Floating Offshore Substation Project Secures EUDP Funding
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Semco Maritime, ISC Consulting Engineers, Aalborg University, Energy Cluster Denmark, and Norway and Sweden-based Inocean have secured funding to further develop a floating offshore substation (FOSS) concept.
This is the first paragraph.
The parties announced their collaboration in 2022 and are now set to further accelerate floating offshore substation development through funding from the Energy Technology and Demonstration Program (EUDP).
These three paragraphs talk about the design.
The substation layout has been developed to fit the shape of a three-column stabilised substructure, according to the partners.
The floating offshore substation is a crucial component in the offshore wind farm industry as deeper ocean sites further from the coastline are to be utilised, the partners said.
Between 60-80 per cent of the world’s offshore wind energy potential is in areas with depths greater than 60+ metres, which presents a need for an alternative solution to bring the power to shore, such as a floating offshore substation, according to the developers.
That all seems sensible.
BW Ideol In Talks To Raise EUR 40 Million For Floating Wind Development
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Norway-headquartered BW Ideol and French state-owned investment company ADEME Investissement have agreed to enter into exclusive negotiations for EUR 40 million in funding by ADEME Investissement for BW Ideol’s project development activities.
The rest of the post is all about the clever, but I suspect legal ways, that the € 40 million is raised.
When I needed any advice in that area, I used to consult my late friend the banker; David, who is mentioned in Diversifying A US$200 billion Market: The Alternatives To Li-ion Batteries For Grid-Scale Energy Storage.
When he needed computing advice, that is another story.
Stadler To Supply Norwegian Long Distance Trains Making The Journey An ‘Experience In Itself’
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Railway Gazette.
This is the introductory paragraph.
State-owned rolling stock company Norske Tog has selected Stadler as the winner of a contract to supply 17 long distance trainsets to be branded as Flirtnex, with options for 100 more.
The article is very much a must-read or should I say must-look-at?
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.
Norwegian Companies To Explore Using Aluminium In Floating Offshore Wind Turbines
This is based on this press release from World Wide Wind, which is entitled WORLD WIDE WIND AS and HYDRO ASA Signs Letter Of Intent Aiming At Using Aluminium In Offshore Floating Wind Turbines.
This is the first paragraph.
Hydro, the world leading Norwegian aluminium and energy company and World Wide Wind AS, a Norwegian company developing a floating wind turbine, have signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) to explore the use of aluminium in the renewable wind industry. The two Norwegian companies are partnering up to develop floating wind turbines with a design specifically meant for offshore conditions. The goal is to use sustainable and recyclable materials in the construction, including aluminium.
In Do All Wind Turbines Have To Be Similar?, I said this about the radically different turbines of World Wide Wind.
I’ll let the images on the World Wide Wind web site do the talking.
But who would have thought, that contrarotating wind turbines, set at an angle in the sea would work?
This is so unusual, it might just work very well.
As aluminium is lighter, it might be a factor in the success of the design.
This is the last paragraph of the press release.
World Wide Wind’s integrated floating wind turbines are scalable up to 40MW – 2,5 times current wind turbines – and will use less materials and have a smaller CO2 footprint than conventional turbines. It is World Wide Wind’s ambition that these turbines will represent future design for floating wind turbine design.
40 MW is a very large turbine. This is definitely a case of handsome is as handsome does!
Norway’s Answer To Wind Power Intermittency Lies Offshore – Study
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the first paragraph.
SINTEF has revealed in its recent study that there is no statistical covariation or systematic correlation in time between the occurrence of offshore wind conditions in southern and northern Norway, and adds that this knowledge will increase the commercial value of Norwegian offshore wind energy.
It does seem lucky for the Norwegians, that their wind farms appear to be able to supply a more constant amount of electricity, than many of those against wind farms would have you believe.
I hope that a reputable UK agency or university, is doing a similar analysis for UK wind farms.
Gondan Shipyard Launches Another Hydrogen-Ready CSOV
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Gondan Shipyard has launched another commissioning service operation vessel (CSOV) it is building for the Norwegian shipowner Edda Wind at its yard in Figueras, Spain.
Increasingly smaller ships are being built hydrogen-ready, so they can be converted to zero-carbon, when the technology is developed.
Over the last couple of years companies like Cummins, JCB and Rolls-Royce mtu have developed diesel engines that can be converted to hydrogen engines.
Cummins talk of agnostic engines, which are identical from the cylinder head gasket down and what is above it, can make the engine, diesel, hydrogen on natural gas powered.
Edvard Grieg And Ivar Aasen Runs On Power From Shore
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Aker BP.
This is the first paragraph
The Edvard Grieg and Ivar Aasen production platforms on the Utsira High area in the North Sea are now operated with electric power from shore. Two gas fired turbines have been shut down, and thus we achieve a significant reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases.
This is surely the way to power offshore assets.
New Zealand’s $Bn Pumped Storage Hydropower Project: Making It Worthwhile
The title of this post, is the same as that, of this article on Mirage News.
These are the first three paragraphs.
Greater electrification of the economy is an essential part of Aotearoa New Zealand’s climate policy, as set out in the emissions reduction plan.
But the national electricity system depends heavily on the fluctuating storage capacity of hydropower lakes, which makes the country prone to energy shortages during dry years.
The NZ Battery Project aims to address this. One of the options being investigated is the Onslow pumped storage hydropower (PSH) scheme.
This Google Map shows the location of Lake Onslow in the South Island of New Zealand.
Note.
- Christchurch is in the North-East corner of the map.
- There is a spine of mountains with several large lakes.
- New Zealand generates just under 60 % of its electricity from hydroelectric power
- Stewart Island is off the South Coast of the island.
- Lake Onslow is marked by the red arrow.
New Zealand generates just under 60 % of its electricity from hydroelectric power, with 13 % from geothermal.
This document on the New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, is entitled Lake Onslow Option.
In a section entitled Facts and Figures, this is said.
The Lake Onslow option referenced by the Interim Climate Change Committee could be anticipated to provide at least 5TWh of annual generation/storage. It is estimated to have a construction timeframe of 4-5 years, with commissioning and filling taking a further 2 years. At its construction peak, it is expected to create 3,500-4,500 skilled and semi-skilled jobs.
The Mirage News article says that Lake Onslow scheme will be able to generate 1.5 GW of electricity.
When full, it could generate 1.5 GW for over 4.5 days.
In The Monster In The Mountains That Could Save Europe’s Winter, I talk about Ulla-Førre, which is a large pumped storage hydro scheme in Norway.
- Ulla-Førre has a storage capacity of 7.8 TWh and a generating capacity of 2.1 GW
- Lake Onslow has a storage capacity of 5 TWh and a generating capacity of 1.5 GW
Wikipedia lists Fengning Pumped Storage Power Station in China, as the largest pumped storage hydroelectric power station in the world, because of an installed generating capacity of 3.6 GW.
But it is only a tiddler in terms of storage, when compared to the monsters in New Zealand and Norway.
The Mirage News article also gets serious about advantages of pumped storage hydropower.
Making The Investment Worthwhile
This is said about making the investment worthwhile.
Pumped storage hydropower is well known to be a cost-competitive option for energy storage. While the capital expenditure is high, the cost of the energy is one of the lowest, at 20-40 cents per kWh. Return on investment in pumped storage hydropower is considerably better than for conventional batteries.
Does the return on investment explain, why after nearly four decades in the UK since Dinorwig power station or Electric Mountain, opened in 1984, that the Scottish Highlands are being proposed as the home for several new pumped storage hydro power stations?
In Will Coire Glas Start A Pumped Storage Boom In Scotland?, I estimated that the potential could be over half a TWh of storage.
A Multi-Purpose Asset
This is said about designing the scheme as a multi-purpose asset.
The Onslow infrastructure provides a way of managing dry years by storing water during rainy periods.
It can also participate as a conventional electricity generator. This will have implications for the wholesale electricity market because variability (from renewable generators) is currently mitigated by existing hydropower and fossil-fuel generation.
From a technical perspective, the challenge for Transpower is to maintain a consistent frequency and voltage in the power network. The Onslow infrastructure will assist with frequency regulation for the entire electricity network.
It offers a fast-acting and large-scale dynamic load, as is the case for other pumped storage hydropower projects such as the UK’s Coire Glas project or France’s Grand Maison. Both are also located remotely in the network similar to Onslow.
Globally, PSH schemes are viewed as multi-purpose assets. The Wivenhoe Dam (in Queensland, Australia) is a lower reservoir for a pumped storage hydropower scheme and provides drinking water and flood mitigation for Brisbane.
Another example is the hydropower infrastructure of the Durance Valley in France. It was designed, built and regulated to guarantee the operator provides drinkable water (740 million cubic metres per year) for 5 million inhabitants. It also supplies water to more than 170,000 hectares of cultivated lands (1.5 billion cubic metres per year in a dry season), generates reliable low-carbon electricity (for over 2 million people per year) and protects the valley from extreme flooding – and it’s become a visitor attraction, drawing 2.5 million tourists annually.
Are we developing the new pumped storage hydro systems, so that they provide the greatest benefits to the inhabitants of Scotland and a wider UK?
Norwegian Company To Power Data Centres With Offshore Wind
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-title.
Norwegian energy company Earth Wind & Power (EWP) is set to offtake up to 400MW of excess and pre-grid offshore wind power to supply electricity to data centre infrastructure in Northern Europe.
This sounds like a good idea.
Over the next few years, the UK will be ramping up our production of renewable energy.
Data centres could be an ideal way to make money from our excess energy.
The Anonymous Widower 