Birth Of A Station
Thanet Parkway station is under construction and should be opened in May next year.
Work is progressing as this Google Map shows.
Note.
- The A299 goes across the top of the map.
- The Ashford – Canterbury – Ramsgate Line runs diagonally from South-West to North-East across the map.
- Ashford and Canterbury are to the South-West.
- Ramsgate is to the North-East.
The new Thanet Parkway station appears to be being built on the triangular site between the A299 and the railway.
- There appear to be two entrances/exits to the station from the A299.
- The pedestrian bridge over the railway is under construction.
- The roads and walkways around the station are being laid.
This video gives more details of the station.
Parking At Thanet Parkway
According to the video, there are nearly three hundred parking spaces, with a number of disabled spaces and spaces with charging for electric cars.
Is that going to be enough spaces?
But at least, there may be fields around the station, that could be used to provide additional parking.
Richborough Energy Park
This Google Map shows the area around the station and to the South towards Richborough.
Note.
- The under-construction Thanet Parkway station is in the North-East corner of this map to the West of the village of Cliffsend.
- The dual-carriageway of the A256 runs North-South down the map to a roundabout.
- To the West of the roundabout is Richborough Energy Park.
This Google Map shows the are round the energy park and the roundabout in more detail.
Note.
- The Richborough substation in the South-West corner of the map.
- The Richborough Energy Park sits to the East of the substation.
- The solar panels to the North of the roundabout are the 4.9 MW Ebbsfleet Solar Farm, which is part of Richborough Energy Park.
Richborough Energy Park is an ongoing project.
The national grid interconnector from the original power station is still in place, and is now the grid link for the 300 MW offshore Thanet Wind Farm.
It is the terminal for the NemoLink interconnector to Belgium.
Wikipedia says this about future plans.
The current owner of the site, BFL Management Ltd, plan to bring the site back into use as a £750 million green energy park. There are additional plans to create additional recycling and green energy facilities on site, including an anaerobic digester, a waste processing plant, a biomass combined heat and power generator, a pyrolysis plant and a peak demand 30MW diesel generator. When fully operational, the park could provide up to 1,400MW of power, employing 100 full-time equivalent, with up to 500 jobs in the construction phase.
I am surprised, that there is no mention of batteries or energy storage.
This press release from Network Rail is entitled Charge While You Travel With New Electric Vehicle Charging Points At Network Rail Stations.
This the body of the press release
Rail passengers with electric vehicles will be able to charge while they travel thanks to the introduction of 450 new electric vehicle charging points at Network Rail-managed car parks at railway stations.
The charging points, powered by guaranteed renewable energy, provide enough power to fully charge a vehicle in as little as 3-4 hours.
In this phase, Network Rail has powered: 160 charging points in Reading, 111 in Manchester, 84 in Edinburgh, 56 at Leeds and 41 in Welwyn Garden City.
Electric vehicle charging points will be installed across 10% of car parking spaces (approximately 779 spaces) at car parks managed by Network Rail by March 2024.
Rail is already the leading form of green public transport and this marks another milestone in Network Rail’s commitment to a low-emission railway – making sure rail is environmentally-friendly, resilient to climate change and able to provide an excellent service for years to come.
The new Compleo charging points are marked with green parking bays and passengers can pay for what they need quickly and easily via the APCOA Connect app.
Note, that there is no mention, if these are vehicle-to grid (V2G) chargers.
In Airport Plans World’s Biggest Car Parks For 50,000 Cars, I stated my belief that car parks, with hundreds or even thousands of vehicles could be turned into giant grid batteries.
- All electric vehicles, when they are parked would be plugged in to V2G chargers.
- The vehicle and the grid, would know your expected return time and how much power you would need. Probably from a parking app, assisted by AI!
- If the grid borrowed your electricity, whilst you were away, you wouldn’t know, until you received the payment for the loan.
- If your car runs on hydrogen, the parking could also handle the battery, that all hydrogen-powered vehicles have.
Thanet Parkway station would be an ideal station for such a parking system for electric vehicles.
Norfolk Boreas Offshore Windfarm Contract Awarded
The title of this post, is he same as that of this article on the BBC.
These are the introductory paragraphs.
A government contract has been awarded for the first phase one of the biggest offshore wind zones in the world.
The Norfolk Boreas is expected to secure renewable electricity to meet the needs of around 1.5 million homes, Swedish firm Vattenfall said.
Alongside the Norfolk Vanguard project, it is part of the Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone, which was approved in February.
Together, Norfolk Boreas and Norfolk Vanguard will probably produce over 3 GW of electricity.
Ørsted Awarded Contract For World’s Single Biggest Offshore Wind Farm
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Ørsted.
This is the sub-title.
The UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has awarded Ørsted a contract for difference for its Hornsea 3 offshore wind farm. The project was awarded at an inflation-indexed strike price of GBP 37.35 per MWh in 2012 prices.
And this is the first paragraph, which describes the size of the farm.
With a capacity of 2,852 MW, Hornsea 3 will produce enough low-cost, clean, renewable electricity to power 3.2 million UK homes, making a significant contribution to the UK Government’s ambition of having 50 GW offshore wind in operation by 2030 as part of the British Energy Security Strategy.
This map from Ørsted shows the location of the Hornsea wind farm and its three sections.
Note.
- The Hornsea Wind Farm, when fully developed, with a fourth section, is likely to have a capacity of around six GW.
- The Lincs, Race Bank and the Westernmost Rough wind farms are about another GW.
Looking at the map, I can see Humberside hosting the world’s largest hydrogen electrolyser to feed into the Humber Zero hydrogen network.
The Concept Of Remote Island Wind
This document from the Department of Business, Industry and Industrial Strategy lists all the Contracts for Difference Allocation Round 4 results for the supply of zero-carbon electricity that were announced yesterday.
The contracts have also introduced a concept that is new to me, called Remote Island Wind. All have got the same strike price of £46.39 per MWh.
Two of the projects on Orkney are community projects of around 30 MW, run by local trusts. This is surely, a model that will work in many places.
There is more on Orkney’s Community Wind Farm Project on this page of the Orkney Islands Council web site.
It could even have an electrolyser to provide hydrogen for zero-carbon fuel, when there is more electricity than is needed. Companies like ITM Power and others already build filling stations with an electrolyser, that can be powered by wind-generated electricity.
The other Remote Island Wind projects are larger with two wind farms of over 200 MW.
It does look to me, that the Department of BEIS is nudging wind farm developers in remote places to a model, that all stakeholders will embrace.
The Viking Wind Farm
I wrote about this wind farm in Shetland’s Viking Wind Farm.
There are more details in this press release from SSE enewables, which is entitled CfD Contract Secured For Viking Energy Wind Farm.
These introductory paragraphs, give a good explanation of the finances of this farm.
SSE Renewables has been successful in the UK’s fourth Contract for Difference (CfD) Allocation Round, announced today, and has secured a low-carbon power contract for 220MW for its wholly-owned Viking Energy Wind Farm (Viking) project, currently being constructed in Shetland.
Viking’s success in securing a contract follows a competitive auction process in Allocation Round 4 (AR4) where it competed within Pot 2 of the allocation round set aside for ‘less established’ technologies including Remote Island Wind.
The 443MW Viking project, which SSE Renewables is currently building in the Shetland Islands, has secured a CfD for 220MW (50% of its total capacity) at a strike price of £46.39/MWh for the 2026/27 delivery year.
The successful project will receive its guaranteed strike price, set on 2012 prices but annually indexed for CPI inflation, for the contracted low carbon electricity it will generate for a 15-year period. Securing a CfD for Viking stabilises the revenue from the project whilst also delivering price security for bill payers.
It’s very professional and open to explain the capacity, the contract and the finances in detail.
The press release also has this paragraph, which details progress.
Viking is progressing through construction with over 50 per cent of turbine foundation bases poured. When complete in 2024, Viking Energy Wind Farm will be the UK’s most productive onshore wind farm in terms of annual electricity output, with the project also contributing to Shetland’s security of supply by underpinning the HVDC transmission link that will connect the islands to the mainland for the first time.
SSE also released this press release, which is entitled Major Milestone Reached As First Subsea Cable Installation Begins On Shetland HVDC Link, where this is the first paragraph.
The first phase of cable laying as part of the SSEN Transmission Shetland High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) Link began this week off the coast of Caithness, marking a major milestone in the £660M project.
SSE seem to be advancing on all fronts on the two projects!
The Stornoway Wind Farm
This press release from EDF Renewables is entitled EDF Renewables UK Welcomes Contract for Difference Success, where these are the first two paragraphs.
Two EDF Renewables UK projects bid into the Contract for Difference (CfD) auction round held by the UK Government’s BEIS department have been successful.
The projects are the Stornoway wind farm on the Isle of Lewis and Stranoch wind farm in Dumfries and Galloway. Together these onshore wind farms will provide 300 MW of low carbon electricity which is an important contribution to reaching net zero.
The press release also gives this information about the contract and completion of the Stornoway wind farm.
Stornoway Wind Farm on the Isle of Lewis is a joint venture with Wood. The project has won a CfD for 200 MW capacity, the strike price was £46.39, the target commissioning date is 31 March 2027.
This page on the Lewis Wind Power web site, gives these details of the Stornoway Wind Farm.
The Stornoway Wind Farm would be located to the west of the town of Stornoway in an area close to the three existing wind farm sites.
The project has planning consent for up to 36 turbines and is sited on land owned by the Stornoway Trust, a publicly elected body which manages the Stornoway Trust Estate on behalf of the local community.
The local community stands to benefit as follows:
- Community benefit payments currently estimated at £900,000 per annum, which would go to an independent trust to distribute to local projects and organisations
- Annual rental payments to local crofters and the Stornoway Trust – which we estimate could total more than £1.3m, depending on the CfD Strike Price secured and the wind farm’s energy output
- Stornoway Wind Farm is the largest of the three consented wind farm projects with a grid connection in place and is therefore key to the needs case for a new grid connection with the mainland. Indeed, the UK energy regulator Ofgem has stated that it will support the delivery of a new 450MW cable if the Stornoway and Uisenis projects are successful in this year’s Contract for Difference allocation round.
Note the last point, where only the Stornoway wind farm was successful.
The Uisenis Wind Farm
This press release from EDF Energy is entitled Lewis Wind Power Buys Uisenis Wind Farm, gives these details of the sale.
Lewis Wind Power (LWP), a joint venture between Amec Foster Wheeler and EDF Energy Renewables has bought the Uisenis Wind Farm project on the Isle of Lewis. The wind farm has planning consent for the development of 45 turbines with a maximum capacity of 162 MW. This would be enough to power 124,000 homes and would be the biggest renewable energy development on the Western Isles.
LWP owns the Stornoway Wind Farm project located around 20km to the north of Uisenis which has planning consent to develop 36 turbines to a maximum capacity of 180 MW – enough to power 135,000 homes.
This would bring Stornoway and Uisenis wind farms under the similar ownership structures.
This is a significant paragraph in the press release.
On behalf of Eishken Limited, the owner of the site where the Uisenis Wind Farm will be located, Nick Oppenheim said: “I am delighted that LWP are taking forward the wind farm. The resources available on the Eishken estate, and the Western Isles in general, means that it is an excellent location for renewable energy projects and, as such, the company is also developing a 300MW pumped storage hydro project immediately adjacent to the Uisenis wind farm. With such potential for renewables and the positive effect they will have on the local community, economy, and the UK as a whole I am are looking forward to positive news on both support for remote island projects and the interconnector.”
Note the mention of pumped storage.
This article on the BBC is entitled Pumped Storage Hydro Scheme Planned For Lewis, where this paragraph introduces the scheme.
A pumped storage hydro scheme using sea water rather than the usual method of drawing on freshwater from inland lochs has been proposed for Lewis.
The only other information is that it will provide 300 MW of power, but nothing is said about the storage capacity.
It looks like Lewis will have a world-class power system.
Mossy Hill And Beaw Field Wind Farms
Mossy Hill near Lerwick and Beaw Field in Yell are two Shetland wind farms being developed by Peel L & P.
This press release from Peel L & P is entitled Government Support For Two Shetland Wind Farms, where these are the first two paragraphs.
Plans for two onshore wind farms on the Shetland Islands which would help meet Scotland’s targets for renewable energy production are a step closer to being delivered after receiving long-term Government support.
Clean energy specialists Peel NRE has been successful in two bids in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s (BEIS) Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme; one for its Mossy Hill wind farm near Lerwick and the other for Beaw Field wind farm in Yell.
It looks like the two wind farms will power 130,000 houses and are planned to be operational in 2027.
Conclusion
I must admit that I like the concept. Especially, when like some of the schemes, it is linked to community involvement and improvement.
Only time will tell, if the concept of Remote Island Wind works well.
Shell To Start Building Europe’s Largest Renewable Hydrogen Plant
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Shell.
This is the first paragraph.
Shell Nederland B.V. and Shell Overseas Investments B.V., subsidiaries of Shell plc, have taken the final investment decision to build Holland Hydrogen I, which will be Europe’s largest renewable hydrogen plant once operational in 2025.
Theconstruction timeline for Holland Hydrogen 1 is not a long one.
The next paragraph describes the size and hydrogen production capacity.
The 200MW electrolyser will be constructed on the Tweede Maasvlakte in the port of Rotterdam and will produce up to 60,000 kilograms of renewable hydrogen per day.
200 MW is large!
The next paragraph details the source of the power.
The renewable power for the electrolyser will come from the offshore wind farm Hollandse Kust (noord), which is partly owned by Shell.
These are my thoughts.
Refhyne
Refhyne is a joint project between Shell and ITM Power, with backing from the European Commission, that has created a 10 MW electrolyser in Cologne.
The 1300 tonnes of hydrogen produced by this plant will be integrated into refinery processes.
Refhyne seems to have been very much a prototype for Holland Hydrogen 1.
World’s Largest Green Hydrogen Project – With 100MW Electrolyser – Set To Be Built In Egypt
The sub-title is the title, of this article on Recharge.
It looks like Holland Hydrogen 1, is double the current largest plant under construction.
Shell is certainly going large!
Will ITM Power Be Working Again With Shell?
Refhyne has probably given Shell a large knowledge base about ITM Power’s electrolysers.
But Refhyne is only 10 MW and Holland Hydrogen 1 is twenty times that size.
This press release from ITM Power is entitled UK Government Award £9.3 m For Gigastack Testing.
This is the first paragraph.
ITM Power (AIM: ITM), the energy storage and clean fuel company, announces that the Company has been awarded a contract by The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), under its Net Zero Innovation Portfolio Low Carbon Hydrogen Supply 2 Competition, to accelerate the commercial deployment of ITM Power’s 5 MW Gigastack platform and its manufacture. The award for the Gigatest project is for £9.3m and follows initial designs developed through previous BEIS funding competitions.
Note.
- The Gigastack is 2.5 times bigger, than ITM Power’s previously largest electrolyser.
- Forty working in parallel, in much the same way that the ancient Egyptians built the pyramids, will be needed for Holland Hydrogen 1.
- ITM Power have the world’s largest electrolyser factory, with a capacity of one GW. They have plans to create a second factory.
ITM Power would probably be Shell’s low-risk choice.
My company dealt with Shell a lot in the 1970s, with respect to project management software and we felt, that if Shell liked you, they kept giving you orders.
The Hollandse Kust Noord Wind Farm
This wind farm is well described on its web site, where this is the introduction on the home page.
CrossWind, a joint-venture between Shell and Eneco, develops and will operate the Hollandse Kust Noord subsidy-free offshore wind project.
Hollandse Kust Noord is located 18.5 kilometers off the west coast of the Netherlands near the town of Egmond aan Zee.
CrossWind plans to have Hollandse Kust Noord operational in 2023 with an installed capacity of 759 MW, generating at least 3.3 TWh per year.
This Google Map shows the location of Egmond aan Zee.
Note that the red arrow points to Egmond aan Zee.
Will The Electrolyser Be Operational In 2025?
If Shell choose ITM Power to deliver the electrolysers, I don’t think Shell are being that ambitious.
I would suspect that connecting up an electrolyser is not the most complicated of construction tasks.
- Build the foundations.
- Fix the electrolyser in place.
- Connect power to one end.
- Connect gas pipes to the other.
- Switch on and test.
Note.
- If ITM Power deliver electrolysers that work, then the installation is the sort of task performed on chemical plants all over the world.
- ITM Power appear to have tapped the UK Government for money to fund thorough testing of the 5 MW Gigastack electrolyser.
- Enough wind power from Hollandse Kust Noord, should be generated by 2025.
I feel it is very much a low risk project.
Shell’s Offshore Electrolyser Feasibility Study
This is mentioned in this article in The Times, which describes Holland Hydrogen 1, where this is said.
Shell is also still involved in a feasibility study to deploy electrolysers offshore alongside the offshore wind farm. It has suggested this could enable more efficient use of cabling infrastructure.
I very much feel this is the way to go.
Postscript
I found this article on the Dutch Government web site, which is entitled Speech By Prime Minister Mark Rutte At An Event Announcing The Construction Of Holland Hydrogen 1.
This is an extract.
By building Holland Hydrogen 1, Shell will give the Dutch hydrogen market a real boost.
So congratulations are in order.
And this is only the beginning.
Because countless companies and knowledge institutions are working now to generate the hydrogen economy of tomorrow.
The government is supporting this process by investing in infrastructure, and by granting subsidies.
Because we want to achieve our climate goals, though the war in Ukraine won’t make it any easier.
We want to reduce our dependence on Russian gas.
We want the Netherlands to lead the way in the European energy transition.
And all these ambitions are combined in the Holland Hydrogen 1 project.
Mark Rutte seems to believe in hydrogen.
Conclusion
This is a very good example of the sort of large electrolyser, we’ll be seeing all over the world.
In fact, if this one works well, how many 200 MW electrolysers will Shell need all over the world?
Will they all be identical?
SSE Thermal And Equinor To Acquire Triton Power In Acceleration Of Low-Carbon Ambitions
The title of this post, is the same as that as this press release from SSE.
These are the first three paragraphs.
SSE Thermal and Equinor have entered into an agreement to acquire Triton Power Holdings Ltd from Energy Capital Partners for a total consideration of £341m shared equally between the partners.
The transaction represents another step forward for the two companies’ existing collaboration, supporting the long-term decarbonisation of the UK’s power system whilst contributing to security of supply and grid stability through flexible power generation in the shorter term.
Triton Power operates Saltend Power Station which is 1.2GW CCGT (Combined Cycle Gas Turbine) and CHP (Combined Heat & Power) power station located on the north of the Humber Estuary in East Yorkshire.
This deal is more complicated than it looks and these are my thoughts.
What About The Triton Power Workers?
The press release says this.
The 82 existing employees will continue to be employed by Triton Power. In line with just transition principles, the joint venture is committed to transitioning the assets for the net zero world through responsible ownership and operation, and in consultation with the local workforce and representatives.
It does sound that they are following the right principles.
Saltend Power Station
Saltend power station is no tired ancient asset and is described like this in Wikipedia.
The station is run on gas using single shaft 3 × Mitsubishi 701F gas Turbines machines with Alstom 400 MWe generators. The station has a total output of 1,200 MW; of that 100 MW is allocated to supply BP Chemicals. Each gas turbine has a Babcock Borsig Power (BBP) heat recovery steam generator, which all lead to one steam turbine per unit (single shaft machine means Gas turbine and Steam Turbine are on the same shaft). The waste product of electricity generation is steam at the rate of about 120 tonnes/h which is sold to BP Chemicals to use in their process. This makes Salt End one of the most efficient[clarification needed] power stations in the UK. The plant is scheduled to use hydrogen from steam reformed natural gas for 30% of its power.
Note.
- It was commissioned in 2000.
- It appears there are seven CCGT power stations in England that are larger than Saltend.
- The power station seems to have had at least four owners.
The press release says this about SSE and Equinor’s plans for Saltend power station.
The transaction underscores SSE Thermal and Equinor’s shared ambition to decarbonise the Humber, which is the UK’s most carbon-intensive industrial region, as well as the UK more widely. Initial steps to decarbonise Saltend Power Station are already underway, targeting partial abatement by 2027 through blending up to 30% of low-carbon hydrogen. In addition, carbon capture provides an additional valuable option for the site. SSE Thermal and Equinor will continue to work towards 100% abatement.
Note.
- It appears that initially, Saltend power station will move to running on a mixture of 30 % hydrogen and 70 % natural gas.
- Carbon capture will also be applied.
- It looks like that in the future all carbon-dioxide emitted by the power station will be captured and either stored or used.
The press release says this about the source of the hydrogen.
Saltend Power Station is a potential primary offtaker to Equinor’s H2H Saltend hydrogen production project. H2H Saltend is expected to kick-start the wider decarbonisation of the Humber region as part of the East Coast Cluster, one of the UK’s first carbon capture, usage and storage clusters.
H2H Saltend is described in this page on the Equinor web site, which has a title of The First Step To A Zero Carbon Humber, where this is said.
This project represents a bold but practical first step towards delivering the world’s first net zero industrial cluster by 2040. This unparalleled project can play a leading role in the UK’s journey to net zero by 2050, renew the UK’s largest industrial cluster, and unlock technology that will put the UK at the forefront of a global hydrogen economy.
There is also a video.
SSE Thermal And Equinor Low-Carbon Thermal Partnership
This is a section in the press release, where after giving their policy about the workers, it says this about the acquisition of Triton Power.
This acquisition strengthens SSE Thermal and Equinor’s portfolio of joint projects, which bring together expertise in power, natural gas, hydrogen and carbon capture and storage. This portfolio includes three development projects within the Humber region:
- Keadby 3 Carbon Capture Power Station, which could be the UK’s first flexible power station equipped with carbon capture.
- Keadby Hydrogen Power Station, which could be one of the world’s first 100% hydrogen-fuelled power stations.
- Aldbrough Hydrogen Storage, located in East Yorkshire, which could be one of the world’s largest hydrogen storage facilities.
The two companies are also developing Peterhead Carbon Capture Power Station, situated on the Aberdeenshire coast in Scotland and there are further opportunities for hydrogen blending across SSE’s generation portfolio, including at Keadby 2.
Note.
- There is no mention of the three Dogger Bank Wind Farms, each of which will be 1200 MW, that are owned by SSE Renewables and Equinor.
- I wrote about Aldbrough Gas Storage in The Massive Hydrogen Project, That Appears To Be Under The Radar.
- According to this press release from Equinor, which is entitled SSE Thermal And Equinor Join Forces On Plans For First-Of-A-Kind Hydrogen And Carbon Capture Projects In The Humber, Keadby Hydrogen power station will have a capacity of 1800 MW.
The Complete System
The system has the following power sources.
- Dogger Bank A – 1200 MW – Expected commissioning in 2023/24
- Dogger Bank B – 1200 MW – Expected commissioning in 2024/25
- Dogger Bank C – 1200 MW – Expected commissioning in 2024/25
- Keadby power station – 735 MW
- Keadby 2 power station – 893 MW – Could be Part-Hydrogen
- Keadby 3 power station – 910 MW – Carbon Capture
- Keadby Hydrogen power station – 1800 MW – Hydrogen
- Saltend power station – 1200 MW – Part-Hydrogen
That totals up to 9138 MW.
Fuel will come from three sources.
- The God of the winds.
- Natural gas
- Hydrogen
Hydrogen will be sourced from.
- Blue hydrogen from H2H Saltend
- Green Hydrogen could come from electrolysers driven by wind power.
Hydrogen would be stored in Aldbrough Gas Storage.
I am by training a Control Engineer and controlling these power sources is either a wonderful dream or your most entwined and complicated nightmare.
Conclusion
I suspect on an average day, this cluster of power stations and sources could reliably supply as much zero-carbon power as two large nuclear stations.
Octopus Energy On Xlinks
Today, Octopus Energy published a web page, which is entitled Backing Cheaper, Greener Energy Globally, giving more details of the Xlinks project.
I first wrote about the tie-up between Octopus Energy and Xlinks in Xlinks Welcomes New Investor Octopus Energy In Providing Cheap Green Power To Over 7 Million Homes.
Points made in the page on the Octopus web page include.
- The project will cover over 570 square miles in Morocco with 7GW of solar and 3.5GW of wind generation alongside a 20GWh battery storage facility.
- This green energy powerhouse will be connected to the UK via 2,361 miles of HVDC subsea cables.
- The cables will be built with British steel in a new factory in Hunterton, Scotland.
- It also appears that the site of the project has been chosen to optimise energy collection.
This project appears to be excellently-thought out to bring large benefits to all stakeholders.
Could Rolls-Royce SMRs Be The Solution To Europe’s Gas Shortage?
Of all the offshore wind farms, that I’ve looked at recently, I find Magnora’s ScotWind N3 wind farm the most interesting.
I wrote about it in ScotWind N3 Offshore Wind Farm.
I said this.
In any design competition, there is usually at least one design, that is not look like any of the others.
In the successful bids for the ScotWind leases, the bid from Magnora ASA stands out.
- The company has an unusual home page on its offshore wind web site.
- This page on their web site outlines their project.
- It will be technology agnostic, with 15MW turbines and a total capacity of 500MW
- It will use floating offshore wind with a concrete floater
- It is estimated, that it will have a capacity factor of 56 %.
- The water depth will be an astonishing 106-125m
- The construction and operation will use local facilities at Stornoway and Kishorn Ports.
- The floater will have local and Scottish content.
- The project will use UK operated vessels.
- Hydrogen is mentioned.
- Consent is planned for 2026, with construction starting in 2028 and completion in 2030.
This project could serve as a model for wind farms all round the world with a 500 MW power station, hydrogen production and local involvement and construction.
I very much like the idea of a concrete floater, which contains a huge electrolyser and gas storage, that is surrounded by an armada of giant floating wind turbines.
These are my thoughts.
Floating Concrete Structures
To many, they may have appear to have all the buoyancy of a lead balloon, but semi-submersible platforms made from concrete have been used in the oil and gas industry for several decades.
Kishorn Yard in Scotland was used to build the 600,000-tonne concrete Ninian Central Platform,in 1978. The Ninian Central Platform still holds the record as the largest movable object ever created by man.
The Ninian Central Platform sits on the sea floor, but there is no reason why a semi-submersible structure can’t be used.
Electrolysers
There is no reason, why a large electrolyser, such as those made by Cummins, ITM Power or others can’t be used, but others are on the way.
- Bloom Energy are working on high temperature electrolysis, which promises to be more efficient.
- Torvex Energy are developing electrolysis technology that used sea water, rather than more expensive purified water.
High Temperature Electrolysis
High temperature electrolysis needs a heat source to work efficiently and in Westinghouse And Bloom Energy To Team Up For Pink Hydrogen, I described how Bloom Energy propose to use steam from a large nuclear power station.
Offshore Nuclear Power
I’ve never heard of offshore nuclear power, but it is not a new idea.
In 1970, a company called Offshore Power Systems was created and it is introduced in its Wikipedia entry like this.
Offshore Power Systems (OPS) was a 1970 joint venture between Westinghouse Electric Company, which constructed nuclear generating plants, and Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock, which had recently merged with Tenneco, to create floating nuclear power plants at Jacksonville, Florida.
Westinghouse’s reactor was a 1.150 MW unit, which was typical of the time, and is very similar in size to Sizewell B.
The project was cancelled before the reactors were towed into position.
Nuclear Knowledge Has Improved
Consider.
- In the fifty years since Offshore Power Systems dabbed their toes in the water of offshore nuclear power, our knowledge of nuclear systems and engineering has improved greatly.
- The offshore oil and gas industry has also shown what works impeccably.
- The floating offshore wind industry looks like it might push the envelop further.
- There has been only one nuclear accident at Fukushima, where the sea was part of the problem and that disaster taught us a lot.
- There have been a large number of nuclear submarines built and most reached the planned end of their lives.
- Would a small modular nuclear reactor, be safer than a large nuclear power plant of several GW?
I would suggest we now have the knowledge to safely build and operate a nuclear reactor on a proven semi-submersible platform, built from non-rusting concrete.
An Offshore Wind Farm/Small Modular Reactor Combination Producing Hydrogen
Consider.
- A typical floating offshore wind farm is between one and two gigawatts.
- A Rolls-Royce small modular reactor is sized to produce nearly 0.5 GW.
- The high temperature electrolyser will need some heat to achieve an optimum working temperature.
- Spare electricity can be used to produce hydrogen.
- Hydrogen can be stored platform.
- Hydrogen can be sent ashore using existing gas pipes.
- Hydrogen could even be blended with natural gas produced offshore to create a lower-carbon fuel.
- It would also be possible to decarbonise nearby offshore infrastructure.
A balance between wind and nuclear power can be obtained, which would provide a steady output of energy.
Conclusion
There are a large numbers of possibilities, to locate a Rolls-Royce small modular reactor close to a wind farm to use high temperature electrolysis to create green hydrogen, which can be used in the UK or exported through the gas network.
Cost Of Turning Off UK Wind Farms Reached Record High In 2021
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Drax.
This is the first paragraph.
The cost of turning off wind farms in the UK has reached record levels, according to a new report.
The press release makes these points.
- Investing in more long duration electricity storage, such as expanding Drax’s Cruachan pumped storage hydro plant in Scotland, would mean more excess renewable power could be stored and made available when required, cutting costs and carbon emissions.
- The cost of turning off UK wind farms to manage the electricity system rose from almost £300m during 2020 to over £500m in 2021, contributing to higher energy bills and carbon emissions, according to a new report.
- Costs increased substantially because the system relied on expensive gas power to manage periods when wind power was curtailed, as not enough electricity storage was available to prevent the excess renewable power from wind farms going to waste.
Drax give these reasons for the problems.
This happened as a result of constraints in the transmission system and a lack of long-duration storage capacity, which is needed to manage periods when renewable power generation outstrips demand.
The problem is going to get worse as we increase the amount of wind power in the UK.
Penny Small, Drax’s Group Generation Director sums everything up.
This report underlines the need for a new regulatory framework to encourage private investment in long-duration storage technologies.
The UK is a world-leader in offshore wind, but for the country’s green energy ambitions to be realised we need the right energy storage infrastructure to support this vital technology, make the system secure and reduce costs.
Drax’s plan to expand Cruachan will strengthen UK energy security, by enabling more homegrown renewable electricity to power British homes and businesses, reducing system costs and cutting carbon emissions.
A good framework has been created for wind farms and many more are being proposed and developed.
Frameworks are needed for both transmission systems and long-duration energy storage capacity.
Namibia Proposes Green Hydrogen Supply To EU To Replace Russian Oil And Gas
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on H2 Fuel News.
These paragraphs explain the plan.
The African country has considerable wind and sunshine resources available, providing the opportunity to use renewable energy for the production of H2. Namibia is located along the African South Atlantic coastline and is among the world’s driest countries. Its 3,500 hours of sunshine per year mean that solar panels will be able to absorb a tremendous amount of energy, without much unexpected downtime.
That energy will be used for producing yellow H2, a form of green (renewable) H2 made using electrolysers powered by solar electricity. The electrolyser will split seawater, another abundant resource for the country due to its position on the map. As a result, it has the potential to offer the European Union a clean fuel source that can help it to simultaneously combat the energy crisis and the climate crisis.
Note.
- Liquid hydrogen will be shipped to Europe by tanker.
- I don’t think Vlad the Mad will like the plan!
- How many other countries have the resources like Namibia to become hydrogen exporters?
This plan was proposed at the World Economic Forum at Davos.
The Anonymous Widower 