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1. Yet another Secretary of State for Trade & Industry emerged
following the May cabinet reshuffle. A note of Alistair Darling's first
official engagement, opening a Scottish windfarm, is at APPENDIX A.
2. The new Secretary of State for Defra, David Milliband, calls for a
new environmental contract (APPENDIX B).
3. Snips from news@all-energy issue 64 May 2006 are at APPENDIX C.
4. Bold ideas for a North Sea Supergrid and large scale wind farm
connecting three EU countries are put forward by Irish windfarm firm
Airtricity (APPENDIX D). Mind, some figures look "speculative", aiming
to achieve 70% capacity utilisation and claiming it is already 40% for
individual windfarms, when the UK average is only 25%.
5. More on the Supergrid, and a possible early start with a first phase
500 megawatt Greater Gabbard windfarm some 25km off the coast at
Aldeburgh in Suffolk, is at APPENDIX E.
6. The highly regarded web site for public concern on wind farms has been attacked and destroyed. It offered download reports
of public accounts of the dealings and procedures on the giant Cefn
Croes wind farm in Wales and Elizabeth Mann's Force 10 books on the
Barningham and County Durham story. A new site has
been hurriedly put up to retain free downloads for Elizabeth Mann's
books and other notes in the public interest. The site relates the
"dirty tricks" employed to promote wind farms in County Durham, and
notes that average load factor performance for 2002 - 2004 has been only
21% as against the 30% claimed. It is suggested that 2005 figures show
even worse performance, with Barnard Castle down to 10% and most of the
other County Durham wind farms only in the teens.
7. Underground cables as an alternative to overhead powerlines are
commonly dismissed on cost. However cost ratios are not so high abroad
compared with the UK. The European Commission Background Note of 2003 on
undergrounding, and recent installations in Ireland (Ballywater - Crane)
show much lower cost ratios as well as other benefits. (APPENDIX F)
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APPENDIX A New Sec of State for Trade & Industry
Building News: New Secretary of State for Trade and Industry opens
Paul's Hill windfarm in Moray
Scotland's latest renewable energy project will be opened today by
Alistair Darling on his first official engagement as Secretary of State
for Trade and Industry.
Developed by Fred Olsen Renewables Ltd, through its agent Natural
Power Consultants, the Paul's Hill wind farm cost £57 million and
comprises 28 turbines, situated on open hills, 23km south west of
Elgin and 15km west of Aberlour.
Trade and Industry Secretary Alistair Darling said: "I am very much
looking forward to working at the DTI and I'm pleased that I am able
to return to the Highlands for my first official engagement as the new
Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.
"The wind farm at Paul's Hill that I am opening will provide enough
clean, green energy to power 47,000 homes, which is almost 40% of
the total electricity requirements of Morayshire.
"The Government wants 10% of our electricity to come from
renewable sources by 2010 and this project will be making a
considerable contribution to that target."
(report snipped)
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APPENDIX B Defra Press release 12 May 2006
MILIBAND CALLS FOR CONTRACT FOR CLIMATE CHANGE
If the challenge of climate change is to be met then no part of
British society will be unchanged, David Miliband Secretary of State
for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said today.
Mr Miliband said:
"Just as social justice needed a new social contract in the 19th and
20th centuries so environmental security in the 21st century needs a
new environmental contract.
"An environmental contract would have new and clear rights and
responsibilities for Government, for business and for individuals, to
balance what we take from nature and what we give back. The old
system of 'too much take and too little give' is bad for the planet,
bad for business and bad for the most disadvantaged.
"The challenge we face is to marry economic growth, social justice,
and environmental sustainability. They can and must go hand in hand.
There will be difficult decisions along the way. But also huge
synergies. A low carbon economy can be good for business, good for
the environment, and good for all citizens.
"CO2 levels are now higher than for 740,000 years. Arresting climate
change will need investment but failure to take action will result in
even greater costs.
"This is not just a matter for Defra. All Government departments are
departments of the environment. I will be working closely with my
Cabinet colleagues to tackle the demand and supply sides of
emissions, from energy to transport to housing.
"We need to make sure that national progress and international
agreements go together. We will meet this global challenge not by
words over days but by deeds over years."
Press enquiries 020 7238 5337 / 6054 ;Public enquiries 08459 335577;
Press notices are available on our website
www.defra.gov.uk
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APPENDIX C Snips from news@all-energy issue 64 May 2006
3.2.Opposition to pylons from Stirling
Stirling councillors have voiced their unanimous opposition to plans to
upgrade hundreds of electricity pylons from the Highlands to central
Scotland
3.3.New study underway
A new inquiry into the possible link between overhead power lines and
childhood leukaemia is underway
4.4.Buffer zone support
In Scotland Ministers would support 1.5km "buffer zones" around local
communities to prevent wind farms being built too close
4.9.Councillors scale back windfarms
The number of potential sites for major wind farms in the Highlands have
been cut from 11 to three in a blueprint for renewable energy schemes
6.4.In praise of tidal lagoons
The cost of tidal lagoons is such that for the same price as the
proposed Severn barrage at least 150 lagoons could be constructed
Jenny Willott, MP for Cardiff Central expressed support for tidal
lagoons across the Severn Estuary
8.1.First chips to wood-burning plant
The first deliveries of wood chips have been made to an RE power station
on Teesside. The Wilton 10 biomass power station being built and
operated by SembCorp Utilities UK is expected to come on line in summer
2007
10.3.World's first hydrogen city
The Danish H2PIA concept incorporates hydrogen produced from renewable
sources to power homes and vehicles
13.2.Coal set to become largest energy contributor
Mitsui Babcock tells the Prime Minister's Council for Science and
Technology coal is set to become the largest contributor in the energy
portfolio
13.3.A spa is born
Hot springs bubbling deep under Co Durham will result in a major tourist
attraction and plans for a new village using five forms of RE generated
on site
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APPENDIX D North Sea Supergrid.
Firm to generate support for giant €20bn wind farm
By Carl Mortished
Airtricity wants to erect 2,000 turbines in the North Sea and link three
countries to the Supergrid
A EUROPEAN offshore electricity Supergrid linking wind farms from the
Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean will be proposed this week by
Airtricity, the renewable energy company.
The Irish company and ABB, the Swedish engineering group, will present
the €20 billion (£13.7 billion) initial phase of its project this week
to MPs in an effort to get political backing for a scheme that would
create Europe's first extensive cross-border power network.
The first phase of the Supergrid would comprise 2,000 wind turbines
located in the southern part of the North Sea, between Britain, Germany
and the Netherlands. Generating 10 gigawatts of power, the giant wind
farm could supply electricity to eight million homes.
More importantly, the company says, a power grid would be established,
connecting the electricity supply networks of three countries, removing
the biggest hurdle to cross-border competition in electricity.
Eddie O'Connor, Airtricity's chief executive, reckons that the Supergrid
would not only supply large quantities of sustainable power but also
would overcome a major obstacle to a joined-up European energy policy.
"Europe has been trying to create a single market in energy for 20 years
and failed dismally. Most of Europe's electricity is supplied by very
big, vertically integrated monopolies. They are not very efficient,
not very entrepreneurial and they rely on fossil fuels," Mr O'Connor
says.
The Supergrid would provide access to an endless source of power and
facilitate energy trading between countries, exploiting differences in
consumption, he says. "Countries need electricity at different times.
The peak in Germany's electricity demand is an hour before the UK."
Airtricity, which is developing a 500-megawatt wind farm in the Thames
Estuary, has discussed the Supergrid proposal with the Department of
Trade and Industry, as well as Andris Pibalgs, the European Energy
Commissioner.
The scale of the project is the key to its potential value, Mr O'Connor
says, because it resolves the principal weakness of wind-turbine
generated electricity: it's intermittency. "Any one wind farm suffers
from variability - it is on and off. With the Supergrid you don't get
peaks and troughs," he says.
A cable linking a series of grids over 1,000km (620 miles) would stretch
the length of an average weather front, collecting wind power as it
passes each farm to create a constant stream of power for countries
linked to the grid. According to Airtricity, the Supergrid would have a
capacity utilitisation rate of 70 per cent, compared with about
40 per cent for individual wind farms.
Key to the success of the scheme is regulatory support and backing from
a financial institution, such as the European Investment Bank (EIB), as
well as industrial partners.However, Airtricity admits that the scale
and regulatory complexity of the Supergrid make it high-risk and it does
not expect commercial banks to support the project without the backing
of European Union institutions, and a regulatory framework for the sale
of wind power directly across borders.
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APPENDIX E Suffolk role in supergrid plans
JONATHAN REDHEAD
12 May 2006 10:39
A 140-turbine windfarm off the coast of north Suffolk is set to be the
first phase of a £15bn European "supergrid".
Although it is still awaiting final permission, the windfarm at Greater
Gabbard, about 25km off the seaside town of Aldeburgh, would play a
prime part in the proposed project by an Irish company which wants to
build 2,000 turbines between the coast of East Anglia and Holland.
Dublin-based Airtricity says building so many turbines in the North Sea
would be enough to power eight million homes and a power grid connecting
British, German and Dutch supplies, as revealed in the EDP on Tuesday.
And last night, Waveney MP Bob Blizzard revealed details about the
Greater Gabbard project and described it as a "golden opportunity".
Mr Blizzard met with Airtricity chief executive Eddie O'Connor earlier
this week to discuss the project, which could start as early as 2008.
Airtricity say that, once complete, the Greater Gabbard windfarm will
"produce enough green energy to power 415,000 homes - more than the
domestic demand of Suffolk".
Now Mr O'Connor will come to Lowestoft to see Mr Blizzard, who is
chairman of the Lowestoft Wind Energy Group, to talk more about the
project and see if the town could plan a major part in construction
works.
Lowestoft engineering company SLP was instrumental in the Scroby Sands
windfarm project, in the construction, assembly and installation of the
turbines.
And Mr Blizzard says the town could offer a lot for the 500 megawatt
Greater Gabbard windfarm.
"There have been no objections of any substance to the proposal and they
are expecting formal consent very soon," Mr Blizzard said. "This site is
very close to us, and we were talking about Lowestoft and Mr O'Connor
was enormously impressed with the commitment here, and that the wind
turbine Gulliver is a symbol of that.
"He was also impressed that we were able to assemble turbines here and
ship them out to the Scroby Sands site.
"He is coming to make a presentation to the wind energy steering group,
and we can show him what Lowestoft has to offer.
"This is a golden opportunity for us and for job prospects.
"We are the nearest port to the Aldeburgh site - it is right on our
doorstep and we are talking about a lot of turbines."
Work is expected to start next year on the £5m Offshore Renewables
Energy Centre at Ness Point, in Lowestoft, and Mr Blizzard said the town
should not miss out on the Greater Gabbard project.
"We are in a great position to grab a big slice of something that is
going to happen on our doorstep," he said. "We can make a huge
contribution to the process, and at the same time get jobs - there will
be masses of jobs created.
"Now we must work hard to put our offers forwards."
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APPENDIX F Undergrounding cost ratios much lower abroad.
Reports from the companies installing cables in Ireland (e.g. Ballywater
to Crane, some 22 km near Wexford in Ireland) suggest a relatively
benign situation for 110 kV lines (roughly equivalent to the 132 kV
lines on steel pylons in UK). Granted, the larger NG lines at 275 and
400 kV may be more adverse for undergrounding, but perhaps not as
adverse as the grid companies claim.
Installers in Ireland report that the final cost for them to lay the
cable themselves worked out about the same as the quote they were given
to construct an overhead line.
Virtually the complete 22km was laid under country roads, some of which
were very narrow. The cables are 1.4m below the road in three 150mm
plastic ducts, with an additional one for communications. A 1m thick
concrete slab is laid on top of the cables. The 26 jointing bays (1.5m x
10m) and the 70 push-pull pits are all completely covered - no
inspection hatches. Joints are cast in resin and enclosed in cast iron
junctions.
In December 2003 the EU Commission published a Background Note on
undergrounding (reported in news174.4 and its Appendix 2). The note drew
substantially from an ICF consultancy report, which I criticised in
news174 for some inaccuracies, notably about sterilising land, which
false assertion had been promoted by the grid companies. Nevertheless
the Background Note is very helpful and shows much cheaper costs of
undergrounding abroad. Further the note looks at cost-benefit appraisal
and identifies several contingent benefits for underground cables.
In news174 I wrote: "Nevertheless the report provides a useful summary
of costs, drawing from several European and other countries. The cost-
ratio for undergrounding 400 kV powerlines, usually claimed by NG to be
20 to 25 times the cost of overhead lines for the UK, is shown to be
excessive compared with other countries, where it is more like 10.
Apart from the standard oil-impregnated paper insulation cables, the
report discusses (briefly) Cross Linked Polyethylene (XLPE), Gas-
Insulated Lines (GIL), High Voltage DC (HVDC), and High Temperature
Superconducting (HTSC) technologies."
Among the benefits of underground cables are lower maintenance costs and
lower losses of energy, the latter being significant financially. Page
31 of the Note says "Whilst the load carrying capacity of an equivalent
sized conductor in a XLPE cable is less than that in an overhead line,
this is countered by the significant lower losses within the cable,
which can be 30% to 60% less than those of an overhead line". The
savings in losses greatly reduce the adverse cost ratio of
undergrounding.
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--
Mike O'Carroll