The Anonymous Widower

Vestas and Vattenfall Sign 1.4 GW Preferred Supplier Agreement For UK Offshore Wind Project And Exclusivity Agreements For 2.8 GW For Two Other UK Projects

The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Vestas.

These are the first two paragraphs.

Vattenfall, one of Europe’s largest producers and retailers of electricity and heat, and Vestas have signed agreements to elevate the partnership between the two companies and their offshore wind business towards 2030. The agreements are another step in the right direction for offshore wind energy in the UK and follow the UK Government’s recent announcement about the parameters for the next Contracts for Difference Auction round, which sent a very positive signal to renewable energy investors.

The agreements for the three projects include a preferred supplier agreement (PSA) for the 1,380 MW Norfolk Vanguard West project, comprising 92 of Vestas’ V236-15 MW offshore wind turbine. Vattenfall and Vestas have further signed exclusivity agreements for the Norfolk Vanguard East and Norfolk Boreas projects with a total installed capacity of 2,760 MW. The two latter projects will potentially feature up to 184 V236-15 MW turbines. Once installed, the agreements also include that Vestas will service the projects under long-term Operations and Maintenance (O&M) service contracts. The agreements are another step forward for what will be one of the largest offshore wind zones in the world, with a capacity to power over 4 million UK homes.

It looks like Norfolk Boreas is back on Vattenfall’s list of active projects.

Vattenfall’s Norfolk zone now includes the following.

  • Norfolk Vanguard West – 92 x V236-15 MW – 1380 MW
  • Norfolk Vanguard East – 92 x V236-15 MW – 1380 MW
  • Norfolk Boreas – 92 x V236-15 MW – 1380 MW

Note.

  1. All turbines appear identical.
  2. The deal includes long-term Operations and Maintenance (O&M) service contracts.
  3. 276 identical turbines plus service contracts looks like a good deal for Vestas.

Since I wrote Vattenfall Stops Developing Major Wind Farm Offshore UK, Will Review Entire 4.2 GW Zone in July 2023, which has this sub-heading.

Vattenfall has stopped the development of the Norfolk Boreas offshore wind power project in the UK and will review the way forward for the entire 4.2 GW Norfolk Zone, the Swedish energy company revealed in its interim report.

I have written the following posts.

It appears that with the deal announced with Vestas, Vattenfall now have everything they need to develop 4.2 GW of offshore wind.

  • The O & M base will be Great Yarmouth.
  • SeAH will build the monopile foundations on Teesside. Will all monopiles be identical?
  • An energy price rise could change the cash flow of the project.
  • Aker Solutions will build the offshore substations.Will all sub-stations be identical?
  • Vestas will build the wind turbines.Will all turbines be identical?

Nothing has been said since July 2023 about how the power will be brought ashore.

In February 2022, I wrote Norfolk Wind Farms Offer ‘Significant Benefit’ For Local Economy, where I published this map from Vattenfall, which shows the position of the farms and the route of the cable to the shore.

Note.

  1. The purple line appears to be the UK’s ten mile limit.
  2. Norfolk Boreas is outlined in blue.
  3. Norfolk Vanguard West and  Norfolk Vanguard East are outlined in orange.
  4. Cables will be run in the grey areas.
  5. Cables to deliver 4.1 GW across Norfolk to the National Grid, will bring out the Nimbys in droves.

Landfall of the cables will be just a few miles to the South of the Bacton gas terminal.

In SeAH To Deliver Monopiles For Vattenfall’s 2.8 GW Norfolk Vanguard Offshore Wind Project, I asked if there could be an alternative approach.

Consider.

  • If Vattenfall develop all three wind farms; Boreas, Vanguard East and Vanguard West, they will have 4.2 GW of capacity, when the wind co-operates.
  • But East Norfolk is not noted for industries that need a large amount of electricity.
  • I also feel, that the locals would object to a steelworks or an aluminium smelter, just like they object to electricity cables.

But would they object to a 4 GW electrolyser?

Could this be Vattenfall’s alternative approach?

  • A giant electrolyser is built close to the landfall of the cable to the wind farms.
  • The hydrogen could be piped to Bacton, where it could be blended with the UK’s natural gas.
  • Bacton also has gas interconnectors to Balgzand in the Netherlands and Zeebrugge in Belgium. Could these interconnectors be used to export hydrogen to Europe?
  • The hydrogen could be piped to Yarmouth, where it could be exported by tanker to Europe.

There would be only a small amount of onshore development and no overhead transmission lines to connect the wind farms to the National Grid.

There would be even less onshore development, if the electrolyser was offshore.

From their decisions, Vattenfall seem to have a new plan.

 

December 20, 2023 Posted by | Energy, Hydrogen | , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

SeAH To Deliver Monopiles For Vattenfall’s 2.8 GW Norfolk Vanguard Offshore Wind Project

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.

This is the sub-heading.

Vattenfall has signed a contract with SeAH Wind to provide the monopiles for the 2.8 GW Norfolk Vanguard East and Norfolk Vanguard West offshore wind farms in the UK.

These two paragraphs outline the order.

The monopiles for the Norfolk Vanguard offshore wind farms will weigh up to around 2,200 tonnes and have a length of up to 96 metres.

Production is due to start in 2026 at SeAH Wind’s new under-construction facility in Teesside, northeast England.

Note.

  1. Norfolk Vanguard now appears to be two 1.4 GW wind farms; East and West, which adds up to a 2.8 GW Norfolk Vanguard wind farm.
  2. There is no mention of the 1.4 GW Norfolk Boreas wind farm in the article, except that it has a Contract for Difference (CfD), whereas I don’t think Norfolk Vanguard has a contract.
  3. Would anybody buy wind farm foundations without a contract?

It looks like there has been some very tough negotiations between Vattenfall, the Crown Estate and the UK Government.

Is There An Alternative Approach?

Consider.

  • If Vattenfall develop all three wind farms; Boreas, Vanguard East and Vanguard West, they will have 4.2 GW of capacity, when the wind co-operates.
  • But East Norfolk is not noted for industries that need a large amount of electricity.
  • I also feel, that the locals would object to a steelworks or an aluminium smelter, just like they object to electricity cables.

But would they object to a 4 GW offshore electrolyser?

Could this be Vattenfall’s alternative approach?

  • A giant electrolyser is built close to the landfall of the cable to the wind farms.
  • The hydrogen could be piped to Bacton, where it could be blended with the UK’s natural gas.
  • Bacton also has gas interconnectors to Balgzand in the Netherlands and Zeebrugge in Belgium. Could these interconnectors be used to export hydrogen to Europe?
  • The hydrogen could be piped to Yarmouth, where it could be exported by tanker to Europe.

There would be only a small amount of onshore development and no overhead transmission lines to connect the wind farms to the National Grid.

There would be even less onshore development, if the electrolyser was offshore.

From their decisions, Vattenfall seem to have a new plan.

December 13, 2023 Posted by | Hydrogen | , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Norfolk Boreas Windfarm Work Could Resume After Energy Price Rise

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.

This is the sub-heading.

There are growing hopes that work on a £10bn windfarm off the Norfolk coast will resume after the government agreed to pay more for energy production.

The first three paragraphs, indicate how positions have changed,

Earlier this year, Swedish company Vattenfall paused work on Norfolk Boreas located 50 miles off the coast of Cromer.

But ministers have agreed to a 66% increase in the amount they will pay for offshore electricity generation.

Vattenfall described the move as “a very positive signal”.

It certainly looks like the Government is looking more favourably at wind power developers.

November 19, 2023 Posted by | Energy | , , , | 6 Comments

Aker Solutions Gets Vattenfall Nod To Start Norfolk Vanguard West Offshore Platform

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.

This is the sub-heading.

Aker Solutions has been awarded a limited notice to proceed contract from Vattenfall for the Norfolk Vanguard West offshore wind farm in the UK. The contract has a balanced risk-reward profile based on principles for long-term collaboration.

Vattenfall seems to be a bit stop and go on their two Norfolk wind farms; Norfolk Vanguard and Norfolk Boreas.

These four paragraphs outline the work.

The scope of work for Aker Solutions includes the engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) of the high voltage direct current (HVDC) offshore substation.

The fabrication of the topside will be executed in a joint venture with Drydocks World Dubai, and the substructure will be fabricated at Aker Solutions’ yard in Verdal, Norway.

Located more than 47 kilometres from the Norfolk coast and with an installed capacity of 1.4 GW, Norfolk Vanguard West will be the first phase of Vattenfall’s Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone, which also includes the Norfolk Vanguard East and Norfolk Boreas developments.

The Norfolk Vanguard West offshore wind farm is subject to regulatory approvals and Vattenfall’s final investment decision.

Note that Vattenfall are now talking about three wind farms; Norfolk Vanguard West, Norfolk Vanguard East and Norfolk Boreas.

These three paragraphs talk about finance and costs from Aker Solutions point-of-view.

According to Aker Solutions, the company will at this stage book a contract value of about NOK 4 billion (about EUR 334 million) in the fourth quarter of 2023 in the Renewables and Field Development segment, reflecting the compensated work that is to be performed until the expected final investment decision.

Following the award, the total contract value for Aker Solutions is estimated to be about NOK 6 billion.

“The development of the entire Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone could ultimately require up to three HVDC platforms in succession, which would improve the long-term predictability and give positive repeat effects and standardization within the supplier industry,” said Sturla Magnus, Executive Vice President of New Build at Aker Solutions.

Could it be that a 3 x NOK 6 billion or £1.3 billion order has convinced Aker Solutions to invest alongside Vattenfall in the three Norfolk wind farms?

This map shows the two farms in relation to the coast.

Note.

  1. The purple line appears to be the UK’s ten mile limit.
  2. Norfolk Boreas is outlined in blue.
  3. Norfolk Vanguard is outlined in orange and has two parts; West and East.
  4. Cables will be run in the grey areas.

This second map shows the onshore cable.

Note.

  1. The cables are planned to come ashore between Happisburgh and Eccles-on-Sea.
  2. Bacton is only a short distance up the coast.
  3. The onshore cable is planned to go from here across Norfolk to the Necton substation.

This layout would appear to need only one offshore cable for all three wind farms.

Conclusion

Has Aker stepped in to rescue Vattenfall’s 4.2 GW project?

 

 

 

November 8, 2023 Posted by | Energy | , , , , , | 2 Comments

Vattenfall Stops Developing Major Wind Farm Offshore UK, Will Review Entire 4.2 GW Zone

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.

This is the sub-heading.

Vattenfall has stopped the development of the Norfolk Boreas offshore wind power project in the UK and will review the way forward for the entire 4.2 GW Norfolk Zone, the Swedish energy company revealed in its interim report.

This is the first paragraph.

The developer said that the decision to stop the project was made due to ”challenging market conditions”, adding that ”financial frameworks have not adapted to reflect the current market conditions” so far.

Vattenfall are also complaining about inflation and cost increases if up to 40 %.

I have my thoughts.

Great Yarmouth Support Base

In some ways, I find this decision to pull out strange, as it was only in March this year that Vattenfall signed a contract with Peel Ports to build a support base for their Norfolk wind farms at Great Yarmouth.

I don’t think that Peel Ports will be too bothered, as they are a well-funded company and there are plenty of wind farm proposals in the sea around Norfolk, who could use a base at Great Yarmuth.

Cable Routes And Nimbys

These Norfolk wind farms have suffered opposition from Nimbys to the cable route, that will be taking the electricity away from the coast. This may have increased the cost of delivery of the electricity to market.

An Offshore Cable Route

In January 2022, I wrote Is There A Need For A Norfolk-Suffolk Interconnector?, where I analysed the amount of energy, that will be produce in Norfolk and Suffolk.

This was my conclusion.

I believe there are a lot of possibilities, that would meet the three objectives, I stated earlier.

    • Avoid as much disruption on the land as possible.
    • Create the capacity to deliver all the energy generated to customers, either as electricity or hydrogen.
    • Create an expandable framework, that would support all the wind farms that could be built in the future.

In addition, simple mathematics says to me, that either there will need to be extra capacity at both Bicker Fen and Bullen Lane substations and onward to the rest of the country, or a large electrolyser to convert several gigawatts of electricity into hydrogen for distribution, through the gas network.

Note.

  1. An offshore Multiple Purpose Interconnector (MPI) could be built between Bicker Fen in Lincolnshire and the Isle of Grain.
  2. An electrolyser could be built offshore, joined to the MPI and connected to the Bacton gas terminal.
  3. There could be local offshore hydrogen storage.
  4. Bicker Fen is connected to the Viking Link to Denmark.
  5. An offshore link could have its Southern end at the Isle of Grain, from where the electricity can be exported to Germany, by the NeuConnect interconnector, that is under construction.

There must be sufficient capacity, so that all energy is delivered to customers, as either electricity or hydrogen.

 

I’ve always favoured delivering electricity from these and other East Anglian wind farms with an offshore cable route away from the coast between perhaps Bicker Fen in Lincolnshire and the the Isle of Grain, from where the electricity can be exported to Germany, by an interconnector, that is being built.

Competition From Scotland

National Grid are improving the offshore grid between Scotland and Humberside, so perhaps Vattenfall might have a competition problem, when it comes to selling their electricity.

If you have no market for a product, then the price drops.

Is East Anglia A Bad Place To Have Surplus Electricity?

Consider.

  • It should also be remembered that East Anglia has no heavy electricity users.
  • There are also no substantial mountains for building large pumped-storage hydro schemes, as Scotland is proposing to do.
  • The construction of Sizewell C will add more electricity to the area.

In my view the best thing to do would be to build a giant electrolyser near the Bacton gas terminal.

Was It A Mistake For Vattenfall To Make A Bid?

Looking at the delivery problems for the Norfolk wind farms, I think that Vattenfall made a bad decision to bid for them.

  • The wind farms are too far North to serve London and the South-East and to export the electricity to the Continent.
  • They are also too far South to serve the industry in the North around the Humber and the Tees.

It looks an obvious case of wrong Location, Location and Location.

Could Norfolk Boreas And Norfolk Viking Work Economically?

I suspect these ideas could help.

  • A Multiple Purpose Interconnector (MPI) would be built between Bicker Fen in Lincolnshire and the Isle of Grain.
  • The MPI would connect to any wind farms on the route.
  • An offshore electrolyser opposite Bacton would be connected to the MPI to use surplus electricity to generate hydrogen, which would be distributed through the gas grid.

The whole network of wind farms, interconnectors, electrolysers and storage needs to be comprehensively designed, so that it provides the South-East corner of England, with enough reliable electricity and hydrogen.

July 20, 2023 Posted by | Energy | , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Vattenfall Selects Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone O&M Base

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.

This is the sub-heading.

Vattenfall has selected Peel Ports as the preferred bidder, and its port at Great Yarmouth as the location for the operations and maintenance base of the Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone in the UK.

This was said about the competition to host the facility.

Vattenfall said that the competition was fierce to secure the agreement with an excellent bid from Lowestoft and Associated British Ports. With both ports offering excellent services it is clear that East Anglia’s potential as a superpower of offshore wind is secure.

I have a few thoughts.

Lowestoft In Suffolk And Great Yarmouth In Norfolk Must Work Together

This Google Map shows the coast between the two ports.

Note.

  1. Great Yarmouth is at the top of the map.
  2. Lowestoft is at the bottom of the map.
  3. The two towns are less than twelve miles apart.
  4. The Great Yarmouth Outer Harbour, is towards the top of the map.

The Google Map shows the port in more detail.

Note.

  1. Great Yarmouth Outer Harbour only opened in 2009.
  2. It has an average depth of 10 metres.
  3. It was planned as a container port, but the ships didn’t materialise.
  4. Some consider it to be a bit of a white elephant.

Could the Outer Harbour be used to assemble floating wind turbines?

I think it could but at present, there are no plans to use floating wind turbines off the coast of Norfolk.

I suspect though, if someone decided to build floating wind farms to the East of the Vattenfall’s Norfolk Zone fields, that Great Yarmouth Outer Harbour could be used to assemble the floating wind turbines.

This Google Map shows the Port of Lowestoft.

Note.

  1. There is over a kilometre of quays.
  2. It doesn’t have the water depth of Great Yarmouth.
  3. There is a lot of brownfield sites along the River Waveney.
  4. The East Anglia One wind farm is managed from Lowestoft.

Both harbours have their good and bad points.

  • Both have good rail connections to Norwich.
  • Lowestoft has a rail connection to Ipswich and has been promised a London service.
  • Road connections to Ipswich and Norwich need improvement.

I suspect that it was a close contest, as to the port that got the Vattenfall contract.

A Lowestoft And Great Yarmouth Rail Connection

This map from Open RailwayMap between the two towns.

Note.

  1. The existing railways are shown in yellow.
  2. Former railways are shown in black dotted lines.
  3. There was even a railway along the coast.

The only rail connection between the ports is via Reedham, where the track layout is shown on this second OpenRailwayMap.

Note.

  1. Reedham station is in the North West corner on the line to Norwich.
  2. The line going North-East goes to Great Yarmouth.
  3. The line going South goes to Lowestoft.

There used to be a chord connecting Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft, but it was cancelled by Beeching’s grandfather.

There is certainly scope to improve the rail connection between the two ports.

  • There could be a convenient change at Reedham, if the timetables were adjusted.
  • Trains could reverse at Reedham.
  • The chord could be reopened to allow direct trains.

It wouldn’t be the most challenging rail project to have an hourly rail service between the two ports.

A Lowestoft And London Rail Service

This was promised with a frequency of something like four trains per day (tpd)

I think it should run between London and Yarmouth with a reverse at Lowestoft.

March 17, 2023 Posted by | Energy | , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

9 Energy, House And Rail Projects Planned For Norfolk

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Eastern Daily Press.

The article is a survey of major projects across Norfolk.

Projects in the article with my thoughts will now be detailed.

Railway Village

This is described as follows in the article.

Plans to build a new 5,000-home town north of Dereham could take a significant step forward in 2023.

The proposals have been dubbed a ‘railway village’ and would lie close to the Mid Norfolk Railway at North Elmham.

The 1,278-acre site has been put forward by its owners as a potential area for development included in Breckland Council’s forthcoming local plan – a document detailing how the district should grow over the next two decades.

This map from OpenRailwayMap shows North Elmham and the Mid-Norfolk Railway.

Note.

  1. The yellow line is the Mid-Norfolk Railway.
  2. The site of the former North Elmham station is shown by the blue arrow at the top of the map.
  3. The orange line across the South-East corner of the map is the Breckland Line between Cambridge and Norwich.
  4. Wymondham station is on the Breckland Line, but trains between the Mid-Norfolk Railway and Norwich would be able to call at Wymondham station.

Wymondham station could be converted into a proper connection between the Breckland Line and the Mid-Norfolk Railway, with services being run between Norwich and North Elmham via Dereham.

In the Wikipedia entry for the Mid-Norfolk Railway, there is a section, which is entitled Community Railway, where this is the first paragraph.

The Mid-Norfolk Railway was established as a multi-functional line, with an intention to operate a community service in addition to tourist and freight services. The railway has also stated their belief that a commuter service between Dereham and Norwich remains a viable proposition, with the MNR either running the service themselves or working with an existing train operator. One obstacle on the MNR to running such services is the requirement to operate five manual gated level crossings between Dereham and Wymondham, although level crossing automation is a possibility in the future.

Later the section indicates that the Mid-Norfolk Railway could be extended to Fakenham.

This map from OpenRailwayMap shows the original route between North Elmham and Fakenham.

Note.

  1. The yellow line is the Mid-Norfolk Railway.
  2. North Elmham station is at the top of the yellow.
  3. Fakenham is at the top of the map.

Adding Fakenham to the passenger service from Norwich would surely increase its viability.

There have been ambitions in the past to create a Norfolk Orbital Railway, that would connect the National Rail stations at Sheringham and Wymondham, using the tracks of the North Norfolk Railway and Mid-Norfolk Railway, and some new and relaid track.

This map from OpenRailwayMap shows North Norfolk from Fakenham and North Elmham in the West to Sheringham in the East.

Note.

  1. Fakenham is on the Western edge of the map about halfway up.
  2. North Elmham is in the South-West corner of the map, on the yellow line, what indicates the Mid-Norfolk Railway.
  3. The railway shown in the North-West corner is the Wells and Walsingham Light Railway. which is a 260 mm. gauge railway.
  4. Sheringham station, which has an hourly service to Norwich via Cromer, is in the North-East corner of the map.
  5. The Eastern terminus of the North Norfolk Railway is a short walk from Sheringham station.
  6. The blue arrow to the West of Sheringham station, indicates the Western terminus of the North Norfolk Railway at Holt station.

The Norfolk Orbital Railway would need to connect Fakenham and Holt, which doesn’t appear to be easy.

But if the connection could be made, Greater Anglia could run a combined service around the county, which would allow those living in the houses at North Elmham to get easily to the coast or the City of Norwich.

Wash Barrage

This is described as follows in the article.

A bid to build a tidal barrage stretching from Norfolk to Lincolnshire was unveiled at the end of last year.

While the scheme has seen objections from conservation groups, proponents say it would help protect the Fens from flooding, generate tidal power and would allow a new deep-sea container port to be built.

A planning application has yet to be submitted for the scheme, which Centre Port, the group behind the proposal, said could be operational by the end of the decade if given the go-ahead.

The Wash Barrier has a web site, but I doubt the RSPB will like it.

New Reservoir

The article says that the proposed site is between Chatteris and March in Cambridgeshire.

Long Stratton Bypass

This is described as follows in the article.

The Long Stratton Bypass has been mooted for decades and finally looked like it was going to get underway after funding was approved in 2021.

The scheme will mean motorists can avoid passing through the centre of the town.

It was needed, when C regularly commuted to Norwich in the 1980s.

Norwich Western Link

This is described as follows in the article.

The flagship infrastructure project has been thrown into doubt after County Hall announced an indefinite delay earlier this month.

The 3.9-mile road is designed to link the A47 with the NDR to the west of the city and has been hailed as a council priority for several years.

Climate protestors are mounting a High Court challenge.

Windfarms

These are described as follows in the article.

There are a series of major windfarms planned for the Norfolk coast.

These include Swedish energy giant Vattenfall’s Boreas and Vanguard projects, which could be some of the largest in the world.

The company was granted development consent for its Norfolk Vanguard windfarm in 2022, pledging to get underway early this year.

The two schemes could power more than 3.9m homes in the UK.

Hornsea Three, another major scheme which could power another 3.2m homes, is set to start being built in March.

Note.

  1. The author missed out the Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon Extension windfarms.
  2. Total wind power that will be developed is around 6 GW, which would supply around a quarter of the UK.

The only problem is that Norfolk is protesting against the cables to connect the wind farms to the National Grid.

I suspect they will have to be put under the sea. I wrote about this in Is There A Need For A Norfolk-Suffolk Interconnector?

New Rail Junctions

The problems around Ely station are described as follows in the article.

A key rail junction, which could help to boost growth across the region, could steam ahead this year.

Ely Junction is important because it links five lines connecting Norwich, Ipswich, Cambridge, Peterborough and King’s Lynn.

It is currently operating at full capacity, which limits the opportunity for growth of routes for passenger and cross-country freight services.

It would also enable more frequent passenger services, including between King’s Lynn and London.

An outline business case was submitted to the Department for Transport last year to seek money for the next stage of the design process – but the government has yet to make a decision.

There are also problems at Haughley Junction.

Hospitals Rebuild

The article also puts the case for developing both King’s Lynn and Great Yarmouth hospitals.

Conclusion

Norfolk is going to be busy.

 

March 2, 2023 Posted by | Energy, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

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.

  1. No cranes are involved in the process.
  2. The lifting beam method of erecting the 5,000 tonne XXXL monopile is simple and very efficient.
  3. Self-propelled modular transporters were used to install the 2000 tonne subway at Hackney Wick station.
  4. 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.

January 5, 2023 Posted by | Energy | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Vattenfall Boosts Capacity For Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.

This is the sub-heading.

Vattenfall is increasing the capacity for the Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone off the UK from 3.6 GW to over 4.2 GW, meaning that an additional 700,000 homes will be powered by the zone, the energy company said.

This is a sixteen percent increase in capacity.

In this article in the Eastern Daily Press, this is said.

Rob Anderson, project director of Vattenfall’s Norfolk Zones, said that the increase is due to the project using “innovative” technology and being “able to maximise its design”.

Moving from 12 MW to 14 MW turbines would give the planned increase.

This article on offshoreWIND.biz, is entitled Siemens Gamesa Ships Out First Set Of 115-Metre Wind Turbine Blades.

This is said about the two Norfolk Zone wind farms.

The SG 14-236 DD model will be commercially available in 2024 and has so far 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.

It looks to me that Siemens Gamesa have got a success in the making.

It should be noted that the offshore floating wind farm named Ossian could increase from 2.6 GW to 3.6 GW, which I wrote about in Ossian Floating Wind Farm Could Have Capacity Of 3.6 GW.

A similar effect of size increases happened in North Sea Oil and Gas in the 1970s, as the cranes got larger and the techniques got better.

Is history repeating itself?

 

 

December 21, 2022 Posted by | Design, Energy | , , , | 2 Comments

An Update To Will We Run Out Of Power This Winter?

My Methods

Project Timescales For Wind Farms

In How Long Does It Take To Build An Offshore Wind Farm?, I came to these conclusions.

  • It will take six years or less from planning consent to commissioning.
  • It will take two years or less from the start of construction to commissioning.

I shall use these timescales, as any accelerations by the government, will only reduce them.

Dates

If a date is something like 2024/25, I will use the latest date. i.e. 2025 in this example.

The Update

In Will We Run Out Of Power This Winter?, which I wrote in July this year, I did a calculation of how much renewable energy would come on stream in the next few years.

I summarised the amount of new renewable energy coming on stream like this.

  • 2022 – 3200 MW
  • 2023 – 1500 MW
  • 3024 – 2400 MW
  • 2025 – 6576 MW
  • 2026 – 1705 MW
  • 2027 – 7061 GW

This totals to 22442 MW.

But I had made two omissions.

  • Hornsea 3 wind farm will add 2582 MW in 2026/27.
  • Hinckley Point C nuclear power station will add 3260 MW in 2027.

Ørsted have also brought forward the completion date of the Sofia wind farm to 2023, which moves 1400 GW from 2024 to 2023.

The new renewables summary figures have now changed to.

  • 2022 – 3200 MW
  • 2023 – 2925 MW
  • 3024 – 1326 MW
  • 2025 – 6576 MW
  • 2026 – 1705 MW
  • 2027 – 13173 MW

This totals to 28554 MW.

Note.

  1. The early delivery of the Sofia wind farm has increased the amount of wind farms coming onstream next year, which will help the Winter of 2023/2024.
  2. It will also help the Liz Truss/Kwasi Kwarteng government at the next election, that should take place in early 2025.
  3. Hornsea 3 and Hinckley Point C make 2027 a big year for new renewable energy commissioning.

By 2027, we have more than doubled our renewable energy generation.

The Growth Plan 2022

In this document from the Treasury, the following groups of wind farms are listed for acceleration.

  • Remaining Round 3 Projects
  • Round 4 Projects
  • Extension Projects
  • Scotwind Projects
  • INTOG Projects
  • Floating Wind Commercialisation Projects
  • Celtic Sea Projects

I will look at each in turn.

Remaining Round 3 Projects

In this group are the the 1200 MW Dogger Bank B and Dogger Bank C wind farms, which are due for commissioning in 2024/25.

Suppose that as with the Sofia wind farm in the same area, they were to be able to be brought forward by a year.

The new renewables summary figures would change to.

  • 2022 – 3200 MW
  • 2023 – 2925 MW
  • 3024 – 3726 MW
  • 2025 – 5076 MW
  • 2026 – 1705 MW
  • 2027 – 13173 MW

This totals to 28554 MW.

It looks like if Dogger Bank B and Dogger Bank C can be accelerated by a year, it has four effects.

  • The renewables come onstream at a more constant rate.
  • SSE and Equinor, who are developing the Dogger Bank wind farms start to get paid earlier.
  • The UK gets more electricity earlier, which helps bridge the gap until Hornsea 3 and Hinckley Point C come onstream in 2027.
  • The UK Government gets taxes and lease fees from the Dogger Bank wind farms at an earlier date.

Accelerating the remaining Round 3 projects would appear to be a good idea.

Round 4 Projects

According to Wikipedia’s list of proposed wind farms, there are six Round 4 wind farms, which total up to 7026 MW.

Accelerating these projects, is probably a matter of improved government regulations and pressure, and good project management.

But all time savings in delivering the wind farms benefits everybody all round.

This document from the Department of Business, Industry and Industrial Strategy lists all the Contracts for Difference Allocation Round 4 results for the supply of zero-carbon electricity.

Many of these projects are smaller projects and I suspect quite a few are shovel ready.

But as with the big wind farms, there are some projects that can be brought forward to everybody’s benefit.

Norfolk Boreas

Norfolk Boreas wind farm is one of the Round 4 projects.

The wind farm is shown as 1400 MW on Wikipedia.

On the web site, it now says construction will start in 2023, which could mean a completion by 2025, as these projects seem to take about two years from first construction to commissioning, as I showed in How Long Does It Take To Build An Offshore Wind Farm?.

The new renewables summary figures would change to.

  • 2022 – 3200 MW
  • 2023 – 2925 MW
  • 3024 – 3726 MW
  • 2025 – 6476 MW
  • 2026 – 1705 MW
  • 2027 – 11773 MW

This still totals to 28554 MW.

This acceleration of a large field would be beneficial, as the 2025 figure has increased substantially.

I would suspect that Vattenfall are looking hard to accelerate their Norfolk projects.

Extension Projects

I first talked about extension projects in Offshore Wind Extension Projects 2017.

The target was to add 2.85 GW of offshore wind and in the end seven projects were authorised.

These are the best figures I have and they add up to an interim total of 3359 MW.

I suspect that these projects could be easy to accelerate, as the developers have probably been designing these extensions since 2017.

I think it is reasonable to assume that these seven wind farms will add at least 3000 MW, that can be commissioned by 2027.

The new renewables summary figures would change to.

  • 2022 – 3200 MW
  • 2023 – 2925 MW
  • 3024 – 3726 MW
  • 2025 – 6476 MW
  • 2026 – 1705 MW
  • 2027 – 14773 MW

This now totals to 31554 MW.

Accelerating the extension projects would be a good idea, especially, as they were awarded some years ago, so are probably well into the design phase.

ScotWind Projects

I first talked about ScotWind in ScotWind Offshore Wind Leasing Delivers Major Boost To Scotland’s Net Zero Aspirations.

It was planned to do the following.

  • Generate 9.7 GW from six wind farms with fixed foundations.
  • Generate 14.6 GW from ten floating wind farms.

But since then three more floating wind farms with a total capacity of 2800 MW have been added, as I wrote about in Three Shetland ScotWind Projects Announced.

I suspect that some of these projects are ripe for acceleration and some may well be generating useful electricity by 2030 or even earlier.

INTOG Projects

I wrote about INTOG in What Is INTOG?.

I can see the INTOG Projects contributing significantly to our fleet of offshore wind turbines.

I have already found a 6 GW/£30 billion project to decarbonise oil and gas rigs around our shores, which is proposed by Cerulean Winds and described on this web page.

If the other large INTOG projects are as good as this one, then we’ll be seeing some sensational engineering.

Floating Wind Commercialisation Projects

This page on the Carbon Trust website is entitled Floating Wind Joint Industry Programme (JIP).

They appear to be very much involved in projects like these.

The page has this description.

The Floating Wind Joint Industry Programme is a world leading collaborative research and development (R&D) initiative dedicated to overcoming technological challenges and advancing commercialisation of floating offshore wind.

This graphic shows the partners and advisors.

Most of the big wind farm builders and turbine and electrical gubbins manufacturers are represented.

Celtic Sea Projects

The Celtic Sea lies between South-East Ireland, Pembrokeshire and the Devon and Cornwall peninsular.

The Crown Estate kicked this off with press release in July 2022, that I wrote about in The Crown Estate Announces Areas Of Search To Support Growth Of Floating Wind In The Celtic Sea.

This map shows the five areas of search.

One Celtic Sea project has already been awarded a Contract for Difference in the Round 4 allocation, which I wrote about in Hexicon Wins UK’s First Ever CfD Auction For Floating Offshore Wind.

Other wind farms have already been proposed for the Celtic Sea.

In DP Energy And Offshore Wind Farms In Ireland, I said this.

They are also developing the Gwynt Glas offshore wind farm in the UK sector of the Celtic Sea.

  • In January 2022, EDF Renewables and DP Energy announced a Joint Venture partnership to combine their knowledge and
    expertise, in order to participate in the leasing round to secure seabed rights to develop up to 1GW of FLOW in the Celtic Sea.
  • The wind farm is located between Pembroke and Cornwall.

The addition of Gwynt Glas will increase the total of floating offshore wind in the UK section of the Celtic Sea.

  • Blue Gem Wind – Erebus – 100 MW Demonstration project  – 27 miles offshore
  • Blue Gem Wind – Valorus – 300 MW Early-Commercial project – 31 miles offshore
  • Falck Renewables and BlueFloat Energy – Petroc – 300 MW project – 37 miles offshore
  • Falck Renewables and BlueFloat Energy – Llywelyn – 300 MW project – 40 miles offshore
  • Llŷr Wind – 100 MW Project – 25 miles offshore
  • Llŷr Wind – 100 MW Project – 25 miles offshore
  • Gwynt Glas – 1000 MW Project – 50 miles offshore

This makes a total of 2.2 GW, with investors from several countries.

It does seem that the Celtic Sea is becoming the next area of offshore wind around the British Isles to be developed.

How do these wind farms fit in with the Crown Estate’s plans for the Celtic Sea?

I certainly, don’t think that the Crown Estate will be short of worthwhile proposals.

Conclusion

More and more wind farms keep rolling in.

September 29, 2022 Posted by | Energy | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

« Previous Entries     Next Entries »