The Anonymous Widower

Thoughts On The Wash Barrier

I first learned about tidal power, when I worked for a few months at Frederick Snow and Partners and one of their engineers briefed me about their plans for the Severn Barrage.

That was in about 1973 and it should be remembered, that I didn’t see my first large wind turbine until the last few years of the last century at Swaffham in Norfolk.

I suspect that an engineer revisiting the Severn Barrage would design it differently now.

The Wash Tidal Barrier Corporation

This company is proposing the Wash Barrier, which has a web site.

The name suggests they will generate tidal power.

The home page has a picture of wind turbines, which could be lined up on the barrier.

It also has this introduction to the project.

Sea level rise and climate change are major threats to the Wash coast and fenland environment. Sea level is predicted to rise by at least one metre by 2100 and sea temperatures, already 1°C higher, are increasing by 0.4°C each decade. Storm surges sufficient to overwhelm the Wash coastal defences are becoming ever more likely.

Raising the height of existing coastal defences would not only be prohibitively expensive, but also have a major impact on marginal habitats such as salt marsh, inter-tidal mudflats and sandbanks.

A tidal barrier across the Wash will provide us with the opportunity to manage the tide height and range within the Wash. The Barrier also offers a number of additional benefits – in particular, the generation of a large and reliable amount of green electricity and flood protection for more than 500,000 people, 300,000 hectares of grade 1 agricultural land and billions of pounds’ worth of assets.

The Wash Tidal Barrier Corporation plc is a private company, founded by Cambridgeshire-based entrepreneur Peter Dawe specifically to promote and build a barrier.

The proposed barrier will span the Wash from Hunstanton in Norfolk to just south of Skegness in Lincolnshire, a distance of approximately 18km, with an additional 5km of barrier in Lincolnshire in order to reach high ground.

Following are many of the design considerations we need to assess.

If you click on the Next button, you are led though a few pages that describe the barrier and the issues it raises.

I feel it is a comprehensive outline of what could be done.

It’s also quite old, as it suggests completion in 2012.

This are my thoughts.

Transport Across The Barrier

Some of the world’d barrages across rivers and estuaries have either road or rail links on the top.

Frederick Snow’s original plans for the Severn would have carried a Second Severn Crossing.

In Thoughts On Belgium’s Coastal Tram, I said this.

Along The North Norfolk Coast

This is a route, that could be developed, to ease the traffic problems in the area.

It could connect Kings Lynn and Sheringham stations.

And why shouldn’t it be extended to Skegness?

If the Dutch can put a road across the IJsselmeer, why can’t we put a road across the Wash.

Flood Protection

One of the things I remember from my chat at Frederick Snow and Partners fifty years ago was someone saying, that if you build a barrage, then make sure it sorts out any flooding.

The Wash Barrier web site, says this about flood protection.

The Barrier will provide flood protection for more than 500,000 people, 300,000 hectares of grade 1 agricultural land and billions of pounds’ worth of assets. While building higher significantly adds to the cost, the probability of the Barrier being overwhelmed is greatly reduced.

The promoter of this project would be in deep trouble, if after completion, it didn’t solve the flooding problems, as they said it would.

This article from the Eastern Daily Press, is entitled Norfolk’s Darkest Night: Remembering The 1953 Floods.

No-one wants something like that to happen again.

Electricity Generation

As I said earlier there are possibilities for both wind and tidal power in the project.

As an experienced mathematical modeller, I would be surprised if the power generation and costs of a project like this couldn’t be predicted to a reasonable degree of accuracy by an expert.

Planning Permission

Given the problems that have been associated with building electricity substations and their power cables in Norfolk recently, I would be surprised if planning permission for a Wash Barrage was a piece of cake.

It Could Be One For The Accountants

Once a project like this has been defined, I believe it should be possible to go through the standard financial procedures to see if it was worthwhile to proceed.

I

March 5, 2023 Posted by | Energy, Finance | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mersey Tidal Project And Where It Is Up To Now

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

This is the sub-heading.

With a major agreement on the project reached this week, we take a look at what it all means.

There is a section, which is called So What Is A Mersey Tidal Project?, where this is said.

The idea is to build a huge damn structure in the River Mersey with turbines that can harness energy from the tides of the river and convert it into clean power. The city region combined authority is hopeful that this could power up to 1 million homes and create thousands of local jobs

The city region has one of the country’s largest tidal ranges so it is seen as a perfect opportunity to explore a tidal project here. It is hoped such a project could generate a ‘plentiful, reliable supply of clean, green energy for generations to come.

In the 1970s, I did a small project management consultancy at Frederick Snow and Partners in London. They showed me their ambitious plans for a Severn Barrage, which was a tidal scheme, that would have created a tenth of our electricity and would have cost around a billion pounds.

But Harold Wilson, who was Prime Minister at the time, felt that the money would be better spent on building massive coal-fired power stations, rather than building a clean power station, that would last centuries.

A second section is called What Happened This Week?, where this is said.

This week the Liverpool City Region signed an agreement with the company behind the current world’s current largest tidal project with a view to learning lessons.

The Sihwa Lake tidal range power plant, which is operated by Korea Water Resources Corporation, generates 552GWh of clean, green energy every year, replacing the equivalent of 862,000 barrels of oil a year.

Jeong Kyeong Yun, Vice President of Korea Water Resources Corporation, known as K-water, was in Liverpool this week to sign an historic Memorandum of Agreement with Mayor Rotheram. It is hoped the agreement will pave the way for close co-operation between the two tidal power projects, through reciprocal visits and information sharing.

Note.

  1. The Liverpool Echo is still making spelling mistakes, like damn instead of dam. In the 1960s, Fritz Spiegl used to give us all pleasure by writing about them.
  2. 552 GWh would keep the UK powered up for nearly a month.
  3. The Sihwa Lake Tidal Power Station has a comprehensive Wikipedia entry.
  4. The Sihwa dam has a road over the top.
  5. Unlike Frederick Snow’s scheme for the Severn, Sihwa only generates power, on the incoming tide. But it does generate 254 MW.

As ever, Liverpool is thinking big and getting the experience from those, who know what they are doing.

This last paragraph, gives the thoughts of the Mayor.

Mayor Rotheram said that with the right support, he hopes the project could be generating clean, renewable power by the end of this decade.

I would go along with that.

The Mersey Tidal Project And The Mersey Gateway Bridge

Frederick Snow’s plans for the Severn could have incorporated a new road and rail crossing of the estuary.

This Google Map shows the the Sihwa Lake Tidal power station.

The road over the dam is clearly visible.

I took these pictures of the Mersey Estuary as I came back from Liverpool on Tuesday.

This Google Map shows the Mersey Estuary.

Note.

  1. The River Mersey flowing from the North-East corner of the map to the South-West corner.
  2. On the South Bank of the Mersey, there is the deep-water channel of the Manchester Ship Canal.
  3. The bridge in the North-East corner of the map is the Mersey Gateway Bridge.
  4. Then there is the pair of bridges at Runcorn; the Silver Jubilee Bridge and the Runcorn Railway Bridge.

I am fairly sure, that the Mersey Tidal Project would be built downstream of the pair of bridges at Runcorn.

This Google Map shows the Mersey Estuary from the Runcorn Bridges to the mouth of the Manchester Ship Canal.

Note.

  1. The Mersey Gateway Bridge and the two Runcorn bridges are in the North-East corner.
  2. The route of the Manchester Ship Canal is clearly visible.
  3. Liverpool John Lennon Airport is on the North Bank of the Mersey.
  4. The M56 and M53 Motorways run East-West across the map to the South of the River.

This map leads me to the conclusion, that a tidal barrage with a road on top could link Liverpool to the M56.

I have some thoughts.

Rail Access To Liverpool

There is an electrified railway between Liverpool and Ellesmere Port.

  • The railway can be picked out running across the bottom of the map.
  • In Liverpool’s Vision For Rail, I talked about Liverpool City Region’s plan to expand this service to Helsby, Frodsham and Runcorn East.
  • Helsby and Frodsham are shown on the map.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see a new Park-and-Ride station, where the M56 and the railway cross.

Ship Access To Manchester And Other Ports

Barrages usually have to provide access for ships to pass through to any ports behind the barrage.

But the Mersey Tidal Project already has that access. – It was built in the 1893 and is called the Manchester Ship Canal.

There is probably strong protection between the Mersey and the Canal between the mouth of the Canal and Runcorn, which may impact positively on the costs of the barrage.

The Simple Barrage

Sihwa Lake Tidal power station is a simple barrage with a bridge over the power station in the middle.

This Google Map shows the location of the power station.

Note.

  1. Seoul is in the North-East corner of the map.
  2. The Sihwa Lake Tidal power station is marked by the red arrow.

This Google Map shows a close-up of the power station.

Note.

  1. The ten turbines appear to be in the gap.
  2. There appears to be a road on top of the barrage.
  3. The area to the West of the power station is marked as a rest area.
  4. A Moon Observatory is marked.
  5. It has bus stops, showing that it is served by the 123 and 123-1 buses.

It is an impressive structure.

I’m sure that this type of barrage would work over the Mersey.

  • A road could be built on top.
  • It may only be able to generate electricity,from an incoming tide, like Sihwa.
  • It could incorporate a rest area.

I do suspect though Liverpudlians would add a few unique touches of their own. Perhaps some liver birds or superlambananas.

The Frederick Snow Solution

The Severn is a wide river and he proposed that there would be a dam across the river, with a spine running East along the middle of the river.

  • The spine would divide the river into two lakes.
  • On the incoming tide, sluices would open and allow water to flow into the Northern or high lake from the Mersey estuary.
  • On the outgoing tide, sluices would open and allow water to flow out of the Southern or low lake into the Mersey estuary.
  • Water would flow between the high and low lake through turbines to generate electricity.
  • I have assumed that the high lake is on the North side, but if the geography is more suitable, the high and low lakes could be reversed.

In the design for the Severn Barrage, an International airport would have been built on the spine.

But Liverpool already has a nearby International airport, so perhaps it could be much better to install a large electrolyser and hydrogen storage on the spine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

February 10, 2023 Posted by | Energy, Hydrogen | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sustainable Marine Delivers Floating Tidal Power To Nova Scotia Grid

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Renewable Energy Magazine.

This is the first paragraph.

Ocean energy pioneer Sustainable Marine has successfully harnessed the enormous tidal currents in Canada’s Bay of Fundy, delivering the first floating in-stream tidal power to Nova Scotia’s grid.

This Google Map shows the Bay Of Fundy.

Note.

  1. The hydrology of the Bay of Fundy has the highest tidal range in the world of sixteen metres, against a worldwide average of about a metre.
  2. According to the Renewable Energy Magazine article, Nova Scotia has allocated circa 30MW of capacity via demonstration permits.
  3. The article also indicates that up to 2.5 GW of clean and predictable energy for Canada could be generated.
  4. By comparison Hinckley Point C nuclear power station will generate 3.26 GW.

The Bay of Fundy would be the largest tidal power station in the world.

But this list in Wikipedia gives these proposed tidal power stations.

There are another two Russian proposals and a South Korean one.

Note.

  1. There are some large numbers.
  2. There are also some huge ambitions and massive budgets.

But will we ever see large scale tidal power stations?

 

May 12, 2022 Posted by | Energy | , , , , | Leave a comment

Could The Morocco-UK Power Project Be Developed Into A Western Europe And Africa Interconnector?

This page on the Xlinks web site, describes the Morocco-UK Power Project, which is proposed to generate solar and wind power in Morocco and deliver it to the UK.

  • The plan envisages 10.5 GW of electricity being generated.
  • There will be a 5GW/20GWh battery in Morocco.
  • They will export 3.6 GW of electricity to the UK for at least twenty hours per day.
  • The electricity will be exported to the UK by an Interconnector that skirts to the West of Spain, Portugal and France.
  • The interconnector will be 3,800 kilometres long.

I described the project in detail in Moroccan Solar-Plus-Wind To Be Linked To GB In ‘Ground-Breaking’ Xlinks Project.

This Google Map shows Western Europe And North Africa.

Note.

  1. The light blue of the Continental Shelf
  2. The darker blue of deeper water.
  3. The Southern end of the Morocco and the UK interconnector will at Guelmim Oued Noun in the South of Morocco, which is indicated by the red arrow.
  4. The UK end of the cable will be at Alverdiscott between Barnstaple and Bideford in North Devon.
  5. Southern Morocco and Algeria look to be mainly in the Sahara Desert.

If we look at the route of the cable, it connects a lot of possible renewable energy sources.

  • Morocco – Solar and wind
  • Spain – Solar and wind
  • Portugal – Solar and wind
  • France – Nuclear, tidal and wind
  • UK – Nuclear and wind.

Could the UK and Morocco interconnector be developed into a bigger power project?

  • Solar and wind power from Algeria could be added.
  • Tidal power from a Severn Barrage could be added.
  • Connections could be added to Gibraltar, the Irish Republic and Wales.

I believe that there could be a large amount of electricity developed on the Western costs of Europe and Africa.

An interconnector would move it to where it is needed.

 

September 29, 2021 Posted by | Energy, World | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Newport To London Electric Railway Is Completed

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the South Wales Argus.

This is the introductory couple of paragraphs.

Railway works to improve the line between Newport and London will allow for more frequent and quicker journeys, said to the boss of Network Rail.

Electrification works have now been completed on the Severn Tunnel, meaning the line from Cardiff and Newport to London Paddington is now fully electric.

The article also states that the Sudbrook pumping station, which pumps fourteen million gallons of water out of the Severn Tunnel every day is to be replaced.

The Severn Tunnel has been a project, which has involved lots of heroic engineering.

When I read articles like the one in the South Wales Argus, I am drawn back to the briefing I had from engineers at Sir Frederick Snow and Partners about their plan for a Severn Barrage, in the early 1970s.

It was a One-Design-Solves-Everything project and their plan, included a high speed railway and a motorway crossing between England and Wales.

 

June 7, 2020 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , | Leave a comment

Sizewell C: Nuclear Power Station Plans For Suffolk Submitted

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

A few points from the article.

  • It will provide enough electricity for six million homes.
  • It will create 25,000 jobs during construction.
  • Sizewell C will be a near replica to Hinckley Point C.
  • It will generate 3.2 GW of electricity.
  • It will be low-carbon electricity.

As a well-read and experienced engineer, I am not against the technologies of nuclear power.

But I do think, by the time it is completed , other technologies like wind and energy storage will be much better value. They will also be more flexible and easier to expand, should we get our energy forecasts wrong.

  • We will see higher power and more efficient wind farms, further out in the North Sea.
  • Massive energy storage systems, based on improved pumped storage technology and using new technology from companies like Highview Power, Zinc8 and others will be built.
  • Wind and solar power an energy storage are much easier to fund and financial institutions like L & G, Aberdeen Standard and Aviva have invested in the past for our future pensions.
  • If you want to go nuclear, small modular reactors, look to be much better value in the longer term.
  • I also don’t like the involvement of the Chinese in the project. History tells me, that all pandemics seem to start in the country!

It is my view that the biggest mistake we made in this country over energy was not to built the Severn Barrage.

My preferred design would be based on the ideas of Sir Frederick Snow.

There would have been a high and a low lake, either side of a central spine, behind an outer barrage.

  • Reversible turbines and pumps between the lakes would both generate and store electricity.
  • When proposed in the 1970s, it would have generated ten percent of the UK’s electricity.
  • A new road and rail crossing of the Severn, could have been built into the outer barrage.
  • A lock would have provided access for shipping.
  • It would have controlled the periodic, regular and often devastating flooding of the River Severn.

Some versions of the original design, even incorporated an international airport.

  • The runways would be in the right direction for the prevailing wind, with regard to take-off and landing.
  • Take-off would be over open sea.
  • High speed trains could speed travellers to and from London on an updated Great Western Railway.

I believe a modern design could be even better.

  • The central spine and the outer barrage would be the foundations for a large wind farm.
  • There would also be a large number of powerful floating wind turbines to the West of the outer barrage in the Severn Estuary.
  • A giant electrolyser on the central spine would produce hydrogen, that could be used to decarbonise the UK’s gas network.
  • A power interconnector could be built into the outer barrage to connect Wales to the nuclear power stations at Hinckley :Point.
  • A cluster of small nuclear reactors could be built on the central spine.
  • In the intervening fifty years, we have probably learned how to build a barrage like this, so that it can benefit birds and other wildlife.

I believe, it will never be too late to build a Severn Barrage.

 

May 27, 2020 Posted by | Energy Storage, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

M4 Relief Road: Five Things The Planning Inspector Said

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

This is two of the introductory paragraphs.

Until First Minister Mark Drakeford cancelled it, despite the conclusions of a planning inspector.

After months of studying the evidence in a public inquiry, Bill Wadrup said there was a “compelling case” to build the relief road.

I have read a lot about this relief road and something definitely needs to be done to ease the problems of going between England and South Wales.

On the one hand my environmental and non-driving thoughts, lead me to conclude that the road shouldn’t be built and more transport should be transferred to rail.

But on the other hand, my economic thoughts say that it should be built.

What Happens Now?

In this second article on the BBC, this is said about the stance of the various politicians.

The plans have proved politically divisive too – there has been significant opposition in Labour and some ministers are thought to oppose the scheme.

Plaid Cymru is firmly against, while the newly-formed Brexit Party is backing the road.

Some Labour Newport politicians – particularly those from the Newport West constituency – have lobbied for the road to be built.

Labour AM Jayne Bryant said: “Air pollution is a serious public heath issue because of the congestion on the M4.

“The vast amount of traffic on the M4 around Newport is not local to Newport – that’s why public transport alone will not solve it.”

Plans for the scheme were revived in 2013 after the UK government offered borrowing powers that would allow for the upgrade.

Former Prime Minister David Cameron called the Brynglas tunnels “a foot on the windpipe of the Welsh economy” – and the UK government remains a supporter of the scheme.

Economics could mean that a new Welsh Government, will change their mind. Especially, if the M4 relief road becomes an election issue.

As I write this, news is expected of the closure of Ford’s Bridgend factory.

I doubt this is down to the state of the M4, but getting trucks to and from South Wales will become an increasing logistics nightmare. It may mean, that businesses thinking of setting up a Welsh factory will look elsewhere.

The Railway Must Be Key

The only alternative to the M4 is to make more use of the railway.

The Welsh Government is planning the following.

  • An extensive South Wales Metro, with new routes, trains and some new stations.
  • More Park-and-Ride stations on the South Wales Main Line.
  • Extension of Cardiff station.

But is it enough?

Probably not!

  • Does the double-track Severn Tunnel have enough capacity for all the trains to and from a hopefully-expanding Welsh economy?
  • Can freight trains get easily to and from the Channel Tunnel, Felixstowe, Liverpool, London and Southampton?
  • Is the rail route for travellers between South Wales and Heathrow an incentive to drive?
  • Are services between South Wales and Birmingham and Manchester a joke?

A lot of money needs to be spent!

And much of it in England not Wales!

Frederick Snow Was Right

In The Severn Barrage, I wrote about Frederick Snow’s plan for a tidal power station and airport in the Severn Estuary, based on a barrage.

I believe that if the Severn Barrage had been build correctly in the 1970s, that a new Southern M4 and rail route could have been built on top of the barrage.

Conclusion

It’s a mess!

In my view the most likely solution will be that traffic on the M4 gets so bad, that travellers and freight will move or get moved to rail.

 

I

 

June 6, 2019 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , | 4 Comments

The Beginning Of A New Era

These words come from a the Head of Control Room Operations at National Grid in this article on the BBC, which is entitled UK achieves solar power record as temperatures soar.

This is the first two paragraphs of the article.

A record amount of solar power was generated on Friday as Britain basked in sunshine and temperatures of up to 28C, the National Grid has said.

It said 8.7 gigawatts (GW) had been generated at lunchtime, representing 24.3% of total generation across the UK.

When I was growing up in the 1960s, solar power was seen in pictures of space satellites and probes, but I can’t ever remember anyone saying that fifty years later, the UK would be generating around a quarter of its power from the sun.

I think it could be a case of you ain’t seen nothing yet!

Consider.

  • The big development will be batteries, which will mean that micro-generators will be able to store their power for later use.
  • I also suspect that the proportion of UK solar power generation will rise due to the fall in the price of solar panels and the rise in their generating efficiency.
  • There will be new forms of solar panels, like these solar slates for use on traditional buildings or in conservation areas.
  • In a few years time, all large industrial buildings like farm barns, factory units and retail sheds will be built or retro-fitted with solar roofs.

Never underestimate the ingenuity of engineers and scientists, especially if there is money to be made in an ethical way.

We will still need to generate some electricity in conventional ways to fill in the gaps, when the wind isn’t blowing, the sun isn’t shining and it’s between the tides.

There will be some nuclear and probably some gas-powered stations. The former are generally good for constant load and the latter have the advantage, that they can be brought on stream quickly. Try doing that with a large coal or bio-mass powered power station.

We also have a need for more energy storage like Dinorwig in Wales. This massive system was built in the 1970s and has a lot of advantages including.

  • It will be operational for centuries.
  • It has a very high efficiency.
  • Once built it is zero carbon.
  • It has become a tourist attraction.
  • It is an ideal partner to wind and solar power.

We need more electric mountains.

Sir Frederick Snow’s plan for barraging the River Severn with a high and low lake separated by a central spine, was designed to incorporate energy storage.

It is a tragedy, that we do not make use of the massive amounts of free power in the Severn Estuary.

 

May 27, 2017 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , | 1 Comment

The Severn Barrage Is Still Off The Agenda

I have just seen this story and video on the BBC’s web site.

It shows the terrible state of the River Severn and the surrounding land.

One of my earliest memories is the aftermath of the East Coast Floods of 1953. Since then, every year or so the River Severn floods badly and despite barriers in other places like the rivers Thames, Tees and Hull, nothing of a similar scale has been done to alleviate the problems on the Severn.

I worked at Frederick Snow and Partners in the 1970s and was told of their design for a proposed Severn Barrage, that would help to cut flooding and also generate ten percent of our electricity.

Surely now is the time to build such a structure!

January 3, 2014 Posted by | World | , , , | Leave a comment

Will We Get A Tidal Power Station At Swansea?

I ask the question after reading about the proposed Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon in the Sunday Times.

I like it, as it doesn’t have the problems of one of my favourite energy developments; the Severn Barrage.

It would appear to be fairly simple, have a sound economic case, the backing of the locals and doesn’t seem to annoy those that love birds more than energy.

It also has some other advantages.

If it works, it can serve as a prototype for other schemes around the UK and the world.

They don’t say whether the sea wall could be used to support wind turbines and whether the generators could be reversed to create some pumped storage facility, but on a quick perusal of the project, it could be an ideal platform on which to mount other zero carbon technologies.

December 22, 2013 Posted by | World | , , | 2 Comments

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