AI Tech Tracking Seabirds At Aberdeen Bay Offshore Wind Farm
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Vattenfall, Norwegian AI technology start-up Spoor, and British Trust for Ornithology have teamed up on a project that will test AI technology in tracking 3D flight paths of seabirds flying near the wind turbine blades at the Aberdeen Bay Offshore Wind Farm in Scotland.
This is the first paragraph.
The project has already started, with four cameras already installed and collecting data on birds’ 3D flight paths throughout the wind farm and in the immediate vicinity of the turbine blades. Data on seabird movements has already started coming in and validation trials have been completed both offshore, with an observer present, and onshore, with a drone, according to Vattenfall.
This looks like a very neat piece of technology, that hopefully will solve how birds interact with wind turbines.
From my experience of landing and taking off light aircraft at the old Ipswich Airport, where there were a lot of seabirds, my money would be on that birds will learn to use their AI (Avian Intelligence) to avoid the blades of wind turbines.
RWE Applies For Rampion 2 Development Consent, Reduces Number Of Offshore Wind Turbines
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Last month, RWE and its project partners submitted an application for the development consent order (DCO) for the Rampion 2 offshore wind farm in the UK. The Planning Inspectorate accepted the application for examination on 7 September and will start the examination process within three months.
RWE and other major wind developers may well have taken a pass in acquiring new offshore wind leases in the Contracts for Difference Allocation Round 5 last week, but RWE seem to be carrying on with the projects they already have.
Dates for the 1200 MW Rampion 2 wind farm include.
- Development Consent – Early 2025
- Construction Start – Late 2026 or Early 2027
- Fully Operational – End of the decade.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Rampion 2 being earlier, as it is the only wind farm in the development queue in the South of England.
Two UK Offshore Wind Farm Extension Projects Sign ‘Good Neighbour Agreement’
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
The North Falls and Five Estuaries offshore wind projects, both extensions to existing offshore wind farms, have signed what is called a “good neighbour agreement” with regard to their connections to the UK grid.
I have flagged up this article as it shows the benefits that can accrue if infrastructure developers listen to the locals and cooperate with all stakeholders.
This paragraph describes the agreement,
The agreement enables closer liaison, information sharing and joint planning, and is a result of feedback gathered through public consultation, which has shown a preference for more cooperation and coordination between the two projects on the landfall location, onshore corridor route, substation location and stakeholder engagement.
It is probably helpful that RWE is involved in both projects.
North Falls wind farm is a 504 MW wind farm being developed by SSE Renewables and RWE.
Five Estuaries wind farm is under development by RWE and the size doesn’t seem to have been decided yet.
This is all good project management.
Let’s hope ur all goes well!
WES Starts Testing Combined Floating Wind And Wave Energy Models
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Wave Energy Scotland (WES) has started a series of tank tests of floating wind and wave energy structures at the University of Edinburgh’s FloWave facility to explore the potential benefits the synergy between the two technologies could bring.
These two paragraphs introduce the technology.
The tank tests currently being completed by WES use sea states which are representative of one of the future floating wind lease sites on the west coast of Scotland, leased through the ScotWind program and which has an appropriate water depth and wave resource for large-scale wave energy exploitation.
The physical model used for the testing incorporates multiple identical wave energy absorbers mounted onto a semi-submerged, triangular floating platform.
Have we got enough research facilities to test devices like these?
I can find these.
With Edinburgh, that makes five.
First Turbines Up At World’s Biggest Offshore Wind Farm
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
The first two wind turbines have been installed at Dogger Bank A, the first of the three phases of the UK’s 3.6 GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm, the world’s biggest offshore wind farm under construction.
It is a good article that documents how a fixed-foundation wind farm is assembled.
The Dogger Bank wind farm will contain these separate wind farms.
- Dogger Bank A – 1235 MW – 95 x 13 MW – Under Construction – Commission in 2023
- Dogger Bank B – 1235 MW – 95 x 13 MW – Pre-Construction – Commission in 2024
- Dogger Bank C – 1218 MW – 87 x 14 MW – Pre-Construction – Commission in 2025
- Dogger Bank D – 1320 MW – Early Planning
- Dogger Bank South – 3000 MW – Early Planning
Note.
- The Dogger Bank wind farms are currently planned to be a shade over 8 GW.
- I have used data from Wikipedia’s List of offshore wind farms in the United Kingdom.
This family of wind farms could provide almost a third of our electricity or as I showed in The Mathematics Of Blending Twenty Percent Of Hydrogen Into The UK Gas Grid, it could provide enough hydrogen to blend 20 % of hydrogen into the UK gas grid.
Conclusion
Dogger Bank will have moved from a joke in the Shipping Forecast to one of our most important natural resources.
SSE And RWE Tweak North Falls Project Following Public Input, DCO Application Now Expected In 2024
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
RWE and SSE Renewables have made a number of changes to the North Falls offshore wind project in the UK, a proposed extension to the existing 504 MW Greater Gabbard, whose implementation will likely move the planned date for filing a development consent order (DCO) application into 2024. The most significant changes to the project plans include removing the northern array area and reducing the number and height of wind turbines.
These two paragraphs introduce the article.
The developers are tweaking the project following a review of the feedback received from the North Falls statutory consultation held during the summer.
Initially, North Falls comprised two offshore array areas totalling 150 square kilometres and will now have a single array occupying 95 square kilometres. This also moves the wind farm farther offshore, with its closest point to shore now being 42 kilometres, 20 kilometres farther out at sea than proposed originally.
It looks like RWE and SSE Renewables have listened to the public and acted.
But then the developers are two of the most experienced in the UK.
Offshore Wind Could Secure Scottish Green Hydrogen Potential – Report
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
New and existing offshore wind farms could help generate large amounts of green hydrogen and support the UK and EU meet their net zero targets, if the necessary infrastructure can be put in place, according to a new report commissioned by Crown Estate Scotland.
This page on the Crown Estate Scotland gives the full report.
The report contains a lot of interesting information.
Malta Months Away from First Offshore Wind Tender, Identifies Six Floating Wind Areas
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Malta’s Ministry for the Environment, Energy and Enterprise has issued a draft National Policy for the Deployment of Offshore Renewable Energy for public consultation and has demarcated six floating offshore wind development areas located beyond the country’s 12-nautical-mile territorial waters and into its potential Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
These are the first three paragraphs.
According to the Ministry, an international call for expressions of interest will be launched after the public consultation and the subsequent updating of the policy document, while a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) will be prepared at the same time. The completion of a plan-level SEA will help further narrow down the preliminary areas and pinpoint the preferred locations for offshore renewable installations.
The six areas, as well as the rest of Malta’s potential EEZ, have been deemed most suitable for floating offshore wind and solar technologies and, according to the policy, the government has taken into account the possibility of having projects that combine the two technologies.
Looking at other offshore and marine renewables, the government has determined that, although not precluded, wave and tidal energy potential for Malta is considered very limited.
Note.
- Malta has no domestic resource of fossil fuels and no gas distribution network.
- Renewable energy on Malta has one of the lowest shares in the European Union.
- Malta has four operational electricity plants , with a total capacity of 537.8 MW.
- There is a 200 MW interconnector to Sicily.
- Malta has run a pilot project to assess floating solar power.
- The article embraces solar power, but dismisses wave and tidal power.
As the article says that Malta has 25 GW of offshore wind potential, I suspect that Malta will attract bids for the offshore wind licences around the island from some of the world’s largest, experienced and most well-respected offshore wind companies.
I do have a few thoughts.
A Large Generation Capacity
If Malta develops its full 25 GW of offshore wind potential, it will have more than enough electricity for its normal use.
This could mean.
- Malta could have all the electricity needed to run air-conditioners everywhere.
- Malta could export electricity to Sicily.
- Malta could become a hydrogen production centre.
- I also suspect, it could mean that Malta would need some energy storage.
I’ll look at the last two points, in the next two sections.
Hydrogen Production
In the last year or so I’ve written several posts about Offshore Hydrogen Production and Malta would it seems be an ideal location to develop this industry.
- Hydrogen could be used for transport on the island.
- Hydrogen could replace imports of gas.
- Hydrogen could be exported by tanker.
- Lhyfe and other companies are developing offshore hydrogen production.
I don’t think, there would be a problem recruiting engineers to develop the industry.
Energy Storage
Because of the large generation capacity around Malta, even with substantial hydrogen production, I am sure there will be a need for some energy storage around the island.
In UK Cleantech Consortium Awarded Funding For Energy Storage Technology Integrated With Floating Wind, I described a technique called Marine Pumped Hydro, which is being developed by the STORE Consortium.
- Energy is stored as pressurised water in 3D-printed hollow concrete spheres fitted with a hydraulic turbine and pump.
- The spheres sit on the sea-bed.
- This page on the STORE Consortium web site, describes the technology in detail.
- The technology is has all been used before, but not together.
I think it is excellent technology and the UK government has backed it with £150,000 of taxpayers’ money.
I also believe that Marine Pumped Hydro or something like it, could be the solution to the intermittency of wind farms.
It could be ideal to use in the seas around Malta.
Conclusion
Malta could be a renewable energy hub in the middle of the Mediterranean.
I think the Malta renewable energy developments, will show how various technologies can work together.
On Track For A Low Carbon Energy Future – Centrica Signs Corporate Power Deal With Deutsche Bahn
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Centrica.
These two paragraphs outline the deal.
Centrica Energy Trading has signed a two-year corporate power purchase agreement (PPA) with Deutsche Bahn, Germany’s national railway company.
Starting January 2024, Centrica will offtake power from three onshore wind farms with an installed capacity of 60.7 MW. The sites, developed by Prokon AG in Germany, have a total of 45 turbines and will provide approximately 70GWh of renewable electricity annually to Deutsche Bahn.
Sounds like good business to me! You buy electricity from three German onshore wind farms and flog it to a large German company and probably get an appropriate commission in Euros.
Support For Offshore Wind In New Jersey Drops, Industry Points To Effect Of Misinformation
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
The number of New Jersey residents who support offshore wind fell by more than 20 per cent since 2019, from 76 per cent four years ago to just over half (54 per cent) now, and the number of those opposing offshore wind has climbed from 15 per cent to 40 per cent since 2019.
These are the first two paragraphs.
This is according to the results of a poll performed earlier this month by the Monmouth University Polling Institute, which found that 40 per cent of New Jerseyans think offshore wind farms could hurt the state’s summer tourism economy and 45 per cent see a connection between wind energy development and the recent beached whale phenomenon in New Jersey.
Furthermore, only 22 per cent expect the offshore wind industry to create a lot of jobs for the state, with most (55 per cent) saying that a few new jobs would be created and 15 per cent expecting that the industry would not create any new jobs.
It would appear that much of the drop in support has been down to Republicans.
The article is definitely a must-read.
The Anonymous Widower 