission for Hawthorn Pit solar farm, which will be up to 49.9 MW.
- Zenobe are developing a battery-energy-storage-system(BESS) 1.5 km to the South-East of the new Hawthorn Pit substation, which will have an output of 300 MW. Sloppily, there is no detail on capacity, but Google AI indicates, it is a 300 MW/600 MWh battery.
- Hawthorn Pit substation is also the expected to be the Southern end of Eastern Green Link 1, which will help to bring Scottish wind power to England, which will be a 2 GW undersea interconnector to Torness.
In Murphy Starts Work On £2.5bn Eastern Green Link 1, I detail the start of building of Eastern Green Link 1 and say it should be operational by 2029.
When Is The Morven Offshore Wind Farm Expected To Be Commissioned?
I asked Google AI the question above and received this answer.
The 2.9 GW Morven offshore wind farm is expected to be fully commissioned and operational between 2031 and 2035, with initial grid connections and power export potentially starting as early as 2030.
The timeline for full deployment of the Morven Offshore Wind Farm remains somewhat flexible as it depends on final planning approvals and connection offers from the National Energy System Operator (NESO).
The Cables For The Morven Offshore Wind Farm And Eastern Green Link 1
This map clipped from the Morven Offshore Wind Farm web site, shows the locations of Aberdeen, Hawthorn Pit and the Morven Offshore Wind Farm.
Note.
- The location of the Morven wind array was first mentioned in June 2020, as part of ScotWind by Crown Estate Scotland.
- The development of Eastern Green Link 1 was first mentioned in May 2021, by National Grid.
- Torness is to the East of Edinburgh.
- Eastern Green Link 1 connects Torness and Hawthorn Pit.
- the Morven wind array connects to England at Hawthorn Pit.
Over the last few years National Grid and other companies have been developing a technique called offshore hybrid assets, which I describe in What Are Offshore Hybrid Assets?.
An offshore hybrid asset typically connects two countries via a large offshore wind farm, which can then send electricity to both countries.
In a traditional design, there would need to be.
- A 2 GW cable between Torness and Hawthorn Pit.
- A 2.9 GW cable between Morven and Hawthorn Pit.
In the Offshore Hybrid Asset design, there would need to be.
- A 2 GW cable between Torness and Morven
- A 2.9 GW cable between Morven and Hawthorn Pit.
I suspect cable would be saved.
This map shows the position of each ScotWind Leasing wind farm.
Note.
- The numbers are Scotwind’s lease number in their documents.
- Morven is ScotWind lease number 1.
- Eastern Green Link 1 is one of four interconnectors down the East Coast of the UK.
- I have added up the ScotWind lease numbers 1-6 and they total 10.5 GW.
That would be a lot of power to capture just by converting the four Eastern Green Link interconnectors into offshore hybrid assets.
How Will Aquaventus Connect To Aberdeen?
This is RWE’s description of AquaVentus, which is sub-titled Hydrogen Production In The North Sea.
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.
RWE have also put this AquaVentus video on their web site.
Note, that in the video AquaVentus connects Germany to Denmark, Norway, The Netherlands and Aberdeen and Humberside in the UK.
I asked Google AI, the question in the title of this section, and received this answer.
AquaVentus connects to Aberdeen through a strategic infrastructure partnership with Hydrogen Scotland. The two organizations are integrating offshore wind power, offshore electrolysis, and a shared cross-border pipeline to link Scottish renewable generation with European industrial markets.
The connection strategy relies on a multi-stage approach across the North Sea:
Offshore Production & Transmission: AquaVentus aims to produce green hydrogen directly offshore. It will be transported via a pan-European pipeline network—such as the planned 400 km AquaDuctus to link offshore hubs with both the UK and mainland Europe.
Scottish-German Export Corridor: Building on previous research like the Scot2Ger study, this pipeline corridor directly connects Scotland’s abundant offshore wind resources to European demand, establishing Aberdeen as a critical origin node.
Integrated Energy Backbone: The initiative champions hybrid connection concepts (combining both power cables and hydrogen pipelines). This allows for maximum flexibility when integrating Aberdeen’s local onshore hydrogen infrastructure with broader transnational energy grids.
I will now ask Google AI some supplementary questions about AquaVentus in UK waters.
“Will AquaVentus Produce Hydrogen In UK Waters?”
Google AI gave this reply.
Yes, AquaVentus plans to produce green hydrogen in UK waters. The German-led consortium has partnered with Hydrogen Scotland to harness Scotland’s offshore wind potential for large-scale, cross-border hydrogen production and export.
Key Details of the UK-German Initiative
Production Scale: The initiative aims to install 10 gigawatts (GW) of offshore electrolysis capacity in the North Sea by 2035, producing up to 1 million metric tonnes of green hydrogen annually.
The “Pipes and Wires” Model: Offshore wind parks will be equipped with hybrid connection concepts, providing the flexibility to either send electricity directly to the grid or convert it into hydrogen via offshore electrolysers.
Transportation: The produced hydrogen will be transported to land via a shared transnational subsea pipeline corridor, linking Scottish resources to Germany and mainland Europe.The partnership is specifically aimed at creating a North Sea hydrogen corridor to boost energy security and build the foundational European Hydrogen Backbone.
“Will AquaVentus Land Hydrogen In Scotland?”
Google AI gave this reply.
Yes, the German-led AquaVentus initiative plans to land green hydrogen in Scotland as part of a coordinated North Sea energy corridor.
The cross-border initiative involves the following components:
The Pipeline Connection: A key part of the plan is the AquaDuctus offshore subsea pipeline, designed to collect green hydrogen produced from central North Sea wind farms and land it on the coast.
Scottish Partnership: Hydrogen Scotland and AquaVentus have formalized a Memorandum of Understanding to combine Scotland’s massive offshore wind potential with German infrastructure and electrolysis expertise.
Export Ambitions: Scotland aims to produce up to 3.3 Mt of green hydrogen per year by 2045, heavily relying on pipelines and networks to export this to mainland European hubs like Germany.
Offshore Facilities: The broader initiative plans to install 10 GW of offshore electrolysis capacity in the North Sea to produce up to 1 million tonnes of hydrogen annually.
Note that Google AI has told me that a Megatonne of hydrogen is currently worth around £2.5-5 billion.
“Will AquaVentus Connect To Any Of The ScotWind Leasing Wind Farms?”
Google AI gave this reply.
Yes, AquaVentus plans to link Scottish offshore wind resources (including ScotWind farms) to mainland Europe. Through an agreement with Hydrogen Scotland, AquaVentus intends to utilize hybrid “pipes and wires” infrastructure to transmit power or convert it into green hydrogen for direct pipeline transport.
The partnership serves several strategic goals:
The “Pipes & Wires” Concept: Wind farms built under the ScotWind leasing round will have the flexibility to either route electricity to the UK grid or convert it into green hydrogen via offshore electrolysers.
Cross-Border Pipelines: The hydrogen generated by Scottish offshore wind is targeted to be fed into the planned AquaDuctus pipeline, which forms a transnational energy corridor connecting the UK to Germany and the rest of Europe.
Policy Integration: AquaVentus is actively advocating for legal reforms to accommodate these cross-border hybrid connections, allowing direct pipeline integration for future offshore parks.
I believe these ScotWind Leasing wind farms could be connected to AquaVentus.
- 1 – Morven – 2.9 GW – JERA Nex BP, EnBW
- 2 – Ossian – 2.6 GW – SSE Renewables
- 3 – Bellrock – 1.2 GW – Falck Renewables
- 4 – CampionWind – 2 GW – Scottish Power, Shell
- 5 – Muir Mhòr – 0.8 GW – Vattenfall
- 6 – Bowdun – – 1 GW – Thistle Wind Partners
Note.
- All companies are major energy companies.
- The wind farms are in a cluster to the South-East of Scotland.
- Wind farms 2-5 are floating, and 1 and 6 are fixed.
- There is a maximum power of 10.5 GW.
- These wind farms would not need to be shut down, when there was too much wind, if the excess electricity could be converted into hydrogen.
- The “Pipes & Wires” Concept would allow all energy generated to be transferred to shore, either as electricity or hydrogen.
Cables would need to be laid to perform the functions of the Eastern Green Links 1-4.
- Eastern Green Link 1 – Torness and Hawthorn Pit
- Eastern Green Link 2 – Peterhead and Drax
- Eastern Green Link 3 – Westfield and Lincolnshire
- Eastern Green Link 4 – Peterhead and Lincolnshire
Eastern Green Link 5 is under development between Aberdeenshire and Lincolnshire.
“Is Anderby Creek An Important Node In The Electricity Grid?”
Google AI gave this reply.
Yes, Anderby Creek has become a highly important landfall location for the UK’s electricity grid, acting as a crucial connection point for high-capacity subsea cables bringing renewable energy from Scotland and offshore wind farms into England.
Its role in the national grid’s infrastructure centers on several major “superhighway” projects:
Eastern Green Link 5 (EGL 5): This £3bn National Grid project involves a 585km subsea High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) cable carrying up to 2 GW of clean power (enough for two million homes) from Aberdeenshire, Scotland, to Anderby Creek.
Eastern Green Links 3 & 4 (EGL 3 / EGL 4): These are additional massive subsea cable projects that also plan to make landfall at Anderby Creek to transport Scottish wind energy down the UK coastline.
Offshore Wind Export Cables: Beyond long-distance transmission, the village already hosts export cables from local offshore wind developments like the Triton Knoll Wind Farm.
Because of the massive volume of power coming ashore, Anderby Creek serves as the starting point for significant onshore infrastructure. The cables transition underground at the beach and run roughly 8km inland to a proposed new converter station near Bilsby/Alford, where the power is converted and integrated into the broader Great Grid Upgrade.
“Will AquaVentus Have Access To The UK’s hydrogen Storage On Humberside?”
Google AI gave this reply.
Yes. Through a strategic partnership with Hydrogen Scotland, the AquaVentus initiative aims to establish cross-border offshore infrastructure that connects the central North Sea with existing and planned hydrogen networks across the UK, including those on Humberside.
The pipeline infrastructure associated with AquaVentus is envisioned to reach the UK just south of the massive hydrogen storage facilities located in East Yorkshire. While the German offshore pipeline (like AquaDuctus) is focused on landing green hydrogen into Germany, the broader AquaVentus framework is designed to integrate with British transmission networks and link to underground cavern storage in the UK.
On Humberside, major energy giants (including Centrica, Equinor, and SSE Thermal) are developing the integrated Humber Hydrogen transport and storage network. This system encompasses large-scale hydrogen storage at the Aldbrough Hydrogen Storage site and Rough Gas Storage. Because the AquaVentus UK branch connects to the Humber area’s onshore network, it positions the initiative to take advantage of these regional storage assets as a cornerstone for international trade and domestic energy resilience.
I think this is key as it gives AquaVentus access to very large hydrogen storage.
Conclusion
It almost looks to me, that National Grid and AquaVentus are combining their pipes and wires between the Southern North Sea and Aberdeen.
- Hydrogen offtake for Germany will be at Wilhelmshaven.
- Hydrogen offtake for England will be at Humberside.
- Hydrogen offtake for Scotland will be at Aberdeen.
- Electricity offtake for Germany will be at Wilhelmshaven.
- Electricity offtake for England will be at Anderby Creek.
- Electricity offtake for England will be at Hawthorn Pit.
- Electricity offtake for Scotland will be at Torness.
- Electricity offtake for Scotland will be at Aberdeen.
Note.
- There will probably be other connections to onshore locations and offshore wind farms.
- Hydrogen imports will be possible from Denmark, Norway and The Netherlands direct into AquaVentus.
Scotland And AquaVentus Partner On North Sea Hydrogen Pipeline Plans
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on H2-View.
These four paragraphs introduce the deal and add some detail.
Hydrogen Scotland has committed to working with the AquaDuctus consortium on cross-border infrastructure concepts to connect Scotland’s offshore wind power to hydrogen production in the North Sea.
Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the two organisations plan to combine Scotland’s offshore wind with AquaVentus’ offshore electrolysis expertise, linking export and import goals across the North Sea.
The AquaDuctus pipeline is a planned offshore hydrogen link designed to carry green hydrogen through the North Sea, using a pipes and wires hybrid approach. The German consortium plans 10GW of offshore electrolysers in the North Sea, producing around one million tonnes of green hydrogen.
The pipeline design allows offshore wind farms to deliver electricity when the grid needs it, or convert power into hydrogen via electrolysis and transport it through pipelines.
Germany is embracing hydrogen in a big way.
- I introduce AquaVentus in AquaVentus, which I suggest you read.
- AquaVentus is being developed by RWE.
- AquaVentus connects to a German hydrogen network called H2ercules to actually distribute the hydrogen.
This video shows the structure of AquaVentus.
I clipped this map from the video.
Note.
- The thick white line running North-West/South-East is the spine of AquaVentus, that will deliver hydrogen to Germany.
- There is a link to Esbjerg in Denmark, that is marked DK.
- There appears to be an undeveloped link to Norway, which goes North,
- There appears to be an undeveloped link to Peterhead in Scotland, that is marked UK.
- There appears to be a link to just North of the Humber in England, that is marked UK.
- Just North of the Humber are the two massive gas storage sites of Aldbrough owned by SSE and Rough owned by Centrica.
- Aldbrough and Rough gas storage sites are being converted into two of the largest hydrogen storage sites in the world!
- There appear to be small ships sailing up and down the East Coast of the UK. Are these small coastal tankers, that are distributing the hydrogen to where it is needed?
When it is completed, AquaVentus will be a very comprehensive hydrogen network.
I believe that offshore electrolysers could be built in the area of the Hornsea 4, Dogger Bank South and other wind farms and the hydrogen generated would be taken by AquaVentus to either Germany or the UK.
- Both countries get the hydrogen they need.
- Excess hydrogen would be stored in Aldbrough and Rough.
- British Steel at Scunthorpe gets decarbonised.
- A 1.8 GW hydrogen-fired powerstation at Keadby gets the hydrogen it needs to backup the wind farms.
Germany and the UK get security in the supply of hydrogen.
Conclusion
This should be a massive deal for Germany and the UK.
Powering The Humber Energy Revolution
The title of this post is the same as this story on the Centrica web site.
This is the sub-heading.
From the UK’s largest industrial carbon emitter to a clean energy powerhouse, the Humber is ready to be transformed.
These are the first two paragraphs, which add more detail.
We’re prepared to invest £2 billion to keep Rough open and transform it into one of the world’s largest hydrogen storage facilities. This bold move is vital for the UK’s energy security, accelerating the energy transition and unlocking thousands of green jobs. But to make this vision a reality, we need strategic support from government.
We’ve spent time in the Humber, speaking with local communities and industry leaders to understand how this region’s infrastructure shapes lives and powers the nation.
It looks to me, that Centrica have got fed up with our useless, squabbling politicians and decided to act.
There is also a video to watch.
Doncaster-Sheffield Airport And Hydrogen
I believe that the airport of the future will need a lot of hydrogen.
I am probably more optimistic than most, that we will see hydrogen-powered aircraft by around 2035, as my calculations say it is probably the only way to move a hundred people by air at a time, without using fossil fuels.
Airports also have a large number of larger vehicles, that will I believe be ideal for hydrogen power.
Hydrogen buses and coaches will be more common, than they are now.
Heavy goods vehicles are likely to turn to hydrogen power.
Humberside has a large hydrogen network, which is fed by two massive hydrogen stores at AldBrough and Brough.
I suspect that Nimbys will object to hydrogen around airports on safety grounds.
But Doncaster Sheffield Airport could be an ideal location for an airport for hydrogen-powered aircraft.
Cold Snap Leaves Britain With Less Than A Week’s Worth Of Gas
The title of this post, are the same as that of this article on The Times.
This is the sub-heading.
The closure of Russian pipelines through Ukraine and recent weather conditions have left gas stores ‘concerningly low’
These are the first two paragraphs.
Britain has less than a week of gas supplies in storage, the country’s largest supplier has warned after plunging temperatures and high demand.
Centrica, the owner of British Gas, said the UK’s gas storage was “concerningly low” after coming under pressure this winter.
The two largest gas storage facilities in this country are both in the Humberside area.
- Aldbrough is in salt caverns North of Hull and is owned by SSE.
- Rough is under the North Sea and is owned by Centrica
Both are being converted to store hydrogen.
Some might thing that is a bit stupid if we’re short of storage, but we need the hydrogen storage for four reasons.
- To store hydrogen created by electrolysers on Humberside, which will enable heavy gas users in the area to decarbonise.
- The hydrogen will also be burnt in a 1 GW hydrogen-fired power station at Keadby to back up the wind turbines, with zero-carbon electricity.
- The hydrogen will also be sold to the Germans to replace Putin’s blood-stained gas. It will be sent to Germany in a pipeline called AquaVentus, which will also deliver Scottish hydrogen across the North Sea. Hopefully, the Germans will pay a good price for the hydrogen.
- The hydrogen will be used for transport.
The mistake the Government is making is not to develop smaller gas fields, so that domestic gas users can continue to use natural gas, until the technology to replace it with zero-carbon sources is fully developed.
Large Scale Hydrogen Storage Sites Could Reduce Customer Energy Costs By £1bn Per Year
The title of this post, is the same as this press release from Centrica.
These four paragraphs summarise the report.
Centrica and FTI report finds that hydrogen storage would help balance the UK’s energy system and reduce bills.
A net zero scenario including large scale hydrogen storage – specifically, a redeveloped Rough gas storage facility – would reduce energy costs by an additional £1bn per year by 2050.
Report also finds that a UK energy system focused on renewable generation risks high levels of intermittency without an established hydrogen market. By 2050, electricity generation from renewables could exceed total demand around 15% of the time.
Electricity generation from renewables could also rise or fall by as much as 100GW over the course of a single day. More than twice current levels of peak demand on winter evenings and the equivalent energy output from over 30 Hinkley Point C nuclear power stations.
Note.
- Hydrogen Central entitles their article about the Centrica press release Centrica Says Hydrogen Can Reduce Household Bills by £35 a Year. That’s almost a bottle of my favourite Adnams beer a week!
- I talked about the redevelopment of the Rough facility into hydrogen storage in Aberdeen’s Exceed Secures Centrica Rough Contract.
- Generating hydrogen from excess electricity and storing it until it is needed, must be an efficient way of storing electricity or powering industrial processes that need a lot of energy, if storing hydrogen makes £1bn per year!
- It should be noted that Centrica have a large interest in HiiROC, who are developing an efficient way to generate hydrogen from any hydrocarbon gas from chemical plant off-gas through biomethane to natural gas. In a perfect world a HiiROC system in a sewage works could capture the biomethane and split it into hydrogen and carbon black. The hydrogen could be used to refuel vehicles and the carbon black would be taken away to someone, who has need of it.
In some ways, it is surely sensible to have enough energy in a store, if the renewables fail. As Rough is already there and functioning, it is surely one of the easiest routes to redevelop Rough, so that it is in top-quality condition.
It should also be noted, that Rough is not far from the Aldbrough Gas Storage, which SSE are converting to a second massive hydrogen store.
So Humberside will have two of the largest hydrogen stores in the world, which Centrica and SSE will use to maxise energy security in the wider Humberside and East Yorkshire area, and I suspect to maximise their profits as well.
This video shows the structure of AquaVentus, which is a pipeline system, that the Germans are building to bring much-needed hydrogen to German industry from electrolysers in the North Sea and other countries like Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands and the UK.
I clipped this map from the video.
Note how a branch of AquaVentus makes landfall around the Humber estuary at a UK label.
Will Centrica and SSE be trading hydrogen from Rough and Aldbrough with the Germans through AquaVentus? You bet they will, as the Germans are short of both hydrogen and hydrogen storage.
Guardian To Use Hydrogen In Its Glass Manufacturing
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Glass International.
These two paragraphs introduce the application.
Ryze Hydrogen has signed a long-term deal to provide hydrogen to flat glass manufacturer, Guardian Glass
Ryze will supply hydrogen to be used in the manufacture of float glass, which is used in everything from car windscreens and windows in buildings to mirrors and furniture.
This extract from the article explains how the hydrogen is used.
It will be used as a technical gas during the float glass process.
Chris Duguid, Plant Manager from Guardian Glass, said: “We are really pleased to be starting this partnership with Ryze.
“Hydrogen is vital to our float glass production process. Hydrogen is used to create an oxygen-free environment as a blanket to avoid oxidation of the tin onto which we float molten glass.
“As this is needed 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week, 365-days-a-year, it is absolutely critical that we partner with a reliable supplier, which is what we have with Ryze.”
This Wikipedia section, describes the manufacture of float glass.
I’ve never come across a use for hydrogen, where the gas is used for its physical properties and not burned for heat.
How many other applications like this, will the ready availability of hydrogen open up?
I wonder, if the next step will be to use hydrogen to heat the tin and create the actual glass, so that Guardian Glass will be able to make zero-carbon glass.
As the temperatures required are over a 1000 °C, this process could use a lot of hydrogen.
As Guardian Glass are based at Goole, I suspect that they’ll be able to get a hydrogen pipeline from the electrolyser, that SSE are building on Humberside.
3GW Green Hydrogen Project To Power Heavy Industry With Surplus Scottish Wind Energy
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Institute of Mechanical Engineers web site.
I have covered the Kintore Electrolyser before, but this is a professional description of the project from a respected institution, who should know what they are talking about.
I can see several other giant electrolysers being built, in places like Humberside, Merseyside, Teesside, where there are large amounts of wind power and heavy energy users in the cement, chemicals and steel industries.
There could also be one in Norfolk or Suffolk to use the masses of offshore wind power being developed.
‘Czech Sphinx’ Power Plant Intended To Keep Lights On
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Times.
This is the first paragraph.
The businessman known as the “Czech Sphinx” is set to expand his position in Britain’s energy market after securing subsidy contracts to build a new gas-fired power plant and battery storage project.
As I needed to find the answers to particular questions, I looked for and found the original press release on the EP Holdings web site, which is entitled EPH Will Build A New Gas-Fired Power Plant And Battery Storage Facility In The UK At A Cost Of More Than £1 billion.
These statements describe the project.
- It will be a 1700MW high efficiency H-class CCGT power project and a 299MW 2-hour battery storage project
- The power station will be built on the site of the former Eggborough coal station in East Yorkshire.
I find this to be the most significant paragraph.
The high efficiency H-class CCGT project will be the single largest flexible generation asset to be commissioned in the UK since 2012, whilst the battery project will also be one of the largest to be built in the UK to date. Given the site’s close proximity to existing National Grid infrastructure and a number of proposed CCUS and hydrogen pipeline routes, under EPUKI’s plans these projects will make a significant contribution to the UK’s energy transition and security for years to come.
This map from OpenRailwayMap, shows the relationship between the Eggborough site and the nearby Drax power station.
Note.
- The Eggborough power station site is in the South-West corner of the map and is identified by the rail loop. which was used to deliver the coal.
- The Drax power station site is in the North-East corner of the map and is similarly identified by a rail loop.
- There is a high voltage transmission line connecting the two power stations.
- As the crow flies is about eight miles between Eggborough and Drax.
This Google Map shows the Eggborough power station site.
Note.
- The remains of the eight cooling towers are visible at the North of the site.
- The large circular black area in the middle is the coal yard with its rail loop.
- It is a large site.
I have looked in detail at the cleared area in the North-West of the site and the pylons of the connection to Drax are still visible.
So it looks like there is still an electrical connection of some sort to the site.
According to Wikipedia, the original coal-fired power station had a nameplate capacity of 1960 MW, so I suspect that a modernised electricity connection to handle the maximum near 2,000 MW of the new station would be possible.
This map shows the Zero Carbon Humber pipeline layout.
Note.
- The orange line is a proposed carbon dioxide pipeline
- The black line alongside it, is a proposed hydrogen pipeline.
- Drax, Keadby and Saltend are power stations.
- Keadby and Saltend are gas-fired power stations.
- Easington gas terminal is connected to around twenty gas fields in the North Sea.
- The terminal imports natural gas from Norway using the Langeled pipeline.
- The Rough field has been converted to gas storage and can hold four days supply of natural gas for the UK.
- To the North of Hull is the Aldbrough Gas Storage site, which SSE plan to convert to hydrogen storage.
The Eggborough power station site is about eight miles to the South-West of Drax.
I don’t suspect that connecting the Eggborough site to the carbon dioxide, gas and hydrogen pipelines will not be the most challenging of tasks.
So when the press release says.
Given the site’s close proximity to existing National Grid infrastructure and a number of proposed CCUS and hydrogen pipeline routes, under EPUKI’s plans these projects will make a significant contribution to the UK’s energy transition and security for years to come.
The company is not exaggerating.
It appears that carbon dioxide, gas and hydrogen pipelines can be developed and National Grid connections can be reinstated.
Eggborough Will Not Be Alone
From the EP Holdings press release, it appears that the Eggborough power station will be fitted with carbon-capture and will be hydrogen-ready.
This will make it the second power-station in the area to be fitted out in this way, after SSE’s planned Keadby 3, which is described in this page on the SSE web site in this document, which is entitled Keadby 3 Carbon Capture Power Station.
They could also be joined by Keadby Hydrogen power station.
This would mean that zero-carbon power stations in the area could include.
- Eggborough Gas/Hydrogen – 1700 MW
- Eggborough Battery – 299 MW
- Keadby 3 Gas/Hydrogen – 910 MW
- Keadby Hydrogen – 1800 MW – According to this Equinor press release.
Note.
- The Eggborough Battery pushes the total zero-carbon capacity over 4500 MW or 4.5 GW.
- The various Dogger Bank wind farms are to have a total capacity of 8 GW within ten years.
- The various Hornsea wind farms are to have a total capacity of 5.5 GW in a few years.
I would expect that the zero-carbon power stations would make a good fist of making up the shortfall, when the wind isn’t blowing.
Drax, Keadby 1 And Keadby 2 Power Stations
Consider.
- Drax has a nameplate capacity of 3.9 GW, of which 2.6 GW is from biomass and the rest is from coal.
- Keadby 1 has a nameplate capacity of 734 MW.
- Keadby 2 has a nameplate capacity of 734 MW.
How much of this capacity will be fitted with carbon capture, to provide extra zero-carbon backup to the wind farms?
Green Hydrogen From Surplus Wind Power
At times, there will be an excess of renewable energy.
I suspect, an order for a large electrolyser will be placed soon, so that surplus renewable energy can be used to create green hydrogen.
This will be stored in the two storage facilities, that are being developed in the area; Aldbrough and Rough.
Controlling The Fleet
I am by training a Control Engineer and this fleet can be controlled to provide the electricity output required, so that the carbon-dioxide produced is minimised and the cost is at a level to the agreement of producers and users.
Conclusion
It looks like in excess of 20 GW of reliable zero-carbon energy could be available on Humberside.
I’m sure British Steel would like to by a lot of GWhs to make some green steel at Scunthorpe.
Equinor And SSE Eye Green Hydrogen Production For 1.32 GW Dogger Bank D
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
SSE Renewables and Equinor, the developers of the Dogger Bank Wind Farm in the UK, are exploring two options for Dogger Bank D, the fourth wind farm the partners are looking to build as part of the development. These include using Dogger Bank D for electricity that would feed into the UK grid and/or for green hydrogen production.
This says to me, that depending on need, electricity from the Dogger Bank Wind Farms and D in particular, can be distributed in the grid or converted into green hydrogen.
- The article says that the electrolyser could become the UK’s largest green hydrogen project
- There will be plenty of hydrogen storage in the salt caverns at Aldbrough, which can currently store the equivalent of 320 GWh of electricity, It is currently being expanded to be one of the largest hydrogen stores in the world according to this page on the SSE web site.
- There are currently two gas-fired power stations at Keadby and they will in a few years be joined by a third, that will be fitted with carbon-capture and a hydrogen-fueled power station.
The various wind farms, power stations and gas storage on Humberside are growing into a very large zero-carbon power cluster, with an output approaching six GW.
Any shortfall in wind output, could be made-up by using the Keadby 3 gas-fired power station with carbon capture or the Keadby hydrogen power station.
Conclusion
Humberside is getting a cluster of power stations and wind farms, that can produce almost twice the electricity of Hinckley Point C nuclear power station.
The Anonymous Widower 