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.
- There is also a visualisation and a map.
- Tesla batteries will be used.
- The The battery will have an output of 300 MW, with a capacity of 600 MWh. So it is another two-hour BESS.
- It should be operational in 2026.
- The battery is on a 35-acre site.
- 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.
- The East-West road is the A 47 Norwich by-pass.
- Norwich is to the North of the by-pass.
- 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.
- 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.
- The Swardeston substation is on a substantial site.
- The Norwich to Tilbury transmission line will have its Northern end at Swardeston substation.
- 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.
RWE Goes For An Additional 10 GW Of Offshore Wind In UK Waters In 2030
This press release from RWE is entitled RWE And Masdar Join Forces To Develop 3 Gigawatts Of Offshore Wind Projects Off The UK Coast.
This is the last paragraph.
The UK plays a key role in RWE’s strategy to grow its offshore wind portfolio RWE is a leading partner in the delivery of the UK’s Net Zero ambitions and energy security, as well as in contributing to the UK build-out target for offshore wind of 50 GW by 2030. RWE already operates 10 offshore wind farms across the UK. Following completion of the acquisition of the three Norfolk offshore wind projects from Vattenfall announced at the end of 2023, RWE is developing nine offshore wind projects in the UK, representing a combined potential installed capacity of around 9.8 GW, with RWE’s pro rata share amounting to 7 GW. Furthermore, RWE is constructing the 1.4 GW Sofia offshore wind project in the North Sea off the UK’s east coast. RWE’s unparalleled track record of more than 20 years in offshore wind has resulted in 19 offshore wind farms in operation, with a goal to triple its global offshore wind capacity from 3.3 GW today to 10 GW in 2030.
Note.
- Nine offshore wind projects in the UK, representing a combined potential installed capacity of around 9.8 GW
- RWE are saying they intend to add 6.7 GW in 2030.
The eight offshore wind farms, that RWE are developing in UK waters would appear to be.
- Sofia – 1,400 MW
- Norfolk Boreas – 1380 MW
- Norfolk Vanguard East – 1380 MW
- Norfolk Vanguard West – 1380 MW
- Dogger Bank South – 3000 MW
- Awel y Môr – 500 MW
- Five Estuaries – 353 MW
- North Falls – 504 MW
This is a total of 9897 MW, which ties in well with RWE’s new capacity figure of 9.8 GW.
The Location Of RWE’s Offshore Wind Farms
RWE’s wind farms seem to fit in groups around the UK.
Dogger Bank
This wind farm is on the Dogger Bank.
- Dogger Bank South – 3000 MW – Planned
This wind farm would appear to be rather isolated in the middle of the North Sea.
RWE could have plans to extend it or even link it to other wind farms in the German area of the Dogger Bank.
Lincolnshire Coast
This wind farm is along the Lincolnshire Coast.
- Triton Knoll – 857 MW – 2022
As there probably isn’t much heavy industry, where Triton Knoll’s power comes ashore, this wind farm can provide the power needed in the area.
But any excess power in the area can be exported to Denmark through the Viking Link.
Norfolk Coast
These wind farms are along the Norfolk Coast.
- Norfolk Boreas – 1380 MW – Planned
- Norfolk Vanguard East – 1380 MW – Planned
- Norfolk Vanguard West – 1380 MW – Planned
These three wind farms will provide enough energy to provide the power for North-East Norfolk.
North Wales Coast
These wind farms are along the North Wales Coast.
- Awel y Môr – 500 MW – Planned
- Gwynt y Môr – 576 MW – 2015
- Rhyl Flats – 90 MW – 2009
- North Hoyle – 60 MW – 2003
These wind farms will provide enough energy for the North Wales Coast.
Any spare electricity can be stored in the 1.8 GW/9.1 GWh Dinorwig pumped storage hydroelectric power station.
Electric Mountain may have opened in 1984, but it is surely a Welsh giant decades ahead of its time.
Suffolk Coast
These wind farms are along the Suffolk Coast.
- Five Estuaries – 353 MW – Planned
- Galloper – 353 MW – 2018
- North Falls – 504 MW – Planned
These wind farms will provide enough energy for the Suffolk Coast, which except for the Haven Ports, probably doesn’t have many large electricity users.
But if the area is short of electricity, there will be Sizewell B nuclear power station to provide it.
Teesside
This wind farm is along the Teesside Coast
- Sofia – 1,400 MW – Planned
Teesside is a heavy user of electricity.
These six areas total as follows.
- Dogger Bank – 3,000 MW
- Lincolnshire Coast – 857 MW
- Norfolk Coast – 4140 MW
- North Wales Coast – 1226 MW
- Suffolk Coast – 1210 MW
- Teesside – 1,400 MW
Backup for these large clusters of wind farms for when the wind doesn’t blow will be provided as follows.
- Dogger Bank – Not provided
- Lincolnshire Coast- Interconnectors to Denmark and Scotland
- Norfolk Coast – Not provided
- North Wales Coast – Stored in Dinorwig pumped storage hydroelectric power station
- Suffolk Coast – Sizewell B and Sizewell C
- Teesside – Interconnectors to Norway and Scotland and Hartlepool nuclear power stations
Note.
- The interconnectors will typically have a 2 GW capacity.
- The 1.9 GW/9.1 GWh Dinorwig pumped storage hydroelectric power station must be one of the best wind farm backups in Europe.
There is a very solid level of integrated and connected assets that should provide a reliable power supply for millions of electricity users.
How Will Dogger Bank And The Norfolk Coast Wind Clusters Work Efficiently?
The Dogger Bank and the Norfolk Coast clusters will generate up to 3 and 4.14 GW respectively.
So what purpose is large amounts of electricity in the middle of the North Sea?
The only possible purpose will be to use giant offshore electrolysers to create hydrogen.
The hydrogen will then be transported to point of use by pipeline or tanker.
Feeding H2ercules
I described H2ercules in H2ercules.
H2ercules is an enormous project that will create the German hydrogen network.
The H2ercules web site, shows a very extensive project, as is shown by this map.
Note.
- Hydrogen appears to be sourced from Belgium, the Czech Republic, The Netherlands and Norway.
- RWE’s Dogger Bank South wind farm will be conveniently by the N of Norway.
- RWE’s Norfolk cluster of wind farms will be conveniently by the N of Netherlands.
- The Netherlands arrow points to the red circles of two hydrogen import terminals.
For Germany to regain its former industrial success, H2ercules will be needed to be fed with vast amounts of hydrogen.
And that hydrogen could be in large amounts from the UK sector of the North Sea.
Uniper’s Wilhelmshaven Hydrogen Hub
This page on the Uniper web site is entitled Green Wilhelmshaven: To New Horizons
This Uniper graphic shows a summary of gas and electricity flows in the Wilhelmshaven Hydrogen Hub.
Note.
- Ammonia can be imported, distributed by rail or ships, stored or cracked to provide hydrogen.
- Wilhelmshaven can handle the largest ships.
- Offshore wind energy can generate hydrogen by electrolysis.
- Hydrogen can be stored in underground salt caverns.
I suspect hydrogen could also be piped in from an electrolyser in the East of England or shipped in by a hydrogen tanker.
All of this is well-understood technology.
Sunak’s Magic Money Tree
Rishi Sunak promised a large giveaway of tax in his manifesto for the 2024 General Election.
As we are the only nation, who can provide the colossal amounts of hydrogen the Germans will need for H2ercules, I am sure we will be well paid for it.
A few days ago we celebrated D-Day, where along with the Americans and the Canadians, we invaded Europe.
Now eighty years later, our hydrogen is poised to invade Europe again, but this time for everybody’s benefit.
This document on the Policy Mogul web site is entitled Rishi Sunak – Conservative Party Manifesto Speech – Jun 11.
These are three paragraphs from the speech.
We don’t just need military and border security. As Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has shown, we need energy security too. It is only by having reliable, home-grown sources of energy that we can deny dictators the ability to send our bills soaring. So, in our approach to energy policy we will put security and your family finances ahead of unaffordable eco zealotry.
Unlike Labour we don’t believe that we will achieve that energy security via a state-controlled energy company that doesn’t in fact produce any energy. That will only increase costs, and as Penny said on Friday there’s only one thing that GB in Starmer and Miliband’s GB Energy stands for, and that’s giant bills.
Our clear plan is to achieve energy security through new gas-powered stations, trebling our offshore wind capacity and by having new fleets of small modular reactors. These will make the UK a net exporter of electricity, giving us greater energy independence and security from the aggressive actions of dictators . Now let me just reiterate that, with our plan, we will produce enough electricity to both meet our domestic needs and export to our neighbours. Look at that. A clear, Conservative plan not only generating security, but also prosperity for our country.
I believe that could be Rishi’s Magic Money Tree.
Especially, if the energy is exported through electricity interconnectors or hydrogen or ammonia pipelines and tankers.
Will This Be A Party Anyone Can Join?
Other wind farm clusters convenient for the H2ercules hydrogen import terminals on the North-West German coast include.
- Dogger Bank – SSE, Equinor – 5008 MW
- East Anglian – Iberdrola – 3786 MW
- Hornsea – Ørsted – 8056 MW
That totals to around 16.5 GW of wind power.
I can see offshore electrolysers producing hydrogen all around the coasts of the British Isles.
What Happens If Sunak Doesn’t Win The Election?
RWE and others have signed contracts to develop large wind farms around our shores.
They didn’t do that out of the goodness of their hearts, but to make money for themselves and their backers and shareholders.
Conclusion
I believe a virtuous circle will develop.
- Electricity will be generated in the UK.
- Some will be converted to hydrogen.
- Hydrogen and electricity will be exported to the highest bidders.
- European industry will, be powered by British electricity and hydrogen.
- Money will be paid to the UK and the energy suppliers for the energy.
The more energy we produce, the more we can export.
In the future more interconnectors, wind farms and electrolysers will be developed.
Everybody will benefit.
As the flows grow, this will certainly become a Magic Money Tree, for whoever wins the election.
Ørsted Secures Exclusive Access To Lower-Emission Steel From Dillinger
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Ørsted will be offered the first production of lower-emission steel from German-based Dillinger, subject to availability and commercial terms and conditions. The steel plates are intended to be used for offshore wind monopile foundations in future projects.
These three paragraphs outline the deal.
Under a large-scale supply agreement entered into in 2022, Ørsted will procure significant volumes of regular heavy plate steel from 2024, giving the company access at scale to and visibility of the most crucial raw material in offshore wind while supporting Dillinger to accelerate investments in new lower-emission steel production, according to Ørsted.
The Danish renewable energy giant expects to be able to procure lower-emission steel produced at Dillinger’s facility in Dillingen, Germany, from 2027-2028.
Taking the current technology outlook into account, the reduction of the process-related carbon emissions from production is expected to be around 55-60 per cent compared to conventional heavy plate steel production, Ørsted said.
Increasingly, we’ll see lower emission steel and concrete used for wind turbine foundations.
This press release on the Dillinger web site is entitled Historic Investment For Greater Climate Protection: Supervisory Boards Approve Investment Of EUR 3.5 billion For Green Steel From Saarland.
These are two paragraphs from the press release.
Over the next few years leading up to 2027, in addition to the established blast furnace route, the new production line with an electric arc furnace (EAF) will be built at the Völklingen site and an EAF and direct reduced iron (DRI) plant for the production of sponge iron will be built at the Dillinger plant site. Transformation branding has also been developed to visually represent the transformation: “Pure Steel+”. The message of “Pure Steel+” is that Saarland’s steel industry will retain its long-established global product quality, ability to innovate, and culture, even in the transformation. The “+” refers to the carbon-neutrality of the products.
The availability of green hydrogen at competitive prices is a basic precondition for this ambitious project to succeed, along with prompt funding commitments from Berlin and Brussels. Local production of hydrogen will therefore be established as a first step together with the local energy suppliers, before connecting to the European hydrogen network to enable use of hydrogen to be increased to approx. 80 percent. The Saarland steel industry is thus laying the foundation for a new hydrogen-based value chain in the Saarland, in addition to decarbonizing its own production. In this way, SHS – Stahl-Holding-Saar is supporting Saarland on its path to becoming a model region for transformation.
It sounds to me, that Tata Steel could be doing something similar at Port Talbot.
- Tata want to build an electric arc furnace to replace the blast furnaces.
- There will be plenty of green electricity from the Celtic Sea.
- RWE are planning a very large hydrogen electrolyser in Pembroke.
- Celtic Sea offshore wind developments would probably like a supply of lower emission steel on their door-step.
I would suspect, that Welsh steel produced by an electric arc furnace will match the quality of the German steel, that is made the same way.
BlueFloat, Renantis And Ørsted Move Forward With 1 GW Scottish Floater
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Stromar Offshore Wind Farm Limited, a joint venture between Ørsted, BlueFloat Energy, and Renantis, has submitted the environmental impact assessment (EIA) scoping and habitats regulations appraisal (HRA) screening reports for the 1 GW floating offshore wind farm in Scotland.
These are the first three paragraphs, which outline the progress that has been made so far.
The reports for the project, which is located approximately 50 kilometres from the Port of Wick, were delivered to the Marine Directorate and Aberdeenshire Council.
The EIA scoping reports outline the plans for the development, addressing both onshore and offshore considerations while the HRA screening reports outline the key protected sites and species of relevance to the Stromar development area. The HRA screening reports also present how impacts will be assessed in more detail at the next stage, the developer said.
The project team will now schedule several community consultation events in Spring 2024 to ensure stakeholders are fully informed and that their views are considered in the site selection, design, and development of the project, according to the developer.
This map shows the various ScotWind leases.
Note.
- The numbers are Scotwind’s lease number in their documents.
- 10 is now Stromar
- This is the Stromar web site.
- One of the partners; Falck Renewables changed its name to Renantis in 2022.
- The next stage is to be awarded a Contract for Difference.
The Internet is suggesting a completion date of 2028.
BP And EnBW To Run Suction Bucket Trials At UK Offshore Wind Farm Sites
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
On 30 December, the vessel North Sea Giant is expected to start suction bucket trials within the array areas of the Mona and Morgan offshore wind farm sites, located off North West England and North Wales.
These are the first three paragraphs.
The trials will run for an estimated 32 days, during which time the vessel will be lifting a suction bucket and setting it down on the seabed, and using subsea pumps to drive the suction bucket into the seabed and back out.
The campaign is expected to consist of around 20 suction bucket trials, subject to weather conditions.
In their environmental impact assessment (EIA) scoping reports, issued last year, BP and EnBW state that a number of foundation types are being considered for the two proposed offshore wind farms and that the type(s) to be used will not be confirmed until the final design, after the projects are granted consent.
It sounds sensible to try out different types of foundations, but what is a suction bucket?
This page on the Ørsted web site is entitled Our Experience With Suction Bucket Jackets, explains how they work and are installed.
This is the first paragraph.
Monopiles (MPs) are currently the most commonly used foundation solution for offshore wind turbines with 81% of offshore wind turbines in European waters founded on MPs at the end of 2019 (Wind Europe, 2020). Where site conditions do not allow for an efficient or practical MP design, a number of alternative foundation solutions are available, including the suction bucket jacket (SBJ), piled jacket, gravity base or even a floating solution.
These two paragraphs, indicate when Ørsted has used SBJs.
Ørsted installed the world’s first SBJ for an offshore WTG at the Borkum Riffgrund 1 offshore windfarm in Germany in 2014.
Since the installation of the Borkum Riffgrund 1 SBJ, Ørsted has been involved in the design and installation of SBJs at the Borkum Riffgrund 2 and the design for Hornsea 1 offshore wind farms. At Hornsea 1, overall project timeline considerations and limitations of serial production capacities precluded the use of SBJs, and therefore the project chose an alternative foundation type.
It will be interesting to see how BP and EnBW’s trial gets on.
Ørsted Greenlights 2.9 GW Hornsea 3 Offshore Wind Farm
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Ørsted has taken the final investment decision (FID) on what the company says is the world’s single largest offshore wind farm, the 2.9 GW Hornsea 3, which is expected to be completed around the end of 2027.
These are the two introductory paragraphs.
In July 2022, Ørsted was awarded a contract for difference (CfD) for Hornsea 3 at an inflation-indexed strike price of GBP 37.35 per MWh in 2012 prices.
The CfD framework permits a reduction of the awarded CfD capacity. The company said it will use this flexibility to submit a share of Hornsea 3’s capacity into the UK’s upcoming allocation round 6.
With all the work, that Ørsted have done to protect kittiwakes, which I wrote about in Kittiwake Compensation, the company seems to have been taking the development of this wind farm carefully and this statement from the wonderfully-named Mads Nipper, Group President and CEO of Ørsted indicates that the UK Government has been persuasive in times, that are not totally favourable to wind farm developers.
Offshore wind is an extremely competitive global market, so we also welcome the attractive policy regime in the UK which has helped secure this investment. We look forward to constructing this landmark project, which will deliver massive amounts of green energy to UK households and businesses and will be a significant addition to the world’s largest offshore wind cluster.
But the article also has this paragraph.
According to Ørsted, most of Hornsea 3’s capital expenditure was contracted before recent inflationary pressures, securing competitive prices from the supply chain, adding that the larger wind turbines and the synergies with Hornsea 1 and 2 lead to lower operating costs.
It looks like Ørsted, may have taken advantage of Siemens well-publicised financial woes and got a good price for the over two hundred turbines.
This page on the Hitachi web site, describes their part in Hornsea 3, where this is said.
Hitachi Energy has supported Ørsted with the grid connection of Hornsea One and Hornsea Two, but Hornsea 3 will be the first phase to use HVDC application in the Hornsea cluster.
The overall HVDC system, including the offshore platform, is delivered in partnership with Aibel. Hitachi Energy will supply two HVDC Light® converter systems, while Aibel will deliver two HVDC offshore converter platforms. The platform is based on Hitachi Energy’s modular HVDC system including its advanced control and protection system, MACH™. As the HVDC offshore market grows and becomes more complex, Hitachi Energy will continue to develop solutions with its customers and partners to enable a more flexible offshore grid of the future.
Hitachi Energy is supplying four HVDC converter stations, which convert AC power to DC for transmission in the subsea cables, then reconvert it to AC for integration into the onshore grid. Two of the converter stations will be installed on offshore platforms and two at mainland grid connections.
Note.
- Hitachi are pushing their electrical innovation hard.
- Hitachi and Ørsted have worked together on Hornsea 1 and 2.
- What better place is there for Hitachi to test their new modular HVDC system, than on one of the world’s largest wind farms?
- Hitachi appear to say, they like to develop with customers and partners.
It looks to me, that Ørsted may well have got new improved technology at an advantageous price.
This is the last paragraph of the article.
The Hornsea zone will also include the Hornsea 4 project, which could have a capacity of up to 2.6 GW. The wind farm received its development consent order from the UK government earlier in 2023 and is now eligible for forthcoming CfD allocation rounds.
So will Hornsea 4 be a slightly smaller version of Hornsea 3 using the same suppliers?
- There could be savings in the design and manufacturing of the electrical systems, foundations, sub-stations and turbines.
- Could for instance, Hitachi’s modular HVDC result in savings in converters and sub-stations, if the two wind farms shared infrastructure?
- I’m sure that Siemens, Hitachi and the other suppliers will be happy to just keep rolling.
- It would be an ideal follow-on.
It looks to me, that by using good design and management, and established suppliers, Ørsted have managed to get the costs of Hornsea 3 and Hornsea 4 to a level, where the venture is profitable.
First German Zero-Subsidy Offshore Wind Farm Starts Taking Shape
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Offshore installation work has started at the 913 MW Borkum Riffgrund 3, the first subsidy-free offshore wind farm in Germany to reach this development phase, Ørsted, the developer of the project, said.
These two paragraphs introduce the project.
The first of the 83 monopile foundations have now been installed at the site some 53 kilometres off the island of Borkum in the German North Sea by Jan De Nul’s Lez Alizés.
The installation directly follows the foundation work in the adjacent 253 MW Gode Wind 3 project, which is being built in parallel by Ørsted in the North Sea.
Ørsted’s web site gives this history of Borkum Riffgrund 3.
Borkum Riffgrund 3 is expected to be fully commissioned in 2025. It comprises three offshore wind projects which were originally awarded to Ørsted in auctions in 2017 and 2018 under the names of Borkum Riffgrund West 1, Borkum Riffgrund West 2 and OWP West. The three projects were renamed in September 2019 and will be built as one joint project under the name of Borkum Riffgrund 3.
Borkum Riffgrund 3 was awarded without subsidies to Ørsted. A number of companies across IT, retail and the chemicals industry have signed corporate power purchase agreements for Borkum Riffgrund 3.
If Ørsted is doing this in Germany, how come, we are not seeing more subsidy-free wind farms in Europe?
These two paragraphs from the article give a partial explanation.
After commissioning in 2025, a large part of the electricity generated by the wind farm will be used for the decarbonization of the industry – through the so-called Corporate Power Purchase Agreements (CPPAs). For the project, long-term power purchase agreements were concluded with the companies Covestro, Amazon, the Energie-Handels-Gesellschaft/REWE Group, as well as BASF and Google.
Shares for Borkum Riffgrund 3 were also sold to an institutional investor well before construction. In October 2021, Nuveen signed an agreement with Glennmont Partners to sell 50 percent of the shares in Borkum Riffgrund 3.
The article also states that Borkum Riffgrund 3 will be the largest offshore wind farm in Germany to date.
This Google Map shows the location of the German Borkum island to the North of the Dutch city of Groningen.
Note.
- Groningen is the city in the South-West corner of the map.
- Borkum is the horseshoe-shaped island at the top of the map.
There are a cluster of wind farms to the North of Borkum, which includes Borkum Riffgrund 1, 2 and 3.
Highview Power, Ørsted Find Value In Integrating Offshore Wind With Liquid Air Energy Storage
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Highview Power and Ørsted have completed their joint investigation into how combining the technologies of Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES) and offshore wind could unlock greater value for investors and consumers.
These three paragraphs outline the findings.
The results show that there is value in combining offshore wind with LAES to support reducing wind curtailment, increasing productivity, and helping the move to a more flexible, resilient zero-carbon grid, according to Higher Power.
The two companies have carried out analysis of technical performance, route to planning approval, and route to market with a regulatory and economic assessment.
As a result of this study, the companies believe a project can be developed and built aligned with the timeline of an offshore wind farm.
I feel very strongly, that putting the two technologies together is a good idea.
In the simplest cases, the storage could be built into the offshore sub-station.
Could LAES Be Used With Hornsea 4 Wind Farm?
The Wikipedia entry for the Hornsea Wind Farm says this about Hornsea 4.
In July 2023, British government officials gave the final approval for Hornsea Four, the fourth phase of the wind project. Hornsea Four is expected to generate 2.6GW, have 180 giant wind turbines, and has the capability to generate enough renewable energy to power 1 million homes in Britain.
The Wikipedia entry also says this about Hornsea 3.
Project 3 will be to the east of Projects 1 and 2, with an estimated maximum capacity of 2.4 GW over 696 square kilometres (269 sq mi). DONG Energy (which in November 2017 changed its name to Ørsted) began consultation on the project’s development in May 2016. Ørsted submitted a Development consent application in 2018 and consent was granted on 31 December 2020.[69] In early 2023, consent was also given to a battery storage power station at Swardeston. The project is expected to begin construction in 2022, and be completed by 2025.
If Ørsted are adding a battery to the 2.4 GW Hornsea 3 wind farm, I would feel, that Ørsted would think about a battery on the 2.6 GW Hornsea 4 wind farm.
The Energy Storage The UK Needs
This is the last paragraph of the article.
The UK will need up to 100 GWh of energy storage by 2050 according to the estimates from National Grid ESO’s Future Energy Systems Scenario.
SSE Renewables are planning two large pumped-storage hydroelectric power stations in Scotland.
- Coire Glas – 1.5 GW/30 GWh – Possible completion in 2031.
- Loch Sloy – 152.5 MW/25 GWh – See SSE Unveils Redevelopment Plans For Sloy Hydro-Electric Power Station.
A quick calculation, says we’d need seven pumped-storage hydroelectric power stations, which need a lot of space and a handy mountain.
I don’t think pumped-storage hydroelectric would be feasible.
Highview Power say this about their next projects on this page of their web site.
Highview Power’s next projects will be located in Scotland and the North East and each will be 200MW/2.5GWh capacity. These will be located on the national transmission network where the wind is being generated and therefore will enable these regions to unleash their untapped renewable energy potential and store excess wind power at scale.
Note.
- This is more like the size.
- Work is now underway at Carrington – a 50MW / 300MWh plant at Trafford Energy Park near Manchester.
- Highview’s technology uses liquid air to store energy and well-proven turbo-machinery.
They are a definite possibility, as only eighteen 200MW/2.5GWh systems would be needed.
National Grid To Accelerate Up To 20GW Of Grid Connections Across Its Transmission And Distribution Networks
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from National Grid.
These four bullet points, act as sub-headings.
- Connection dates of 10GW of battery projects accelerated at transmission level, and 10GW of capacity unlocked at distribution level, both part of the Electricity System Operator (ESO)’s connections five-point plan.
- Battery energy storage projects connecting to the transmission network to be offered new connection dates averaging four years earlier than their current agreement.
- The accelerated 20GW equates to the capacity of six Hinkley Point C nuclear power stations.
- Work is part of ongoing collaborative industry efforts, together with Ofgem and government, to speed up and reform connections.
This is the opening paragraph.
National Grid is accelerating the connection of up to 20GW of clean energy projects to its electricity transmission and distribution networks in England and Wales as part of ongoing collaborative work across industry.
As I write this, the UK is generating 38.5 GW of electricity, so another 20 GW will be a large increase in capacity.
I shall look at what National Grid are proposing in sections.
10 GW Of Battery Power
These two paragraphs, outline the plan for 10 GW of battery power.
On its transmission network, 19 battery energy storage projects worth around 10GW will be offered dates to plug in averaging four years earlier than their current agreement, based on a new approach which removes the need for non-essential engineering works prior to connecting storage.
The new policy is part of National Grid’s connections reform initiative targeting transmission capacity, spearheaded by the ESO – which owns the contractual relationship with connecting projects – and actioned jointly with National Grid Electricity Transmission (ET), the part of the business which designs and builds the transmission infrastructure needed in England and Wales to plug projects in.
It looks to me that someone has been doing some serious mathematical modelling of the UK’s electricity network.
Fifty years ago, I provided the differential equation solving software, that enabled the Water Resources Board to plan, where reservoirs and pipelines were to be built. I have no idea how successful it was, but we don’t seem to have any serious water supply problems, except when there is equipment failures or serious drought.
But modelling water and electrical networks is mathematically similar, with rainfall, pipelines and reservoirs in the water network and power generation, transmission lines and batteries and pumped storage hydroelectricity in the electricity network.
I’d be interesting to know what software was used to solve the mathematical model.
I certainly agree with the solution.
Two of our modern sources of renewable energy; solar and wind are not very predictable, but cost a lot of capital investment to build.
So it is very wrong not to do something positive with any excess electricity generated. And what better place to put it than in a battery, so it can be retrieved later.
The earlier, the batteries come on stream, the earlier, the batteries can save all the excess electricity.
So moving the plug in dates for battery storage four years earlier is a very positive thing to do.
A simple calculation shows that for 10 GW, we would need nineteen batteries of about 526 MW.
Ideally, like power stations, they would be spread around the country.
Could Pumped-Storage Hydroelectricity Be Used?
The largest battery in the UK is the Dinorwig pumped-storage hydroelectric power station, which is commonly known as Electric Mountain or Mynydd Gwefru if you’re Welsh.
- It opened in 1984, after a ten years of construction.
- It has a power output of 1.8 GW.
- The energy storage capacity of the station is around 9.1 GWh.
Roughly, every gigawatt of output is backed up by 5 GWh of storage.
If the proposed nineteen new batteries have the same power to storage ratio as Electric Mountain, then each battery will have a storage capacity of 2.63 GWh
SSE Renewables are planning two large pumped-storage hydroelectric power stations in Scotland.
- Coire Glas – 1.5 GW/30 GWh – Possible completion in 2031.
- Loch Sloy – 152.5 MW/25 GWh – See SSE Unveils Redevelopment Plans For Sloy Hydro-Electric Power Station.
A quick calculation, says we’d need seven pumped-storage hydroelectric power stations, which need a lot of space and a handy mountain.
I don’t think pumped-storage hydroelectric would be feasible.
Could Lithium-Ion Batteries Be Used?
My mathematical jottings have shown we need nineteen batteries with this specification.
- An output of about 526 MW.
- A storage capacity of around 2.63 GWh
This Wikipedia entry gives a list of the world’s largest battery power stations.
The current largest is Vistra Moss Landing battery in California, which has this specification.
- An output of 750 MW.
- A storage capacity of 3 GWh
Reading the Wikipedia entry for Vistra Moss Landing, it appears to have taken five years to construct.
I believe that nineteen lithium-ion batteries could handle National Grid’s need and they could be built in a reasonable time.
Could Any Other Batteries Be Used?
Rounding the battery size, I feel it would be better have twenty batteries with this specification.
- An output of 500 MW.
- A storage capacity of 2.5 GWh
Are there any companies that could produce a battery of that size?
Form Energy
Form Energy are well-backed with an MIT heritage, but their largest proposed battery is only 10 MW/1 GWh.
They could be a possibility, but I feel it’s only a small chance.
Highview Power
Highview Power say this about their next projects on this page of their web site.
Highview Power’s next projects will be located in Scotland and the North East and each will be 200MW/2.5GWh capacity. These will be located on the national transmission network where the wind is being generated and therefore will enable these regions to unleash their untapped renewable energy potential and store excess wind power at scale.
Note.
- This is more like the size.
- Work is now underway at Carrington – a 50MW / 300MWh plant at Trafford Energy Park near Manchester.
- Highview’s technology uses liquid air to store energy and well-proven turbo-machinery.
- Highview have a co-operation agreement with Ørsted
They are a definite possibility.
10 GW Of Extra Unlocked Capacity
These two paragraphs, outline the plan for 10 GW of extra unlocked capacity.
On its distribution network in the Midlands, South West of England and South Wales, the additional 10GW of unlocked capacity announced recently is set to accelerate the connection of scores of low carbon technology projects, bringing forward some ‘shovel ready’ schemes by up to five years.
National Grid has already been in contact with more than 200 projects interested in fast tracking their distribution connection dates in the first wave of the capacity release, with 16 expressing an interest in connecting in the next 12 months and another 180 looking to connect within two to five years.
This page from National Grid ESO, lists the actions that were taken to release the extra grid capacity.
Conclusion
This looks to be a very good plan from National Grid.
Ørsted ‘First’ To Use Giant Autonomous Drones to Transport Cargo To Wind Turbines
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Ørsted says it is the first offshore wind company in the world to use giant autonomous drones to transport cargo to wind turbines
These three paragraphs outline the use of drones.
The Danish offshore wind giant is testing the drones to transport cargo from vessels to its 1.2 GW Hornsea One project in the UK.
Building on its previous experience using smaller drones in other countries, the company is now trialling the 58-kilogram drones with a wingspan of 2.6 metres to transport cargo of up to 68 kilograms.
The drones are operated from existing crew transfer vessels (CVTs) and service operating vessels (SOVs) which are already on site, said Ørsted.
Using drones appears to save cost and time, reduce risk and even allows the deliveries with the turbine working.
With a payload of 68 kilograms, someone my size could even take a lift.
The Anonymous Widower 