National Grid’s North Sea Link Strengthens Electricity Supply And Repays Its Carbon Cost In Just Six Months
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from National Grid.
These are three bullet points from the press release.
- World’s longest subsea electricity cable has been in operation since Oct 2021.
- 5.7 terawatt (TWh) hours of clean power have been shared between GB and Norway, strengthening security of supply for consumers in both countries.
- It has saved 800,000 tonnes of carbon in the first year, paying off its carbon cost after only six months of operation.
This must surely be considered a good start.
These two paragraphs describe the operation in the first year.
During its first year of operation, the link has imported 4.6 TWh of clean electricity – enough to power 1.5 million British homes for a year.
North Sea Link has also exported 1.1 TWh to Norway, demonstrating the vital role that interconnectors play in strengthening energy security and maximising the benefits of clean energy sources for consumers across the UK and Europe.
In The Monster In The Mountains That Could Save Europe’s Winter, I describe what makes the North Sea Link so important.
It gives the UK access to the Norwegian Bank Of Electricity or Ulla-Førre, which is a complex of five hydroelectric power stations and a massive lake in the Norwegian mountains to the East of Stavanger.
- The power stations have a total generating capacity of 2.1 GW.
- Lake Blåsjø is able to hold enough water to generate 7800 GWh of electricity.
- Ulla-Førre can also supply electricity to Germany, through the 1.4 GW NordLink.
If Ulla-Førre has a problem, it is that if Norwegian weather is dry, the filling of Lake Blåsjø could be difficult, which is where the interconnector comes into its own, as excess UK wind power or the 1,185 MW Hartlepool nuclear power station, can be used to send electricity to Norway for storage.
In An Update To Will We Run Out Of Power This Winter?, I predicted we will add the following capacity to our renewable generation in the next three years.
- 2023 – 2925 MW
- 3024 – 3726 MW
- 2025 – 6476 MW
This is a total of 13,127 MW.
As a Control Engineer, I can see the following happening.
- Several of the UK’s gas-fired power stations will be mothballed.
- Some of the UK’s gas-fired power stations will be fitted with advanced control systems so they can supply more precise amounts of electricity.
- Some UK electricity is stored in Ulla-Førre for onward sale to Germany.
- Some UK electricity is stored in Ulla-Førre for withdrawal back to the UK, when needed.
One of Ulla-Førre’s main tasks could be to ensure that no UK electricity is wasted.
Conclusion
With all these wind generated electricity and electricity transfers, the Crown Estate, National Grid and the Treasury should be coining it.
The Germans are already building the 1.4 GW NeuConnect between the Isle of Grain and Wilhelmshaven to import more electricity.
But I do believe that another interconnector will be needed.
National Grid Installs LineVision Sensors To Expand The Capacity Of Existing Power Lines
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from National Grid.
These are four bullet points from the press release.
- LineVision’s Dynamic Line Rating (DLR) technology trialled for first time in Great Britain following successful deployment on National Grid’s electricity networks in the US.
- The sensors and data analytics platform will highlight spare capacity on overhead power lines allowing for the integration of more renewable power.
- Technology has the potential to unlock 0.6GW of additional capacity, enough to power more than 500,000 homes and save £1.4 million in network operating costs per year based on the results from the US networks.
- Combined with the construction of new infrastructure, the innovative technology forms part of National Grid’s work to upgrade and adapt the electricity network to meet increased demand and help deliver a net zero grid.
In some ways this seems like the sort of story, that could be filed under Too-Good-To-Be-True.
But as a Graduate Control Engineer, I’m willing to give National Grid and LineVision the benefit of the doubt.
- It appears to be technology proven in the United States.
- That experience should feed over, once the manuals are translated into the dual English-American form of English.
- I suspect that applying this technology to interconnectors could increase their capacity.
- I also think that as we add more storage, power sources or interconnectors to our electricity network, this will open up more savings.
- As the UK power network gets more complicated, the system should come into its own.
This is an excellent decision by National Grid.
Will Norwegian Pumped Storage Hydro Help Us Through The Winter?
In UK To Norway Sub-Sea Green Power Cable Operational, I discussed the North Sea Link interconnector to Norway.
The North Sea Link is no ordinary interconnector, as it is a lot more than a 1.4 GW cable linking the electricity grids of the UK and Norway.
- At the UK end, there is an increasing amount of wind power. The UK has added 3.5 GW in 2022.
- At the Norway end, there is the 2.1 GW Ulla-Førre hydropower complex.
- The water to generate electricity at Ulla-Førre comes from the artificial Lake Blåsjø, which contains enough water to generate 7.8 TWh of electricity.
- The storage capacity at Ulla-Førre is 857 times greater than that at the UK’s largest pumped storage hydroelectric power station at Dinorwig in North Wales.
- The power complex consists of five power stations and some can also be used as a pump powered by UK electricity to fill Lake Blåsjø with water.
Effectively, the North Sea Link, the Ulla-Førre power complex and Lake Blåsjø are a giant pumped storage hydro battery, that can either be filled by Norwegian precipitation and water flows or by using surplus UK electricity, through the North Sea Link, which opened a year ago.
If the Norwegian precipitation goes on strike, the only way to fill Lake Blåsjø is to use surplus UK power, which I suspect will be British wind and nuclear in the middle of the night!
But then I thought we will be short of electricity this winter.
- I suspect we will be at times, but then at others there will be a surplus.
- So the surplus will be pumped to Norway to top up the reservoir at Lake Blåsjø.
- When we are short of electricity, the Norwegians will turn water back into electricity and send it back through the North Sea Link.
It will be more sophisticated than that, but basically, I believe it provides us with the electricity we need, at the times, when we need it.
I wouldn’t be surprised to be told, that we’ve been squirreling away overnight wind energy to Norway over the last few months.
I have written more about Ulla-Førre in The Monster In The Mountains That Could Save Europe’s Winter.
It includes a video about the building of the complex.
Prysmian Completes HVDC Submarine Cable Testing
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on renews.biz.
The article has this sub-heading.
The ‘first’ 525kV extruded wire can increase maximum transmission capacity up to more than 2.5GW.
This paragraph gives the implications of this new maximum transmission capacity.
This will enable a massive increase of the maximum transmission capacity of bi-pole systems up to more than 2.5GW, which is more than double the value achieved with 320kV DC systems currently in service, Prysmian said.
As in the future we will have many more large offshore wind farms in the UK, this surely must mean that we will find connecting them up a lot easier.
WSP Lends Hand On Morocco-UK Power Link
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on renews.biz.
These introductory paragraphs detail WSP’s role.
Xlinks has appointed engineering consultancy WSP to provide technical advisory services for the tendering process for converter stations for its Morocco-UK power link.
WSP will support the procurement process for four HVDC converter stations in the UK and also Morocco, as well as UK grid connection works, connection to the generation assets in Morocco, and an interface between the converter stations and the HVDC cable systems in the UK and Morocco.
When I wrote my first post on this project in September 2021, which was entitled Moroccan Solar-Plus-Wind To Be Linked To GB In ‘Ground-Breaking’ Xlinks Project, I was a bit sceptical that this project would be completed.
With the appointment of WSP, I am now very much happier that this project will be carried through to a successful conclusion.
Renewable Power’s Effect On The Tory Leadership Election
I wouldn’t normally comment on the Tory Leadership Election, as I don’t have a vote and my preference has already been eliminated.
But after reading this article on the Telegraph, which is entitled Britain Will Soon Have A Glut Of Cheap Power, And World-Leading Batteries To Store It, I feel I have to comment both about this election and the General Election, that will follow in a few years.
These two paragraphs from the article illustrate the future growth of offshore wind power.
It is a point about the mathematical implications of the UK’s gargantuan push for renewables. Offshore wind capacity is going to increase from 11 to 50 gigawatts (GW) by 2030 under the Government’s latest fast-track plans.
RenewableUK says this country currently has a total of 86GW in the project pipeline. This the most ambitious rollout of offshore wind in the world, ahead of China at 78GW, and the US at 48GW.
If we assume that there is eight years left of this decade, that means that we should install about 4.9 GW of offshore wind every year until 2030. If we add in planned solar and onshore wind developments, we must be looking at at least 5 GW of renewable energy being added every year.
We have also got the 3.26 GW Hinckley Point C coming on stream.
I think we can say, that when it comes to electricity generation, we will not be worried, so Liz and Rishi can leave that one to the engineers.
If we have an electricity problem, it is about distribution and storage.
- We need more interconnectors between where the wind farms are being built and where the electricity will be used.
- National Grid and the Government have published plans for two interconnectors between Scotland and England, which I wrote about in New Electricity ‘Superhighways’ Needed To Cope With Surge In Wind Power.
- We need energy storage to back up the wind and solar power, when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining.
I think it is reasonable to assume, that we will get the interconnectors we need and the Telegraph article puts forward a very feasible and affordable solution to the energy storage problem, which is described in these two paragraphs from the article.
That is now in sight, and one of the world leaders is a British start-up. Highview Power has refined a beautifully simple technology using liquid air stored in insulated steel towers at low pressure.
This cryogenic process cools air to minus 196 degrees using the standard kit for LNG. It compresses the volume 700-fold. The liquid re-expands with a blast of force when heated and drives a turbine, providing dispatchable power with the help of a flywheel.
The article also talks of twenty energy storage systems, spread around the UK.
- They will have a total output of 6 GW.
- In total they will be able to store 600 GWh of electricity.
The first one for Humberside is currently being planned.
Surely, building these wind and solar farms, interconnectors and energy storage systems will cost billions of pounds.
Consider.
- Wind and solar farms get paid for the electricity they generate.
- , Interconnectors get paid for the electricity they transfer.
- Energy storage systems make a profit by buying energy when it’s cheap and selling it, when the price is better.
- In World’s Largest Wind Farm Attracts Huge Backing From Insurance Giant, I talked about how Aviva were funding the world’s largest wind farm at Hornsea.
- National Grid has a history of funding interconnectors like the North Sea Link from large financial institutions.
I believe that the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and the waters around our combined shores will become the largest zero-carbon power station in the world.
This will attract engineering companies and financial institutions from all over the world and we will see a repeat of the rush for energy that we saw for oil and gas in the last century.
If we get the financial regime right, I can see a lot of tax money flowing towards the Exchequer.
The big question will be what do we do with all this energy.
- Some will be converted into hydrogen for transport, the making of zero-carbon steel and cement and for use as a chemical feedstock.
- Industries that use a lot of electricity may move to the UK.
- A large supply of electricity and hydrogen will make it easy to decarbonise housing, offices and factories.
The Telegraph article also says this.
Much can be exported to the Continent through interconnectors for a fat revenue stream, helping to plug the UK’s trade deficit, and helping to rescue Germany from the double folly of nuclear closures and the Putin pact. But there are limits since weather patterns in Britain and Northwest Europe overlap – partially.
I suspect that more energy will be exported to Germany than most economists think, as it will be needed and it will be a nice little earner for the UK.
Given the substantial amount of German investment in our wind industry, I do wonder, if Boris and Olaf did a deal to encourage more German investment, when they met in April this year.
- BP have been backed with their wind farms by a German utility company.
- RWE are developing the Sofia wind farm.
- Only last week, the deal for the NeuConnect interconnector between the Isle of Grain and Wilhelmshaven was signed.
- Siemens have a lot of investments in the UK.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see more German investments in the next few months.
The Golden Hello
Has there ever been a Prime Minister, who will receive such a golden hello, as the one Liz or Rishi will receive in September?
The Tory Leadership Election
Some of the candidates said they would reduce taxes , if they won and Liz Truss is still saying that.
I wonder why Rishi isn’t saying that he would reduce taxes, as he must know the cash flow that is coming. It may be he’s just a more cautious soul.
The EuroAfrica Interconnector
The Wikipedia entry for the EuroAfrica Interconnector, introduces the project like this.
EuroAfrica Interconnector is a HVDC interconnector and submarine power cable between the Greek, Cypriot, and Egypt power grids.
The Wikipedia entry has a section called Technical Data, where this is said.
The EuroAfrica Interconnector will link Egypt with the Cypriot and Greek power grids through the island of Crete, with a high-voltage direct current submarine power cable of length around 1,396-kilometre (867 mi). Egypt will be connected with Cyprus with a 498-kilometre (309 mi) long cable. Cyprus will be connected with Crete with a 898-kilometre (558 mi) long cable providing a connection to the pan-European electricity grid.[1] The laying depth of cable will be up to 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) under sea level in some areas between Crete and Cyprus. It will have a capacity to transmit 2,000 megawatts of electricity in either direction. Annual transmission capacity is 17.5 TWh, much more than the annual production of the Aswan Dam.
In The EuroAsia Interconnector, I noted how Israel will be connected to Cyprus, thus when both interconnectors are complete, Cyprus, Egypt, Greece and Israel will be able to share electricity.
The EuroAsia Interconnector
The Wikipedia entry for the EuroAsia Interconnector, introduces the project like this.
The EuroAsia Interconnector is a proposed HVDC interconnector between the Greek, Cypriot, and Israeli power grids via the world’s longest submarine power cable (310 kilometres (190 mi) from Israel to Cyprus and 898 kilometres (558 mi) from Cyprus to Greece, for a total of 1,208 kilometres (751 mi)). Connecting Kofinou, Cyprus to Hadera, Israel and Korakias, Crete, Greece and stated to finish construction in 2023.
When completed it will have a capacity of 2 GW.
From Wikipedia, it appears that at least initially, Israel will export electricity produced in gas-fired power stations from their own more than adequate supplies of natural gas.
In Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Future Industries Inks Deal With Kingdom of Jordan For Green Hydrogen Study, I published this Google Map of Jordan.
Surely, in the future, the EuroAsia interconnector could be carrying solar generated green electricity from Iraq, Jordan and Saudi Arabia to Cyprus and Greece.
As, according to Reuters, Greece covers about 40% of its annual energy needs with Russian gas, this can’t be good for Vlad the Mad and his bloodstained gas.
Will We See More Multi-Country Renewable Energy Deals?
In this blog, I have talked about various deals, where two or more countries and/or companies are getting together to generate electricity in one country and transfer it to another, either as electricity or as hydrogen
Examples include.
- The Asian Renewable Energy Hub, which I first wrote about in Vast Australian Renewable Energy Site Powers BP’s Ambitions.
- The Australia-Asia PowerLink, which I first wrote about in Sun Cable’s Australia-Asia PowerLink.
- Fortescue Future Industries will convert cattle stations in Western Australia into renewable power stations.
- The EuroAfrica Interconnector is a HVDC interconnector and submarine power cable between the Greek, Cypriot, and Egypt power grids, which I first wrote about in The EuroAfrica Interconnector.
- The EuroAsia Interconnector is a proposed HVDC interconnector between the Greek, Cypriot, and Israeli power grids via the world’s longest submarine power cable, which I first wrote about in The EuroAsia Interconnector.
- Icelink is a proposed electricity interconnector between Iceland and Great Britain, which I first wrote about in Is Iceland Part Of The Solution To The Problem Of Russia?
- The Morocco-UK Power Project, which I first wrote about in Moroccan Solar-Plus-Wind To Be Linked To GB In ‘Ground-Breaking’ Xlinks Project.
- Namibian Green Hydrogen, which I first wrote about in Namibia Is Building A Reputation For The Cheapest Green Hydrogen.
There are also all the hydrogen deals done by Fortescue Future Industries.
Where Are There Possibilities Of More Multi-Country Renewable Energy Deals?
These are a few serious possibilities.
Argentina
This is an extract from this page on Wind Energy International, which is entitled Argentina.
Argentina has an estimated technical wind energy potential of 300 GW. In southern Patagonia (Chubut and Santa Cruz provinces), average wind speeds range between 9.0 and 11.2 m/s, whereas in the north (Neuquén and Río Negro provinces), wind speeds range from 7.2 to 8.4 m/s. The general average capacity factor for Argentina is 35% and in the Patagonia region it ranges between as much as 47% and 59%. Especially in Northwest Patagonia, locally known as the Comahue region, hydro and wind may seasonally complement each other and.benefit both technologies. One other promising region for wind power development is the Atlantic sea coast.
As I wrote in Australia’s FFI Plans $8.4 Billion Green Hydrogen Project In Argentina, it appears that Andrew Forrest and FFI are already on the ground.
Australia
There are already three major schemes based on Australia and I am certain they will be more. Especially, as Japan, Korea, Malaysia and Singapore will need the zero-carbon energy.
It would appear that except for the Australia-Asia PowerLink, the energy will be transferred as liquid hydrogen or liquid ammonia.
Bangladesh
Bangladesh wouldn’t be on the lists of many, where ideal countries for renewable energy are being discussed.
But, this report on Energy Tracker Asia is entitled The Renewable Energy Potential of Bangladesh, where this is said.
A report investigating the renewable energy technical capacity of Bangladesh found that the country could deploy up to 156 GW of utility-scale solar on 6,250 km2 of land and 150 GW of wind. Offshore wind power would account for 134 GW of this total capacity.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Bangladesh, supplying renewable energy to the East, with international companies and organisations developing the renewable infrastructure.
I think it should be noted that international companies flock to countries, where the investment opportunities are good. That has happened in the UK, with offshore wind, where many wind farms have been developed by companies such as Equinor, Iberola, RWE and Wattenfall.
Chile
Chile has started to develop the 100,000 square kilometres of the Atacama Desert for solar power and I wrote about this in The Power Of Solar With A Large Battery.
This sentence in the Wikipedia entry for Energy In Chile, illustrates the potential of solar power in the Atacama Desert.
In 2013, Total S.A. announced the world’s largest unsubsidised solar farm would be installed with assistance from SunPower Corp into Chile’s Atacama desert.
I also wrote Chile Wants To Export Solar Energy To Asia Via 15,000km Submarine Cable, about Chile’s ambitions to supply Asia with energy.
Ethiopia
Andrew Forrest of Fortescue Future Industries is on the case, as I wrote in Fortescue Future Industries Enters Ethiopia to Produce Green Energy.
North Africa
Consider.
- The major North African countries of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt, all have and depend on to a certain extent on fossil fuels.
- There are gas pipelines to Spain and Italy.
- Morocco will be the Southern end of the Morocco-UK Power Project, if it gets developed.
- All five countries have some nuclear power stations.
- All five countries have lots of sun for solar power.
- Some Saharan countries to the South of Morocco, Algeria and Libya could also provide energy from the sun.
- Egypt has substantial hydro-electric power on the River Nile.
- Egypt will be connected to Greece through the EuroAfrica Interconnector.
I believe that a well-designed and co-ordinated project could generate a lot of electricity and hydrogen for Europe and bring much-needed income and employment to North Africa.
I feel that if the Morocco-UK Power Project can be successfully built, then this could create a flurry of activity all over North Africa.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia has a problem. As the rest of the world moves away from fossil fuels in the next few decades, they will see the revenues from oil and natural gas come under pressure.
But as a rich country, with 2.15 million km² of land and lots of sun, they must have some potential to generate solar electricity.
In the Wikipedia entry for Solar Power In Saudi Arabia, this is said.
The Saudi agency in charge of developing the nations renewable energy sector, Ka-care, announced in May 2012 that the nation would install 41 gigawatts (GW) of solar capacity by 2032.[2] It was projected to be composed of 25 GW of solar thermal, and 16 GW of photovoltaics. At the time of this announcement, Saudi Arabia had only 0.003 gigawatts of installed solar energy capacity. A total of 24 GW of renewable energy was expected by 2020, and 54 GW by 2032.
Wikipedia also says that Saudi Arabia also has nuclear ambitions.
I can see that Saudi Arabia will replace some of their oil and gas exports with green hydrogen.
UK-German Energy Link Reaches Financial Close
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on renews.biz.
These are the three introductory paragraphs.
A multibillion-euro 725 km interconnector between the UK and Germany has reached financial close, paving the way for construction works to begin in the coming months.
The £2.4bn (€2.8bn) NeuConnect interconnector will form an “invisible energy highway” with subsea cables allowing up to 1.4GW of electricity to flow in either direction between the UK and Germany and will help deliver a more secure and resilient energy supply, particularly as more renewable generation is added.
Independent analysis shows the project will create over £1.7bn in UK consumer benefits over 25 years.
Other points about NeuConnect include.
- It has been privately funded by a consortium of over twenty national and international banks.
- It will run between the Isle of Grain and a the new Fedderwarden substation in Wilhelmshaven.
- It should be operational in 2028.
Although, it is bi-directional, it appears that one of its major uses will be to provide Germany with UK wind energy to compensate for the loss of Putin’s bloodstained gas.
The Anonymous Widower 