Activity Ramping Up On Irish Floating Wind Test Site
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) is busy with bringing forward its Atlantic Marine Energy Test Site (AMETS), a floating wind and wave energy technology test site which has been in development for several years now. Along with offshore surveys scheduled for next month, SEIA has also commenced work on procuring an onshore substation and a floating LiDAR for AMETS.
It all sounds very professional.
The Atlantic Marine Energy Test Site will be located off Annagh Head in the West of Ireland. This Google Map shows the location of Annagh Head on the island of Ireland.
I do have a imperfect memory of a weekend of good hospitality and gourmet food at a hotel called the Cashel House Hotel to the West of Galway, but I can’t remember how C and I flew there. Did we fly to Knock or Shannon either using a scheduled airline or my Cessna 340 A?
All I can remember of the holiday, was that it was very windy at times and driving through Westport. So did we explore towards Annagh Head?
This Google Map shows a close-up of Annagh Head.
I suspect that Annagh Head is an ideal location to test floating wind and wave power.
There will also be good hospitality and airlinks to the UK and Europe.
In So Many Floating Wind Designs, So Few Test Sites – Norwegian METCentre Sold Out, I wrote about the shortage of test sites for wind power.
So perhaps, AMETS will help to fill the gap?
In
Skegness Wind Turbine Trial To Light Up Pier In UK First
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
A Lincolnshire seaside pier is being lit up at night with the help of a new mini wind turbine.
These are the first three paragraphs.
One of the 6ft (2m) vertical turbines has been installed on Skegness Pier with another fitted on a factory roof in Spalding.
They are able to capture wind from all directions without turning, making them low maintenance.
Both are made by Norwegian company Ventum Dynamics, which is testing the technology with local councils.
I believe it is one of those ideas, that proves the Sliced-Bread Theory of Innovation.
I have a few thoughts.
Design
The design looks clean, modern and unobtrusive.
I don’t know what the noise level is like, but I suspect good design means, it could be fairly low.
I’ll just have to visit Skegness on a windy day, which won’t be a difficult thing to arrange.
Easy To Add To An Existing Or New Building
The Ventum web site has some good pictures.
From my flying experience, I suspect that the higher a turbine is mounted, the more power will be generated.
The only problem would be the heritage lobby.
This picture shows Oakwood station on the Piccadilly Line.
Note.
- The station is the second most Northerly on the line.
- It opened in 1933.
- It is a classic Charles Holden design.
- It is a Grade II* Listed building.
- The station is on top of a hill and has an elevation of 71 metres above sea level.
It might be the ideal place to put perhaps six turbines on the roof.
But would the heritage lobby allow it?
Remote Power
Teamed with a battery, they would be the ideal remote power solution for buildings and locations without a mains supply.
Finance
I used to part-own a finance company and feel that these turbines would be attractive to a finance company, if ethically sold.
Conclusion
I like them!
Entrion Wind Wins ScotWind Feasibility Deal For Its 100-Metre Depth Foundation Tech
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Entrion Wind has been awarded a project to evaluate the feasibility of its patent-pending fully restrained platform (FRP) offshore wind foundation technology by a Scotwind developer.
Having worked on similar structures for reusable oil platforms in the 1970s, I reckon these FRP monopoles can be made to work.
The structures, I mathematically-modelled were for a company called Balaena Structures, that had been started by two Cambridge University engineering professors. The structures were about a hundred metres high and perhaps thirty metres in diameter.
They would have been built horizontally in the sort of dock, where you would build a supertanker and would have been floated into position horizontally. Water would then be let in to the cylinder and they would turn to the vertical. From that position, they would be lowered to the sea-bed by adjusting the water in the cylinder. They had a method of holding the Balaena to the seabed, which relied mainly on the weight of the structure and what they called the gum-boot principle.
Sadly, they never sold any platforms and the company folded.
Until recently, you could find the expired patents on the Internet.
There’s more on Entrion Wind’s technology on this page on their web site.
Diversifying A US$200 billion Market: The Alternatives To Li-ion Batteries For Grid-Scale Energy Storage
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Energy Storage News.
This is the introductory paragraph.
The global need for grid-scale energy storage will rise rapidly in the coming years as the transition away from fossil fuels accelerates. Energy storage can help meet the need for reliability and resilience on the grid, but lithium-ion is not the only option, writes Oliver Warren of climate and ESG-focused investment bank and advisory group DAI Magister.
Oliver starts by saying we need to ramp up capacity.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), to decarbonise electricity globally the world’s energy storage capacity must increase by a factor of 40x+ by 2030, reaching a total of 700 GW, or around 25% of global electricity usage (23,000TWh per annum). For comparison, this would be like swelling the size of the UK’s land to that of the USA.
Similar to how “nobody ever gets fired for buying IBM”, lithium-ion holds a similar place in grid scale electrical storage today.
And just as IBM did in the last decades of the last century, the builders of lithium-ion will fight back.
He then lists the problems of grid-scale lithium-ion batteries.
- Shortage of cobalt.
- Toxic and polluting extraction of some much needed metals and rare earths from unstable countries.
- Lack of capacity to load follow.
- Limited lifespan.
He does suggest vehicle-to-grid can provide 7TWh of storage by 2030, but it has similar problems to lithium-ion grid scale batteries.
Finally, he covers these what he considers several viable methods of energy storage in detail.
He introduces them with this paragraph.
No single killer application or technology exists to get the job done. Diversification is key with success dependent on the wide-scale adoption of multiple grid-scale energy storage solutions.
- Energy Dome – Italy – Stylish Use of CO2
- Augwind Energy – Israel – Stores Energy As Compressed Air Underground
- Cheesecake Energy – UK – Stores Energy As Heat And Compressed Air
- Highview Power – UK – Stores Energy As Liquefied Air
- Ocean Grazer – Netherlands – Ocean Battery
- RheEnergise – UK – High Density Hydro
- Lumenion – Germany/Japan – Stores Energy As Heat
- Energy Vault – Switzerland – Raising And Lowering Of Weights
Note.
- All systems are environmentally-friendly and use readily-available materials like air, water, sea-water, steel and concrete for their systems.
- The most exotic materials used are probably in the control computers.
- Some systems use readily-available proven turbo-machinery.
- Most systems appear to be scalable.
- All systems would appear to have a working life measured in decades.
- I would expect that most well-educated teenagers could understand how these systems worked.
Only Augwind Energy and Lumenion are new to me.
He finally sums up the economics and the market potential.
Our ability to expand energy storage capacity is one of the most pressing issues that will determine whether this defining ‘transitional’ decade is a success. But we’ll need to invest wisely into the right technologies that get the greatest bang for the buck (in terms of GWh capacity and return on capital) given the limited lifespan of Li-Ion and the decarbonisation of the grid.
At a current capital cost of US$2,000 per kW quoted by the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) for 6-hour Li-ion battery storage, the 700GW of capacity needed by 2030 equates to around a US$1.5 trillion market over the coming decade, making it worth nearly US$200 billion a year.
The Energy Storage News article is a comprehensive must read for anyone, who is considering purchasing or investing in energy storage.
I have some further thoughts.
From My Experience Would I Add Any Other Systems?
I would add the following.
- Form Energy, because its iron-air battery is well-backed financially.
- Gravitricity, because it can use disused mine shafts to store energy and the world has lots of those.
- STORE Consortium, because its 3D-printed concrete hemispheres, that store energy using pressurised sea-water can be placed within a wind farm.
I also suspect that someone will come up with an energy storage system based on tidal range.
Finance
When we started Metier Management Systems, finance to breakout from the first initial sales was a problem. We solved the problem with good financial planning and an innovative bank manager who believed us all the way.
David, was a rogue, but he was a rogue on the side of the angels. Long after Metier, he even came to my fiftieth birthday party.
David would have found a way to fund any of these systems, as they tick all the boxes of demonstrated, environmentally-friendly, safe and understandable. They are also likely to be bought by companies, governments and organisations with a high net value, a very respectable reputation and/or large amounts of money.
I also think, that just as we did with the original Artemis project management system, some of these systems can be leased to the operators.
Second-Use Of Systems
Several of these systems could be moved on to a new location, if say they were supporting an industry that failed.
That would surely help the financing of systems.
Amazon Finances First-Ever Commercial-Scale Seaweed Farm Located Between Offshore Wind Turbines
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Multinational technology company Amazon is funding the world’s first commercial-scale seaweed farm located between offshore wind turbines
This paragraph details the project.
The North Sea Farm 1 will be located in a wind farm off the coast of the Netherlands, designed to test and improve methods of seaweed farming, while researching the potential of seaweed to sequester carbon.
Seaweed is all the rage at the moment, since Notpla won Prince William’s Earthshot Prize, with their packaging made from seaweed.
It sounds to me, that as Amazon probably create more need for packaging, than any company in the world, there could be an almighty coming together, which will create a lot of environmentally-friendly ideas.
So Many Floating Wind Designs, So Few Test Sites – Norwegian METCentre Sold Out
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
There are currently more than 80 floating wind technology concepts and designs worldwide, and testing even a certain number of these could prove to be an endeavour since there are not many test sites dedicated to floating wind technology in Europe.
It strikes me that we need more test centres.
As UK waters will in the next couple of decades be home to a lot more GW of wind farms, perhaps we should develop a test centre.
I wonder, if South Wales would be the place for a test centre.
- There is a lot of sea, which isn’t cluttered with oil and gas rigs, and wind farms.
- There are a lot of wind farms planned in the area.
- There are at least two good technology universities.
- There are some deep water ports.
- Electricity connections and power generation are good.
- There is good train connections to the rest of England and Wales.
- A train testing centre is being built at Nant Helen. Some tests needed to be done could be the same.
Some innovative designs for wind turbines are also being developed in South Wales.
MPS Floating Platform To Feature FibreMax Tendons
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Welsh company Marine Power Systems (MPS) has joined forces with FibreMax to provide integrated floating foundation and tendon solutions to the growing floating offshore wind sector.
And these three paragraphs outline the design.
The tendon solution will be used in the anchoring and moorings of MPS’ tension leg platform (TLP), called PelaFlex, to deliver the highest system stability and zero tilt, the partners said.
It will be the “world’s first” TLP with FibreMax tendons, made with Twaron fiber from Japan-headquartered Teijin.
Compared to traditional steel moorings synthetic cable offers a much better strength-to-weight ratio, longer operational life, and lower levels of maintenance, according to the partners.
Note.
- PelaFlex tension leg platforms are used in the project I wrote about in Simply Blue Group And Marine Power Systems To Pursue INTOG Innovation Project Opportunity.
- Wikipedia is a good source of information on tension leg platforms, where there is a large section on how they could be used for wind turbines.
- Twaron has an informative product page.
- There is more about PelaFlex on the PelaFlex web page including a video.
- The press release for the joint Simply Blue/MPS project talks of six turbines totalling up to 100 MW, which is probably around 17 MW per wind turbine.
It looks to me, that the PelaFlex design is getting better by the simple process of adding lightness and therefore being able to have a higher energy density in a deep area of the sea.
The amount of innovation involved probably makes PelaFlex an ideal component for the upcoming INTOG leasing round.
Mazda Europe Boss: 2035 ICE Ban Is ‘A Disgrace Of The Politicians’
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Car Dealer Magazine.
These are the three bullet points.
- Mazda Europe’s CEO lambasts EU’s 2035 ban and labels it a ‘big mistake’
- Martijn ten Brink says he finds new rules ‘hard to get his head around’
- Changes will stifle creativity in the automotive industry, claims Mazda boss
The article is a very interesting read.
The Next Generation Of Fixed Foundation Wind Farms
This article on offshoreWIND.biz, is entitled Offshore Wind Turbines In 2022: 15 MW Prototypes Starting To Spin In Europe, Chinese Rolling Out 16 MW Models, Windcatcher And VAWTs Secure Demo Projects.
The title itself, shows 15-16 MW wind turbines and the text lists three European 15 MW and two Chinese 16 MW wind turbines, that are being developed.
This paragraph also indicates that Siemens Gamesa are in the running for orders.
So far, the SG 14-236 DD wind turbine has been selected as a preferred option for the Norfolk Vanguard and Boreas wind farms offshore the UK, as well as for the MFW Bałtyk II and MFW Bałtyk III wind farms in the Polish Baltic Sea.
Large turbines with a capacity of 15 MW and upwards appear to be becoming the new normal.
Water depths for these large turbines are forecast to be deeper than the two Norfolk wind-farms, which are between 22 and 40 metres.
This means that foundations will get much larger and heavier.
This article on offshoreWIND.biz, is entitled New Monopile Installation Method Attracts Major Backer, describes a new generation of monopiles as 100-130 metres in length, 12-15 metres in outer diameter, and a weight of up to 5,000 tonnes.
Installing these long and heavy objects safely in deep waters, is not a job for the faint-hearted.
The article describes a new method of installation, which I feel is very elegant.
- The XXXL monopiles are built horizontally.
- They are moved on to the jack-up ship by self-propelled modular transporters (SPMT).
- It appears at least two or possibly up to four monopiles can be carried on the ship.
- They are lifted into the vertical position by a lifting beam.
Note.
- No cranes are involved in the process.
- The lifting beam method of erecting the 5,000 tonne XXXL monopile is simple and very efficient.
- Self-propelled modular transporters were used to install the 2000 tonne subway at Hackney Wick station.
- Rollers are fitted on the ship to ease handling of the monopiles.
I can certainly see this specialised jack-up ship speeding up the installation of these giant monopiles.
Consequences For Floating Wind
I do wonder, if this method of installing fixed foundation wind farms, will allow larger foundations and these may mean that there is less need for the more complex floating wind farms.
Low Carbon Construction Of Sizewell C Nuclear Power Station
Sizewell C Nuclear Power Station is going to be built on the Suffolk Coast.
Wikipedia says this about the power station’s construction.
The project is expected to commence before 2024, with construction taking between nine and twelve years, depending on developments at the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station, which is also being developed by EDF Energy and which shares major similarities with the Sizewell plant.
It is a massive project and I believe the construction program will be designed to be as low-carbon as possible.
High Speed Two is following the low-carbon route and as an example, this news item on their web site, which is entitled HS2 Completes Largest Ever UK Pour Of Carbon-Reducing Concrete On Euston Station Site, makes all the right noises.
These three paragraphs explain in detail what has been done on the Euston station site.
The team constructing HS2’s new Euston station has undertaken the largest ever UK pour of Earth Friendly Concrete (EFC) – a material that reduces the amount of carbon embedded into the concrete, saving over 76 tonnes of CO2 overall. John F Hunt, working for HS2’s station Construction Partner, Mace Dragados joint venture, completed the 232 m3 concrete pour in early September.
The EFC product, supplied by Capital Concrete, has been used as a foundation slab that will support polymer silos used for future piling works at the north of the Euston station site. Whilst the foundation is temporary, it will be in use for two years, and historically would have been constructed with a more traditional cement-based concrete.
The use of the product on this scale is an important step forward in how new, innovative environmentally sustainable products can be used in construction. It also helps support HS2’s objective of net-zero construction by 2035, and achieve its goal of halving the amount of carbon in the construction of Britain’s new high speed rail line.
Note.
- Ten of these slabs would fill an Olympic swimming pool.
- I first wrote about Earth Friendly Concrete (EFC) in this post called Earth Friendly Concrete.
- EFC is an Australian invention and is based on a geopolymer binder that is made from the chemical activation of two recycled industrial wastes; flyash and slag.
- HS2’s objective of net-zero construction by 2035 is laudable.
- It does appear that this is a trial, but as the slab will be removed in two years, they will be able to examine in detail how it performed.
I hope the Sizewell C project team are following High Speed Two’s lead.
Rail Support For Sizewell C
The Sizewell site has a rail connection and it appears that this will be used to bring in construction materials for the project.
In the January 2023 Edition of Modern Railways, there is an article, which is entitled Rail Set To Support Sizewell C Construction.
It details how sidings will be built to support the construction, with up to four trains per day (tpd), but electrification is not mentioned.
This is surprising to me, as increasingly, big construction projects are being managed to emit as small an amount of carbon as possible. Sizewell C may be an isolated site, but in Sizewell B, it’s got one of the UK’s biggest independent carbon-free electricity generators a couple of hundred metres away.
The writer of the Modern Railways article, thinks an opportunity is being missed.
I feel the following should be done.
- Improve and electrify the East Suffolk Line between Ipswich and Saxmundham Junction.
- Electrify the Aldeburgh Branch Line and the sidings to support the construction or agree to use battery-electric or hydrogen zero-carbon locomotives.
Sizewell C could be a superb demonstration project for low-carbon construction!
Sizewell C Deliveries
Sizewell C will be a massive project and and will require a large number of deliveries, many of which will be heavy.
The roads in the area are congested, so I suspect rail is the preferred method for deliveries.
We already know from the Modern Railways article, that four tpd will shuttle material to a number of sidings close to the site. This is a good start.
Since Sizewell A opened, trains have regularly served the Sizewell site to bring in and take out nuclear material. These occasional trains go via Ipswich and in the last couple of years have generally been hauled by Class 88 electro-diesel locomotives.
It would be reasonable to assume that the Sizewell C sidings will be served in the same manner.
But the route between Westerfield Junction and Ipswich station is becoming increasingly busy with the following services.
- Greater Anglia’s London and Norwich services
- Greater Anglia’s Ipswich and Cambridge services
- Greater Anglia’s Ipswich and Felixstowe services
- Greater Anglia’s Ipswich and Lowestoft services
- Greater Anglia’s Ipswich and Peterborough services
- Freight services serving the Port of Felixstowe, which are expected to increase significantly in forthcoming years.
But the Modern Railways article says this about Saxmundham junction.
Saxmundham junction, where the branch meets the main line, will be relaid on a slightly revised alignment, retaining the existing layout but with full signalling giving three routes from the junction protecting signal on the Down East Suffolk line and two in the Down direction on the bidirectional Up East Suffolk line. Trap points will be installed on the branch to protect the main line, with the exit signal having routes to both running lines.
Does the comprehensive signalling mean that a freight train can enter or leave the Sizewell sidings to or from either the busy Ipswich or the quieter Lowestoft direction in a very safe manner?
I’m no expert on signalling, but I think it does.
- A train coming from the Lowestoft direction needing to enter the sidings would go past Saxmundham junction on the Up line. Once clear of the junction, it would stop and reverse into the branch.
- A train coming from the Ipswich direction needing to enter the sidings would approach in the wrong direction on the Up line and go straight into the branch.
- A train leaving the sidings in the Lowestoft direction would exit from the branch and take the Up line until it became single track. The train would then stop and reverse on to the Down line and take this all the way to Lowestoft.
- A train leaving the sidings in the Ipswich direction would exit from the branch and take the Up line all the way to Ipswich.
There would need to be ability to move the locomotive from one end to the other inside the Sizewell site or perhaps these trains could be run with a locomotive on both ends.
The advantage of being able to run freight trains between Sizewell and Lowestoft becomes obvious, when you look at this Google Map, which shows the Port of Lowestoft.
Note.
- The Inner Harbour of the Port of Lowestoft.
- The East Suffolk Line running East-West to the North of the Inner Harbour.
- Lowestoft station at the East side of the map.
I doubt it would be the most difficult or expensive of projects to build a small freight terminal on the North side of the Inner Harbour.
I suspect that the easiest way to bring the material needed to build the power station to Sizewell would be to do the following.
- Deliver it to the Port of Lowestoft by ship.
- Tranship to a suitable shuttle train for the journey to the Sizewell sidings.
- I estimate that the distance is only about 25 miles and a battery or hydrogen locomotive will surely be available in the UK in the next few years, that will be able to provide the motive power for the return journey.
In The TruckTrain, I wrote about a revolutionary freight concept, that could be ideal for the Sizewell freight shuttle.
In addition, there is no reason, why shuttle trains couldn’t come in from anywhere connected to the East Suffolk Line.
Zero-Carbon Construction
Sizewell C could be the first major construction site in the UK to use electricity rather than diesel simply because of its neighbour.
Conclusion
I shall be following the construction methods at Sizewell C, as I’m fairly sure they will break new ground in the decarbonisation of the Construction industry.
The Anonymous Widower 