The Anonymous Widower

Grid Powers Up With One Of Europe’s Biggest Battery Storage Sites

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in The Times.

This is the sub-heading.

Orsted’s huge facility in Norfolk will store energy generated by its offshore wind farm

These three paragraphs give more details of the project.

The world’s largest developer of offshore wind farms is planning to build a vast battery storage facility near Norwich.

Orsted will install the energy storage system, which will be one of the largest in Europe, on the same site as the onshore converter station for its Hornsea 3 wind farm in Swardeston, Norfolk.

The project will store energy generated by Hornsea 3 when weather conditions are windy and when electricity supply exceeds demand so that it can be discharged later to help to balance the nation’s electricity grid.

Note.

  1. There is also a visualisation and a map.
  2. Tesla batteries will be used.
  3. The The battery will have an output of 300 MW, with a capacity of 600 MWh. So it is another two-hour BESS.
  4. It should be operational in 2026.
  5. The battery is on a 35-acre site.
  6. Cost is given as £8.5 billion, but that would appear to include the 2852 MW Hornsea 3 wind farm.

The BBC is reporting that local residents are worried about fire safety.

I have some thoughts of my own.

The Location Of The Swardeston Substation

This Google Map shows the location of the Swardeston substation, which will also host the Swardeston BESS.

Note.

  1. The East-West road is the A 47 Norwich by-pass.
  2. Norwich is to the North of the by-pass.
  3. Just to the left-centre of the map, the main A 140 road runs between Norwich and Ipswich, which has a junction with the A 47.
  4. The A 140 passes through the village of Dunston, which is to the East of the National Grid sibstation, which will host the connection to the Hornsea Three wind farm.

This second Google Map shows the A 140 in detail from the junction to the A 47 to the Swardeston substation.

Note.

  1. The Swardeston substation is on a substantial site.
  2. The Norwich to Tilbury transmission line will have its Northern end at Swardeston substation.
  3. Once the infrastructure is complete at Swardeston substation, Hornsea Three wind farm will be connected to the electricity infrastructure around London.

There would appear to be plenty of space at the site for all National Grid’s plans.

Capital Cost Compared To Big Nuclear

Hornsea Three is a 2852 MW wind farm, that will cost with the battery and a few extras £8.5 billion or around around £ 3 billion per gigawatt.

Hinckley Point C on the other hand will cost between £ 31-35 billion or £ 9.5-10.7 billion per gigawatt.

Conclusion

National Grid would appear to be using a BESS at Swardeston substation to improve the reliability and integrity of the Hornsea Three wind farm.

How many other big batteries will be placed, where large wind farms connect to the National Grid?

As an Electrical and Control Engineer, I certainly, believe that energy storage at major substations, is a proven way to improve the grid.

 

June 12, 2024 Posted by | Energy, Energy Storage | , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Opportunity For Communities To Have Their Say On National Grid Proposals For Norwich To Tilbury Project

The title of this post is the same as that of this press release from National Grid.

These three bullet points are sub-headings.

  • National Grid is consulting communities for 10 weeks, between Wednesday 10 April to Tuesday 18 June, on its infrastructure proposals to connect new clean energy sources into the East Anglian electricity network.
  • Norwich to Tilbury will enable National Grid to connect the sources of power generated from offshore wind to homes and businesses across Britain, helping to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and bring the cost of energy bills down.
  • The project will help the UK achieve its aim of generating 50GW of energy from offshore wind by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050.

This page on the National Grid web site has an interactive map of the route.

This paragraph invites people to comment.

National Grid is encouraging communities in East Anglia to comment on proposals to upgrade the high voltage power network in England as part of a 10-week consultation process which runs between Wednesday 10 April and Tuesday 18 June.

National Grid have also announced dates of when public information events are being held.

  • Wednesday 24 April 2024 – 12pm – 5pm – Towngate Theatre, St Martin’s Square, Basildon, Essex SS14 1DL
  • Thursday 25 April 2024 – 2pm – 7pm – The Brentwood Centre, Doddinghurst Road, Pilgrims Hatch, Brentwood, CM15 9NN
  • Saturday 27 April 202 – 11am – 4pm – Chelmsford City Racecourse, Chelmsford, CM3 1QP
  • Tuesday 30 April 2024 – 12pm – 5pm – Gislingham Village Hall, Mill Street, Gislingham, IP23 8JT
  • Wednesday 1 May 2024 – 11am – 4pm – Copdock Village Hall, Old London Road, Copdock, IP8 3JN
  • Friday 3 May 2024 – 1pm – 6pm – Needham Market Community Centre, School St, Needham Market, Ipswich IP6 8BB
  • Saturday 4 May 2024 – 11am – 4pm – Lawford Venture Centre 2000, Bromley Road, Lawford, Manningtree CO11 2JE
  • Wednesday 8 May 2024 – 4pm – 7pm – The Civic Hall, Blackshots Lane, Grays, RM16 2JU
  • Thursday 9 May 2024 – 1pm – 6pm-  Thorpe Hall, Ashwell Thorpe and Fundenhall Community Centre, Muskett Road, Ashwellthorpe, NR16 1FD
  • Friday 10 May 2024 – 1pm – 6pm – Tibenham Community Hall, Pristow Green Lane, Tibenham, Norwich NR16 1PX
  • Tuesday 14 May 2024 – 11am – 4pm – Witham Public Hall, Collingwood Road, Witham, CM8 2DY
  • Wednesday 15 May 2024 – pm – 6pm – Diss Town Football Club, Diss, IP22 4QP
  • Thursday 16 May 2024 – 2pm – 7pm – Langham Community Centre, School Road, Langham, Colchester, CO4 5PA
  • Friday 17 May 2024 – 1pm – 6pm  – Great Bromley Village Hall, Parsons Hill, Great Bromley, Colchester, CO7 7JA

I shall be going to the Brentwood and Needham Market meetings.

I have some thoughts.

T-Pylons

There is a chance that this route will not use conventional pylons.

These pictures show the T-pylons, that have been used in Somerset to connect Hinckley Point C power station to the National Grid.

Note.

  1. They are a Danish design.
  2. They are shorter than current pylons.
  3. They have a smaller footprint on the ground.
  4. The design won a National Grid-RIBA design competition.
  5. We will probably see them around the country in the next few years.

They are certainly better than the standard ones that connect the Sizewell site to the National Grid, that passed by my first house in Suffolk.

 

April 15, 2024 Posted by | Energy | , , , , , , | Leave a comment