The Anonymous Widower

Rio Tinto Signs Australia’s Biggest Renewable Power Deal As It Works To Repower Its Gladstone Operations

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

These three paragraphs outline the deal.

Rio Tinto has signed Australia’s largest renewable power purchase agreement (PPA) to date to supply its Gladstone operations in Queensland, agreeing to buy the majority of electricity from Windlab’s planned 1.4GW Bungaban wind energy project.

The agreement, which follows the announcement last month of a PPA for the Upper Calliope solar farm in Queensland, will make Rio Tinto the biggest industrial buyer of renewable power in Australia and is another major step in the work to repower the company’s Gladstone production assets – Boyne aluminium smelter, Yarwun alumina refinery and Queensland Alumina refinery.

Under the new PPA with Windlab, Rio Tinto will buy 80% of all power generated from the Bungaban wind energy project over 25 years. The project, which is currently in early development, will be built and operated by Windlab at a site in Queensland about 40 kilometres from the town of Wandoan, and 290 kilometres south-west of Gladstone, subject to development and grid connection approvals.

This Google Map indicates the position of Gladstone on the coast of Queensland.

This map brings back memories.

I had hired a Piper Arrow from Sydney and I flew my late wife via Mildura, Adelaide, Coober Pedy, Yulara to Alice Springs taking about a week for it.

From Alice, I flew via Mount Isa to Cairns, which is at the top of the map on the coast.

I remember on leaving Aloce, I asked Air Traffic Control, what time it was in Queensland. The reply was “They’re half-an-hour ahead and twenty-five years behind!”

Mount Isa was infamous on the trip, as it was there we met the only disagreeable Aussie on the whole adventure. Unfortunately, he was in charge of the fuel and didn’t want to serve us. Probably, because he was drunk.

Finally, we got away and spent a couple of nights at Cairns, where we drove up the coast and explored the Daintree.

It was then a short hop for the plane onto the Battier Reef, where we stayed at a resort called Bedarra, which was probably the most exclusive place we ever stayed.

After a few days it was back in the plane and down the coast to Brisbane. That was a strange flight, as all Australian airline pilots were on strike, so we had the airspace to ourselves. At Mackay, the refuellers were so lacking in business, they were all too happy to fuel the plane.

After a couple of days in Brisbane, we flew the plane to Goondawindi, where we picked up our eldest son, before flying back to Sydney, where we took a flight home.

It was a memorable trip and I now wish, that we’d extended it by a couple of weeks.

Conclusion

Australia is a land of boundless solar energy, which is why we went there on holiday and Rio Tinto will be doing all there aluminium smelting by the use of renewables.

I can see in the future that the UK’s boundless wind energy will attract high energy businesses to the UK.

February 21, 2024 Posted by | Energy | , , , , | Leave a comment

ScottishPower Makes Hydrogen Aviation Pact

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

These two paragraphs outline the project.

ScottishPower has partnered with ZeroAvia to explore the development of green hydrogen supply solutions for key airports, with the aim of seeing the decarbonisation of air travel take off.

The collaboration will allow the companies to explore the hydrogen infrastructure for airports to support hydrogen-electric flight and other potential uses.

There is no point of having zero-carbon hydrogen-electric aircraft without the ability to refuel them.

This picture comes from ScottishPower’s original press release.

I can see a system like this having applications in industries like buses, farming, heavy transport and mining.

 

 

January 29, 2024 Posted by | Energy, Hydrogen | , , , , | 2 Comments

Mortenson Announces Completion Of Edwards & Sanborn Solar + Storage Project

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

These two paragraphs describe the project,

Terra-Gen and Mortenson have announced the full substantial completion of the Edwards & Sanborn Solar + Energy Storage project, the largest solar plus energy storage project in the United States. Mortenson was the full Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contractor on both the solar and energy storage scopes for this vanguard project in the energy industry.

This project stretches over 4,600 acres and includes more than 1.9 million First Solar modules. In total, the project generates 875 MWdc of solar energy and has 3,287 megawatt-hours of energy storage with a total interconnection capacity of 1,300 megawatts. The project supplies power to the city of San Jose, Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. and the Clean Power Alliance, and Starbucks, among others. A portion of the project is situated on the Edwards Air Force Base and was the largest public-private collaboration in U.S. Department of Defense history. The project uses LG Chem, Samsung, and BYD batteries.

Note.

  1. 4,600 acres is just over seven square miles.
  2. There’s more about this massive project on this web page.
  3. Judging by the fact, they use three different makes of batteries, did Mortenson have a problem sourcing the number needed from a single manufacturer or are the contractors seeing, which perform best in the hot desert?

California and other places can build these projects, if there is masses of sun and flat desert.

Shotwick Solar Park is the largest solar farm in the UK. It has a capacity of 72.2 MW.

January 27, 2024 Posted by | Energy, Energy Storage | , , | Leave a comment

EDF Receives Green Light For Solar Farm At The Macallan Estate

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Solar Power Portal.

These three paragraphs outline the story.

Energy company EDF Renewables UK has been granted the green light to develop a 4MW solar farm to decarbonise the production of The Macallan’s single malt Scotch whisky in Craigellachie.

Located at The Macallan Estate in north-east Scotland, the distillery company alongside EDF Renewables will integrate ground-mounted solar panels to deliver up to 50% of the daytime electricity needs at peak output. In doing so, this could provide 30% of the site’s yearly electricity demand.

A key aspect of the project is biodiversity and local community engagement – aspects of solar projects which regular readers of Solar Power Portal will be aware of across a number of different schemes.

This Google Map shows the Macallan Estate about sixty miles to the North-West of Aberdeen.

This page on the Macallan Estate web site gives details about the company, its whisky and principles.

As the estate is 485 acres, they’ve certainly got enough space for 4 MW of solar panels.

I do wonder though if low- or zero-carbon whisky and other spirits is the way the industry is going.

Searching the Internet for “Zero-Carbon Whisky” gives some worthwhile results.

Scotland seems to be moving to make whisky at least carbon neutral.

There are also two hydrogen projects aimed at distilleries under development.

This is a paragraph from the home page of the Cromarty Hydrogen Project.

The Cromarty Hydrogen Project is the first project in the Scotland Hydrogen Programme. It originated from a collaboration between the Port of Cromarty Firth, ScottishPower, Glenmorangie, Whyte & Mackay and Diageo and the project originator, Storegga during the feasibility stage. This project is looking to develop a green hydrogen production hub in the Cromarty Firth region and revolves around the local distilleries forming the baseload demand for early phases of the project, which would enable them to decarbonise in line with their own ambitions and sector targets.

This project appears to be backed by three companies, who produce Scotch whisky.

In Major Boost For Hydrogen As UK Unlocks New Investment And Jobs, I said this.

I have just looked at the InchDairnie Distillery web site.

  • It looks a high class product.
  • The company is best described as Scotch Whisky Reimagined.
  • The company is based in Fife near Glenrothes.
  • They appear to have just launched a rye whisky, which they are aiming to export to Canada, Japan and Taiwan.

The press release says this about InchDairnie.

InchDairnie Distillery in Scotland, who plan to run a boiler on 100% hydrogen for use in their distilling process.

That would fit nicely with the image of the distillery.

I suspect the hydrogen will be brought in by truck.

Would a zero-carbon whisky be a hit at Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil parties?

Diageo

This page on the Diageo web site is entitled Accelerating To A Low Carbon World.

It would probably help if more companies thought like Diageo.

Conclusion

Macallan are certainly going in the right direction.

 

 

January 16, 2024 Posted by | Energy, Hydrogen | , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

An Excursion To Retford And Worksop

Today’s excursion was designed to be simple.

  1. Take an LNER train or a Hull Train to Retford station.
  2. Travel to Worksop station, have a look and take a few pictures.
  3. Travel back to Retford and take the first train back to London.
  4. In one if my two visits to Retford, have a look and take a few pictures.
  5. Talk to passengers and railway staff about what they felt about FirstGroup’s Proposed Sheffield Service, that I wrote about in FirstGroup Applies To Run New London To Sheffield Rail Service.

These were my thoughts and observations.

LNER’s Improved Ticketing

These pictures show the tickets that I bought.

Note.

  1. I bought my ticket to Retford from the Ticket Office at King’s Cross station.
  2. The ticket seller gave me a well-designed folder for the tickets.
  3. I was also able to buy my return ticket between Retford and Worksop on the LNER train to Retford. I’ve tried doing that before and it wasn’t allowed.

Making ticketing easier must be a good thing for passengers, staff and LNER.

£24.75 With A Railcard From King’s Cross to Retford

  • The second picture shows my ticket to Retford.
  • It cost me just £24,75 with my Senior Railcard.
  • I also bought it about half-an-hour before the train left.
  • I bought the ticket in the Ticket Office.
  • I got a forward-facing window seat with an unrestricted view.

How much would the 145 mile and nearly three-hour journey have cost in a car?

I Missed My Connection At Retford Station

These pictures show my train to Worksop station in Platform 3 at Retford station, as I approached from the South.

Note.

The Northern Trains’s Class 195 train arriving on Platform 3 on the Sheffield and Lincoln Line.

  1. I arrived in Platform 2 at Retford station at 12:50
  2. There were three lifts or sets of stairs to negotiate between Platform 2 and Platform 3.
  3. It must take at least five minutes between the two platforms.
  4. One of the lifts was out of order and was being serviced by an engineer.
  5. There was no way, I could have caught the connection, which left at 12:51.
  6. At least one other passenger, had to wait the one hour and fifteen minutes I waited for the next train, which arrived at 14:03.

I feel that there needs to be a timetable adjustment here, so that as many passengers as possible avoid the long wait.

Retford Station

At least the long wait allowed me to take a lot of pictures and have a cup of coffee in the Costa Coffee on Platform 1.

Note.

  1. The toilets were immaculate.
  2. The Costa Coffee had friendly and professional staff, but only rudimentary gluten-free options.
  3. The station is fully step-free with four lifts.
  4. Platforms 1 and 2 on the East Coast Main Line can take a pair of five-car Class 802 trains, as Hull Train demonstrated.
  5. The Hull Train in Platform 2 was using the electrification.
  6. The station is in very good condition.
  7. The station is Grade II Listed.

This Google Map shows the station.

Note.

  1. The red arrow in the South-East corner are the low-level Platforms 3 and 4.
  2. The red arrow in the middle marks the low-level Platforms 1 and 2.
  3. Network Rail’s yellow Mobile Maintenance Train is visible in the siding opposite Platform 2.
  4. There is space around the platforms.

The station may have development possibilities. Especially, as there are signs of To Let over some of the buildings.

Ambitious Renewable Energy

Retford and Worksop are only eleven minutes away but there were a large wind farm and solar farms between the two stations.

Note.

  1. I was a bit slow on the uptake and missed the large wind farm.
  2. The strong sun was reflecting on the windows.
  3. They weren’t the best of photographs.

I had intended to take more and better pictures on the way back, but circumstances intervened.

This Google Map shows the wind and solar farms.

Note.

  1. The Sheffield and Lincoln Line going across the map.
  2. There are solar panels North and South of the railway.
  3. This is the Walkers Wood Solar Farm, which has a nameplate capacity of 27 MW.
  4. H M Prison Ranby is at the top of the map.
  5. The scars of the wind turbines are to the West of Babworth and the crematorium.
  6. At the moment, I can’t find any reference to the wind farm.

These wind and solar farms are probably a classic place to position a battery.

Prisons And Recycling

Worksop Station

I took these pictures during the time I spent at Worksop station.

Note.

  1. The station is not step-free, although you can cross the tracks using the level-crossing.
  2. The station has a pub and a cafe.
  3. There are train services to Leeds, Lincoln, Nottingham and Sheffield.
  4. The station is in very good condition.
  5. The station is Grade II Listed.
  6. The platforms are long enough to handle a Class 802 train without any modification.
  7. Hull Trains could run their Sheffield service to Worksop station without any new infrastructure.
  8. Lidl are developing a site on the other side of the level crossing.
  9. There are 100 car parking spaces.

The station may have development possibilities.

Worksop Station Cafe

These pictures show the Worksop station cafe.

Note.

  1. It is run by two ladies; Jo and Lyndsey.
  2. As one is coeliac, there were lots of gluten-free cakes.
  3. It was cosy and warm on a cold day.

This is definitely one of the better station cafes.

A Double Incident

My journey back to the capital was I suspect untypical.

  • I’d arrived at Worksop at 14:14 and finally left at 16:38 on a train for Retford and Lincoln.
  • The delay was because someone had been hit by a train between Barnsley and Sheffield, which resulted in cancelled trains.
  • When I arrived at Retford at 16:49, there was an LNER train in the platform.
  • It was the 15:15 from Leeds and I was told by LNER staff to catch it and get my ticket on the train.
  • The train finally left Retford for London 69 minutes late at 17:07.
  • We arrived in Peterborough at 19:27, where the train was now 170 minutes late.
  • The delay was because someone had been hit by a train at Newark, which results in delays everywhere.
  • LNER decided to give up on the train and all passengers were put on other trains.
  • I got on the 14:30 from Edinburgh, which arrived in King’s Cross at 20:22, which was 96 minutes late.

Worse things happen at sea.

I am adding this a day after my trip to the North.

This article on the BBC is entitled ‘Major Disruption’ After Person Hit By A Train.

These are the first three paragraphs.

Train services on the East Coast Main Line have been seriously disrupted after a person was hit by a train in North Yorkshire.

Network Rail said the incident happened just before 07:00 GMT between York and Thirsk, with emergency services attending the scene shortly afterwards.

The line was blocked, resulting in delays and cancellations.

Three in two days us three too many.

January 9, 2024 Posted by | Design, Food, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

UK Transmission-Connected 100MW BESS Online At Former Coal Plant Site

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Energy Storage News.

These are the first three paragraphs.

A 100MW battery storage project in the UK connected to National Grid’s transmission network has gone online, developed by Pacific Green on the former site of a coal plant.

UK transmission system operator (TSO) National Grid has plugged in the 100MW/100MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) project to its 400kV Richborough substation.

The project, dubbed the Richborough Energy Park battery, is owned by asset manager Sosteneo Infrastructure Partners which acquired it from developer Pacific Green in July 2023.

A Transmission-Connected Battery

Thye Energy Storage News article says this about transmission-connected batteries.

Most BESS projects in the UK connect into the lower-voltage networks run by distribution network operators (DNOs) rather than National Grid’s high-voltage network. Benefits of the latter include a more reliable connection and better visibility in National Grid control rooms.

This would look to be a better way to connect a battery to the grid, but the battery must be able to supply electricity at 400 kV.

This Google Map shows the location of Richborough Energy Park.

Note.

  1. Richborough Energy Park is marked by the red arrow.
  2. The coast is the East Coast of Kent.
  3. The Prince’s Golf Club lies between the Energy Park and the sea.

This second Google Map shows the energy park in more detail.

Note.

  1. Richborough Energy Park is marked by the red arrow.
  2. The 336 MW coal-fired Richborough power station used to occupy the site.
  3. To its West is Richborough  400kV substation.
  4. There is a large solar park to the North.
  5. The 1 GW Nemo Link connects to the grid at the energy park.
  6. The 300 MW Thanet Wind Farm connects to the grid here.

It looks like an ideal place to put a 100MW/100MWh battery energy storage system, so that it can balance the wind and solar farms.

Sheaf Energy Park

This page on the Pacific Green web site is entitled Delivering Grid-Scale Energy Storage With A Global Reach.

Four battery projects are shown.

  • Richborough Energy Park – In Operation
  • Sheaf Energy Park – In Construction
  • Limestone Coast Energy Park – In Origination
  • Portland Energy Park – In Origination

The first two projects are in Kent and the others are in Australia. That is certainly global reach by Pacific Green.

I then found this page on the Pacific Green web site, that is entitled Pacific Green Acquires Sheaf Energy Limited – 249 MW / 373.5 MWh Battery Energy Storage Development In The UK.

These two paragraphs describe the acquisition and development of Sheaf Energy Park.

Pacific Green Battery Energy Parks 2 Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pacific Green Technologies, Inc. has acquired 100% of the shares in Sheaf Energy Limited (“Sheaf Energy Park”) for £7.5 million (US$9.1 million) from UK-based energy originator, Tupa Energy (Holdings) Limited.

Sheaf Energy Park will be a 249 MW / 373.5 MWh battery energy storage system (“BESS”) located next to the Richborough Energy Park in Kent, England. Design and construction will begin in the first half of 2023, with the energy park commencing its 35-year operating life in April 2025.

It looks to me that Pacific Green have found the figures for the construction and operation to their liking at Richborough Energy Park and have decided that to more than triple their investment in energy storage at the site will be very much to their advantage.

Conclusion

I suspect we’ll see other locations in the UK and around the world, with wind, solar, interconnectors and batteries working in harmony to make the most of the electricity available.

December 27, 2023 Posted by | Energy, Energy Storage | , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Bedford Depot’s Massive Solar Roof Helps Thameslink On Way To Net Zero

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

These four paragraphs give full details of the project.

Work has begun installing one of Bedford’s biggest solar arrays – on the roof of Govia Thameslink Railway’s (GTR’s) train depot, in Cauldwell Walk.

Almost 1,000 photovoltaic panels (932) will generate 322 MWh of electricity a year – enough to power 120 homes every year, saving more than 66 tonnes of CO2e. They form part of GTR’s commitment to become carbon ‘net zero’ for all its energy needs by 2050.

The solar roof – one of four at different depots across GTR’s vast 11 county network – is being installed by not-for-profit community climate action group Energy Garden.

When it comes online in the New Year, Energy Garden will sell half the solar electricity to GTR to power the depots and plough profits from selling what’s left over into community development projects – Energy Garden already works with more than 50 community groups.

This Google Map shows the location of Bedford Cauldwell Park TMD with respect to Bedford station.

Note.

Bedford station is at the top of the map.

Bedford Cauldwell Park TMD is marked by the red arrow.

This second map shows the depot to an enlarged scale.

Note.

  1. The map appears to show several roofs, that could be candidates for solar panels.
  2. At least one shed sells cars. Do they sell electric ones?

As the rail depot appears to be the largest building of its type in the centre of Bedford, in the future will it be serving as a advert for Energy Garden?

This project sounds like a good idea.

And I like the way it’s financed.

December 22, 2023 Posted by | Energy, Finance, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Cheltenham Football Stadium’s New Solar Array To Provide Over 25% Of Power

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Solar Power Portal.

These five paragraphs describe the installation.

Cotswold Energy Group (CEG) has completed the installation of a solar array at Cheltenham football stadium with an annual power generation capacity of 77MWh.

The £90,000 renewable energy project saw 213 solar photovoltaic (PV) panels placed on the south and east-facing stands of the stadium and is expected to yield annual energy savings of £21,000, and a full return of investment in no more than four years.

These returns rise to £650,000 over a 20-year period.

The football club did not provide the capacity of the solar PV installation. However, the solar array will provide more than 25% of the stadium’s power and, alongside other energy saving measures such as the installation of LED floodlights, 30% of the stadium will be powered by renewable energy.

The project was made possible by low-interest load granted by Cheltenham Borough Council to Cheltenham Town Football Club (CTFC), as well as contributions received from shareholders.

Note.

  1. There is a full return in investment in no more than four years.
  2. Returns rise to £650,000 over a 20-year period.
  3. The club has also installed LED floodlights.
  4. The council and shareholders appeared to have contributed.
  5. There is no mention of a battery. Surely, a small one would help to spread out the energy during the day.

There must be lots of sports stadia, that could do something similar.

December 9, 2023 Posted by | Energy, Sport | , , | 2 Comments

Bristol-Based Manufacturer And Centrica Agree Solar Power Purchase Agreement

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

These three paragraphs outline the story.

A Bristol-based architectural aluminium manufacturer has agreed a power purchase agreement and long term lease of 7,000 solar panels on the roof of its UK headquarters.

Smart Architectural Aluminium (Smart) agreed the deal with Centrica Business Solutions, which will see the 2.94MW installation provide Smart with green energy for the next 25 years whilst servicing 20% of the sites current energy needs.

Centrica Business Solutions has started construction on the 7,000 solar panel array, across the roofs of three buildings at the manufacturing site in Yatton, near Bristol. The 2.94MW installation is the result of a long -term lease agreement between Smart and Centrica Business Solutions, which will see Centrica lease the roof space, finance the project and agree a power purchase agreement with Smart.

Some cynics will look at this deal and think that someone is getting ripped off.

  • But the project starts with a non-productive asset; three roofs, which Centrica cover with solar panels.
  • Most of the electricity generated will go to Smart and be paid for, as they would do, if they get it from the grid.
  • Smart gets paid for the lease of the roofs.
  • Centrica gets paid for any electricity that is fed into the grid.
  • The leasing company gets paid by Centrica.

Centrica would appear to be the company taking the risk and if they do their sums correctly, they should make a profit.

November 22, 2023 Posted by | Energy, Finance | , , , | Leave a comment

RheEnergise And Colbún Sign MoU For Long Duration Energy Storage Projects In Chile

The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Water Power and Dam Construction.

These are the first two paragraphs.

Colbún, Chile’s third-largest power generation company and a prominent hydropower operator, has entered into a partnership with RheEnergise, a UK-based clean technology firm, to investigate the viability of deploying RheEnergise’s innovative long-duration hydro-energy storage solution, High-Density Hydro® (HD Hydro), in Chile. The agreement marks RheEnergise’s first entry into South America’s energy market.

Colbún and RheEnergise will jointly assess the feasibility of constructing a 10MW, 10-hour HD Hydro system in Chile. This initiative is seen as a valuable addition to Colbún’s diverse portfolio of hydro, wind, and solar projects, offering a novel technology to address the intermittency challenges associated with renewable energy sources. RheEnergise will conduct thorough investigations and technical studies to identify potential sites for its HD Hydro system, while Colbún will contribute local market expertise, guidance on planning and permitting, and insights into utility.

Note.

  1. Colbún has a Wikipedia entry and seems to be a fairly large company.
  2. The proposed system appears to be a 10 MW/100 MWh system, which could be ideal to back up a small wind or solar farm of about 50 MW capacity.
  3. Colbún seem to have the expertise to be a good partner for RheEnergise.

This last paragraph gives a snapshot of the Chilean market.

“Chile is a very attractive market for RheEnergise’s HD Hydro,” added Sophie Orme, Commercial Director at RheEnergise. “The Chilean Government is leading the way in Latin America, having dedicated US$2 billion for energy storage auctions from 2024, and set a renewables target of 70% by 2030 and carbon neutral by 2050. We are delighted to partner with Colbún, drawing on their first-hand experience of the market, in particular hydro and solar and to help them achieve their plan to add 4GW of renewable assets by 2030.”

I certainly wish both companies a successful future with this MoU.

 

November 17, 2023 Posted by | Energy, Energy Storage | , , , , | Leave a comment

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