RWE And the Norfolk Wind Farms
In March 2024, I wrote RWE And Vattenfall Complete Multi-Gigawatt Offshore Wind Transaction In UK, which described how Vattenfall had sold 4.2 GW of offshore wind farms, situated off North-East Norfolk to RWE.
This map from RWE shows the wind farms.
Note.
- The Norfolk Zone consists of three wind farms; Norfolk Vanguard West, Norfolk Boreas and Norfolk Vanguard East.
- The three wind farms are 1.4 GW fixed-foundation wind farms.
- In Vattenfall Selects Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone O&M Base, I describe how the Port of Great Yarmouth had been selected as the O & M base.
- Great Yarmouth and nearby Lowestoft are both ports, with a long history of supporting shipbuilding and offshore engineering.
The wind farms and the operational port are all close together, which probably makes things convenient.
So why did Vattenfall sell the development rights of the three wind farms to RWE?
Too Much Wind?
East Anglia is fringed with wind farms all the way between the Wash and the Thames Estuary.
- Lincs – 270 MW
- Lynn and Inner Dowsing – 194 MW
- Race Bank – 580 MW
- Triton Knoll – 857 MW
- Sheringham Shoal – 317 MW
- Dudgeon – 402 MW
- Hornsea 3 – 2852 MW *
- Scroby Sands – 60 MW
- East Anglia One North – 800 MW *
- East Anglia Two – 900 MW *
- East Anglia Three – 1372 MW *
- Greater Gabbard – 504 MW
- Galloper – 353 MW
- Five Estuaries – 353 MW *
- North Falls – 504 MW *
- Gunfleet Sands – 172 MW
- London Array – 630 MW
Note.
- Wind farms marked with an * are under development or under construction.
- There is 4339 MW of operational wind farms between the Wash and the Thames Estuary.
- An extra 6781 MW is also under development.
If all goes well, East Anglia will have over 11 GW of operational wind farms or over 15 GW, if the three Norfolk wind farms are built.
East Anglia is noted more for its agriculture and not for its heavy industries consuming large amounts of electricity, so did Vattenfall decide, that there would be difficulties selling the electricity?
East Anglia’s Nimbies
East Anglia’s Nimbies seem to have started a campaign against new overground cables and all these new wind farms will need a large capacity increase between the main substations of the National Grid and the coast.
So did the extra costs of burying the cable make Vattenfall think twice about developing these wind farms?
East Anglia and Kent’s Interconnectors
East Anglia and Kent already has several interconnectors to Europe
- Viking Link – Bicker Fen and Jutland – 1.4 GW
- LionLink – Suffolk and the Netherlands – 1.8 GW – In Planning
- Nautilus – Suffolk or Isle of Grain and Belgium – 1.4 GW – In Planning
- BritNed – Isle of Grain and Maasvlakte – 1.0 GW
- NeuConnect – Isle of Grain and Wilhelmshaven – 1.4 GW – Under Construction
- GridLink Interconnector – Kingsnorth and Warande – 1.4 GW – Proposed
- HVDC Cross-Channel – Sellinge and Bonningues-lès-Calais – 2.0 GW
- ElecLink – Folkestone and Peuplingues – 1.0 GW
- Nemo Link – Richborough and Zeebrugge – 1.0 GW
Note.
- Five interconnectors with a capacity of 6.4 GW.
- A further four interconnectors with a capacity of 6 GW are on their way.
At 12.4 GW, the future capacity of the interconnectors between South-East England and Europe, is nor far short of South-East English wind power.
There are also two gas pipelines from the Bacton gas terminal between Cromer and Great Yarmouth to Europe.
The Wikipedia entry for the Bacton gas terminal gives these descriptions of the two gas pipelines.
Interconnector UK – This can import gas from, or export gas to, Zeebrugge, Belgium via a 235 km pipeline operating at up to 147 bar. There is a 30-inch direct access line from the SEAL pipeline. The Interconnector was commissioned in 1998.
BBL (Bacton–Balgzand line) – This receives gas from the compressor station in Anna Paulowna in the Netherlands. The BBL Pipeline is 235 km long and was commissioned in December 2006.
It would appear that East Anglia and Kent are well connected to the Benelux countries, with both electricity and gas links, but with the exception of the Viking Link, there is no connection to the Scandinavian countries.
Did this lack of connection to Sweden make convincing the Swedish government, reluctant to support Vattenfall in their plans?
Bringing The Energy From The Norfolk Wind Farms To Market
It looks to me, that distributing up to 4.2 GW from the Norfolk wind farms will not be a simple exercise.
- Other wind farms like the 2852 MW Hornsea 3 wind farm, may need a grid connection on the North Norfolk coast.
- The Nimbies will not like a South-Western route to the National Grid at the West of Norwich.
- An interconnector to Denmark or Germany from North Norfolk would probably help.
But at least there are two gas pipelines to Belgium and the Netherlands.
RWE, who now own the rights to the Norfolk wind farms, have a large amount of interests in the UK.
- RWE are the largest power producer in the UK.
- They supply 15 % of UK electricity.
- They have interest in twelve offshore wind farms in the UK. When fully-developed, they will have a capacity of almost 12 GW.
- RWE are developing the Pembroke Net Zero Centre, which includes a hydrogen electrolyser.
RWE expects to invest up to £15 billion in the UK by 2030 in new and existing green technologies and infrastructure as part of this.
Could this be RWE’s plan?
As the Norfolk wind farms are badly placed to provide electricity to the UK grid could RWE have decided to use the three Norfolk wind farms to produce hydrogen instead.
- The electrolyser could be placed onshore or offshore.
- If placed onshore, it could be placed near to the Bacton gas terminal.
- There are even depleted gas fields, where hydrogen could be stored.
How will the hydrogen be distributed and/or used?
It could be delivered by tanker ship or tanker truck to anyone who needs it.
In Developing A Rural Hydrogen Network, I describe how a rural hydrogen network could be developed, that decarbonises the countryside.
There are three major gas pipelines leading away from the Bacton gas terminal.
- The connection to the UK gas network.
- Interconnector UK to Belgium.
- BBL to The Netherlands.
These pipelines could be used to distribute hydrogen as a hydrogen blend with natural gas.
In UK – Hydrogen To Be Added To Britain’s Gas Supply By 2025, I describe the effects of adding hydrogen to the UK’s natural gas network.
Ørsted, Simply Blue, Subsea7 Submit Application For 100 MW Scottish Floating Wind Farm
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Ørsted, Simply Blue Group and Subsea7, through their joint venture partnership in Scotland, have submitted an offshore consent application for the proposed 100 MW Salamander floating offshore wind farm, one of the 13 projects selected in Scotland’s Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) leasing round.
The article starts with a map that shows the location of the Salamander floating offshore wind farm and it shows how the sea is getting very crowded 35 kilometres off Peterhead.
This map shows the various ScotWind leases, around the North of Scotland.
The numbers are Scotwind’s lease number in their documents.
These are the Scotwind wind farms to the North-East of Scotland.
- 1 – BP Alternative Energy Investments – 859 km² – 2.9 GW – Fixed
- 2 – SSE Renewables – 859 km² – 2.6 GW – Floating
- 3 – Falck Renewables Wind – 280 km² – 1.2 GW – Floating
- 4 – Shell – 860 km² – 2.0 GW – Floating
- 5 – Vattenfall – 200 km² – 0.8 GW – Floating
- 6 – DEME – 187 km² – 1.0 GW – Fixed
- 9 – Ocean Winds – 429 km² – 1.0 GW – Fixed
- 10 – Falck Renewables Wind – 134 km² – 0.5 GW – Floating
- 11 – Scottish Power Renewables – 684 km² – 3.0 GW – Floating
- 12 – BayWa r.e. UK – 330 km² – 1.0 GW – Floating
Note.
- Salamander is located to the South of wind farms 10, 11 and 12 and to the North-West of wind farm 5.
- These windfarms total up to 16 GW.
- 4.9 GW are fixed foundation wind farms.
- 11.1 GW are floating wind farms.
These are my thoughts.
The Salamander Project
In the big scheme of things, the 100 MW Salamander wind farm, is rather a tiddler of a wind farm.
On the Salamander wind farm web site, a section gives the Project Goals.
- Our innovative pre-commercial stepping-stone concept will use novel floating foundations to (i) maximise Scottish content, (ii) enable the Scottish supply chain to gear up for the future floating offshore wind commercial opportunities in ScotWind and (iii) reduce the financial, environmental and technology risks of floating offshore wind.
- The Salamander project will contribute to the Scottish Government and UK Government net-zero targets. The project can contribute to the Scottish government’s target of 11 GW of installed offshore wind by 2030, as well as the UK government’s target of 5 GW of operational floating offshore wind by the same date.
- We are dedicated to developing a sustainable and transformative project, working with the oceans, and enabling communities to benefit from Project Salamander. Therefore, we commit to having a continuous and strong stakeholder and community engagement.
It appears to me, that the Salamander project will be a pathfinder for the 11.1 GW of floating wind farms to be built off Peterhead.
Bringing The Electricity South
National Grid are building four interconnectors between Eastern Scotland and Eastern England.
- Eastern Green Link 1 – Torness and Hawthorn Pit
- Eastern Green Link 2 – Peterhead and Drax
- Eastern Green Link 3 – Westfield and Lincolnshire
- Eastern Green Link 4 – Peterhead and Lincolnshire
Note.
- All interconnectors are 2 GW.
- All interconnectors are offshore for a long part of their route.
- It also appears that National Grid are burying much of the onshore sections.
But the 4 GW of interconnectors will only be able to bring a quarter of the offshore electricity generated in the Peterhead area to the South.
What Will Happen To The Excess Electricity?
Consider.
- There could be 16 GW of planned offshore wind power around Peterhead and North-East Scotland.
- There is only 4 GW of interconnector capacity between Peterhead and Eastern England.
- There is another 6.8 GW of electricity around North-West Scotland.
- There is 2.8 GW of electricity being developed to the East of Shetland.
- The Crown Estate is thinking of increasing the size of some offshore wind farms.
It is likely, that other wind farms will be built in the seas around the North of Scotland.
It appears that the North of Scotland could have at least 20 GW of excess electricity.
Possible solutions would include.
- Developing energy intensive industries like metal refining.
- More interconnectors to Denmark, England, Ireland and Norway.
- Storage of the electricity in giant pumped storage hydroelectric power stations.
- Creation of green hydrogen for export.
Note.
- Aluminium refining has been developed in the North of Scotland before.
- More interconnectors are a possibility, especially as Scotland is developing cable manufacturing capacity.
- Some maps show extra interconnectors between West Scotland and Merseyside.
- At least 70 GWh of pumped storage hydroelectric power stations are being developed along the Great Glen.
- I suspect that the pumped storage hydroelectric power stations could be connected to the wind farms, by cables under the waters of Loch Ness.
But surely, production of green hydrogen for export would be a very good way to go.
- Extra electrolysers could be added as required.
- Because of the interconnectors down both East and West Coasts, electrolysers could be built in England, where there is a large need for hydrogen.
- Hydrogen would be exported initially by tanker ships.
- At some point in the future, it might be viable to build a hydrogen pipeline to connect to the growing European hydrogen network.
The giant pumped storage hydroelectric power stations and the hydrogen electrolysers would be sized to make sure, that no wind power is never wasted.
Conclusion
The 100 MW Salamander floating wind farm may only be small, but it will prove the technology, the manufacturing and the supply chains, so that Scotland can have a second energy boom from the North Sea.
But this boom will certainly last longer than a hundred years.
Ireland Charts Course For 37 GW Offshore Wind Development
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Irish Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan, has launched the Future Framework for Offshore Renewable Energy, which provides a roadmap for Ireland to deliver 37 GW of offshore wind by 2050.
This is the introductory paragraph.
The framework sets out the pathway Ireland will take to deliver 20 GW of offshore wind by 2040 and at least 37 GW in total by 2050. Critically, it also provides the evidence base for Ireland’s offshore renewable energy (ORE) targets.
This document from the UK Government, which is called Offshore Wind Net Zero Investment Roadmap, says this.
With the highest deployment in Europe, we have proved that offshore
wind can be delivered at ever increasing scale whilst decreasing the
costs to consumers.
The UK has a world-leading ambition to deploy up to 50GW by 2030,
with up to 5GW coming from floating offshore wind.
Irish ambitions look to be more or less in line with the UK’s.
These are some further thoughts.
Ireland Interconnectors
These are interconnectors connecting Ireland to the UK and Europe.
- Celtic Interconnector – 700 MW – Between the southern coast of Ireland and the north-west coast of France.
- East-West Interconnector – 500 MW – Between Portan in Ireland to Shotton in Wales.
- Green Link – 500 MW – Between County Wexford and Pembrokeshire.
- Moyle Interconnector – 500 MW – Between Scotland and Northern Ireland.
If Ireland is going to install 37 GW of offshore wind, as opposed to about 4.7 GW in total generation now, I suspect Ireland will need more interconnectors or industries, that need a lot of GWs.
Octopus Energy Invests In Floating Offshore Wind Tech Company
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Octopus Energy’s generation arm has invested in US-headquartered Ocergy to boost the development of floating offshore wind farms globally.
These are the first three paragraphs.
According to Octopus, Ocergy has an innovative approach to designing and manufacturing floating foundations, reducing the time and cost of building them.
Ocergy is pioneering a hyper-local supply chain approach, working with local manufacturers and creating green jobs in the areas where the wind turbines are installed, said the company.
Further efficiencies are unlocked through Ocergy’s lighter and modular designs which make the turbine foundations easy to transport and assemble at their final destination, according to the press release.
This page on the Ocergy web site contains the press release, mentioned in the article.
These are some sentences from the press release.
- Ocergy, which is headquartered in the US and has operations in France, is pioneering a hyper-local supply chain approach, working with local manufacturers and creating green jobs in the areas where the turbines are installed.
- Further efficiencies are unlocked through Ocergy’s lighter and modular designs which make the turbine foundations easy to transport and assemble at their final destination.
- Floating foundations are used in areas with coastlines that are too deep for foundations that are fixed to the seabed. Around 80% of global offshore wind resources are located in deep waters, underscoring this technology’s vast untapped potential.
- It comes as governments across the globe have set ambitious targets for floating offshore wind. The UK alone is targeting 5 GW of floating offshore wind capacity by 2030.
I certainly like their approach.
believe that innovative designs and streamlined manufacturing will play a large part in installing the large amount of floating wind, that is planned by governments worldwide.
I also believe that because of the repetitive nature of the building of these floating structures, innovative project management software and systems will be developed.
I certainly have my own ideas for that!
BW Ideol Unveils Mass Production-Ready Floating Wind Foundation
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
France-based BW Ideol has unveiled its standardised floating foundation product and a blueprint for mass production that could drive costs down across projects.
This is the first paragraph.
With over 22 GW already awarded in Scotland, around 8 GW in the US, and several GW currently being awarded or in the tendering phase elsewhere in the world, the floating wind is now entering an industrialization phase, said BW Ideol.
It looks like the French have come up with a solution that’s needed.
These are previous posts about BW Ideol.
- BW Ideol And Holcim To Explore Use of Low-Carbon Concrete In Floating Offshore Wind
- BW Ideol, ABP To Explore Serial Production Of Floating Wind Foundations At Port Talbot
There is also this video of proposed serial production of BW Ideol floaters at the Port of Ardersier.
This Google Map show the area of Scotland to the North-East of Inverness Airport.
Note.
- Inverness Airport indicated by the red arrow.
- Ardersier village in the middle of the map on the bay.
- Fort George is at the North end of the bay.
The Port of Ardersier is the large slab of concrete in the North-East corner of the map, the Carse of Ardersier marked below it.
BW Ideol are claimining they can build one floater a week or one GW a year.
A Video Description Of Princess Elisabeth Island
This web site is the web site of Belgium’s Princess Elisabeth energy island.
This YouTube video describes the Princess Elisabeth island.
From the video the following can be determined.
- The Princess Elisabeth island is 45 km. from the Belgian coast.
- An interconnector to the UK could come ashore at the site of the decommissioned Bradwell nuclear power station.
- An interconnector to Denmark could come ashore in Southern Jutland, just North of where the Viking Link connects to Denmark.
This map clipped from the video shows the location of Princess Elisabeth island.
Note.
- Belgium is shown in red.
- Istend is in the middle of the straight Belgian coast.
- The red dot between Belgium and the UK is Princess Elisabeth island.
- The interconnector to the UK could feasibly go to Bradwell.
- The interconnector to Denmark could go via a wind farm, which would explain the kink.
- Could the kink point be at the Dogger Bank, where there could be 20 GW of wind farms?
Has Belgium made a bid to dominate European energy distribution?
This Google Map shows the Belgian and English coast lines.
Note.
- Bradwell is on the coast to the North-East of Southend-on-Sea.
- As it used to be a nuclear power station site it still has an electricity connection to the grid.
- The Princess Elisabeth island is 45 km. from the Belgian coast at Ostend.
I estimate that a Bradwell and Princess Elisabeth island interconnector would be about 150 miles.
Denmark Launches Massive Offshore Wind Auction
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Denmark has opened a new offshore wind tender, the country’s largest ever, offering a minimum of 6 GW of new capacity spread over six wind farms, with the overplanting option allowing for 10 GW or more of new capacity to be added.
These are two paragraphs from the article.
The offshore wind farms must deliver at least 6 GW, and as a new element, there will be freedom to establish as much offshore wind as possible on the tendered areas, with the exemption of Hesselø with a maximum capacity of 1.2 GW.
If the market utilizes this freedom to optimize the usage of the areas, it could result in the construction of 10 GW offshore wind or more, the agency said.
Recently, some wind farms in the UK have been increased in size after the auction.
In Crown Estate Mulls Adding 4 GW Of Capacity From Existing Offshore Wind Projects, I note how 4 GW of overplanting could be employed to raise the total capacity from 4.6 GW to 8.6 GW.
So have the Danes decided to build expansion into the tender?
One of the wind farms in the auction is called Nordsøen I.
- It will be about 50 km. from the West Coast of Denmark.
- It appears it will have a capacity of at least 1 GW.
- It could connect to the shore, not far from where the Viking Link between Lincolnshire and Denmark connects to the Danish grid.
- There is a 700 MW interconnector between the area and Eemshaven in The Netherlands.
- There is 1.5 GW of overland transmission lines to Germany.
All these connections, increase energy security for Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.
Could the Danes be building the Nordsøen I, so it could work with the all the connections in Southern Jutland and improve energy security?
BW Ideol And Holcim To Explore Use of Low-Carbon Concrete In Floating Offshore Wind
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
BW Ideol and Holcim have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a feasibility study on supplying beneficial low-carbon concrete for the floating offshore wind industry, with particular reference to Scotland.
These are the first three paragraphs.
BW Ideol and Holcim aim to collaborate on optimising the supply of the innovative concrete needed for the intended mass production of BW Ideol’s floaters in the Port of Ardersier.
Low-carbon concrete’s advantages as a building material for offshore wind farms include its durability in marine environments, its local availability and its comparatively lower carbon emissions, the companies said.
The collaboration includes developing specific durable maritime low-carbon concrete mixes with enhanced mechanical performance perfectly suited to slipform application.
This is surely a good development.
Europe’s First Commercial-Scale Floating Offshore Wind Farm Secures All Planning Approvals
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Flotation Energy and Vårgrønn, a joint venture between Plenitude (Eni) and HitecVision, have obtained the offshore planning approval for the Green Volt floating wind farm offshore Scotland.
This is the first paragraph.
With onshore consent announced earlier this month, Green Volt has now received all its planning approvals and remains on track to be the first commercial-scale floating offshore wind farm in Europe.
Note.
- This is the Green Volt web site.
- Capacity will be between 300 and 560 MW.
- It should be fully operational by 2029.
- It is an INTOG wind farm designed to decarbonise offshore oil and gas fields.
It will also have the side effect of bringing more gas ashore in the UK, instead of burning it to power the platforms.
Hyundai Heavy Sets Sights On Scottish Floating Offshore Wind
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Major South Korean shipbuilder, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with two Scottish enterprise agencies which is expected to unlock expertise in the design and manufacture of floating offshore wind substructures.
These are the first three paragraphs.
Scottish Enterprise (SE) and Highlands & Islands Enterprise (HIE) signed the MoU with Hyundai Heavy in Edinburgh, described as a “vote of confidence” in Scotland, committing each other to pursue opportunities for floating offshore wind projects in Scotland.
This is the South Korean company’s first agreement in Europe on floating offshore wind manufacturing.
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries is the world’s largest shipbuilding company and a major manufacturer of equipment such as the floating substructures that form a critical part of the multi-billion offshore wind supply chain.
To say this is a big deal, could be a massive understatement, as my history with large Korean companies could say otherwise.
Around 1980, one of the first prestigious overseas projects, that was managed by Artemis was in Saudi Arabia.
- This may have been something like the King Khaled City, but I can’t be sure.
- Most of the hard work on the project was done by labour imported by Hyundai from South Korea.
After a few years, the Korean running Hyundai’s part of the project returned to Korea and he indicated that he would help us break into the Korean market.
Our salesman; Paul, with responsibility for Korea, who sadly passed away last year, told me this tale of doing business in the country.
Our Korean friend had bought a system for Hyundai in Korea and he organised a meeting for important Korean companies, so that Paul could present the system.
Everything went well, with our friend doing the necessary pieces of translation.
When he had finished, Paul asked if there were any questions.
The most common one was “Can we see the contract?”
Contracts were given out and after a cursory read, the leaders of Korean industry, all started signing the contracts.
So Paul asked our Korean friend, what was going on.
After a brief discussion, Paul was told. “If it’s good enough for Hyundai, it’s good enough for my company!”
And that was how we broke the Korean market.
Conclusion
In UK And South Korea Help Secure Millions For World’s Largest Monopile Factory, I talked about Korean company; SeAH Wind’s new monopile factory on Teesside.
In South Korea, UK Strengthen Offshore Wind Ties, I talk about a developing partnership.
In Mersey Tidal Project And Where It Is Up To Now, I talk about Korean involvement in the Mersey Tidal Project.
The Koreans are coming and Hyundai’s endorsement will help.
The Anonymous Widower 