News | Headlines
Novel energy storage demo to be deployed
UK Energy storage
British company RheEnergise, which is developing a new form of long-duration hydro-energy storage system, is to build its first-of-a-kind demonstrator of the system at Sibelco’s mining operations located at Cornwood, in the southwest of the UK. Work onsite to build the demonstrator will start imminently, with its commissioning scheduled to start in September.
The power generated by the demonstrator – it has a peak power production of 500 kW – will support Sibelco’s mining operations at times of high energy demand and help the company’s efforts to decarbonise its operations. The Cornwood site produces
kaolin, a kind of clay used mainly for sanitary ware, ceramics, tiles and industrial applications. The project is being supported through the UK government’s Longer Duration Energy Storage (LODES) Demonstration Programme, and by the local authority Devon County Council, which permitted the project. Stephen Crosher, chief executive of RheEnergise, commented: “The demonstrator is a trailblazing project for the LDES sector and will place us in a strong position to build commercial-scale projects in this country and overseas. We have global interest in our technology from as far [away] as Australia and Chile. We would like to have our first 10 MW grid-scale project in operation within two years.”
High-Density Hydro energy storage is said to be low-cost, energy efficient and environmentally benign. Rather than using water, it uses a fluid developed by RheEnergise that is 2.5 times as dense as water, and therefore can transport 2.5 times the amount of energy when compared to a conventional low-density hydro-power system such as those that operate in the Scottish Highlands, Wales and other parts of the world.
RheEnergise’s analysis of potential project opportunities has indicated that there are around 6500 site opportunities in the UK, 115 000 in Europe, 345 000 in North America and 500 000 in Africa and the Middle East.
East Anglia 3 converter station goes to sea
Norway Wind power The offshore converter station for ScottishPower Renewables’ biggest-ever windfarm, East Anglia 3, has taken to the water for the first time as it heads to Norway to complete its construction. Weighing in at several thousand tonnes, the seven-storey structure – which is 68 m long, 34 m wide and 44 m high – was sailed out from the Damen yard in Mangalia, Romania on board the heavy transport vessel, Bigroll Beaufort, on 25 April. It is travelling a little over 3800 nautical miles to Aker Solutions’ fabrication yard in
Stord, Norway where the HVDC equipment will be installed and commissioned in another ‘first’ for ScottishPower Renewables. The massive structure – which will then weigh almost 10 000 tonnes – will be transported and installed in the southern North Sea next year ahead of the windfarm’s completion in 2026. Once operational, East Anglia 3 will, at 1.4 GW, be the second largest windfarm in the world and the biggest ever constructed across the whole of the Iberdrola Group.
EU recognition for Uniper’s Green Wilhelmshaven projects
Germany Hydrogen economy Uniper’s hydrogen projects in
Wilhelmshaven, the “Green Wilhelmshaven Electrolyser” and the “Green Wilhelmshaven Terminal”, have been selected by the European Commission to be included in the list of Projects of Common Interest. With this, Uniper joins a number of cross-border infrastructure projects that link energy systems across EU countries. PCI status recognises that both projects support the goal of achieving a climate-neutral European Union by 2050.
These projects benefit from both accelerated authorisation procedures and funding, supporting the realisation of EU’s energy and climate goals. This recognition follows a rigorous application and evaluation process, with projects selected based on their significant contribution to sustainability,
8 | May 2024 |
www.modernpowersystems.com
benefits for market integration, security of supply, competition, implementation progress, and proof of transparency. With an electrolyser capacity of up to 1 GW, the large-scale Green Wilhelmshaven Electrolyser will tap into the region’s renewable energy resources to boost the domestic production of green hydrogen. The Green Wilhelmshaven Terminal ammonia terminal paves the way for the import of renewable ammonia by ship and the conversion and feed-in of hydrogen into the European hydrogen network on a large scale.
Both projects are in line with Uniper’s commitment to achieving a climate-neutral European Union by 2050, in line with the Paris Agreement goals. They form a major part of the trans-European energy infrastructure, facilitating the functioning of
the internal energy market, security of supply, competitive energy markets, energy efficiency and savings, and the development of new and renewable forms of energy. In addition, Uniper took another important step towards promoting the energy transition and local infrastructure at the end of April: the photovoltaic plant planned for a landfill site in Wilhelmshaven was awarded a “Renewable Energy Sources Act” subsidy. A 19 MWp PV plant will be built on an area of around 14 hectares and is expected to generate 16000 MWh of renewable electricity per year.
With the PCI status come associated benefits including priority status, streamlined permit granting procedures, lower administrative costs, and eligibility for financial assistance under the Connecting Europe Facility in the form of grants.
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