EuroLink, Nautilus And Sea Link
EuroLink, Nautilus and Sea Link are three proposed interconnectors being developed by National Grid Ventures.
EuroLink
EuroLink has a web site, where this is said.
To support the UK’s growing energy needs, National Grid Ventures (NGV) is bringing forward proposals for a Multi-Purpose Interconnector (MPI) called EuroLink, which will deliver a new electricity link between Great Britain to the Netherlands.
EuroLink could supply up to 1.8 gigawatts (GW) of electricity, which will be enough to power approximately 1.8 million homes, as well as contribute to our national energy security and support the UK’s climate and energy goals. We’re holding a non-statutory public consultation to inform you about our EuroLink proposals, gather your feedback to help refine our plans and respond to your questions.
Note, that EuroLink is a Multi-Purpose Interconnector (MPI) and they are described on this page of the National Grid website.
In EuroLink’s case, this means it is basically an interconnector between the UK and The Netherlands, that also connects wind farms on the route to the shore.
- Coastal communities get less disruption, as the number of connecting cables coming ashore is reduced.
- Less space is needed onshore for substations.
- Electricity from the wind farms can be directed to where it is needed or can be stored.
As an Electrical and Control Engineer, I like the MPI approach.
The technology to implement the MPI approach is very much tried and tested.
There are many references to EuroLink terminating at Friston.
Nautilus
Nautilus has a web site, where this is said.
Nautilus could connect up to 1.4 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind to each country through subsea electricity whilst connecting to offshore wind farm/s at sea. By combining offshore wind generation with interconnector capacity between the UK and Belgium, Nautilus would significantly reduce the amount of infrastructure and disruption required both onshore and offshore.
With this new technology, we hope to reduce the impact of infrastructure on local communities and the environment, as well as support the government’s net zero and energy security targets. We are already working closely with other developers in the area to coordinate activities and minimise impact on local communities. We believe that through improved coordination, the UK government can achieve and support the co-existence of renewable energy with coastal communities.
Nautilus is another MPI.
This is said on the web site.
Last year, National Grid Ventures ran a non-statutory consultation for Nautilus, which proposed a connection at Friston.
NGV holds a connection agreement on the Isle of Grain in Kent as part of its development portfolio and we are currently investigating if this could be a potential location for Nautilus. Until this is confirmed to be technically feasible, Nautilus will be included as part of our coordination work in East Suffolk.
So it looks like, Nautilus could connect to the UK grid at Friston or the Isle of Grain.
Sea Link
Sea Link has a web site, and is a proposed interconnector across the Thames Estuary between Suffolk and Kent.
This is said on the web site about the need for and design of Sea Link.
The UK electricity industry is evolving at pace to help lead the way in meeting the climate challenge, whilst also creating a secure energy supply based on renewable and low carbon technologies.
The demands on the electricity network are set to grow as other sectors of the economy diversify their energy consumption from using fossil fuels towards cleaner forms, the move towards electric vehicles being just one example.
Where we’re getting our power from is changing and we need to change too. The new sources of renewable and low-carbon energy are located along the coastline. We need to reinforce existing transmission network and build new electricity infrastructure in these areas in order to transport the power to where it’s needed. This is the case along the whole of the East Coast including Suffolk and Kent.
To allow this increase in energy generation, we need to reinforce the electricity transmission system. Sea Link helps to reinforce the electricity network across Suffolk and Kent.
Our proposals include building an offshore high voltage direct current (HVDC) link between Suffolk and Kent with onshore converter stations and connections back to the national electricity transmission system.
On the web site, in answer to a question of What Is Sea Link?, this is said.
Sea Link is an essential upgrade to Britain’s electricity network in East Anglia and Kent using subsea and underground cable. The proposal includes approximately 130km of subsea cables between Sizewell area in East Suffolk and Richborough in Kent. At landfall, the cables would go underground for up to 5 km to a converter station (one at each end). The converter station converts direct current used for the subsea section to alternating current, which our homes and businesses use. A connection is then made to the existing transmission network. In Suffolk, via the proposed Friston substation; in Kent via a direct connection to the overhead line between Richborough and Canterbury.
Note, that from Kent electricity can also be exported to the Continent.
All Cables Lead To Friston In Suffolk
It looks like EuroLink, Nautilus and Sea Link could all be connected to a new substation at Friston.
But these will not be the only cables to pass close to the village.
This Google Map shows the village.
Running South-West to North-East across the map can be seen the dual line of electricity pylons, that connect the nuclear power stations at Sizewell to the UK electricity grid.
Has Friston been chosen for the substation, so that, the various interconnectors can be connected to the power lines, that connect the Sizewell site to the UK electricity grid.
This would enable EuroLink, Nautilus and/or Sea Link to stand in for the Sizewell nuclear stations, if they are shut down for any reason?
It does appear from reports on the Internet that the Friston substation is not welcome.
Exploring Opportunities For Coordination
The title of this section is a heading in the EuroLink web site, where this is said.
In response to stakeholder feedback, NGV’s Eurolink and Nautilus projects and NGET’s Sea Link project are exploring potential opportunities to coordinate. Coordination could range from co-location of infrastructure from different projects on the same site, to coordinating construction activities to reduce potential impacts on local communities and the environment.
That sounds very sensible.
Project To Develop 20+ MW Floating Offshore Wind Technology Kicks Off
This is the introductory paragraph.
Highview Power In The Daily Express
This article in the Daily Express is entitled The Storage Sites Around The UK That Could Provide Cheap Power To Millions Of Homes.
Highview Power gets a large mention for its plan for twenty storage sites around the UK.
This is said about their planned sites at Carrington and on Humberside.
It is hoped that the first plant, a £250million Manchester station, will come online as early as 2024. It will have a 30megawatts capacity, able to store 300megawatt hours of electricity, enough to supply 600,000 homes with clean power for an hour.
The next plants will be even larger in scale, with four a five planned for Humberside with a 200megawatt/2.5gigwatt hour capacity. The CRYOBattery site would be able to store excess energy generated by the Dogger Bank, Hornsea and Sofia wind farms.
There is also a comprehensive map, with sites indicated at places like Aberdeen, Anglesey, Inverness, Liverpool, Montrose, Norfolk and Sizewell.
The sites seem to be following the wind, which is where excess power needs to be stored and released, when the wind is on strike.
The Celtic Cluster Launches New Regional Strategy To Maximise Offshore Wind Benefits
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
The Celtic Sea Cluster has released a new Regional Strategy that outlines how Wales and South West England can maximise floating offshore wind technology benefits, in line with the forthcoming Celtic Sea leasing process being delivered by the Crown Estate.
Who comprise the Celtic Cluster? This paragraph gives the answer.
According to the Cluster, which is led by its founding partners, the Welsh Government, Cornwall, Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership, Celtic Sea Power, Marine Energy Wales, and the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult, the strategy will allow the region’s stakeholders to ensure their activities are aligned and can achieve their common objectives.
I am surprised the Irish aren’t involved politically.
- The Irish Republic has a coastline on the Celtic Sea.
- There are a lot of Irish companies, finance and engineers involved in wind farm development.
But the cluster does have a firm ambition, according to the article.
The Cluster’s ambition is to establish the Celtic Sea region as a world leader in floating offshore wind by 2030 and to deliver 4 GW of floating wind in the Celtic Sea by 2035, with the potential to grow to 20 GW by 2045.
Note.
- The Wikipedia entry for the Celtic Sea, gives the sea an area of 300,000 km2.
- 20 GW or 20,000 MW is to be installed by 2045.
That is an energy density of just 0.067 MW/km2.
In ScotWind Offshore Wind Leasing Delivers Major Boost To Scotland’s Net Zero Aspirations, I calculated that ten floating wind farms had an average energy density of about 3.5 MW per km².
I wouldn’t bet against a few more floating wind turbines being squeezed into the Celtic Sea.
World’s First 16 MW Offshore Wind Turbine Rolls Off Production Line
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the subtitle and the first paragraph, that add some detail.
The first nacelle for a 16 MW offshore wind turbine jointly developed by China Three Gorges Corporation and Goldwind Technology has rolled off the production line at Fujian Three Gorges Offshore Wind Power International Industrial Park in China.
According to China Three Gorges, the unit has the largest single capacity, the largest rotor diameter, and the lightest weight per megawatt in the world.
The West, is going to push hard to make sure, we don’t give away another industry to the Chinese.
France’s First Offshore Wind Farm Fully Up And Running
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-title.
France’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm, the 480 MW Saint-Nazaire, has been fully commissioned.
Does this mean, that this is France’s only operational offshore wind farm?
It does appear so, whereas the UK has 13,628 MW of offshore wind.
With onshore wind, the French have 15,000 MW and England has 14,000 MW.So we’re ahead in offshore and total, but behind in onshore.
100 MW Scottish Floating Wind Project To Deliver Lifetime Expenditure Of GBP 419 Million
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub heading, that gives more details on lifetime expenditure and full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs created.
The 100 MW Pentland Floating Offshore Wind Farm in Scotland is estimated to deliver lifetime expenditure of GBP 419 million in the UK and to support the creation of up to 1,385 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs.
It does seem these figures have been compiled using the rules that will apply to all ScotWind leases and have used methods laid down by Crown Estate Scotland. So they should be representative!
Does it mean that a 1 GW floating wind farm would have a lifetime expenditure of £4.19 billion and create 13, 850 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs?
This article from Reuters is entitled UK Grid Reforms Critical To Hitting Offshore Wind Targets and contains this paragraph.
The government aims to increase offshore wind capacity from 11 GW in 2021 to 50 GW by 2030, requiring huge investment in onshore and offshore infrastructure in England, Wales and Scotland.
If I assume that of the extra 39 GW, half has fixed foundations and half will float, that means that there will be 19.5 GW of new floating wind.
Will that mean £81.7 billion of lifetime expenditure and 270,075 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs?
Conclusion
It does seem to me, that building floating offshore wind farms is a good way to bring in investment and create full time jobs.
Dogger Bank – The Joke That Is Growing Up To Be A Wind Powerhouse
The Wikipedia entry for the Dogger Bank, describes it like this.
Dogger Bank is a large sandbank in a shallow area of the North Sea about 100 kilometres (62 mi) off the east coast of England.
But many of my generation remember it from its use in the Shipping Forecast and as a joke place like the Balls Pond Road, Knotty Ash and East Cheam, in radio and TV comedy from the 1950s and 1960s.
But now it is being turned into one of the largest wind powerhouses!
According to Wikipedia’s list of the UK’s offshore wind farms, these wind farms are being developed on the Dogger Bank.
- Sofia Offshore Wind Farm – 1400 MW – Under Construction – Commissioning in 2023/26 – £39.65/MWh – RWE
- Dogger Bank A – 1235 MW – Under Construction – Commissioning in 2023/24 – £39.65/MWh – SSE/Equinor
- Dogger Bank B – 1235 MW – Pre-Construction – Commissioning in 2024/25 – £41.61/MWh – SSE/Equinor
- Dogger Bank C – 1218 MW – Pre-Construction – Commissioning in 2024/25 – £41.61/MWh – SSE/Equinor
- Dogger Bank D – 1320 MW – Early Planning – SSE/Equinor
- Dogger Bank South – 3000 MW – Early Planning – RWE
Note.
- These total up to 9408 MW.
- The Dogger Bank wind farms have their own web site.
- The Sofia offshore wind farm has its own web site.
- The Dogger Bank South wind farms have their own web site.
- Dogger Bank A and Dogger Bank B will connect to the National Grid at Creyke Beck to the North of Hull.
- Sofia and Dogger Bank C will connect to the National Grid at Lazenby on Teesside.
But this is only the start on the British section of the Dogger Bank.
This map, which comes courtesy of Energy Network Magazine and 4C Offshore is entitled 2001 UK Offshore Windfarm Map shows all UK offshore wind farms and their status. It looks to my naive mind, that there could be space for more wind farms to the North and West of the cluster of Digger Bank wind farms.
The North Sea Wind Power Hub
The UK doesn’t have full territorial rights to the Dogger Bank we share the bank with the Danes, Dutch and Germans.
In the Wikipedia entry for the Dogger Bank wind farm, this is said about the North Sea Wind Power Hub.
Dutch, German, and Danish electrical grid operators are cooperating in a project to build a North Sea Wind Power Hub complex on one or more artificial islands to be constructed on Dogger Bank as part of a European system for sustainable electricity. The power hub would interconnect the three national power grids with each other and with the Dogger Bank Wind Farm.
A study commissioned by Dutch electrical grid operator TenneT reported in February 2017 that as much as 110 gigawatts of wind energy generating capacity could ultimately be developed at the Dogger Bank location.
Note.
- 110 GW shared equally would be 27.5 GW.
- As we already have 9.4 GW of wind power, under construction or in planning around the Dogger Bank, could we find space for the other 18.1 GW?
- I suspect we could squeeze it in.
If we can and the Danes, Dutch and Germans can generate their share, the four countries would each have a 27.5 GW wind farm.
What would put the icing on the cake, would be if there could be a massive battery on the Dogger Bank. It wouldn’t be possible now and many would consider it a joke. But who knows what the capacity of an underwater battery based on concrete, steel, seawater and masses of ingenuity will be in a few years time.
Where Does Norway Fit In To The North Sea Wind Power Hub?
It could be argued that Norway could also connect to the North Sea Wind Power Hub.
- 110 GW shared equally would be 22 GW.
- Norway can build massive pumped storage hydroelectric power stations close to the landfall of an interconnector to the North Sea Wind Power Hub.
- the British, Danes, Dutch and Germans can’t do that, as they don’t have any handy mountains.
- Norway is a richer country the others involved in the project.
I can see Norway signing up to the North Sea Wind Power Hub.
The North Sea Link
The Wikipedia entry for the North Sea Link, introduces it like this.
The North Sea Link is a 1,400 MW high-voltage direct current submarine power cable between Norway and the United Kingdom.
At 720 km (450 mi) it is the longest subsea interconnector in the world. The cable became operational on 1 October 2021.
It runs between Kvilldal in Norway and Blyth in Northumberland.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see that the North Sea Link is modified, so that it has a connection to the North Sea Wind Power Hub.
The Lincolnshire Wind Powerhouse
In August 2022, reports started to appear about the Outer Dowsing Wind Farm, like this article on offshoreWIND.biz, which is entitled Corio, Total Submit Scoping Report For 1.5 GW Outer Dowsing Offshore Wind Project.
There is now a web site.
- Outer Dowsing Offshore Wind is a 1.5GW project located approximately 54km off the Lincolnshire coast.
- It is a joint project between TotalEnergies and Corio Generation.
This map from the Outer Dowsing Wind Farm web site, shows the location of the wind farm.
These are the sizes of the various windfarms, that are shown on the map.
- Dudgeon – 402 MW
- Hornsea 1 – 1218 MW
- Hornsea 2 – 1386 MW
- Hornsea 3 – 2852 MW
- Hornsea 4 – 1000 MW – Not shown on map.
- Humber Gateway – 219 MW
- Lincs – 270 MW
- Lynn and Inner Dowsing – 194 MW
- Norfolk Vanguard West – No information, but Norfolk Vanguard is 1800 MW
- Outer Dowsing – 1500 MW
- Race Bank – 580 MW
- Sheringham Shoal – 317 MW
- Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon Extensions – 719 MW
- Triton Knoll – 857 MW
- Westernmost Rough – 210 MW
Note that these total up to 11724 MW, but with Norfolk Vanguard the total is 135224 MW.
Gas-Fired Power Stations
There are also several active gas-fired power stations.
- Immingham – 1240 MW
- Keadby – 734 MW
- Keadby 2 – 893 MW
- Keadby 3 – 910 MW – Planned to be fitted with carbon capture.
- Saltend – 1200 MW
- South Humber Bank – 1365 MW
- Spalding – 860 MW
- Sutton Bridge – 819 MW
Note that these total up to 8021 MW.
Viking Link
The Viking Link is a 1.4 GW interconnector, that links Bicker Fen in Lincolnshire and Denmark, that should be operational at the end of 2023.
Gas Storage
There are two major gas storage facilities in the area.
- Aldbrough Gas Storage is formed of salt caverns to the North of the Humber.
- Rough Gas Storage is to the East of the Humber in a depleted gas field.
Both will eventually be converted to store hydrogen, which could be used by local industrial users or the proposed hydrogen power station at Keadby.
The Caledonia Wind Farm
Another of the ScotWind wind farms, that I described in ScotWind Offshore Wind Leasing Delivers Major Boost To Scotland’s Net Zero Aspirations, has been given a name and a web site.
This map shows the various ScotWind leases.
Note, that the numbers are Scotwind’s lease number in their documents.
9 is now Caledonia.
- It has grown from a 1,000 MW fixed foundation wind farm and is now 2,000 MW.
- A completion date of 2030 is now given.
The wind farm will be the fourth development in the area, after the 598 MW Beatrice, the 950 MW Moray East and the 882 MW Moray West wind farms. That is a total of nearly 4,500 MW.
Caledonia’s Unique Advantages
On the About Caledonia page on the Caledonia Wind Farm web site, there is a section called Caledonia’s Unique Advantages, which has four sections.
Water Depths
Caledonia’s water depths are 40 to 100 m. Three-quarters of the site is at depths that allow for fixed (rather than floating) foundations.
This means the majority of the site can be built using the same type of jacket foundations which Ocean Winds optimised at Moray East, seeing Caledonia implement a proven, low-risk, low-cost engineering solution.
Wind
The wind resource at Caledonia is proven through the experience of previous projects and is of a magnitude more usually associated with deeper waters, further from shore. This means Caledonia will benefit from an excellent wind resource, yielding a higher output at lower costs.
Distance from Shore
Caledonia is around 40km from shore and 70km from the nearest National Grid connection point. Beyond distances of approx 120km, DC technology becomes a necessity for subsea transmission. This means the additional costs associated with installing AC-DC convertors offshore and DC-AC convertors onshore can be avoided and the onshore substation will be smaller so will require less land and have a lesser impact on the surrounding environment.
Environment
The Moray Firth is the home of commercial-scale offshore wind generation in Scotland. Caledonia neighbours the Moray East, Moray West, and Beatrice sites, and Ocean Winds have had a presence here from the beginning of the area’s offshore wind development.
Conclusion
It does appear that if you do your planning well on projects like these, there are benefits to be reaped in terms of size, construction, capacity and financial returns.
The Anonymous Widower 