First Monopile In At ‘Most Ecological Offshore Wind Farm Yet’
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Van Oord, using its installation vessel Boreas, installed the first monopile at the Ecowende offshore wind farm on 3 December. The project, a joint venture between Shell, Eneco and Chubu Electric Power, is being built off the coast of the Netherlands and is said to become the most ecological offshore wind farm to date.
These four paragraphs add more details.
The offshore wind farm, located approximately 53 kilometres off the Dutch coast near IJmuiden, will have 52 monopile foundations produced by Sif and Smulders supporting 52 Vestas V236-15.0 MW wind turbines.
The offshore wind farm is dubbed “the most ecological to date” since it incorporates several technologies and methodologies that are nature-inclusive, including monopiles coming in two diameters, 8.8 metres and 9.3 metres, to support varying turbine tower heights, as research indicates that higher turbine tip heights may allow birds to fly more safely between the structures, reducing collision risks.
Some of the wind turbines will feature red blades as part of a trial to assess whether increased visibility reduces bird collisions.
Offshore construction on Ecowende (Hollandse Kust West Site VI) offshore wind farm started in September with the installation of eco-friendly scour protection.
Note.
- It looks like its a 780 MW wind farm.
- They’re certainly looking after the birds.
- Scour protection is mainly to protect the wind farm, but at least it’s eco-friendly.
But then the Dutch must know a bit about building windmills, that last a long time.
Centrica Really Can’t Lose At Sizewell
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in The Times.
This is the sub-heading.
Centrica’s £1.3 billion investment in Sizewell C guarantees substantial returns, even with cost overruns.
These two-and-a-half paragraphs explain the funding.
Now we know what Ed Miliband means by his “golden age of nuclear” — golden for the companies putting their money into Sizewell C. Yes, reactor projects have a habit of blowing up private investors. But maybe not this one. It looks more like an exercise in transferring risk to consumers and the taxpayer.
Sure, nobody builds a £38 billion nuke on a Suffolk flood plain without a frisson of danger. But the energy secretary and his Treasury chums have done their bit to make things as safe as possible for the companies putting in equity alongside the government’s 44.9 per cent stake: Canada’s La Caisse with 20 per cent, British Gas-owner Centrica (15 per cent), France’s EDF (12.5 per cent) and Amber Infrastructure (7.6 per cent).
For starters, nearly all the debt for the 3.2 gigawatt plant, three-quarters funded by loans, is coming from the state-backed National Wealth Fund. It’s bunging in up to £36.6 billion, with £5 billion more guaranteed by a French export credit agency.
It looks to me that between them the British and French governments are providing £41.5 billion of loans to build the £38 billion nuke.
These are my thoughts.
Hydrogen And Sizewell C
This page on the Sizewell C web site is entitled Hydrogen And Sizewell C.
Under a heading of Hydrogen Buses, this is said.
At Sizewell C, we are exploring how we can produce and use hydrogen in several ways. We are working with Wrightbus on a pilot scheme which, if successful, could see thousands of workers transported to and from site on hydrogen double decker buses. You can read more about the pilot scheme in our press release
Firstly, it could help lower emissions during construction of the power station. Secondly, once Sizewell C is operational, we hope to use some of the heat it generates (alongside electricity) to make hydrogen more efficiently.
This would appear to be a more general statement about hydrogen and that the following is planned.
- Hydrogen-powered buses will be used to bring workers to the site. A press release on the Sizewell C web site, talks about up to 150 buses. That would probably be enough buses for all of Suffolk.
- Hydrogen-powered construction equipment will be used in the building of the power station.
- It also talks about using the excess heat from the power station to make hydrogen more efficiently. I talk about this process in Westinghouse And Bloom Energy To Team Up For Pink Hydrogen.
This is a substantial investment in hydrogen.
Centrica And Electricity From Sizewell C
The article in The Times, also says this.
Even so, there’s a fair bit of protection for the likes of Centrica, which has also agreed a 20-year offtake deal for its share of Sizewell’s electricity. The price of that is not yet known.
Nothing is said in the article about the size of Centrica’s electricity offtake.
- If they get 15 % of Sizewell C, that would by 480 MW.
- If they get 15 % of Sizewell B + C, that would by 660 MW.
If they use their share to generate hydrogen, Suffolk would have a massive hydrogen hub.
To power the buses and construction of Sizewell C, Sizewell B could be used to provide electricity to create the hydrogen.
How Would The Hydrogen Be Produced?
Centrica, along with other companies, who include Hyundai and Kia, are backers of a company in Hull called HiiROC, who use a process called Thermal Plasma Electrolysis to generate hydrogen.
On their web site, they have this sub-heading.
A Transformational New Process For Affordable Clean Hydrogen
The web site also describes the process as scalable from small modular units up to industrial scale. It also says this about the costs of the system: As cheap as SMR without needing CCUS; a fraction of the energy/cost of water electrolysis.
If HiiROC have achieved their objective of scalability, then Centrica could grow their electrolyser to meet demand.
How Would The Hydrogen Be Distributed?
Consider.
- Currently, the Sizewell site has both road and rail access.
- I can still see in my mind from the 1960s, ICI’s specialist articulated Foden trucks lined up in the yard at Runcorn, taking on their cargoes of hydrogen for delivery all over the country.
- As that factory is still producing hydrogen and I can’t remember any accidents in the last sixty years, I am fairly sure that a range of suitable hydrogen trucks could be developed to deliver hydrogen by road.
- The road network to the Siewell site is being updated to ensure smooth delivery of workers and materials.
- The rail access to the Sizewell site is also being improved, for the delivery of bulk materials.
I believe there will be no problems delivering hydrogen from the Sizewell site.
I also believe that there could be scope for a special-purpose self-propelled hydrogen tanker train, which could both distribute and supply the hydrogen to the vehicles, locomotives and equipment that will be using it.
Where Will The Hydrogen Be Used?
I have lived a large part of my life in Suffolk and know the county well.
In my childhood, there was quite a lot of heavy industry, but now that has all gone and employment is based on agriculture, the Port of Felixstowe and service industries.
I can see hydrogen being used in the following industries.
Transport
Buses and heavy trucks would be powered by hydrogen.
The ports in the East of England support a large number of heavy trucks.
Large Construction Projects
Sizewell C is not the only large construction project in the East of England, that is aiming to use low-carbon construction involving hydrogen. In Gallagher Group Host Hydrogen Fuel Trial At Hermitage Quarry, I talked about a hydrogen fuel trial for the Lower Thames Crossing, that involved JCB and Ryse Hydrogen.
Hydrogen for the Lower Thames Crossing could be delivered from Sizewell by truck, down the A12.
Rail
We may not ever see hydrogen-powered passenger trains in this country, but I do believe that we could see hydrogen-powered freight locomotives.
Consider.
- The latest electro-diesel Class 99 locomotives from Stadler have a Cummins diesel engine.
- The diesel engine is used, when there is no electrification.
- Cummins have developed the technology, that allows them to convert their latest diesel engines to hydrogen or natural gas power, by changing the cylinder head and the fuel system.
- Access to the Port of Felixstowe and London Gateway needs a locomotive with a self-powered capability for the last few miles of the route.
A Class 99 locomotive converted to hydrogen would be able to run with out emitting any carbon dioxide from Felixstowe or London Gateway to Glasgow or Edinburgh.
Ports
Ports have three main uses for hydrogen.
- To power ground-handing equipment, to create a pollution-free atmosphere for port workers.
- To fuel ships of all sizes from the humblest work-boat to the largest container ships.
- There may need to be fuel for hydrogen-powered rail locomotives in the future.
There are seven ports with excellent road and/or rail connections to the Sizewell site; Felixstowe, Great Yarmouth, Harwich, Ipswich, London Gateway, Lowestoft and Tilbury.
The proposed Freeport East is also developing their own green hydrogen hub, which is described on this page on the Freeport East web site.
Airports
Airports have two main uses for hydrogen.
- To power ground-handing equipment, to create a pollution-free atmosphere for airport workers.
- In the future, there is likely to be hydrogen-powered aircraft.
There are three airports with excellent road and/or rail connections to the Sizewell site; Norwich, Southend and Stansted.
Agriculture And The Rural Economy
Agriculture and the rural economy would be difficult to decarbonise.
Consider.
- Currently, most farms would use diesel power for tractors and agricultural equipment, which is delivered by truck.
- Many rural properties are heated by propane or fuel oil, which is delivered by truck.
- Some high-energy rural businesses like blacksmiths rely on propane, which is delivered by truck.
- Electrification could be possible for some applications, but ploughing the heavy land of Suffolk, with the added weight of a battery on the tractor, would probably be a mathematical impossibility.
- JCB are developing hydrogen-powered construction equipment and already make tractors.
- Hydrogen could be delivered by truck to farms and rural properties.
- Many boilers can be converted from propoane to run on hydrogen.
I feel, that hydrogen could be the ideal fuel to decarbonise agriculture and the rural economy.
I cover this application in detail in Developing A Rural Hydrogen Network.
Exports
Consider.
- Sizewell B and Sizewell C nuclear powerstations have a combined output of 4.4 GW.
- A rough calculation shows that there is a total of 7.2 GW of wind farms planned off the Suffolk coast.
- The East Anglian Array wind farm alone is said in Wikipedia to be planned to expand to 7.2 GW.
- The Sizewell site has a high capacity connection to the National Grid.
Nuclear plus wind should keep the lights on in the East of England.
Any excess electricity could be converted into hydrogen.
This Google Map shows the location of Sizewell B in relation to Belgium, Germany and The Netherlands.
The Sizewell site is indicated by the red arrow.
The offshore oil and gas industry has used technology like single buoy moorings and coastal tankers to collect offshore natural gas for decades.
I don’t see why coastal hydrogen tankers couldn’t export excess hydrogen to places around the North Sea, who need the fuel.
It should be born in mind, that Centrica have a good reputation in doing natural gas trading. This expertise would surely be useful in hydrogen trading.
Conclusion
I believe that a hydrogen hub developed at Sizewell makes sense and I also believe that Centrica have the skills and technology to make it work.
Ørsted Pulls Plug On 2.4 GW Hornsea 4 Offshore Wind Project In UK
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Ørsted has discontinued the development of the UK’s Hornsea 4 offshore wind farm in its current form. The developer said the 2.4 GW project has faced rising supply chain costs, higher interest rates, and increased construction and delivery risks since the Contract for Difference (CfD) award in Allocation Round 6 (AR6) in September 2024.
This introductory paragraph adds more detail.
In combination, these developments have increased the execution risk and deteriorated the value creation of the project, which led to Ørsted stopping further spending on the project at this time and terminating the project’s supply chain contracts, according to the Danish company. This means that the firm will not deliver Hornsea 4 under the CfD awarded in AR6.
Consider.
- Hornsea 4 will be connected to the grid at a new Wanless Beck substation, which will also include a battery and solar farm, which will be South West of the current Creyke Beck substation. Are Ørsted frightened of opposition from the Nimbies to their plans?
- I also wonder if political uncertainty in the UK, and the possibility of a Reform UK government, led by Nigel Farage is worrying companies like Ørsted.
So will factors like these prompt companies like Ørsted to move investment to countries, where they welcome wind turbines like Denmark, Germany and The Netherlands.
Could Ørsted Be Looking At An Alternative?
This is a map of wind farms in the North Sea in the Dogger Bank and Hornsea wind farms, that I clipped from Wikipedia..
These are the Dogger Bank and Hornsea wind farms and their developers and size
- 37 – Dogger Bank A – SSE Renewables/Equinor – 1,235 MW
- 39 – Dogger Bank B – SSE Renewables/Equinor – 1,235 MW
- 38 – Dogger Bank C – SSE Renewables/Equinor – 1,218 MW
- 40 – Sofia – RWE – 1,400 MW
- 1 – Hornsea 1 – Ørsted/Global Infrstructure Partners – 1,218 MW
- 32 – Hornsea 2 – Ørsted/Global Infrstructure Partners – 1,386 MW
- 47 – Hornsea 3 – Ørsted – 2,852 MW
- 51 – Hornsea 4 – Ørsted – 2,400 MW
Note.
- That is a total of 12, 944 MW, which is probably enough electricity to power all of England and a large part of Wales.
- Wikipedia’s List of offshore wind farms in the United Kingdom, also lists a 3,000 MW wind farm, that is being developed by German company ; RWE called Dogger Bank South,
- The Dogger Bank South wind farm is not shown on the map, but would surely be South of wind farms 37 to 40 and East of 51.
- The Dogger Bank South wind farm will raise the total of electricity in the Dogger Bank and Hornsea wind farms to just short of 16 GW.
Connecting 16 GW of new electricity into the grid, carrying it away to where it is needed and backing it up, so that power is provided, when the wind doesn’t blow, will not be a nightmare, it will be impossible.
An alternative plan is needed!
AquaVentus To The Rescue!
AquaVentus is a German plan to bring 10 GW of green hydrogen to the German mainland from the North Sea, so they can decarbonise German industry and retire their coal-fired power stations.
- I introduce AquaVentus in AquaVentus, which I suggest you read.
- AquaVentus is being developed by RWE.
- AquaVentus connects to a German hydrogen network called H2ercules to actually distribute the hydrogen.
This video shows the structure of AquaVentus.
I clipped this map from the video.
Note.
- The thick white line running North-West/South-East is the spine of AquaVentus, that will deliver hydrogen to Germany.
- There is a link to Esbjerg in Denmark, that is marked DK.
- There appears to be an undeveloped link to Norway, which goes North,
- There appears to be an undeveloped link to Peterhead in Scotland, that is marked UK.
- There appears to be a link to just North of the Humber in England, that is marked UK.
- Just North of the Humber are the two massive gas storage sites of Aldbrough owned by SSE and Brough owned by Centrica.
- Aldbrough and Rough gas storage sites are being converted into two of the largest hydrogen storage sites in the world!
- There appear to be small ships sailing up and down the East Coast of the UK. Are these small coastal tankers, that are distributing the hydrogen to where it is needed?
When it is completed, AquaVentus will be a very comprehensive hydrogen network.
I believe that offshore electrolysers could be built in the area of the Hornsea 4 and Dogger Bank South wind farms and the hydrogen generated would be taken by AquaVentus to either Germany or the UK.
- Both countries get the hydrogen they need.
- Excess hydrogen would be stored in Aldbrough and Rough.
- British Steel gets decarbonised.
- A 1.8 GW hydrogen-fired powerstation at Keadby gets the hydrogen it needs to backup the wind farms.
Germany and the UK get security in the supply of hydrogen.
These may be my best guesses, but they are based on published plans.
From Doncaster To Cleethorpes
These pictures were taken on my journey between Doncaster and Cleethorpes.
The area is best summed up as flat and decorated with these features.
- A few hedges.
- Some trees and some woodland.
- dozens of wind turbines.
- Lots of pylons carrying electricity.
- Scunthorpe steelworks
- A few stations and railway sidings.
- A couple of waterways.
- Estates of new housing as you approach Grimsby.
When I returned there was more of the same on the other side of the tracks.
With the addition of all the power stations at Keadby and a couple of wind farms.
These are my thoughts on how this landscape will look at some time after 2030.
More Onshore Wind Farms
There will be a lot more wind farms lining the Doncaster and Cleethorpes railway.
The government has said it might pay for turbines and transmission lines to spoil views.
I feel they will have to, to meet their net-zero targets.
There Will Be Massive Hydrogen Storage On The Other Side Of The Humber
SSE are developing Albrough and Centrica are developing Rough into two of the largest hydrogen stores in the world.
The wind farms of the North Sea will provide them with hydrogen.
More Housing
If the government has its wish there will be a lot more new housing.
And as the newer houses show in my pictures, many of them will have solar panels.
More Power Stations At Keadby
Consider.
- The main purpose of the power stations at Keadby will be to provide backup to the wind and solar power in the area and far out to sea.
- The power stations will use hydrogen stored at Albrough and Rough.
- Some of the gas-fired power stations at Keadby will be fitted with carbon capture.
- One hydrogen-fired power station is already being planned.
The power stations at Keadby will probably be capable of supplying several GW of zero-carbon energy.
There Will Be Energy-Hungry Industries Along The South Bank Of The Humber
Just as in the Victorian era, coal attracted steel-making, chemicals and refining to the area, a South Humberside with large amounts of energy will attract heavy industry again.
Already, Siemens have built a train factory at Goole.
There Will Also Be Large Greenhouses In Lincolnshire
Greenhouses are a wonderful green way of absorbing waste heat and carbon dioxide.
Where Have I Seen This Blend Of Offshore Energy, Hydrogen, Heavy Industry And Agriculture Before?
After I visited Eemshaven in the Northern Netherlands, I wrote The Dutch Plan For Hydrogen.
We are not doing something similar, but something much bigger, based on the hydrogen stores at Aldbrough and Brough, the massive offshore wind farms and Lincolnshire’s traditional heavy industry and agriculture.
The Railway Between Doncaster and Cleethorpes Will Be Developed
Just as the Dutch have developed the railways between Groningen and Eemshaven.
UK, Netherlands To Connect Grids via Nederwiek 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.
Dutch Climate and Green Growth Minister Sophie Hermans has included LionLink, said to be the first direct-current hybrid interconnector, in the country’s latest Offshore Wind Energy Development Framework. LionLink will use the offshore grid connection of Nederwiek 3 offshore wind farm in the Netherlands to connect to both the Dutch and the UK onshore high-voltage grids.
These are points from the article.
- The interconnector can also be used as an additional high-voltage link to exchange electricity between the countries.
- With LionLink now added to the offshore wind development framework, TenneT may now make investments in the project, which the Dutch transmission system operator (TSO) is realising in close cooperation with UK partner National Grid Ventures (NGV).
- Nederwiek 3 is planned to be launched in 2026.
The offshore grid between the UK and Europe is on its way.
First Commercial-Scale Seaweed Farm Between Wind Turbines Fully Operational In Netherlands
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
The world’s first commercial-scale seaweed farm within the Hollandse Kust Zuid offshore wind farm in the Netherlands is fully operational.
These initial three paragraphs fill out the details.
According to the non-profit organisation North Sea Farmers (NSF), the final deployment step was completed one week ago by deploying the seeded substrate.
North Sea Farm 1, initiated by NSF with funding from Amazon’s Right Now Climate Fund, is a floating farm located in the open space between wind turbines where seaweed production can be tested and improved.
The seaweed farm is located within the Hollandse Kust Zuid wind farm, nearly 22 kilometres off the coast of Scheveningen. The 1.5 GW project is owned by Vattenfall, BASF, and Allianz.
I find this an interesting concept.
I can remember reading in the Meccano Magazine in the 1950s, about the production of alginates from seaweed in Scotland.
Surprisingly, Wikipedia has very little on alginates, except for this illuminating Wikipedia entry for alginic acid.
This is the opening paragraph.
Alginic acid, also called algin, is a naturally occurring, edible polysaccharide found in brown algae. It is hydrophilic and forms a viscous gum when hydrated. When the alginic acid binds with sodium and calcium ions, the resulting salts are known as alginates. Its colour ranges from white to yellowish-brown. It is sold in filamentous, granular, or powdered forms.
But it does appear that the Scottish production of alginates is very much of the past. Unless someone else can enlighten me!
Perhaps Scottish seaweed farming can be revived to produce alginates, which appear to have a surprising number of uses, as this section of the Wikipedia entry shows.
Alginates do appear to be remarkably useful.
These are a few uses.
- As of 2022 alginate had become one of the most preferred materials as an abundant natural biopolymer.
- Sodium alginate is mixed with soybean protein to make meat analogue.
- They are an ingredient of Gaviscon and other pharmaceuticals.
- Sodium alginate is used as an impression-making material in dentistry, prosthetics, lifecasting, and for creating positives for small-scale casting.
- Sodium alginate is used in reactive dye printing and as a thickener for reactive dyes in textile screen-printing.
- Calcium alginate is used in different types of medical products, including skin wound dressings to promote healing,
Alginates seem to have some rather useful properties.
Four years ago, I tripped over in my bedroom, which I wrote about in An Accident In My Bedroom. I wonder if the Royal London Hospital used calcium alginate skin dressings to restore my hand to its current condition.
Paul Daniels would have said, “It’s magic!”
In the future these dressings may be produced from UK-produced seaweed.
RWE Gets Go-Ahead For 100 MW Electrolyzer For Offshore Wind-to-Hydrogen Project
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
German energy company RWE has secured construction and environmental permits to build a 100 MW electrolyzer in Eemshaven, the Netherlands. The electrolyzer is part of system integration solutions associated with OranjeWind, an offshore wind project RWE is jointly developing with TotalEnergies in the Dutch North Sea.
These first threee paragraphs gove more information.
RWE described the permits as an important step in developing 100 MW of green hydrogen production at Eemshaven which, if built, will contribute to the onshore energy system integration plans associated with the 795 MW OranjeWind offshore wind project.
To remind, in July this year, TotalEnergies entered into an agreement with RWE to acquire a 50 per cent stake in the OranjeWind and said it would use its share of the electricity from the offshore wind project to power 350 MW electrolyzer projects that will produce about 40,000 tonnes of green hydrogen annually.
With the necessary permits in place, RWE stated it will be able to develop a 100 MW electrolyzer on a plot adjacent to the Magnum Power Station in Eemshaven.
I went to Eemshaven in The Train Station At The Northern End Of The Netherlands. The area looks like it will be the centre of the Dutch hydrogen industry.
This post is called The Dutch Plan For Hydrogen. The Dutch appear to want to be big in hydrogen.
A 100 MW offshore electrolyser is a good start.
Centrica And European Energy Sign Agreement On Måde Green Hydrogen Facility
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Centrica.
This is the sub-heading.
Centrica Energy and European Energy have signed a balancing and optimisation agreement for the Måde green hydrogen facility located at Port Esbjerg. Under the agreement, Centrica Energy will manage power production from co-located wind turbines, designating excess power production to green hydrogen production.
These two introductory paragraphs give more details.
Powering the 12MW green hydrogen facility are two wind turbines, part of the Måde Wind Turbine Test Center, developed by European Energy with a total installed capacity of 16MW. The turbines will provide renewable electricity, which is used to produce green hydrogen through electrolysis with demineralised water.
Expected to produce approximately 1,500 tonnes of green hydrogen every year, European Energy has secured an agreement with Port Esbjerg and a world-class industrial gases company for the offtake from the facility. As the production of hydrogen is a heat-intensive process, the excess heat from production will be fed into the local district heating network, demonstrating sector coupling across the electricity, fuel, and heating domains.
These are my thoughts,
Hydrogen Production
The hydrogen production uses a standard electrolysis method, but excess heat will be fed into the local district heating network.
AquaVentus And Denmark
I introduced AquaVentus in this post called AquaVentus.
This video shows the structure of AquaVentus.
I clipped this map from the video.
Note.
- The thick white line running North-West/South-East is the spine of AquaVentus, that delivers hydrogen to Germany.
- There is a link to Esbjerg in Denmark.
- There appears to be an undeveloped link to Norway.
- There appears to be an undeveloped link to Peterhead in Scotland.
- There appears to be a link to just North of the Humber in England.
- Just North of the Humber are the two massive gas storage sites of Aldbrough owned by SSE and Brough owned by Centrica.
- There appear to be small ships sailing up and down the East Coast of the UK. Are these small coastal tankers, that are distributing the hydrogen to where it is needed?
In the last century, the oil industry, built a substantial oil and gas network in the North Sea.
It appears now the Germans are leading the building of a substantial hydrogen network in the North Sea, that will bring the hydrogen they need to their country.
I also suspect that any spare hydrogen produced in Esbjerg can be added to the AquaVentus network.
- Hydrogen could be sent to Brough and Aldbrough in the UK for storage.
- Hydrogen could be sent to any country in the network that needs it.
Countries will pay for the hydrogen they use.
Optimising AquaVentus
AquaVentus is a complex network.
- Hydrogen could be produced offshore in British, Danish, Dutch, English, German, Norwegian, Orcadian, Scottish and Shetland waters.
- Hydrogen could be sent to Brough and Aldbrough in the UK for storage.
- Hydrogen can be sent to Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Norway, The Netherlands and the UK.
A company like Centrica has the expertise and the software to control the various hydrogen flows to the best advantage of hydrogen producers and users.
‘World’s First’ O&M Campaign Using Heavy-Lift Cargo Drones Underway At Dutch 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 deployed heavy-lift cargo drones (HLCDs) for maintenance work at the Borssele 1&2 offshore wind farm in the Netherlands. This is the first time heavy-lift cargo drones are being used in an operational campaign, according to the company which tested the concept in 2023 at its Hornsea One offshore wind farm in the UK.
These are the first two paragraphs.
At the 752 MW Dutch offshore wind farm that has been in operation since 2020, the 70-kilogram drones will transport cargo of up to 100 kilograms from a vessel to all 94 wind turbines. The campaign now underway at Borssele 1&2 is being performed to update some critical evacuation and safety equipment in each of the turbines.
A drone can complete a task that typically takes several hours in minutes, according to Ørsted.
Note.
- The article claims, a lot of time is saved.
- I suspect we’ll be seeing the use of drones for multiple deliveries, a lot more in the future.
I like the concept, where deliveries to a number of sites are made by drone, rather than in a traditional way perhaps by a ship or truck with a crane.
The Anonymous Widower 