energy engineering magazine issue 35 2011

energyengineeringpower for the future

issue thirty five 2011

Sun citySolar gains

Action plansHeating up

Wind sweptWeather reports

Making connectionsAll-Energy 2011

Untitled-4 1 9/5/11 17:08:21

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3

Contents

Cover image courtesy of CHPV. www.chpv.co.uk

energyengineering magazinewww.energyengineering.co.uk

Managing Editor Steve Welch

Consulting Editor Mike Farish

Senior Sub Editor Theone Wilson

Contributors Dr David Clarke, Mark Northey, Michele Grassi, David Appleyard, Dr Claire Hinton, Hayley

Myles, Michael Hawkins, Barney Butterell, Alistair Welch Design Hannah Reid

Business Development Manager Ann Goldthorp

© 2011 Steve Welch Media

Published bySteve Welch Media,

6A New StreetWarwick

CV34 4RXUnited Kingdom

☎ +44 (0)1926 408244 Fax: +44 (0)1926 408206

e: [email protected]

Annual subscription ratesUK: £65

Europe: €95Rest of world: $170/£115

www.energyengineering.co.uk

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Untitled-4 1 9/5/11 17:08:21

4 Viewpoint6 News18 Offshore law

Mark Northey on legal risks in the marine renewables sector

21 New identityMike Farish reports on the latest developments in the offshore wind market

24 Close collaborationAn update on Scotland’s renewable energy industry

27 Balanced outlookTheone Wilson reports on the offshore wind supply chain

31 Saving upHow energy storage technology is advancing

34 Growing demandAn energy consultancy that has a lot to offer

37 Commercial gainsIntellectual property and how it affects you

40 Load factorsThe energy vessels of the future

42 Strong contenderMichele Grassi discusses the deployment of his new prototype

45 Meeting the challengeWhat’s happening in the world of rotor bearing supports

47 Ready for connection nowABB explains its tried and proven technologies

55 The renewable agendaWhat’s in store at Renewable Energy World Europe

59 Site statisticsAnalysis of wind speed in a number of regions

62 Coasting alongDr Claire Hinton discusses the marine environment

65 Moving forwardAn overview of progress in the renewable heat industry

68 Taking wind turbines to new heightsHow lubricants can make the wind energy sector more cost-effective

71 Exporting expertiseWe speak to a new director at the Highlands and Islands Enterprise

74 Showing potentialBarney Butterall on a new solar project

76 Blade runnerThe latest on tidal turbine development

79 Advantage AustriaNews from the Austrian pavilion

87 All-Energy 2011Our guide to the renewable energy event

90 Safe and soundBolt securing systems explained

92 Going for growthAnaerobic digestion and the potential it offers

95 Career developmentTheone Wilson interviews Anna Botten of Siemens

98 Megawatch

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When small is beauti-

4

Dr David Clarke discusses what is needed in the energy systems of the future

As the price of oil continues to rise and the cost of building new nuclear power stations looks likely to increase, the need for the ener-gy systems of the future to be clean, secure

and above all affordable, is more crucial than ever.The Energy Technologies Institute (ETI), a partnership

between global industry and the UK Government, is at the forefront of addressing the engineering challenges facing the country as we seek to upgrade our energy system.

Since its formation in 2008 the ETI has invested over £62million in projects covering offshore wind, marine energy, distributed energy, buildings, energy storage and distribution, carbon capture and storage and road transport. Another £100million will be invested in proj-ects in these areas and in bioenergy in the year ahead. At the ETI we are addressing key risk areas, accelerat-ing technologies essential for bringing down costs and tackling new projects on a huge scale.

The ETI’s in-house UK energy system model highlights the technologies, supply-chains and cost implications of implementing engineering solutions to get the UK to the 2050 climate change targets. It’s not a question of picking one technology over another but identifying those that will have the greatest impact on the overall UK energy system across power, heat, transport and infrastructure.

Our strategic modelling points to the top five issues for the UK power sector in getting the country to 2050 as carbon capture and storage, bioenergy, offshore renewables, energy efficiency and nuclear. These all have technology risks which need to be understood and managed if they are to attract investors and indus-trial suppliers but the immediate technology risks are quite different in each case.

In CCS it is storage - how much, where, and with what risks? At ETI we are creating a national data-base of the sites available for storing carbon dioxide underground off the coast of the UK. We are also commissioning projects developing lower cost capture technology for both coal and gas fuelled power plants.

In bioenergy it is crop science and soil chemistry - will moving to bioenergy crops release more CO2 from the soil than we gain in emissions reductions? To address this ETI is launching field trials on land use change and sustainability and the potential for operat-

ing effective projects combining bioenergy with CCS. Increasing roll-out of offshore renewables means

improving the commercial benefits case by reducing costs and increasing energy yields. ETI is making a step-change in investments to reduce the cost of electric-ity from high wind speed, deep water sites. We have already invested over £10million in next generation designs. Our next projects will be around £25million each, targeting floating platforms and technology for very long blades to take advantage of strong winds while reducing the costs of installing giant structures.

Widespread energy efficiency improvements bring the combined risks of consumer acceptance of new technolo-gies and creating effective logistics for delivering house retrofits on a mass scale. In our buildings project we are designing supply chain solutions to improve the energy efficiency and energy management in the 26million homes expected to be still in use by 2050.

For nuclear the immediate challenge is largely in sup-ply-chain capacity and manufacturing capability - not in a need for major new technologies. World demand for new plants is likely to lead to supply constraints that may drive prices upwards if we cannot create effective competition.

The UK’s energy strategy is evolving and much will depend on the Electricity Market Reform outcomes. The implementation of new developments will be led by industry and, given the necessarily large scale of invest-ment and equipment installation, it must be a very wide cross-section of industry. ETI projects are helping to bring new entrants into the sector and grow the UK industry base ready for wide-scale technology deployment.

Reaching the UK’s 2020 and 2050 targets is a huge wealth creation opportunity and a huge economic investment challenge. Getting to 2020 is expected to cost over £200billion and our analysis at the ETI suggests the annual cost of the UK’s energy system in 2050 will be over £300billion.

Through the ETI’s work we can see viable engineer-ing solutions for the UK. The national challenge now is to make sure the implementation strategy - the govern-ment policies - give us economic benefits that outweigh the investment costs and continue to create an assured position for industry and investors. ■

Dr David Clarke is Chief Executive

of the Energy Technologies Institute.

Untitled-7 4 9/5/11 17:30:12

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Intertek-Metoc. Where engineering meets the environmentFind out how we can help you, visit www.metoc.co.ukor contact Natalie Griggs; call 01428 727800 or email [email protected]

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news

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newsHoly ordersThe first zero-carbon vicarage in the UK is to be fitted out by building services provider J S Wright.

The Birmingham company has teamed up with top developer/con-tractor Galliford Try in a £300,000 deal to design and build the me-chanical services for the vicarage, which will be built in the grounds of St John’s Church in Wembley, West London.

J S Wright is to design and install underfloor heating linked to a ground source heat pump and a domestic water service that incor-porates rainwater harvesting. It will also be providing all the properties with ventilation and above ground drainage.

Marcus Aniol, Managing Direc-tor of J S Wright, comments: “We

are delighted to have been ap-pointed to lead the way in greener housing by fitting out such an imagi-native development to Level 6 of the Government Code, especially as it is expected that all grant-funded

social housing will have to meet the exacting standard by 2016.”

The vicarage is to be the new home for the resident vicar, the Reverend Francis Adu-Boachie.

www.jswright.co.uk

Sustainability

Time saverAutodesk, Inc has announced that growing numbers of businesses across the marine technology, wave and tidal power sectors in Europe are using its solutions, following

the launch of its Clean Tech Partner Program across the region in 2010.

The Autodesk Clean Tech Partner Program provides Digital Prototyp-ing software, including Autodesk In-ventor, to clean technology start-ups to design, visualise and simulate

products before they are built, to accelerate time to market and to innovate more rapidly.

“The marine energy sector is still in its earliest stages, almost a genera-tion behind wind energy in terms of its development. The focus is on experimenting to find devices that will reliably capture energy,” says Erwin Burth, Business Development Manager for Clean Tech at Autodesk in Europe. “That is why Autodesk design software can be key to help-ing pioneering companies in this sector to test out their ideas and find innovative solutions to the most press-ing marine energy challenges.”

www.autodesk.co.uk/cleantech.

Software

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02489_EE_Q&A_without_Product_A4_size-v1 AW OL.indd 1 19/10/2010 15:08Untitled-1 17 25/10/10 09:43:57

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10

newsnews Foundation

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Twisted thinkingThe SMart Wind consortium has installed the first met mast at its 4,000MW Hornsea zone. The consortium is led by Mainstream Re-newable Power and Siemens Proj-ect Ventures, who have now signed all contracts. The mast, which is due to be installed in August, will use the new twisted jacket foundation, designed by Keystone Engineering. This novel foundation design aims to significantly reduce foundation capital expenditure costs.

The project received grid con-nection for the first 1,000MW in September 2010 and over the past 12 months has been undergo-

ing a full spectrum of environmental surveys, bird and mammal obser-vations, geophysics, geotechnical investigation, marine ecology and deployment of metocean measur-ing devices to record wind and waves.

Andy Kinsella, Chairman of SMart Wind, comments: “We are delighted to be installing our first met mast at Hornsea. This is another significant milestone on the path to delivering our first project into construction by 2014. Reducing the cost of energy is a key focus for SMart Wind and by using the new twisted jacket foundation we are clearly demonstrating our commit-ment to real cost reductions and innovation”.

www.mainstreamrp.com

Untitled-6 10 9/5/11 17:21:03

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12

newsnews Engineering

Mission accomplishedEngineering firm Mabey Bridge has completed the first section of an 80m wind turbine tower from its new £38million factory in New-house, Chepstow. The milestone means that its state-of-the-art factory is now “operationally complete”.

This is the first tower section to pass through every stage of production. All that remains is for internal fittings such as cable trays, ladders, and landing stages to be inserted.

Peter Lloyd, Managing Director of Mabey Bridge, comments: “This marks the culmination of two years’ hard work and effectively means we are now operationally com-plete. The first painted tower section has now passed through every stage of the factory process.

“This landmark shows we are delivering on our £38million invest-ment and proves that Britain can produce wind turbine tower towers indigenously. The message is that we are well and truly open for business and stock is rolling off the factory floor.”

www.mabeybridge.co.uk

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news

Leading the way in supporting renewablesTAG Energy Solutions is creating the UK’s first offshore wind turbine tubular foundation production plant. It will be located in the North East of England.

This exciting, £20 million facility is being developed with support from DECC, One North East and investors Platina Partners and Environmental Technologies Fund.

The new plant will be online in the spring of 2011. TAG Energy Solutions and its partners are helping the region lead the way in supporting renewables.

T: 01642 565500 E: [email protected]

www.tagenergysolutions.com

news Environment

Making a statementABPmer has been commissioned to prepare the marine elements of an environmental statement in support of Associated British Ports’ (ABP) pro-posed Green Port Hull development at Alexandra Dock, Port of Hull. This follows the announcement in January that Siemens has selected Hull as the preferred location for a new offshore wind turbine manufacturing facility.

Bill Cooper, Managing Director at ABPmer, says: “We are delighted to be working on such an exciting port development for our parent

company. ABPmer has 60 years port-related research and consul-tancy practice and understands that successful design and operation of ports is dependent on understanding both the marine environment and operational requirements.

“ABPmer has been supporting the

renewable energy sector in gaining offshore wind marine consents for over a decade. The Green Port Hull project finds us assisting the sector further in securing a waterside site for UK turbine manufacture, close to three of the largest UK offshore zones.”

www.abpmer.co.uk

Untitled-6 14 9/5/11 17:22:11

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Untitled-3 45 22/9/10 14:30:02

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newsGrowth and changeCranfield University and Peterborough City Council launched a new partnership in March, aimed at developing education and research in renewable energy and bio-fuels to support future economic growth in the city.

The partnership includes a donation of £60,000 from Peterbor-ough Renewable Energy Ltd (PREL) and will involve appointing a Pro-fessor of Renewable Energy, who will create and establish a Centre for Renewable Energy and Bio-Fuels. This will be located at Cran-field, which is renowned in this field, and will also have a significant presence at PREL’s ‘Energy Park Peterborough’, which when construct-ed, will be Europe’s first truly sustainable biomass power plant.

Professor Minoo Patel, Director of Development at Cranfield’s School of Engineering, says: “Cranfield is delighted to enter into a partnership with Peterborough which will help establish the city as a leader in environmental innovation, renewable energy and bio-fuels.

“Cranfield will work with Peterborough on developing a range of renewable technologies including wind power, bio-fuels from algae and waste to energy. An exciting aspect of this partnership will be the opportunity to establish demonstrator sites for these technologies in the Peterborough area as a launch pad for wider industrial take up.”

www.cranfield.ac.uk

Research

Installation vessels

Overseas adventureMPI Offshore Limited (MPI) has received delivery of a wind turbine installation vessel to Qidong, in China.

The MPI Adventure is a wind turbine installation vessel de-signed to transport, lift and install wind turbines and their founda-tions. She is highly advanced and efficient in terms of jacking speed, deck space, lifting capacity and positioning capabilities.

She is the first of two state-of-the art wind turbine installation vessels to be built at the Cosco Qidong Shipyard. The second vessel, MPI Discovery, is scheduled for delivery later this year.

Paul Gibson, Chairman of MPI Offshore Limited, says: “This is truly a proud day for all at MPI, Vroon and the Cosco Shipyard, plus the many other parties who have worked tirelessly for the last three years to bring about the delivery of such an impressive piece of engineering. I have no doubt that, once in service, MPI Adventure will soon demonstrate that she really is a class act!

She is a welcome addition to the MPI fleet and will serve to consolidate our position as a world leader in the construction of offshore wind installations.”

www.mpi-offshore.com

Untitled-6 17 9/5/11 17:22:40

Offshore lawMark Northey, Partner at Ashfords LLP, discusses legal risks in the

marine renewables sector

Whilst legal issues are, understand-ably, not typically at the forefront of

people’s minds in planning offshore operations, it is important that they are considered. Failure to make provision for potential issues early on can mean funding is difficult or impossible to obtain, costs may rise and there is a risk of criminal pros-ecution or civil claim.

There is a difference between risks during development and risks for those technologies that are operational and are being deployed on a commercial scale. Here we discuss the latter, but there are obvious synergies.

The Crown Estate is only respon-sible for seabed licences - it is not responsible for offshore planning. Under the Marine and Coastal Ac-cess Act 2009, the Marine Manage-ment Organisation is starting to take responsibility for offshore planning in English waters. The MMO, which has equivalents in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, is also respon-sible for the protection of marine life, either specifically (for instance seals) or through marine conserva-tion zones (still being planned with full designation by 2012). The first marine conservation zone is off Lundy Island.

In a recent case demonstrating the importance of complying with on and offshore planning regimes, an offshore windfarm was delayed due to the local planning authority rejecting the design of the landfall. Naturally, there is still the issue of whether the onshore grid is able to

cope with the power being brought ashore.

Contracts for the transmission and offtake of power are with an Off-shore Transmission Owner (OFTO). There is a competitive regime for the award of OFTO contracts and, since the regime is relatively new, there have been some problems to overcome.

Currently, lenders are preoccupied with two major issues. Firstly, the Energy White Paper has not (at the time of writing) been published and, therefore, there is uncertainty as to the level of renewable support avail-able in the new Feed-in Tariff for off-shore schemes. Given that offshore schemes are considerably more ex-pensive to install and maintain than onshore schemes, this is of obvious concern. Secondly, contractors are not prepared to wrap the construc-tion phase as a turnkey contract and, therefore, separate contracts have to be let which adds to the risk of delivery (the riskiest phase so far as lenders are concerned).

The Health and Safety Executive and the Marine and Coastguard Agency have overlapping responsi-bility for safety at sea. They do have a memorandum of understanding between them dividing this responsi-bility and as a result, working on a ship would be a MCA responsibility and on an offshore structure a HSE responsibility. Having two responsi-ble bodies tends to add to costs and risks. Additionally, Trinity House and its equivalents in Scotland (Northern Lighthouse Board) and Northern Ire-land (Commissioners for Irish Lights)

are responsible for maintaining their own navigation aids and inspecting and auditing private ones around the UK coast.

There are many other users of the seas including the Ministry of Defence, fishermen, shipping (com-mercial and leisure) and the oil and gas industry. If the proposed instal-lation is to be close to land, there may also be opposition from local residents. Despite the sea being a vast expanse, parts of it are inten-sively used. International regulations for preventing collisions at sea apply and, although a marine contractor will take this into account when plan-ning installation and maintenance, there is some evidence that the power companies are not as aware as they should be of the problems of operating at sea. Ships and marine operations are far more subject to the elements than operations on land and even the most careful planning can be ruined by the tide or weather.

If a ship runs into your properly charted installation, although there could be potentially expensive dam-age to repair and loss of revenue, much of the cost should be for the ship owner, charterer or insurers. But if your device breaks from its moorings and creates havoc in the shipping lanes or manages to cause damage somewhere else, that could be your risk and expense.

None of these risks are insur-mountable as the offshore windfarm programme proves. Some should be relatively simple to resolve, but they do all need early consideration.■

www.ashfords.co.uk

Ashfords LLP is regu-lated by the Solicitors

Regulation Authority. The information in this note is

intended to be general information about English

law only and not com-prehensive. It is not to be relied on as legal advice

nor as an alternative to taking professional advice relating to specific circum-

stances.

18

Business

EE35_Businesstw.indd 18 9/5/11 17:03:51

The development of marine or wet renewable energy systems poses a series of challenges for their designers. Converteam has many decades of experience in designing electrical equipment and systems for hostile environments, such as those found in our offshore wind energy business and in our offshore oil & gas business, so we know how to mitigate those challenges particularly with respect to reliability and maintenance which are exceptionally demanding in a subsea installation.

Converteam’s advanced power conversion solutions position us to provide device developers with the best technology and the strongest technical assistance to move from concept to reality.

www.converteam.com

For more information visit Converteam at All Energy 2011Stand K80 - 18 and 19th May - Aberdeen Exhibition & Conference Centre

11_Energy Engineering All Energy 2011 Issue.indd 1 14/04/2011 12:06:54Untitled-1 19 9/5/11 10:43:04

Confidence• Reduce exposure to risk with accurate and reliable

weather information

• Optimise resource planning and decrease costs

• Protect people and assets by minimising health and safety risks

• Improve operations and maintenance planning

• Make the best use of available weather windows

Met Office at All-Energy UK 2011: − Exhibition: AECC, May 18 – 19, Stand AB14

− Offshore Wind — technology updates – a presentation on ‘How far modelled data sets and remote sensed data products can be applied within the offshore renewables sector’ on 19 May at 13.45.

− Site visit to Met Office Centre in Aberdeen, 20 May

To find out how we can help your business, come and talk to us at All Energy 2011. Alternatively call +44 1224 407575 or email [email protected], quoting reference EE2011.

www.metoffice.gov.uk/marine

Met OfficeFitzRoy Road, ExeterDevon, EX1 3PBUnited Kingdom

Tel: 0870 900 0100Fax: 0870 900 5050Email: [email protected]/marine

Produced by the Met Office. © Crown copyright 2011 11/0121Met Office and the Met Office logo are registered trademarks

To sign up for a free technical tour of our Marine Centre of Excellence in Aberdeen on Friday 20 May, visit www.all-energy.co.uk/Technical_tours.html

EE35_ads.indd 20 10/5/11 10:20:19

New identityMike Farish talks to Beverley Walker of WSP Group about the

latest developments in the offshore wind market

As the pace of develop-ment in the offshore wind market relent-lessly ramps up – and

in particular as the UK’s Round 3 and Scottish Territorial Waters programmes move towards their formal project consenting stage – companies servic-ing the market are seeking to define unique identities for themselves based on their perception of real market requirements. One such is global

consultancy operation WSP Group, which has established its Future Energy division with the specific remit of providing whole project life cycle engineering and environmental ser-vices to the worldwide energy supply and transmission sectors.

A key player within the set-up is Beverley Walker, Head of Offshore Renewables for the company, who joined WSP last year as the latest stage in a career that started as a

biologist in her native Australia over 30 years ago. Having worked in the renewable sector in Europe and the UK for the past 10 years, she now works out of offices in Edinburgh, appropriately close to the North Sea where much of OWF development will be focussed.

Walker explains that WSP Future Energy is intended both to coordinate and further develop existing energy-re-lated activities on the part of the com-

21

Offshore wind

EE35_WSPtw.indd 21 9/5/11 17:30:56

pany that already generate around £30million of revenue each year. Initially at least it will mostly comprise a management team that is able to draw on relevant resources within the wider company. She estimates that in the immediate term this will put around 900-1,000 of the Group’s 9,000 or so employees at its disposal.

But Walker also stresses that WSP Future Energy is set on global growth, whether organically or through acquisition, and has been provided with the autonomy to make its own decisions about how best to pursue that goal through its own efforts. “We have our own budget and targets,” she confirms.

Much of how it does so in the UK offshore wind market will, therefore, be down to her and the expanding team. In the case of Round 3 it is a market that she regards as possessing some highly distinctive characteristics. The one she identifies as perhaps the most significant is that through both EU and then in turn national government directives it is “being driven by legal targets, which are highly aspirational and challenging, but which the whole of Europe is committed to meeting. This makes for a highly competitive market.” In consequence, waiting is not an economical option.

Right now the industry – own-ers, developers, and operators – is coming up against a number of bottlenecks, in particular a shortage of people with the necessary skills to enable offshore surveying, project consenting, and design – a shortage that is in part a consequence of competition with and the generally higher salaries paid by companies in the offshore oil and gas sector.

Again Walker can pinpoint the

crucial areas of expertise needed at this stage. Those that are currently relevant include:

*offshore health and safety.*insurance risk analysis.*environmental impact assessment

(EIA) and consent permitting.*foundation design*offshore HVDC competence.A favoured tactic for dealing with

this situation by developers in the sector has been to pool their resources through various forms of business alliance. “It is a market with a lot of mergers and joint ventures,” Walker observes. In addition, the market is currently dealing with high initial capital expenditures – and clients are pushing to drive those costs down. “This can only come from innovation and experience”, Walker claims, “and it is this type of expertise that is influencing our recruitment and expan-sion”.

WSP Future Energy is looking for smart alliances that can offer this skill base to the UK market. Just last November it entered into a formal agreement with its sister company in Norway, Multiconsult – WSP has a 25 percent share of this engineering consultancy, which has 35 years of deep water experience – to work together on offshore projects – a deal that Walker says should add to WSP’s resources in terms of experience in foundation and jacket design, electrical design and HVDC cable routing. Notwithstanding initial

reservations from UK clients regard-ing skills and resources arriving from another country, we are finding that “experience” is becoming an increasingly easier commodity to price and sell.

Walker adds that WSP has al-ready developed a system to exploit the deal in a way that should make those highly sought after technical resources available to clients in a cost-effective manner.

What is certain, though, is that a clock is ticking and that the first formal consenting applications for Round 3 are likely to be submit-ted as early as next year. The new streamlined consenting processes contained in the Planning Act 2008 will be administered by the Infra-structure Planning Commission (IPC) established in 2009. WSP has recruited Martin Broderick, an expe-rienced EIA practitioner and part-time registered IPC Commissioner, to help pave the way and provide support to clients with key advice. For the moment Walker merely notes that theoretically at least those processes should be “more flexible” than previously, though it is evidently an issue to which she has given a good deal of thought. In short the market is one in which technology, legisla-tion, commercial imperatives and procedural routines are still trying to find ways to co-exist that are efficient and mutually supportive.■

www.wspgroup.com

22

Offshore wind

EE35_WSPtw.indd 22 9/5/11 17:31:25

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�� Untitled-1 23 9/5/11 10:47:13

Close collaborationScotland’s renewable energy industry is gearing up - we report on one

group that’s helping to develop the sector

Launched in 2001, the Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group (AREG) is working to build a competitive and sustain-

able renewable energy industry for Scotland, the UK and Europe.

AREG is a not-for-profit independent membership organisation committed to further development of the renew-able energy sector in Aberdeen City and Shire. Membership activities span every sector of renewable energy in-cluding wind, wave, tidal and hydro, bio, solar, geothermal and fuel cell energy and members include energy operators and service companies, technology developers, service, engineering, training and accredita-tion companies, four local authorities, research and development interests and other trade associations.

The group has its own board of directors drawn from major energy interests across Aberdeen City and Shire, and can tap into a multitude of public and private sector trade networks.

Through Aberdeen City Council’s membership of the World Energy Cities Partnership and its connections with an array of international energy regions, AREG can tap into well-established trade networks. These links are complemented by close working relationships with Scottish Development International, UK Trade and Investment, the Department of Energy and Climate Change and other public sector and Scottish local authority working groups.

AREG also has close ties with Scottish Renewables, RenewableUK, EWEA, SubseaUK, the North Scot-land Industries Group, The Energy Institute, Scottish Council for Develop-ment and Industry, Scottish Enterprise and the Chamber of Commerce.

The organisation acts as a region-al catalyst to transfer four decades of offshore energy expertise in oil and gas into renewables. Many organi-sations are now applying existing knowledge and skills to capitalise on supply chain opportunities in this

quickly expanding market.Chief Operating Officer Morag

McCorkindale explains: “A large part of AREG’s success is delivering on our aim to lead, or otherwise participate in, projects identified as adding economic development value to the region.

“AREG has significantly increased participation in the renewables sup-ply chain (wind, marine, biomass, solar and district heating) by promot-ing the industry through its active and inclusive events and international trade programmes, contact with government and industry bodies, flagship projects and its activities surrounding the development of the All-Energy show.”

In addition, AREG has initiated a portfolio of forward-thinking proj-ects. One example is the European Offshore Wind Development Centre (EOWDC). The EOWDC is a joint venture between AREG, Vattenfall and development partner Technip. According to AREG, the EOWDC

24

Regional development

EE35_AREGtw.indd 24 9/5/11 16:50:59

could provide a vital stepping-stone to the UK’s ambitious 39GW of generating capacity planned for offshore wind development in territo-rial waters.

The venture will support national security of energy supply, encourage the region to diversify its economy and capitalise on employment opportunities and attract scientists, re-searchers, engineers, offshore wind supply chain companies and future investment.

As well as proving new turbine designs and foundations, the EOWDC will provide independent validation and accreditation of equipment and services prior to commercial deployment. It will also generate further value through associ-ated R&D activity and could boast an offshore research station, possibly becoming a centre of excellence for environmental research, technology development and a test-ground for new health and safety, access and training procedures.

An application for consent for the EOWDC is due to be submitted to Marine Scotland for consideration later this year. Last August, the Crown Estate awarded the EOWDC an exclusivity agreement to test and demonstrate up to 11 next genera-tion offshore wind turbines in a zone off Aberdeen. This was followed, in December, by a grant of up to €40million from the European Economic Recovery Plan. The sup-port was endorsed by the Euro-pean Council and is part of wider proposals to invest in key energy and internet broadband infrastructure projects.

A second project with which AREG is deeply involved is Aber-deen’s All-Energy show, which has been supported and championed by AREG, Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council since its inception. The exhibition and conference is a vibrant platform for renewables technology, skills transfer and business enterprise.

All-Energy, which last year at-tracted visitor numbers in excess of 7,000, brings together delegates and business interests from around the globe. The show is a key event for AREG in displaying its own ac-tivities and those of its partners and members.

AREG has also been instrumental in the region’s growth of biomass projects through its leading role in the Grampian Biomass Working Group and through participating in an advisory role on other projects.

Over £8million was committed to biomass infrastructure between 2006 and 2009 and since then additional developments have included installations of biomass boilers in public buildings includ-ing Marischal College, Foresterhill Hospital and Duthie Park Winter Gardens.

Finally, a collaboration involv-ing Aberdeen’s internationally renowned universities has been designed to bolster the city’s status as an industry leader in the renew-able energy spectrum. The project, to establish a renewables research hub, is building on the alliance to progress joint renewable energy research capabilities.

The three parties in the alliance - The University of Aberdeen, The Robert Gordon University and Aberdeen City Council - committed £700,000 for the initial three years and have since leveraged around £1.5million from industry and other research organisations. ■

www.aberdeenrenewables.com

25

EE35_AREGtw.indd 25 9/5/11 16:51:36

Contact us

Please contact Dr Gary Wilson on 0141 229 5800 or email [email protected]

Follow us on twitter – @hgf_ip

Visit our web log – www.hgf.typepad.com

Proud to be Scottish IP Firm of the

year 2011

Intellectual property:Release its potential

www.hgf.com

Harrison Goddard Foote – MIP Scottish IP Firm of the year 2011

Untitled-1 26 9/5/11 10:56:40

TAG Energy Solutions, locat-ed on the Teesside water-front, already has extensive experience of offshore

operations. Last year the decision was made to utilise this experience within the offshore wind industry, and the company set about building a new production facility that will manufacture offshore wind turbine foundations. The construction of this facility, based in Billingham, has sped forward in leaps and bounds. TAG has now received all the fund-ing for the site and the building is nearing completion. The wide array of machines, such as the welding equipment that will be crucial to the operation, are all on site too and

are being lifted into position. TAG’s Chief Executive, Alex Dawson, is expecting the site to be ready for action around the middle of June.

The company wants to establish itself as a key player for foundations and topsides both in the UK and Europe. The key to this is the group’s 30 years’ experience working offshore in the oil and gas sector. Dawson indicates that, although the offshore wind industry differs in part, in terms of foundations the requirements are very similar. Though carefully designed, he explains that foundations are produced through “simple technology.” The challenge is not producing them but rather converting the manufacturing and

installation into a slick process. “It’s about moving an individual project towards a production process,” Dawson says.

Additionally, he foresees long-term prospects for the market. “When the oil and gas industry was first taking off, it was seen as a short-term solu-tion, but it has lasted 30 years,” he explains. “The offshore wind sector looks set to follow the same route. It’s home ground for us.”

To this extent, TAG has submitted tenders for several upcoming projects; in particular Dawson hopes to become involved with EDF’s Teesside windfarm, for which the company would be ideally placed. Meanwhile, TAG has been very

Balanced outlookTheone Wilson discovers Teesside’s answer to the challenges of

the offshore wind supply chain

27

Offshore wind

EE35_Tagtw.indd 27 9/5/11 17:28:55

active in the German market, which is seeing a lot of movement - the group currently has nine tenders submitted for German prospects.

The UK, Dawson states, has a lot to offer but is currently “slightly behind the curve”. In comparison, the Ger-man sector is a lot more advanced. The German port of Bremerhaven, for example, has recently seen a lot of investment into its facilities. This means that international cooperation in the field is developing. “We are currently having conversations with companies across the world, but we are very much at the beginning of this process. The sector needs serious collabora-tion,” explains Dawson.

Certainly, there is room for development in the UK market at the

moment. One example Dawson cites is that of cast nodes. At the moment, there is insufficient capacity in the UK to produce these and TAG is getting quotes from Germany for the items. Despite this, there is a real oppor-tunity for a “renaissance” in the UK market; Dawson believes that the UK does have the capacity to become a leading exporter in the market as a whole. “We have the skills but just need to apply them,” he says.

He indicates that in the UK there has been a lack of stimulation from the government to encourage the greater supply chain but the situation is now improving; however, respon-sibility also lies with individual com-panies to take the opportunities that are available. “Companies need to stand up and be proactive - let peo-ple know that they are ready and waiting for work,” Dawson explains. He senses that much of the industry is waiting for work to come to them rather than going out and search-ing for it, and this needs to change; key to finding these opportunities is networking. “People don’t know that you’re there unless you tell them,” he adds. Dawson himself has spent the past year raising TAG’s profile so

that the industry knows they are now available to take on work.

To further raise awareness, TAG has undertaken a study for The Carbon Trust, examining how to manufacture 100 jackets per annum. The work has brought home the point that offshore wind is potentially a huge market. In fact, once the site at Billingham is in operation Dawson anticipates running it 24 hours a day, seven days a week. He is confident that there will be more than enough demand to make this worth-while. As the business develops, TAG may also look at expanding and moving into new areas such as operations and maintenance.

Overall, offshore wind, Dawson concludes, fits into the UK’s energy plans as part of a balanced energy approach. This includes oil and gas, nuclear and renewables. While off-shore wind is probably some years away from becoming commercially viable, in Dawson’s mind it is essen-tial to maintain this balanced outlook on energy. Nonetheless, the future looks bright for anyone with the skills and expertise to make an impact in the sector - and that includes TAG. ■

www.tagenergysolutions.com

28

Offshore wind

EE35_Tagtw.indd 28 9/5/11 17:29:23

www.xodusgroup.com

Engineering, technical safety and risk, and environmental consultancy services from Xodus Group actively support the development of renewable energy projects.

Harnessing natural energy

Untitled-1 29 9/5/11 11:08:45

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company offering a full range of hydrographic, geophysical, oceanographic,marine environmental & topographic survey services, with expertise incombining all disciplines into single projects.

We have an excellent proven track record of providing surveying solutionsto the Renewable Energy sector. To date, numerous projects have beencompleted for offshore wind, wave and tidal energy schemes as well asonshore wind farms and hydro-electric power plants.

Projects have been undertaken in some of the remotest parts of the UKwithin the most demanding and challenging environments, as are oftenrequired for renewable energy devices.

With a team of highly professional, experienced and dedicated staff wecan undertake projects of any size or nature. Continuous investment instate-of-the-art equipment and software ensures that we remain at theforefront of our profession.

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EE££_ads.indd 27 22/2/11 14:19:07

Saving upEnergy storage looks set to become a key element of the sustainable

energy portfolio - and the technology is rapidly advancing

Technological advances and scaleable energy storage solutions will soon provide utility companies, grid

organisations and large energy consumers with new choices to simultaneously enhance their facili-ties and reduce overall reliance on fossil fuels.

Global energy demand is rising and our appetite for power seems insatiable. In response to this trend and to the growing aware-ness of the impact of CO2 on the environment, together with growing concerns regarding energy security, renewable energy sources have

become increasingly popular.Many sources of renewable en-

ergy, whilst endlessly available, are inherently somewhat unpredictable - we cannot adequately predict nor ensure constant wind or sunshine. The same could be said of other contenders in renewable energy such as wave energy and run-of-river small hydro. Ironically tidal energy, whilst wholly predictable, is not will-ing to submit to our requirement for it to release its energy at times of peak demand.

This natural feature of renewable energy has the potential to threaten the overall effectiveness of these

green energy sources, since our grid infrastructures and energy demand patterns assume that electrical power is available at the flick of a switch.

Globally the proportion of energy produced from renewable sources remains relatively low. If national, regional and global targets for reducing greenhouse gas emis-sions are to be met, this proportion must rise significantly and, as the renewables contribution rises, so too will the need to ensure the quality and quantity of the energy reserves to cater for those natural variations in supply.

Pumped storage hydroelectricity

31

Energy storage

EE35_Converteamtw.indd 31 10/5/11 09:48:44

is one technique whereby hydro-electric power generation is used to meet peak level demand. This technique stores energy in the form of water which is pumped from a low to a high elevation reservoir using low cost, off peak electricity to drive the pumps. During periods of high demand, the stored water is returned from the high to the low reservoir via turbines. Although effective as a means of meeting peak demand the process is seen by some as being inefficient due to the cost and energy consumption involved in the pumping process.

In the fossil fuel arena, power plants tend to run below full capac-ity to be sure that they have sufficient reserve to meet demand fluctua-tions. Whilst this satisfies energy demand it does so at the expense of efficiency, as each unit of electricity requires more fuel to produce it.

Fossil fuel plants which operate in this way by sustaining significant levels of rotational inertia, also known as spinning reserve, tend to incur penalties in terms of elevated maintenance costs due to the effects of thermal cycling.

The latest generation of energy storage systems seek to provide a means of implementing synthetic inertia in lieu of costly, inefficient rotational inertia based energy ‘reserves’.

Power conversion specialist Con-verteam is addressing these issues through investment in technological developments such as its ProNRG system, which ensures that natural energy sources can be harnessed, stored and released in order to satisfy base load as well as peak demand and does so in a way that

ensures safe and efficient connec-tion to the grid.

Derek Grieve, Director Technol-ogy at Converteam UK points out: “Choosing the right storage medium for the intended application is criti-cal. There are a number of energy storage technologies around includ-ing flow cells, lithium ion batteries, super capacitors, superconduct-ing magnetic energy storage and flywheels; each has unique charac-teristics and each has something to offer depending on whether your need is for the storage and delivery of electrical energy in short bursts or for its delivery over many hours or days.”

At the heart of an effective energy storage system such as ProNRG is the power converter system - a high power converter to transfer electrical energy efficiently between the en-ergy storage medium and the grid.

As many of the currently available storage media use low voltage DC at their terminal there is a need for the power converter to convert the output into grid compatible AC.

The ProNRG power converter comprises an AC to DC inverter and a DC to DC booster, each of which is based on insulated gate bipolar

transistor (IGBT) switching devices. These sophisticated devices are a major contributor to the multiple goals of reliability, rapid switching capability and efficiency.

In addition to taking power from the grid and attending to its conversion and storage, the power converter uses sophisticated inbuilt condition monitoring circuitry to oversee the energy media and provide essential data to the user therefore permitting the flexibility that’s required to satisfy operational requirements.

According to Grieve: “Large scale systems engineering and serial pro-duction is partly what will develop this market into one that meets the demands of legislators, utility compa-nies and consumers alike. Matching the right storage media to the right power converter and delivering it all as a coherent whole recognises the many differences between an energy storage system designed for a split second energy release pulse for a naval aircraft launch system and a system designed to sustain stable grid output on an evening when wind turbines aren’t turning at optimum speed.” ■

www.converteam.com

32

Energy storage

EE35_Converteamtw.indd 32 10/5/11 09:49:25

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EE35_Fibregrate.indd 1 9/5/11 10:59:23

Untitled-1 33 9/5/11 11:24:06

Growing demandAn energy consultancy is delivering an integrated package of services

to the renewable industry to bring forward energy projects

Xodus Group believes the skills learned from the oil and gas industry are read-ily transferable to emerging

wind, wave and tidal projects and is creating many new business opportu-nities in the low carbon arena.

The company has more than 30 renewable related clients on its books. The company is experienced in prototype deployment, permit applications and environmental impact assessments and can offer integrated services through its exper-tise in subsea engineering, structural design and technical risk and safety.

One of the most significant recent contracts won is with MeyGen to

deliver an important environmental study for a major tidal project in the Pentland Firth.

Xodus will co-ordinate the environmental impact assessment for MeyGen, a standalone develop-ment company backed by share-holders, investment bank Morgan Stanley, independent power generator International Power plc and technology provider, Atlantis Resources Corporation.

The project will consist of up to 400 1MW turbines generating enough energy to power 400,000 homes. They will be located in roughly 3.5km2 of the Inner Sound of the Pentland Firth off the north

coast of Scotland between Caith-ness on the Scottish mainland and the Island of Stroma.

The electricity generated from the project will be exported onshore for transmission to the National Grid. An ‘agreement for lease’ for the site has been awarded by The Crown Estate which, if necessary consents are achieved, will convert into a 25 year operational lease.

Xodus and MeyGen will spend eight months consulting with the public and carrying out the study, which will accompany the Marine License application for the project.

Liz Foubister, Xodus Group’s marine renewables environmental

34

Consultancy

EE35_Xodustw.indd 34 9/5/11 17:32:12

specialist based in the Orkney office comments: “The MeyGen project is one of the most significant tidal initiatives in the world, so it is a great privilege to be involved. One of the two tidal technologies to be deployed as part of the Inner Sound Project is the Atlantis tidal turbine, currently being tested at EMEC, which we previously worked on securing the consents to enable deployment.”

Dan Pearson, CEO of MeyGen says: “This contract is key to the suc-cessful development of the MeyGen project and we are delighted to have awarded it to Xodus, a local company which has built up an excellent reputation in the sector. We look forward to working with Xodus and community stakeholders

in order to assess any impact this project may have on the environ-ment, locally and regionally.”

Xodus works closely with wave and tidal technology developers using the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) and has been involved in helping to secure a number of consents for organisa-tions including Aquamarine Power, Scottish Power Renewables and Atlantis Resources.

The multi-discipline energy con-sultancy employs more than 310 people across its six divisions.

Eric Doyle, Business Develop-ment Manager at Xodus revealed the company has plans to further expand its renewable capabilities with a recruitment drive planned for the coming months.

He explains: “We are experienc-ing a growing demand for our low carbon services that we offer with some exciting new project wins in the offshore wind and wave arenas, so we are actively recruiting new talent in this field.

“We can support clients’ engineer-ing requirements, from the concept select phase through to pre-FEED and FEED and into operational support. The cross-over from oil and gas means we have experts in subsea and struc-tural engineering as well as technical and occupational safety areas.”

The company will be showcasing its services and some of the unique renewable products it has developed at All Energy in Aberdeen on 18-19 May on stand V30. ■

www.xodusgroup.com

35

EE35_Xodustw.indd 35 9/5/11 17:32:44

Technical by nature

QUALIFIED BY EXPERIENCE

www.gl-garradhassan.com

Renewable energy consultants

Untitled-1 36 9/5/11 11:45:42

Renewable energy is a rela-tively young industry and, as with many new technologies, issues surrounding intellectual

property are of utmost importance to businesses working with the sector.

Harrison Goddard Foote (HGF) is one of the UK’s fastest growing intellectual property and patent law companies. Launched in 1995 with a single attorney, the firm now has a staff of over 100, including 50 solicitors and attorneys. Over recent years the company has worked increasingly with start-ups and new technology

developers within the renewable and clean energy sectors.

One of the reasons why the sector is proving so dynamic is the sheer number of small companies who are eager to bring new technologies to the market. However, such innovation is worthless if intellectual property is not taken seriously; without proper protection the time, energy and money spent on research and development could be wasted as the technology is effectively given away to competitors.

Across wind, solar PV, power management, bio fuels and fuel cells,

investors are keen to involve themselves in low-carbon technologies. According to HGF, intellectual property protec-tion is a key factor in securing such investment.

The Energetix Group, a clean technology development company, is just one client who are benefiting from HGF’s experience in dealing with intel-lectual property concerns.

The Energetix Group has devel-oped, amongst other products, a micro-CHP technology known as Genlec - a combined heat and power system that is targeted at the UK and European residential heating markets as an alternative to conventional natu-ral gas fired boilers. The technology uses an organic Rankine cycle (ORC), essentially comparable to a refrigerator working in reverse.

The technology is covered by a number of patents, which were managed by HGF, that cover the micro-CHP using an ORC and scroll expander, in addition to other aspects of the technology and product design.

“The aim is to compile a range of patents that protect the inventive fea-tures of the technology and the system

37

Intellectual property

Commercial gainsIntellectual property is a key concern for innovators in

renewable energy. Energy Engineering looks at the relationship between one IP firm and their client

EE35_HGFtw.indd 37 10/5/11 11:55:44

38

Intellectual property

at a component level,” explains Geoff Parker, Head of Sales and Marketing at Energetix Genlec.

Energetix has worked with HGF for a number of years in protecting core technologies through patents and trademarks on a variety of innovative developments. “HGF has always been able to cover our range of technol-ogy areas and offer good advice on approaches to patents, in particular managing the international process and dealing with foreign agencies through local attorneys,” says Parker.

“Our experience of working with HGF has been of working with a very professional outfit. With patents, the process from application to grant can have many twists and turns through the UK and international examinations. The considerable experience of those

dealing with our cases has enabled us to progress through this process with favourable outcomes.

“Given the nature of patents, good, pragmatic advice is essential as it en-sures appropriate decisions are made in relation to patent applications so that time and money can be properly invested.”

Another Energetix technology, “Pnu Power”, offers an alternative to lead acid in a range of applications. The batteries generate electricity using com-pressed air to drive a scroll expander, which in turn drives a generator. The technology has many applications for high value back up power offering high reliability and power availability. HGF worked with Energetix to secure international patents protecting the core technology of Pnu Power.

“For small entrepreneurial compa-nies requiring investment, whether it be venture capital or institutional, dem-onstrating a level of protection of their technology is an important element in attracting funding,” adds Parker.

As the industry grows and new commercial opportunities open up, having the protection of patents enables a more confident exploitation of the competitive features of individual products. Additionally, as businesses mature there is the potential to further exploit patents and trademarks through licensing agreements that allow expan-sion into new markets.

“If we are to get good, green tech-nology out there, then it has to have good business behind it,” concludes HGF patent attorney Matt Dixon. ■

www.hgf.com

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group that’s helping to develop the sectorThe specifications of the installation vessels needed to deliver offshore wind farms are driven by the lift-

ing requirements for nacelles and blades. As the form and weight of those turbine elements have become increasingly uniform, so equally have the characteristics of the jack-up platforms involved. They are now typically capable of lifting nacelles weighing 300-500 tonnes to under-hook heights of up to 100m. Most are capable of oper-ating in 40m of water, and some lattice legged vessels in 45-50m.

Meanwhile, given the superficial resemblance of tidal and wind turbines, it is obviously appropri-ate to ask whether utility-scale tidal deployments could also utilise offshore wind installation vessels. But this is unlikely to be the case for two reasons. Firstly, the techni-cal requirements for tidal stream installation vessels are, in fact, quite distinct so that in the longer term a bespoke vessel fleet will be needed. Secondly, the offshore wind fleet is unlikely to be sufficient in size to de-liver the installation rates implicit in the Government’s strategic plans, so there is little potential for any ‘slack’ capacity in any case.

Moreover, there has been neg-ligible convergence in the design of tidal stream devices and there is currently still quite a wide variety at the large scale prototype stage. There may prove to be a single vessel design capable of installing

all of these devices, but the fact that several companies have already proposed device-specific installation vessels to deploy their prototypes, ranging from pontoon barges with winches to semi-submersibles to dedicated dynamic positioning (DP) crane barges, suggests there is no obvious choice of vessel on the market.

The seabed at tidal sites is gener-ally scoured bedrock and vessels need to hold station in currents of to 6-7 knots. This militates against the use of jack-ups because of the risk of leg impacts and the potential for strong vortex forces. In addition, the seabed provides no degree of mo-ment fixity to the legs. Furthermore, such seabed and current conditions are similarly inimical to the use of moored vessels because drag em-bedment anchors are impractical, while the time and costs associated with the installation, maintenance and recovery of multi-point clump weight catenary moorings having run-outs of several hundred metres are prohibitive.

Another difference is that single tidal rotors are typically limited to a maximum 1MW rating owing to the high blade root bending moments and the limitations in structural form imposed by the smaller rotor diameters. This typically leads to lower physical sizes and structural weights; a typical 1MW tidal sea-bed-mounted machine, for example, might have an 18-20m diameter rotor, a 20mx3m nacelle weigh-

ing 100 tonnes and a 17m base tripod/jacket structure weighing 100-150 tonnes.

In consequence, the load han-dling requirements for tidal stream vessels are almost the opposite of those for offshore wind. They in-volve modest weights to be lowered 30-60m down through the water and placed on the sea bed. Crane operations are constrained not so much by wind speed, but more by the tidal currents, hydrodynamic drag and the vessel’s ability to respond to incoming swells.

Positional tolerance requirements are also generally less onerous, be-cause fully-assembled machines are being handled. This allows the use of towed pontoon barges or DP con-struction support vessels operating with wider working circles. Several tidal companies have either built or are considering the former solution, though it is not clear whether the positional accuracy provided by tugs alone will be adequate for arrays and cable interface work.

Offshore DP construction vessels are also a feasible, but expensive, option. Furthermore, station-keep-ing on a tidal site is a very different operation to avoiding collision with a fixed offshore oil-rig structure. They are designed for long-period, high wave-states with co-directional winds and very limited side-currents. Such conditions contrast sharply with those at exposed tidal sites where wind and waves can be at any angle with respect to the

Load factorsChris Garrett and George Gibberd of GL-Garrad Hassan

discuss the energy fleet of the future

40

Installation vessels

EE35_GarradHassantw.indd 40 10/5/11 11:50:47

surface currents and the currents themselves are transient in magni-tude and direction.

In addition, the installation of tidal devices requires precise scheduling given that the slack-wa-ter windows of opportunity in which operations are possible for ROVs and cranes may be no more than 35 minutes per tide. Furthermore, operations which span the change of tide require the vessel to manoeu-

vre at slack water to maintain head-ing into the flow. As such, because neap windows appear only over the fortnightly tidal cycle, the main challenge in planning DP opera-tions at a tidal site is to maximise the tidal current operating window so that the spread down-time over spring tides is minimised.

So workable utility-scale tidal energy will require the development of a bespoke class of installation

vessel. Moreover, vessel capability must be recognised as a constraint that must be addressed at an early stage in the design process. ■

[email protected] is a

senior installation engineer in the offshore

wind group, and George.Gibberd@gl-gar-

radhassan.com is head of marine renewable

installation services, both based in the Bristol

office of GL-Garrad Hassan.

www.gl-garradhassan.com

41

EE35_GarradHassantw.indd 41 10/5/11 11:51:20

Strong contender

40South Energy has com-pleted construction of its next full scale prototype, the Y25t. This machine

has the same general structure as the D100t, installed in August 2010: a ‘lower member’ immersed at a depth of approximately 14m, and an ‘upper member’ kept near to the surface. The upper member works at a depth between 0 and 10m depending on the wave con-ditions. Contrary to the D100t, this time the lower member has a ‘Y’ shape, from which the name of the machine is taken, and the power rating of the machine is 25kW.

The reduction in power rating is due to the fact that the company is completing the preparations for the commercial launch of its ‘Series 25’

wave machines, which will have from two to six floaters, each one rated at 25kW. In this respect, the Y25t is the first full scale prototype for Series 25, while the D100t was a full scale prototype for a Series 100. Due to the reaction from the market, 40South Energy decided to postpone the Series 100, and to concentrate on the Series 25, for which it has received a very strong and positive market reaction.

The Y25t will now be tested in the test area already used for the D100t. It contains many of the solutions which will be adopted for the Series 25. Various scenarios have been simulated for the use of wave energy machines in distrib-uted power generation, and in all cases the increased granularity in

the offer provided by Series 25 over Series 100 was a significant commercial plus. For example, the machines can be used in the UK, in wave parks of small to medium size (50kW to a few megawatts) to produce energy near the load centres. This way the machines are used to offset energy consumption, instead of producing energy for grid distribution, and therefore the value of the energy is the (total) retail price (around £110/MWh in the UK), not the wholesale one (around half that level).

With this set-up, if the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) of the wave park is below the retail price of energy, it will be economically viable even without any form of government incentives, and the

Michele Grassi reports on the

deployment of his new prototype, the Y25t

42

Marine energy

EE35_40Southtw.indd 42 9/5/11 16:19:36

return on the investment will become significant as soon as it drops even a little over that. This is particularly important given the current uncer-tainty over the level of subsidies available in the future for renew-able sources. A simulation with the Series 25 gives a final LCOE below £107/MWh along most coasts of the UK, and significantly below this level in good sites like Wave Hub in Cornwall.

Given the carbon reduction com-mitment legislation in the UK, even going on par with the retail price will be interesting for many potential buyers of the technology. It should be noted that such a distributed generation of energy is not con-ceivable with offshore or onshore wind, given the huge environmental impact of the installations, and also

with the more traditional wave ener-gy technologies, which have LCOEs in the £600/MWh region. Even in the Mediterranean, where there is a much milder wave climate, LCOEs of €200-€250/MWh can be achieved with the Series 25, and therefore it is possible to have cost-competitive installations in many islands where the grid does not arrive.

The Series 25 is in the final stages of design, and will be fi-nalised once the data from the Y25t has been analysed. One of its main features is its capacity to withstand even the biggest storms of the North Atlantic without any problems, due to its capacity to vary its depth dynamically in response to changes of the sea state. This capability has the added advantage of allowing

for very large power interceptors (the Upper Members) without affect-ing survivability. It is this de-linking of capacity factor and survivability which allows the machines to reach LCOEs competitive with retail grid electricity right from their launch. ■

www.40southenergy.com

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EE35_40Southtw.indd 43 9/5/11 16:21:57

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Untitled-1 44 9/5/11 12:04:31

With rotor bearing supports designed to requirements, Schaeffler Group

Industrial offers a bearing support concept that makes the use of multi-megawatt wind turbines more reli-able and efficient both onshore and offshore. Engineering is carried out using the advanced rolling bearing calculation program that combines the advantages of the finite element method (FEM) with the existing fea-tures of BEARINX. This makes it pos-sible to not only evaluate selected load conditions, but to assess all relevant, critical load conditions

very precisely. The use of moment bearing supports in so-called single bearing concepts enables a high level of system integration and results in particularly compact and less complex wind turbine designs. The preloaded bearing also prevents the transfer of negative axial loads to the drive train.

The trend towards large multi-megawatt turbines that are used particularly in offshore wind farms is also changing bearing support concepts for wind turbines. Single bearing concepts in particular are gaining importance. With this concept, the rotor is only supported

by a single double-row tapered roller bearing - a so-called moment bear-ing - in a back-to-back arrangement that supports all forces and moments. This single bearing concept can take different forms, for example, with a shaft and gearbox as well as a high-speed generator, as a hybrid solution with shortened gearbox and medium-speed generator or as a direct drive without a gearbox.

Single bearing concepts always result in very compact designs. Ir-respective of the extent to which the idea of system integration is imple-mented in the concept - the options range right up to concepts in which the nacelle is fully integrated in the bearing gearbox generator unit - it is possible to eliminate components

45

Technical file

Meeting the challenge

One company reports back on its progress in rotor bearing supports for multi-megawatt wind turbines

EE35_Schaefflertw.indd 45 9/5/11 17:25:20

46

Technical file

and thus reduce weight. This means that the head weight is reduced, smaller foundations can be used and the logistics are simplified.

This bearing support also offers an advantage in that preloaded tapered roller bearings can be used, which prevent axial clearance and small axial displacements. This narrow guidance of the rotor shaft means less movements act on the system, reducing the negative effects on the gearbox and generator.

Schaeffler Group Indus-trial has already imple-

mented many single bearing solutions, for example, for 5MW offshore turbines. The engineering for these bear-ing variants is especially chal-

lenging because standard tools

cannot be used for the design and

calculation of the rat-ing life. The organisation

has, therefore, expanded its rolling bearing calculation

program BEARINX to include elastic influences that are calculated using the finite element method (FEM). The calculation program can now anal-yse bearings including the influenc-es of housings not just for selected load cases. Instead, around 250 classified load cases are evaluated taking all elasticities into account so that an optimal design can be pro-duced that takes almost all critical load conditions into consideration. The results of the FEM calculations for the housing are transferred to a rigidity matrix and entered in the BEARINX calculation. This rigid-ity matrix represents not only the elasticities at individual bearing positions, but also the influences of the elasticities from one bearing position to another. The system is therefore able to carry out complete rating life calculations based on the load distribution and taking elasticities into account. This means the group has a useful calculation program for designing rotor bearing

supports for multi-megawatt turbines.The Schaeffler Group supplies

moment bearing supports that are individually designed for the respec-tive turbine type. They are available with classic steel pin cages or alter-natively with plastic segment cages. The material used in plastic cages is PEEK, a high-strength plastic that has low wear characteristics, low weight and can support high forces. The plastic segment cage reduces friction and increases the efficiency of the turbine. The new cage type not only improves the guidance of the rolling elements, but also enables optimisa-tion of the lubricant supply. Moment bearings can also have integrated anti-corrosion protection that is achieved by applying a zinc flame-sprayed surface and multi-layer paint-ing. Special hardening processes enable customised material charac-teristics for integrated functions - for example, seals or connections to the adjacent construction. ■

www.schaeffler-group.com

EE35_Schaefflertw.indd 46 9/5/11 17:25:51

INSIDEPage 2 - It’s power delivery that really counts. Page 4 - Building HVDC supergrids - challenges

and possibilities. Page 5 - HVDC Light goes offshore. Page 6 - Distributed Energy Storage Page 7 - Enhancing ABB’s UK centre of grid excellence.

www.abb.com/hvdc

ABB’s tried and proven technologies meet the grid connection challenges of Europe’s drive for renewable energy

READY FOR CONNECTION NOW

EE35_ABBHRHRTW.indd 47 9/5/11 16:26:34

Renewable energy - inher-ently variable in its nature - is playing an ever-increasing role in meeting our energy

demands. The creation of ‘supergrids’ of interconnected networks offers an attractive way of increasing reliability and security of supply, and smooth-ing out the peaks and troughs in both power usage and generation. The challenge is how to connect these grids in a reliable, efficient way, potentially over great distances, and crossing seas. High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission solutions are set to play a vital role.

Sustainable energy sources cannot be evaluated as ‘stand alone’ solu-tions; they are only as effective as the power grid to which they ultimately connect. What really counts is the efficiency of the total energy system.

There will need to be new ap-proaches to living with variable generation sources, with more active demand response and smarter grid

technologies playing a very sig-nificant part. In parallel, we will also need to roll out new ways of manag-ing and interconnecting electricity grids nationally and internationally. This is where supergrids will play a key role.

Supergrids make sense strategi-cally because they enable poten-tially rich sources of energy - such as offshore wind farms, hydroelectric, geothermal and solar arrays - to be permanently connected to centres of demand, such as large cities, which may be hundreds of kilometres away.

Europe’s proposed Offshore Super-grid (www.friendsofthesupergrid.eu) is a case in point. This ambitious project aims to address the impending energy crunch in Europe by intercon-necting national electricity grids from Spain to the Baltic Sea in a seamless electricity transmission and trading network. It would smooth out demand and supply across a vast geographi-cal area and population, and make

the most use of renewable energy sources wherever and whenever they are available.

The role of the supergrid is two-fold. First, it will carry electricity gener-ated by offshore wind farms, and other renewable sources, to onshore grid connections. Second, it will carry electricity from all sources around Europe, making the region’s electricity markets more efficient both in terms of meeting demand and in terms of energy trading.

The idea of harnessing solar power from North African deserts to provide emission-free electricity to Europe is the central proposition of the Desertec Industrial Initiative, inau-gurated in July 2009. The Desertec vision (www.desertec.org) sees solar power generated in the Sahara even-tually meeting 15 percent of Europe’s energy needs, and a significant pro-portion of local demand in producer countries by 2050.

With improvements in the ef-

It’s power delivery that really counts48

ABB


ficiency of power transmission, and in renewable energy technologies, most of the previous technical challenges involved have now been overcome.

Nonetheless, the construction of very large offshore wind farms presents some significant engineering challenges in getting large quantities of electrical power back to shore. Subsea supergrid interconnections demand a very robust electrical trans-mission system, with high availability and minimal maintenance require-ments. They must not only meet strict national grid codes, but also relieve stresses from wind turbines and other renewable sources by isolating electri-cal transients from the mainland grid. Another important requirement is to design a system that can withstand the harsh and sometimes very hostile offshore environment.

HVDC (High Voltage Direct Cur-rent) technology is used to transmit electricity over long distances by overhead transmission lines or sub-marine cables. First made available on a commercial basis by ABB, it is a well-proven technology with over 50 years of operating experience. HVDC offers higher capacity per line but also lower transmission losses than traditional AC systems. It can be used to connect separate asynchro-nous power systems (operating on a different frequency or voltage) where traditional AC connections are not feasible. In addition, HVDC systems also provide rapid and accurate con-trol of power flow and are therefore ideal for interconnecting power grids to facilitate market trading.

Now HVDC has emerged as a robust and economically feasible alternative for the subsea interconnec-tion of offshore wind farms, especially

with the significant improvements that have been made in the performance of wind-conversion systems, which have enabled wind turbines to be connected to the transmission grid and be safeguarded against surges in power generation.

An excellent example of this new generation of HVDC is the HVDC Light system pioneered by ABB over the past 14 years. Based on VSC (Voltage Source Converter) technol-ogy it uses series-connected power transistors rather than thyristor valves. It is ideal for integrating dispersed, re-newable generation, especially wind power, into existing AC grids. It is also used for smart transmission and smart grids due to its great flexibility and adaptability.

In offshore wind farm applications, VSC-based HVDC solutions use ex-truded polymer (XLPE) cables, which are a strong, flexible and cost-effec-tive alternative for severe conditions and deep waters. This cable type has a copper or aluminium conductor surrounded by a polymeric insulating material, which is very strong and robust. The water sealing of the cable has a seamless layer of extruded lead and finally one or two layers of steel wire armouring to provide the mechanical properties.

Most grid codes today set require-ments on ‘fault ride-through’ or ‘low-voltage ride-through’. As the propor-tion of renewable power generation increases, grid codes requirements are becoming stricter. For example, wind turbines or farms must typically be able to survive sudden voltage dips down to typically 15 percent of the nominal grid voltage for up to 140ms.

The wind farm network is much

smaller than a typical utility grid and, as a consequence, weaker. Also, its rated generation normally matches the rated HVDC transmission capabil-ity. A fast reduction in the input power capability may therefore lead to a significant increase in the wind farm bus voltage - resulting in an over-volt-age tripping of the VSC and/or the wind turbines.

The solution used is very robust, and leaves the wind farm unaffected during main grid faults. The DC chop-per is a high-energy resistor in the DC circuit that evacuates the surplus of energy during network faults when power transmission is not possible. This means there will be no abrupt change in the output power from the wind turbines and the disturbance seen by the wind turbines will be minimised.

It is surely significant that the long-established US grid features just one to two percent of HVDC transmission. In China, which is currently building a truly national grid, designed from a blank sheet of paper, HVDC will comprise some 10 to 20 percent of the total transmission capacity. This allows the development of remote hydro resources, minimises the number of lines, increases reliability and also creates an infrastructure that allows full utilisation of production resources including additional remote renewables.

Renewables will make a significant contribution to Europe’s power needs, but we must ensure that our grids are sufficiently developed to collect and deliver that power efficiently and reli-ably. The good news is that ABB has the technology to build these strong, reliable grids commercially available and ready to connect. ■

49


50

ABB

HVDC links are used for bringing offshore wind power to shore. As the number of these point-

to-point HVDC connections grows, it would help to connect them directly, rather than through the broader AC grid. This is giving rise to plans for HVDC supergrids.

Wider use of DC grids is likely to involve challenges of a technical nature. However, the main challenge concerns adaption of international Regulatory frameworks to manage these new grids.

Plans to introduce wind power in the North Sea, solar power in North Africa (the Desertec initiative) etc, have created interest in HVDC grids.The value of these grids (offshore or onshore) is in their role as a facilitator for power exchange and trade between regions and power systems.

Moreover, an offshore grid will allow the aggregation and dispatch of power from offshore wind farms in different regions, resulting in power generation profiles of low variability.

The major motivation for an offshore grid topology is constituted by two policy drivers: the need for connectivity between countries and

power market regions, and the demand for economically efficient connection of offshore wind farms.

A reference project for construct-ing a regional grid with a limited number of nodes is already in place. The Québec-New England project completed in the 1990s has clearly demonstrated the feasibility of three-terminal HVDC systems.

HVDC Light provides better capa-bilities for operating regional multi-ter-minal systems as it has the advantage that the power direction is altered by changing the direction of the current, and not by changing the polarity of the DC voltage. The terminals can be connected to different points in the same AC network or to different AC networks. The resulting DC grids can be radial, interconnected or a combination of both.

An interregional DC grid is defined as a system that needs several protec-tion zones. The following technology gaps need to be closed to create such a grid:

• DC breakers• Power flow control• Automatic network restoration• DC/DC converters for connect-

ing different regional systemsThe basic technologies in these

fields are known although some further development is needed to fully meet all regulatory demands.

For HVDC supergrids to become commercially viable they may well need to be based on individual links of some 2GW. Currently, the maxi-mum rating for a single building block of ABB’s HVDC Light technology at +320 kV is 1150MW. However, technology is advancing and ABB is providing a monopolar 500kV, 700MW HVDC Light system for the fourth HVDC link between Norway and Denmark. So it is reasonable to expect that 2GW HVDC Light links will soon be achievable.

The subsea cables for such supergrids will need to operate in the region of 500kV. To date, no XLPE cables capable of this are commer-cially available. However, there have been rapid developments in XLPE cable technology for HVDC applica-tions recently and the trend indicates that the required voltage levels will be achieved soon. Mass Impregnated subsea cable at 500kV already exists and several HVDC projects will be based on this technology in the near future.

Future transmission grids will be more international and will be oper-ated and regulated by a range of in-ternational bodies as well as national agencies and system operators.

Establishing the ENTSO-E (a Euro-pean TSO cooperative association) in 2008 was a major step towards the formation of rules and frameworks to support future grids.

ABB anticipates that, based on previous HVDC and cable technol-ogy development rates, the residual technology gaps will be closed to make the European Supergrid a reality. ■

Building HVDC supergrids - challenges and possibilities


51

The demanding environment and remote location makes power transmission from large offshore wind farms a

considerable challenge. Oil explora-tion companies sucessfully met similar challenges when they first began to exploit offshore oil and gas reserves in the North Sea. ABB has followed their path by successfully delivering the first offshore HVDC schemes.

A remote wind power farm could be connected with either AC or HVDC. Depending on the size of the wind farm, along with grid condi-tions, the use of HVDC is applicable where the distance to the connecting AC grid exceeds 40-70km.

With the constraints placed on space and weight offshore, HVDC Light offers some key advantages, since it is compact and lightweight compared with other HVDC solutions. Other needs are as follows:

• safety is paramount• salt and humidity place severe

requirements on the choice of materi-als and surface treatment

• maintenance needs must be minimised

• extensive monitoring is needed. Apart from the main transformers,

all high-voltage equipment must be installed inside compact modules on the offshore platform. The ventilation system in the modules must protect the high-voltage equipment and the

electronics from salt-laden and humid air. The main circuit equipment is therefore exposed to lower environ-mental requirements than a normal outdoor installation that enables a more compact design. The ventila-tion must also take airborne losses into consideration. An advantage of being offshore in the North Sea, of course, is that cold (5-11°C) water for cooling is readily available.

VSC-based HVDC converter stations can be fully automated or remotely operated. The goal is to maintain high performance of the link throughout the whole operational lifetime.

HVDC Light’s functionality in the offshore environment is shown by Statoil’s Troll A power from shore project, set up in 2005. This 84 MW link was the world’s first offshore HVDC transmission project. It enables the Troll A gas production platform to meet all its power requirements from onshore generation, via four 70km subsea cables.

The world’s first HVDC link to connect an offshore wind farm with an AC grid is the BorWin1 project. Based on HVDC Light technology, this 200 km link connects the Bard Offshore 1 wind farm located off Germany’s North Sea coast to the HVAC grid on the German mainland.

When complete, BARD Offshore 1 will consist of 80 wind genera-

tors, each with a capacity of 5MW. These will feed their power into a 36kV AC cable system. This voltage will then be transformed to 155kV AC before reaching the HVDC Light converter station, located on a dedicated platform. Here the AC is converted to ±150kV DC and fed into two 125km sea cables, which then continue into two 75km land cables, transmitting 400MW power to the land-based converter station.

The German utility TenneT has awarded a contract to ABB to supply an 800MW transmission link to connect offshore wind farms located in the cluster DolWin1 (Borkum West II wind farm, 400MW, plus future un-named wind farms) in the North Sea to the German grid.

The wind farms will be connected with AC cables to the HVDC con-verter station based on an offshore platform situated in the North Sea and further through 75km of DC sea cable and 90km of land cable to the HVDC onshore station at the grid connection point at Dörpen/West.

The transmission system has a total capacity of 800MW at ±320 kV. ABB oversees system engineering including design, supply and installa-tion of the offshore converter, sea and land cable systems and the onshore converter station. The land cables will be laid underground, thus minimising environmental impact. ■

HVDC Light goes offshore


52

ABB

ABB’s Distributed Energy Storage (DES) systems serve a variety of different applications in transmis-

sion and distribution networks where they can improve the quality of the power at optimal cost.

In the past, networks only needed to handle a simple, passive flow of power from high-voltage genera-tion and transmission to low-voltage consumption. Energy storage can en-able networks to make the transition to handling complex, highly variable and multi-directional power flows to accommodate: increased levels of distributed generation; the potential transition of energy sources currently on the heat grid on to the electrical grid (for example, ground- and air-source heat pumps); and the growing demand for electric vehicles.

The main DES applications are:-Load Shifting - Altering the pattern

of energy use so that on-peak energy use is shifted to off-peak periods. To reduce the end user’s electricity cost,

the DES charges up with low-priced energy and is discharged

when the energy prices are high.

-Peak

Shaving - Related to Load Shifting. Both contribute to demand manage-ment in which the ultimate goal is to increase the load factor. Peak shaving uses stored energy to eliminate the short-term peaks in the energy con-sumption pattern.Benefits:a) Commercial and industrial custom-ers can reduce their energy charges by improving their load factor b) Utilities reduce the operational cost of generating power at peak periods (reducing the need for additional generation equipment) c) Investment in infrastructure is de-ferred because the system has flatter loads with smaller peaks.

Renewable Energy Capac-ity Firming - Allows an intermittent electric supply resource to be used as a nearly constant power source.

Deferred infrastructure upgrades - DES modules placed electrically downstream from the congested portion of the transmission system can help to prevent overloads and defer potential upgrades.

Power Quality - DES can protect loads further downstream against short-duration events that affect the quality of power delivered to the load.

Voltage Support - Energy storage with reactive power capabil-ity can provide voltage support and respond quickly to voltage control signals.

Frequency Regulation - DES is an attractive alternative for this ap-plication with its rapid response.

Outage management - DES can provide power for short periods of time to a network, reducing the effect of a temporary fault.

ABB’s latest DES development is the DynaPeaQ® system that enables dynamic control of active as well as reactive power in a power system, independently of each other. By controlling the reactive power, grid voltage and stability are safeguarded with high dynamic response. By control of active power, new services based on dynamic energy storage are added.

The system is based on SVC Light®, combined with Li-ion battery storage. SVC Light is based on Voltage Source Converters (VSC) connected in shunt to the grid at transmission as well as sub-transmis-sion and distribution level. Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBTs) are used as switching devices. Dyna-PeaQ is aimed at industrial, distribu-tion and transmission level energy storage applications. The focus is on applications where the use of continuous reactive power control and short time active power support is needed.

We need a smarter grid that can receive power of all qualities from all sources, both centralised and distrib-uted, and deliver reliable supplies, on demand, to consumers of all kinds.

Since the increased use of intermit-tent generation requires dynamic voltage control as well as balancing power, DynaPeaQ is a great Smart Grid enabler. ■

Distributed Energy Storage


53

ABB has established its UK operations as a centre of excellence for the implementation of the very

latest grid technologies. They include both HVDC and FACTS (Flexible AC Transmission Systems) that covers a number of technologies that enhance the security, capacity and flexibility of power transmission systems.

One of ABB’s most important cur-rent projects in the UK is Eirgrid’s East-West Interconnector that will provide a 500MW link between the Irish and UK power grids using HVDC technology. The interconnector will strengthen the reliability and security of electricity supplies in each country, and enable Ireland to expand its wind power capacity.

The transmission link will run under-water for 186km and underground for 70km, with minimal environmental impact. The only visible parts will be

the converter stations at each end that switch AC (alternating current) to DC (direct current) and back. The XLPE cable will provide the strength and flexibility needed to endure the severe conditions of the Irish Sea.

Rated at 200kV, this will be the highest voltage HVDC Light link using this type of cable. The higher voltage enables a transmission capacity of 500MW, the highest ever for an HVDC Light underground cable. ABB is responsible for system engineering, including design, supply and installa-tion of the sea and land cables, and both converter stations. The system is scheduled to be operational in September 2012.

ABB is pioneering the development of the UK’s multi-terminal offshore supergrid by starting technical design work on an HVDC Light project, which will be the first link to incor-porate a hub for the connection of

offshore wind farms. There is a growing consensus that

VSC (voltage source converter) based HVDC technology is the optimum approach for creating the effective power links to integrate offshore pow-er into national grids. What is less clear is its status as a proven com-mercially available technology. The simple facts are that ABB pioneered VSC-based HVDC technology in its HVDC Light system launched over 14 years ago. Indeed, ABB has 16 HVDC Light projects either delivered or in delivery, with a total capacity of nearly 5,000MW - HVDC Light is a well-proven technology, ready to implement now.

ABB works hand in hand with the UK’s leading power utilities to help them develop and maintain their vital electrical infrastructure and its growth has been outstanding - up by 30 percent in 2010. It has plans to grow even further and needs more people to help achieve its ambitious targets. In 2011, ABB is carrying out a major recruitment drive in the UK, with a particular focus on further enhancing its position as a centre of excellence for grid systems technology. This recruitment programme covers every level, from senior staff to the new technical apprenticeship scheme.

With its unique combination of advanced technology, skilled and experience staff and project delivery know how, ABB looks forward with confidence to helping create the modern, reliable and ef-ficient electricity grids vital to make the best use of Europe’s precious energy resources. ■

For information about careers with ABB

please visit www.abb.co.uk/careers

Enhancing ABB’s UK centre of grid excellence


Connect renewable power to the grid?

ABB Limited Tel. +44 (0)1785 825 050Fax. +44 (0)1785 819 019E-mail: [email protected]

Naturally.

ABB’s leading edge technologies and life cycle services ensure the effective integration of renewable power into electrical grids, even in the most challenging conditions and over long distances. Our focus on harnessing green energy is making power networks smarter as well as more efficient and reliable, helping to protect the environment and fight climate change. www.abb.com/hvdc

02794 ABB A4 renewables advert 2 - v1 AW.indd 1 20/04/2011 16:31


The renewable agendaDavid Appleyard, conference director at Renewable Energy World

Europe, discusses the key industry issues that will be debated at this year’s event

Governments and indus-try are taking a more strategic approach to renewable energy

technologies as they look to combat climate change, ensure security of energy supply and drive economic growth.

However, the growing use of renewables in the energy mix poses new challenges in terms of security of supply because they often generate intermittent power. As a result, the

balancing of supply and demand on the grid has become a more complex proposition. Whilst smart grids are increasingly touted as a solution, a number of hurdles, in particular cost, stand in the way of widespread adoption. More generally, financing remains a major challenge for the renewable sector and other clean energy projects.

Such key issues are to be ad-dressed by prominent industry figures at the upcoming Renewable Energy

World Europe (REWE) conference taking place in Milan from 7-9 June.

Statistics suggest that renewable capacity and power generation continues to be dominated by hydropower, of which approxi-mately 997GW has been installed across Europe. However, although hydropower technology is relatively mature, a number of major European projects are in progress, including efforts to develop additional pump storage in Germany and the recon-

55

Conference

EE35_Penwelltw.indd 55 9/5/11 17:24:09

ditioning of hydropower plants in the Swiss Alps.

But it is not just hydropower that is experiencing growth. Wind power capacity is expected to grow to 446GW within five years and to nearly 1,000GW over ten years.

Although the whole wind energy market is still heavily dominated by onshore projects, in 2010 Europe ex-perienced a 50 percent growth in the offshore wind market, with most of the planned development being installed in the Baltic and North Sea regions. The European Wind Energy Associa-tion (EWEA) predicts that by the end of 2020, there will be around 40GW of installed offshore wind energy in Europe. Indeed, countries surround-ing the North Sea have agreed to cooperate on developing a North Sea grid. The North Sea Transnational Grid project aims to investigate the best ways of integrating large scale offshore wind power by the construc-tion of a transnational transmission grid in the North Sea, in order to integrate about 60GW of offshore wind power between several countries.

With the legislation Europe has put in place to promote renewable energies, one of the biggest chal-lenges the industry now faces is how to integrate the increasing amounts of intermittent power sources like solar and wind into the electricity grid. Ma-jor development of the European grid infrastructure is thus considered critical to maintaining reliable power sup-plies and bringing renewable energy from production sites to consumers. The challenges of grid integration will be tackled at this year’s REWE conference by, among others, Peter Johnson, vice president of Alcatel Lucent, and representatives from ABB

and the Delft University of Technology.A European ‘supergrid’ is increas-

ingly seen as a fundamental compo-nent to enabling the region to achieve its renewable energy policy goals.

National incentive schemes to ac-celerate the grid integration of renew-ables have already been put in place across many European countries. The installation of smart meters is being taken up by an increasing number of organisations as a tangible way to monitor and manage consumption, with access to flexible tariffs and better visibility of where savings can be made. Smart grids are expected to transform today’s power distribu-tion systems, into flexible, interactive, bidirectional systems that distribute electricity more efficiently.

In addition, through the installation of smart meters, organisations are able to become renewable energy producers by selling energy gener-ated by renewable technologies back to the grid. Smart grids help avoid congestion and organisations, recog-nising that even small fluctuations in the price of energy can have a huge impact on their profit margins, are taking a longer-term strategic view in their energy procurement policy.

Despite this, grid operators may still be able to do more to make a level playing field for renewables. Existing transmission capacity could be used much more effectively in maximising energy production through, for example, transmission capacity auctions or a system of grid access based on carbon or other sustainability criteria.

Addressing the issue of cost, the financing of renewable technologies will be the focus of a core session given by Arnaud Bouillé or Ernst &

Young UK. From the funding of new projects to ensuring long-term com-mercial viability, finance provision will undoubtedly play a key role in creating a sustainable future for renewables. Throughout Europe, in-vestment in new renewable resources represents a growing sector of activ-ity for lenders. As track record and experience increases, lenders can be expected to commit an increas-ing share of their balance sheets to financing renewable projects and should be willing to expand on the range of technologies they finance.

The adoption of renewables by both businesses and consumers is clearly gathering momentum, driven largely by financial incentives in the form of government-backed schemes such as Feed-in tariffs (FiTs). FiTs have been introduced in the UK, Spain, Italy, Germany and elsewhere, and are proving to be extremely successful in promoting adoption of renewable technologies such as small scale wind and solar photovoltaic (PV).

Ironically, in Germany, the PV indus-try appears to have become a victim of its own success. The popularity of PV FiTs has lead to the government reducing the FiTs rate - a scenario that looks likely to play out in the UK too.

In addition to the topics outlined above, the REWE conference will cov-er a wide range of industry issues and offer delegates a deeper understand-ing of the renewable energy sector. Visitors to the event will also have access to Europe’s leading energy exhibitions, Power-Gen Europe 2011 and Nuclear Power Europe 2011.■

REWE 2011, Fiera Milano City,

Milan, 7-9 June.

www.renewableenergyworld-europe.

com

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EE35_Penwelltw.indd 56 9/5/11 17:24:39

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– Over 2,500 delegates– Over 200 exhibitors– Networking, side and social events

Join us at RenewableUK’s tenth annual event dedicated to UK offshore wind energy. Two days of conference sessions will examine industry developments and the UK’s position as the world leading offshore wind market.

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The success of the global wind energy industry is directly linked to the per-formance and profitability

of individual wind projects, which vary significantly from location to location and through time.

Much can be learnt by analysing the wind over a particular region and a specific site within the re-gion. This article provides an over-view of wind across regions and sites within Europe, with an index of the windiest European regions over the last season, and secondly an analysis of the performance of five sites within the UK, Spain, Italy, Germany and France.

With many wind farms today not performing in line with original

plans, you can use this article to: • Put the performance of your

portfolio into context based on recent wind statistics

• Assess whether your farm’s under or over performance is due to wind or other factors.

Using data generated from our weather model we have created a wind index, ranking 15 regions across Europe by comparing the average wind speed for winter 2010/11 against the winter season long-term average. The league table shows that, for winter 2010/11, much of Europe expe-rienced winds below the long-term average, especially the British Isles, western and central Europe. The main exceptions were the edges of

Europe, Iceland and Iberia. A good part of the season was

characterised by blocking areas of high pressure, especially in December 2010, but even January and February 2011 saw generally higher than average pressure over much of Europe. These blocking areas of high pressure over Europe meant that the Atlantic depressions were forced north to Iceland or south to Iberia and the western Mediterranean, which is why these areas were windier than usual.

These trends can be seen in some of the site-specific graphs, with Andalucia in Spain recording a windier winter than average, especially December. All the other selected sites show a quieter winter

Site statisticsThe Met Office have analysed the wind in a number of regions

- here are the results

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overall. This was particularly noticeable at Lake Constance in Germany and the Po Valley in Italy, where January and February were significantly quieter than normal.

The pattern continues over the past 12 months, with the majority of sites recording less wind than usual. Andalucia is once again the only area to show windier conditions than normal.

The series of graphs shown on these pages compare monthly average wind speeds against the long-term average, over a one-year period for five sites across the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. It has been generated by Virtual Met Mast, the Met Office’s site-specific wind analysis model-based tool.

Virtual Met Mast helps select the best onshore and offshore UK wind farm sites with increased certainty. Using cutting-edge science, Virtual Met Mast offers clear, cost-effective and reliable site-specific analyses to help you make informed decisions for wind farm investments.

To help you deliver accurate wind assessments in advance of a real met mast installation, the Met Office has invested in the research and development of Virtual Met Mast which:

• Combines cutting-edge science and super computer technology

• Uses the Met Office’s Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) model, which incorpo-rates observations from satellites, ships, aircraft, ground stations and radar as a foundation for generating site-specific wind farm assessments

• Employs a wide range of

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Wind analysis


continuously monitored wind ob-servations to produce a core wind analysis record (extending back over 20 years)

• Provides site-specific data at hub height for both onshore and offshore locations

• Allows outputs to be correlated with real met mast data to derive the ultimate value from your Virtual Met Mast assessment

• Provides a variety of essential statistics, including confidence figures.

The Met Office will be pleased to generate a wind index for your cur-rent and planned sites and to assist you in managing the performance of your wind portfolio. With the Met Office coverage, level and range of data across Europe, you can be assured of receiving first-class analysis and forecast information.

To find out how the Met Office can help your business, come and talk to us on Stand AB14 at All Energy from 18-19 May 2011. You can see us during the conference programme from 1.45pm on 19 May where we will showcase our work with The Crown Estate to determine how far beyond qualitative mapping tools model and satellite remote sensed data products can be applied within the offshore renewables sector.

You can also sign up for a free technical tour of our Marine Centre of Excellence in Aberdeen on Friday 20 May 2011, from 9am to 12pm. All are welcome on the tour. To find out more or to register contact Jane Rob-ertson on +44 (0)1224 870 777 or visit www.metoffice.gov.uk/energy. ■

For more information visit www.metoffice.

gov.uk/energy/renewables/wind.

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Coasting alongDr Claire Hinton outlines how consultancies, developers and

regulators make use of ABPmer’s specialist abilities and knowledge of the marine environment

The offshore wind industry could be considered the older sibling of the wave and tidal industry, but

there are signs that the marine renewables sector is ‘maturing’; more devices are being passed for deployment and areas of seabed are being consented for develop-ment. These are exciting times for the marine renewable industry.

ABPmer, based in both South-ampton and Aberdeen, is a special-ist multi-disciplinary consultancy with a history of providing marine environmental support to offshore wind developments around the UK. Typical contributions range through all stages of a project lifecycle and have included resource assessments, coastal process studies, specifica-tion and supervision of surveys. This is in addition to metocean analysis and O&M support at both the zonal and project scales. Our knowledge and experience is

just as relevant to the marine renew-ables sector, and has been applied to a number of studies, for example in support of Tidal Energy Limited and more recently the Alderney Commission for Renewable Energy.

We also actively pursue and initiate innovative research studies, which can be typified by our leading role in strategic projects for Govern-ment, regulators and The Crown Estate. This includes our development of Guidance on Coastal Process Modelling for offshore wind farms (published by COWRIE), our involve-ment in national science forums and contributions to ISO standards for marine renewable developments.

In order to support wet renew-able resource assessments, in-house R&D has included a numerical model that offers a detailed descrip-tion of the hydrodynamic regime across both the Western Isles and Northern Ireland territorial waters.

The Western Isles initia-tive complements our earlier work in develop-ing the Atlas of UK Ma-rine Renewable Energy Resources. It provides an order of magnitude enhancement in our ability to identify and map sites of high flows for potential exploitation by tidal stream devices. This model can also be applied in the latter project stages of project consenting

and design requirements. (Learn more at www.abpmer.net/maps/renewables/).

More recently, we have been providing support in the design and construction phases of development through our metocean forecast-ing service. Seastates is an online integrated metocean service which offers customised forecasting, data management and analysis all in one website: www.seastates.net. By combining accurate forecasts with metocean archive data, Seastates ensures that developers have the information required for planning work in the dynamic marine environ-ment. Such information is essential to ensure that marine operations and developments achieve maxi-mum efficiency with minimum risk.

Dr. David Lambkin, Senior Met-ocean Consultant at ABPmer, says: “Working in the changeable and sometimes harsh marine environment poses a number of challenges. Hav-ing the most up-to-date seastate or metocean information from the right geographic location is essential. Feedback from developers suggests that Seastates’ innovative interface tools which allow customised de-livery and analysis of past, present and future conditions surpass many standard methods.”

Whilst directly supporting developer’s aspirations, we also apply our expertise to strategic studies. ABPmer has led several of these, including the appropriate assessments associated with The Crown Estate’s recent Pentland Firth

tive complements our earlier work in develop-ing the Atlas of UK Ma-rine Renewable Energy Resources. It provides an order of magnitude enhancement in our ability to identify and

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leasing round and offshore wind in Scotland. The most recent of these was an appraisal undertaken for Marine Scotland that considers the effect on European designated sites of planned offshore wind develop-ments in Scottish Waters. The Scot-tish Government prepared a draft plan considering the potential of Scottish Territorial Waters to accom-modate Offshore Wind Energy. We were commissioned to complete a Habitats Regulations Appraisal (HRA) of this plan in accordance with the requirements of the EC Habitats Di-rective. The appraisal will inform the appropriate assessment that Marine Scotland, as competent authority, needs to prepare prior to adopting

the draft plan for Offshore Wind Energy. Dr Stephen Hull, Director of ABPmer, comments: “Adopting a precautionary approach, as re-quired by the Habitats Directive, the study considered potential impacts to over 370 designated sites which were screened into the assessment, including sites as far away as Northern Ire-land, the Irish Republic, England and Wales for some species of marine birds.”

Highly respected and recognised across the industry, ABPmer has provided specialist services to the majority of those involved in offshore wind, including developers, regulators and other

consultancies. We pride ourselves in delivering a high quality service tailored to the exact needs of a project. ABPmer looks forward to providing support to future developments within the offshore wind, wave and tidal sectors. ■

www.abpmer.co.uk

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Moving forwardHayley Myles of BV gives an upate on the renewable heat industry

The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) Policy docu-ment was published on 10 March this year. After

delays in publication, the renew-able heat industry was feeling the effects of the policy void as pro-spective site developers were await-ing guidance before making any investment decision. It has been a hard time for both installers and fuel suppliers alike; however, whilst the delays were unfortunate, the sector is keen to move forward and has welcomed the new revenue based mechanism which is the first of its kind in the world.

From a policy perspective, it is a welcome move away from the

old grant based regime, which by its very nature is limited in introduc-ing new technologies to market because it is inherently ad-hoc in timing and unable to drive signifi-cant long term investment or pro-mote cost reduction. Both of these are a pre-requisite for the sector to make significant in-roads to the UK Government’s commitment to meet 12 percent of heating supply from renewable energy by 2020.

This is a mountain to climb in nine years from our present one percent; however, the new regime presents a compelling case for considering renewable heating. In-deed, the structure of the RHI regime is certainly trying to ensure that the

Government secures the biggest carbon displacement “bang for its buck” by setting an attractive RHI level for those installations where the carbon saving and fuel displace-ment is most cost effective.

Even a cursory modelling analysis suggests that the paybacks are most attractive for those installing larger scale plants and particularly in applications where the utilisation is high - notably in process and service applications. Indeed, since the RHI’s announcement, Black & Veatch has seen a marked shift in interest amongst clients as diverse as dairies, wood processing, food manufactur-ing, airports, district heating sites, and that is for just for biomass

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heating. Paybacks of less than three years can be expected in some cases, but it is also notable that the RHI income could also be used to generate a rolling fund which could be used to fund subsequent low carbon investment if organisations have multiple sites.

We have also seen the same scale of activity for other technolo-gies which will generate RHI pay-ments. The food manufacturing and retail sectors are actively pursuing anaerobic digestion (and CHP) us-ing a variety of food residues, whilst biomethane to grid is receiving considerable interest throughout our water industry client base.

Inevitably with such a revenue generator, finding appropriate heat uses for larger facilities or CHP installations becomes an interesting opportunity and one which Black & Veatch has completed previ-ously, where prospective sites were identified across the whole of the UK. Again, the RHI has created an upsurge in interest in this aspect, with several new regional studies now underway.

In the case of biomass heating, we have seen the installer base expand from just 4-5 in the late 1990s to its present level of c.50. Amongst those installers and design-ers, there are a number that have learned valuable lessons about the good design and execution of biomass plant and fuel reception and they are now bearing the fruits of their efforts. However, with strong order books and an attractive incentive regime, there will always be new entrants who may be less familiar (or indeed indifferent) to good practice. Consequently, it is

incumbent on the sector to ensure that good and impartial informa-tion is disseminated and the lessons learned from early market experi-ence are absorbed.

With this in mind, in the past four years, Black & Veatch has produced for the Carbon Trust’s Biomass Heat Accelerator a suite of tools that can assist designers and prospective sites plan and install biomass. These include:

• Biomass Heating: A practical Guide for Potential Users

• Template fuel contracts• A permit & consent guide• A preliminary assessment tool

to establish a sites’ preliminary busi-ness case.

These materials are all available on the Carbon Trust’s Website and are supplemented by occasional biomass events around the country.

The issue of biomass fuel pricing remains the “elephant in the room” and there are concerns within the sector that prices will both escalate and fuel shortages will become an issue. Black & Veatch

has certainly seen fuel prices increase in recent years during our fuel procurement activities for a number of medium and large scale clients. In all evaluations, it is important to understand an investment’s pinch points, the key factors that influence fuel cost and consider well structured fuel sup-ply contracts. We would signpost prospective sites to some of our earlier work on fuel contracts as well as the soon to be published work on fuel procurement, both of which have been produced under the auspices of the BHA. Finally to help people identify potential fuel suppliers, Black & Veatch are presently working with the Carbon Trust and the Forestry Commission to construct a GIS based fuel sourcing facility which will be launched in the coming months. ■

Should you have any questions concerning

biomass to energy systems, please contact

Martin Eastwood ([email protected]) or

Hayley Myles ([email protected]).

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Biomass

EE35_BVtw.indd 66 9/5/11 17:06:38

Consulting • Engineering • Construction • Operation I www.BV.com

Turn lost resources into found opportunities.You know you can’t afford to lose resources you can use. Know this, too: Black & Veatch’s leading biomass experts are helping developers, utilities, lenders and government agencies extract value from what could have been lost, such as solid biomass and municipal solid waste to energy; biomass heat, power and co-generation; biogas production, recovery and utilisation; and second-generation biofuels, to name a few. Let’s talk about how we can deploy advanced biomass strategies for you to transform yesterday’s lost opportunities into tomorrow’s sustainable resources.

We’re building a world of difference. TogetherRedhill +44 (0)1737-856367

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Wind turbine main-tenance presents many challenges that can impact on

productivity. The main gearbox drives the generator and is the heart of a wind turbine. With their advanced designs and overall importance to system performance, gearboxes can be very costly to repair or replace after the warranty expires. For exam-ple, when factoring in all expenses, replacing a gearbox for a 1.4MW turbine can cost a company more than�€400,000, including the price of a new gearbox, labour costs, crane rental and lost revenue from turbine downtime. In remote locations like offshore, costs might be even higher and after the warranty period, the operator becomes responsible for keeping the turbine running for the remainder of its service life.

Lubrication plays a vital role in optimising performance and mi-nimising downtime by mitigating friction between components of the main gearbox. Considering that the average wind turbine is designed to operate for up to 20 years and the potential challenges and costs associ-ated with maintaining a wind turbine gearbox, it is recommended that maintenance professionals use a well-balanced synthetic gearbox lubricant, like our Mobilgear SCH XMP 320.

The most common cause of gear-box downtime is related to bearing failure. Considering the variable load, speed and dramatic temperature conditions under which wind turbines

operate, bearings are put through a significant amount of stress. These fac-tors, combined with improper lubrica-tion, can result in the need for bearing replacements, and if damaged bearings are not replaced promptly, significant gear damage can result.

The drive to minimise up-tower weight has resulted in compact gear-box designs which, in combination with high loads found in wind turbines with hardened surfaces, makes these gears susceptible to micropitting, which can cause numerous surface cracks. The cracks propagate at a shallow incline to the surface, forming extremely small micropits that can reduce gear tooth accuracy and lead to significant gear damage.

ExxonMobil’s Mobilgear SHC XMP 320 protects against micropitting and exceeds the performance of tradi-tional oils by extending the interval between oil changes from 18 months to three years or more. Extended oil life translates into a variety of benefits, including reduced volume of oil purchases, used-oil disposal volumes, maintenance effort and lubricant-re-lated downtime for oil changes.

Compared to conventional mineral oils, Mobil SHC fluids can actually reduce energy consumption in many applications. Other advantages include longer equipment life, high-temperature capability, excellent resistance to oxidation and protection against wear.

When conducting oil changes offshore, wind turbines may be as high as 300ft or more and there may

Taking wind turbines to new heights

Michael Hawkins, global brand manager for ExxonMobil’s

Mobil SHC brand of synthetic lubricants, details how the group’s

lubricants are helping the wind energy sector to become more

cost competitive

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be rough seas to contend with and, of course, strong winds. Typically, the main gearbox is located right in the centre of these extreme conditions.

Also, change-outs for hydraulic sys-tems are more costly and challenging offshore than onshore. So the benefits of choosing synthetic lubricants versus conventional, mineral-based oils are even more pronounced in offshore environments.

Oil analysis employs a test slate that is designed to evaluate the condition of the in-service lubricant and the condition of internal hardware. Using routine oil analysis as part of a preventative maintenance programme, maintenance professionals can extend the lives of both the gear oil and the gearbox by detecting and acting on early warning signs, such as contamination or increasing wear metals.

To obtain the greatest benefit from oil analysis, it is imperative to work closely with an expert lubricant manufacturer and participate in oil analysis every three to six months. Identifying trends in the data will help mainte-nance professionals make better informed oil suitability decisions.

Over the years, original equip-ment manufacturers (OEMs) have focused on developing new, more compact and efficient equipment that is capable of delivering even higher load capacities.

The upside is that these newer units, often with smaller footprints, frequently provide better overall performance than their predecessors. The downside is that such improve-

ments sometimes put additional stress on lubricants in terms of higher operat-ing temperatures and load conditions. These effects are compounded by the OEMs’ drive to reduce total life cycle costs for their products. This includes reducing oil volume while extending oil drain and re-greasing intervals.

A key factor in the development of lubricants is the close working relation-ships that our ExxonMobil scientists and application specialists have with

key OEMs. ExxonMobil has an extensive

portfolio of lubricants that deliver long lasting performance for wind turbine operations. Perhaps the most recog-nised product is Mobilgear SHC XMP 320, a synthetic gear oil for wind turbine gearboxes, which is used in more than 30,000 wind turbines worldwide.

REpower Systems AG, operating at the Thornton Bank offshore wind

farm in Belgium, recently carried out research that revealed the availability of the six REpower 5M turbines in the Thornton Bank wind farm has been consistently above 97 percent over a period of six months. The use of a high performance gear oil contributes to improved reliability in a turbine and since the turbines were officially com-missioned more than 4,000 full load hours have been recorded, despite adverse conditions in the open seas.

At ExxonMobil, we recently analysed more than 15,000 used-oil samples of Mobilgear SHC XMP 320. The results demonstrated that the oil delivered superb wear protection with few issues related to ageing detected during the analysis.

Mobil SHC Grease 460WT is the company’s premier synthetic grease for the lubrication of main, pitch and yaw bearings and offers exceptional low and high temperature performance, structural stability - even in the presence of water - false brinelling protection, excellent wear protection

and rust and corrosion inhibition. It allows consolidation of main, pitch and yaw bearing greases into one product, reducing the risk of re-lubrication with the wrong product and without introducing unnecessary operational risks.

Overall, ExxonMobil offers a wide range of products, including greases to lubricate bearings and hydraulic oils that help pitch rotor blades. ■

www.mobilindustrial.com

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Ambitious for energy

Highlands and Islands EnterpriseCowan House, Inverness Retail and Business Park, Inverness, IV2 7GF, Scotland

Tel: +44 (0)1463 234171email: [email protected] | www.hie.co.uk | www.hi-energy.org.uk

The Highlands and Islands, a region covering the north and north-west of Scotland, has arguably the world's best combination of renewableenergy resources, technology development, testingand deployment infrastructure, skills and expertise.

Home to around a quarter of Europe's natural windand tidal resources and 10% of the wave resource, the region is ideally placed to remain at the forefrontof the fast-emerging offshore renewables sector.

Highlands and Islands of Scotland – the home ofOFFSHORE RENEWABLE ENERGY

EE35_ads.indd 70 9/5/11 12:57:22

Exporting expertiseENERGY ENGINEERING meets the new Director of Energy and Low Carbon

at Highlands and Islands Enterprise and finds out what makes this his ideal job

It is his “dream job, in a dream location”, according to Calum Davidson, the newly appointed Director of Energy and Low

Carbon at Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), the Scottish Government’s economic and com-munity development agency for the north and north-west of Scotland.

“Where else in the world is better placed to lead the marine energy revolution?” he says. “Here

in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland we have arguably the best combination of natural resources, technology development, testing and deployment infrastructure and a highly skilled and expert workforce and supply chain.”

Home to around a quarter of Europe’s natural wind and tidal re-sources and 10 percent of the wave resource, the region is well-placed to lead the development of a fast-

growing and dynamic offshore renewables sector.

“At HIE, we recognise that off-shore renewables offer Scotland a once-in-a-generation opportunity for significant economic growth and in particular to see some of our more fragile and remote communities reinvigorated,” says Davidson.

He cites Orkney, home to EMEC, the world’s first grid-connected wave and tidal energy device test

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centre, as one example of how the Highlands and Islands has secured a lead position in the development of renewable energy.

“With each berth that has been built and with each developer that has deployed and tested at EMEC, the local supply chain has devel-oped,” he explains. “From resource monitoring and environmental impact experts to divers and ROV operators, and from specially commissioned vessels to high voltage design and installation engineers, the region is home to the world’s foremost support services network for marine energy device deployment.”

Companies such as environ-mental consultancy Aquatera are exporting their expertise all over the world, while Shetland-based Delta Marine, which provides workboat services to Pelamis at EMEC, has also worked for Pelamis in Portugal.

HIE and its public sector partners, including the Scottish Government and DECC, have invested heavily in EMEC to the tune of £30million, but Davidson argues that this has ensured the region and Scotland remain at the forefront of the rapidly emerging marine energy sector.

“EMEC has been a catalyst for the creation of a marine energy cluster in Orkney, which currently provides around 200 jobs on the island,” explains Davidson. “But the impacts of EMEC are much wider-reaching across the Highlands and Islands, Scotland and the UK.”

However, Davidson cautions that the region’s resources on their own will not deliver economic growth to the region.

“The hydro electricity schemes of the last century made use of an

abundant natural resource, but the Highlands and Islands didn’t cap-ture the real long-term benefits. If the energy sources are here, we want the jobs, the infrastructure, and the intellectual legacy to be based here, and then we can export it all over the world.

“There are a number of things we can do to develop a real energy cluster,” he adds. “We can build our research capacity, as we’re already doing in Orkney, Caith-ness and Argyll. We can work to expand the supply chain of local businesses involved in the sector, based on their oil and gas experi-ence. We can market our key sites to attract major manufacturers to the Highlands and Islands. And we can work with government on a range of issues, from transmission charg-ing to grid connection.”

While Orkney has benefited from being the location of the first major step in the development of full-scale prototype marine energy device test-ing, Caithness and Sutherland will play a pivotal role in the next stage. Its proximity to the Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters and its enviable legacy of engineering skills and facilities will make it an attractive location when developers scale-up to pre-commercial and commercial device deployment. Furthermore, the Crown Estate has made the Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters the loca-tion of the world’s first commercial seabed leasing process.

“HIE has recently made mil-lion-pound investments in the infrastructure required for this emerging sector both in Caithness at Scrabster Harbour Trust and Orkney for property at Hatston

Pier, which complements funding totalling £11million from Orkney Islands Council and the European Regional Development Fund for Hatston Pier and Lyness Harbour,” explains Davidson. “The region also has world-class fabrication and port infrastructure, developed during the oil and gas boom of the 70s and 80s, and now ready to be put to use building the next generation of renewable energy capacity.”

The region is also playing a key role in the development of offshore wind. The Talisman Beatrice Offshore Wind Demonstrator project is the world’s first deepwater offshore wind project and realised around 40 per-cent local content. HIE has ambitions for this to become the norm in projects sited around the region’s coastline.

Davidson is clearly passionate about the region and its energy sector. A regional planner with 25 years’ experience in innovative economic development, he has teenage memories of the first wave devices being tested in Loch Ness in the 1970s, and has watched the growth of onshore wind across the region in the 80s and 90s, all un-derpinned by the importance of the oil and gas industry to the region. He took up his new role on 1 April, and says that the new post is in-dicative of the agency’s commitment to the development of renewable energy across the region.

“I really can’t think of a more exciting sector to be working in than renewable energy,” concludes Davidson. “And nor do I believe there is a better place in which to be doing this job than the High-lands and Islands of Scotland.” ■

www.hie.co.uk

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Carnebone Farm, Cornwall, UK East Ash Farm, Devon, UKOverlangshaw Farm, Berwickshire, UK Wedfield Farm, Devon, UK

Lanyon Holiday Cottages, Cornwall, UK

E-3120 50kW Wind Turbine www.endurancewindpower.co.uk

East Greadon Farm, Devon, UK

endurance_ad_297x210_v2.indd 1 3/29/11 6:02:55 PMEE34_ADS1.indd 49 30/3/11 11:37:45

Showing potentialBarney Butterell, Business Development Manager at Blom,

reports on a new solar project

Following the spending review in late 2010 the Department of Energy and Climate Change, (DECC) announced

that they would award grants with a total value of £2million to nine local authority areas across the UK under a scheme called the low carbon framework or LCF. The grants are intended to fund the exploration of various ways in which councils can meet their carbon reduction obliga-tions and encourage us all to live

“greener” lives. Each of the local authorities chosen to participate is regarded as a pioneer in the use of innovative technology and initiatives to reduce their environmental impact. As such they are well-placed to investigate new ways of helping the UK to meet its environmental obliga-tions, whilst enabling individuals to benefit from the economic and social opportunities presented by “green” technologies.

When announcing the grant last

year, Climate Change Minister Greg Barker said: “Local Councils can play a vital role in cutting carbon because they have unrivalled local knowledge, experience and influence. We want to tap in to this, so we have awarded just over £2million to be shared between 30 pioneering councils to work with individuals, businesses and communities to find the best and most effective ways to reduce emissions and stimulate their local economy. The results of the project will show what

74

Solar energy

EE35_BLOMtw.indd 74 9/5/11 17:01:00

Showing potentialBarney Butterell, Business Development Manager at Blom,

reports on a new solar project

works best so other councils across the country can benefit and learn.”

Bristol City Council (BCC) was chosen to participate in the LCF pilot scheme having previously demonstrated a strong commitment to reducing their environmental impact, whilst encouraging residents of the city to live more sustainable lives. In applying for the grant BCC outlined a number of innovative projects which will further the city’s green ambi-tions, including measures designed to increase the use of solar energy by businesses, property owners and individuals across the area. One ele-ment of this project is the creation of an online solar potential map to show which buildings are suitable for the installation of solar PV or solar thermal panels. Maps of this kind pub-lished in German cities significantly increased the uptake of solar energy and the Bristol scheme also aims to encourage growth of the solar sector.

Following a competitive tender process BCC awarded the solar potential project to Somerset based company Blom UK and their German partner Sun-Area. The partners imme-diately set about gathering the neces-sary components and data required to produce the solar potential map, which include:

-Building footprints - the outline of every building in Bristol

-Addresses - The address of every property in the city

-Weather data - annual average weather conditions for the region including cloud cover and solar radiation

-A Digital Surface Model (DSM) - The heights and dimensions of all buildings, terrain and vegetation/

trees across the city created using an airborne laser scanner (LiDAR)

The various components were then combined in a unique process devel-oped by Sun-Area, which simulates each individual building’s relationship with the sun hourly across a year. The process includes calculations of shading on the building caused by surrounding objects, including neigh-bouring buildings, trees and hills. The result of this process is an estimation of direct and indirect solar radiation received annually by every roof in the city. This information is combined with data on solar panel performance characteristics and income available through the Government’s feed-in tariff scheme (FIT) to give an indica-tion of the suitability of each property for installation of solar PV or thermal panels. An estimation of the poten-tial CO2 output reduction for each property is also calculated to inform property owners how installing solar panels can help in the fight against climate change.

Of course, creating the solar potential data was just the first step towards increasing uptake of solar energy in Bristol. In order to maxi-mise the impact of the project BCC will display the results of the solar potential project on their website via an interactive map. You can see an example of the interactive map at http://maps.bristol.gov.uk/knowyourplace; this currently shows historic mapping but showcases the technology through which the solar potential data, amongst many other data layers, will be viewable online in the near future. Soon residents and businesses will be able to view information on the suitability of their

roof for a solar PV or solar thermal installation.

Although Bristol City Council will be the first local authority in the UK to launch an online solar potential map, it is hoped that the predicted positive impact of the service will encourage others to follow suit. By providing a quick and easy way of checking a property’s solar potential it is possible to significantly increase interest in so-lar energy on a local level, ultimately having a national impact. According to the Energy Saving Trust a typical home PV system saves around one tonne of CO2 per year, whilst DECC suggest approximately 25 percent of homes are suitable for solar PV. For a city the size of Bristol this means a potential saving of approximately 45,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. So-lar energy has the potential to reduce the UK’s dependence on fossil fuels and reduce CO2 emissions; both are essential if we are to protect the environment for future generations. ■

For more information on solar

potential mapping contact Blom UK at

[email protected].

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EE35_BLOMtw.indd 75 9/5/11 17:01:36

Blade runnerOperating a 1MW free-stream tidal turbine rotor without the blades

failing has become a key issue in tidal turbine development

Based on a decade’s experi-ence of tidal blade design, engineers from composite specialist Gurit have com-

pared blade design and material selection for the four main tidal tur-bine types:

• Axial (e.g. Hammerfest Strøm, Atlantis, Marine Current Turbines, Voith Hydro, etc.)

• Ducted axial (e.g. OpenHydro, Lunar Energy, C-Power)

• Oscillating foil (e.g. Pulse Tidal)• Cross-flow (e.g. THAWT, Blue

Energy)Ultimate strength describes the

blade’s ability to carry the peak short-term design loads. In many cases this determines how much material needs to be used for the construction of the blade.

Relatively short, thick blades are easier to make strong enough than long, slender ones; that much is obvious. Ducted turbines allow relatively stronger blade shapes to be used because they don’t need such long, slender blades as an un-ducted axial flow turbine to achieve high efficiency. The duct increases the flow speed over the rotor, not only allowing shorter blades but also higher tip speeds; this increases the rotational speed (rpm) hence lowers the torque and bending moments for a given power. Ducted designs also offer the possibility of support-ing the blades at both ends (e.g. OpenHydro). However, the cost of the duct is significant due to its large surface area and it needs to be stiff to minimise clearances on blade tips and bearings, so with good blade

design the un-ducted rotor may still prove more cost effective.

Oscillating foil and cross-flow devices give scope for support of the blades at the tip and intermediate points along the span, although each support adds cost and drag. These devices are typically lower efficiency than axial flow designs so are suited more to shallow water applications where their shape is advantageous in minimising the depth required.

Blades typically need to withstand 20-25 years of operation, so as well as ultimate strength, they also need to withstand the fatigue loads due to rotation, tidal cycles, waves and turbulence. The relative importance of fatigue depends largely on the turbine type:

• Studies have shown that axial flow turbines with carbon fibre/epoxy blades are typically not fatigue-critical, that is to say ultimate strength drives the design more than fatigue strength

• Ducted flow turbines are even less fatigue critical than un-ducted axial turbines, because the duct accelerates the mean flow more than the turbulence, reducing the effective turbulence intensity

• Cross-flow and oscillating foil turbines however are very fatigue-driven. This is because the full operating load reverses with each cycle, the most severe type of fatigue loading

To see why this is the case, we must first look at the choice of mate-rial, which is critical for fatigue resis-tance of the blades. A turbine operat-ing at up to 20rpm (or an oscillating foil at 20 cycles per minute) will see

about 200 million cycles in 20yrs of operation. Since the fatigue damage is very sensitive to the loading, it may be equivalent to being loaded to the maximum working level perhaps 10 percent of the time. Therefore damage would be equivalent to 20 million cycles at maximum load.

For many materials the allowable fatigue stress is related to the ultimate strength by the factor N(-1/m), where

N = number of cyclesm = Wohler coefficient (inverse

slope of fatigue S/N curve)The higher the value of m, the

more fatigue-resistant the material is. Typical values based on Germanisch-er Lloyd (GL) and Det Norske Veritas (DNV) standards give the following knock-down factors for fatigue versus ultimate strength:

* Carbon/epoxy: m =14 so al-lowable fatigue stress = 30 percent of ultimate

* Glass/epoxy: m = 10 so allow-able fatigue stress = 19 percent of ultimate

* Steel (cathodically protected): m = 5 so allowable fatigue stress = 3.5 percent of ultimate

Additional safety factors are also applied to the characteristic strengths but they are broadly similar for fatigue and ultimate strength.

For an axial-flow turbine, fa-tigue loads are primarily driven by turbulence and swell: estimates vary according to tidal site but fatigue amplitudes can typically be around 25 percent of the steady-state opera-tional loads. Extreme loads could be (say) 150 percent of operational so if designed for extreme loads, fatigue

76

Design

EE35_Gurittw.indd 76 9/5/11 17:11:39

load Reserve Factor (greater than 1 implies safety) will be approximately:• Carbon/epoxy: 1.50 x 0.30/0.25 = 1.80 i.e. not fatigue critical• Glass/epoxy: 1.50 x 0.19/0.25 = 1.14 i.e. almost fatigue critical• Steel: 1.50 x 0.035/0.25 = 0.21 i.e. need to strengthen by 4.8 times

Oscillating foil and cross-flow turbines are subjected to very high fatigue loadings due to the full load reversals with each cycle, which swamp any effects of turbulence. Again assuming extreme load is 150 percent of operational load, but now fatigue amplitude = 100

percent of working load, the follow-ing fatigue Reserve Factors would apply if the turbine was just strong enough to withstand ultimate load:• Carbon/epoxy: 1.50 x 0.30/1.00 = 0.45 i.e. need to strengthen by 2.2 times• Glass/epoxy: 1.50 x 0.186/1.00 = 0.28 i.e need to strengthen by 3.6 times• Steel: 1.50 x 0.035/1.00 = 0.05 i.e. need to strengthen by 19 times

Clearly fatigue strength has implications for the choice of turbine blade materials:

• Oscillating foil and cross-flow designs need to be reinforced to withstand fatigue, which reduces the

advantage they gain by being able to support the blades at both ends

• Steel blades need to be mas-sively oversized to withstand fatigue, even in axial flow turbines. Steel is impractical in cross-flow or oscillating foil devices

• Glass/epoxy composites may be suitable for some axial flow turbines, particularly ducted ones, if sufficient ultimate strength can be obtained within the compact blade sections typically chosen by the hydro-dynamicists

• Carbon/epoxy composites, although expensive per kg, have a large advantage in fatigue-critical designs such as cross-flow turbines. ■

www.gurit.com

Simulation Driven Product Development from ANSYS

ANSYS offers the widest range of engineering simulation tools from structural FE and Electromagnetics to CFD and Multiphysics.ANSYS products are widely used in the Energy sector, from wind, wave and tidal to offshore drilling, power transmission, oil production, hydropower and green buildings. Wherever innovation, reliability and minimising risk are crucial to project success, ANSYS has the answer.

ANSYS UK Ltd 6 Europa View, Sheffield Business Park, Sheffield S9 1XH Tel: +44 (0) 114 281 8888Unit 8 Bracknell Beeches, Old Bracknell Lane West, Bracknell RG12 7BW Tel: +44 (0) 870 010 4456

Centre picture courtesy of Green Ocean Ltd

www.ansys.com

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EWEA Events: The Winning Formula

EWEA events: high quality conference + targeted exhibition + unique networking opportunities = the winning formula

The industry is still growing rapidly, creating exciting opportunities for new and existing businesses. Year after year, the European Wind Energy Association, EWEA, continues to serve the wind industry with the most valuable

and professionally organised events in Europe. The success of EWEA events mirrors the booming wind industry and they are considered“un-missable” for any business serious about its future in the wind energy sector.

www.ewea.org/events

�� Untitled-8 43 28/3/11 16:50:45

ALL-ENERGY 2011Aberdeen 18-19 May 2011

News from the Austrian PavilionAberdeen Exhibition & Conference Centre (AECC)Stands G60, G40, F50

Untitled-10 79 10/5/11 09:38:30

Biomass boilers

Windhager has, for its 85 year history, been associated with high quality boiler technology. Now the Austrian company is one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of biomass central heating systems and has a particularly strong reputation as a specialist in pellet fired heating systems.

Holidaymakers and conservation groups exploring the beautiful rugged coastline of St David’s Peninsula in Pembrokeshire, North Wales, will be comfortable whatever the weather thanks to Windhager technology.

A Windhager Biowin automatic pellet boiler has been installed at the National Trust’s Mathry base camp in the picturesque coastland area. The site, which offers dormitory accommodation for groups of 10, uses the boiler along with a solar hot water system to provide year round heating.

During the colder months, the boiler provides heating and hot water; the heat is distributed via a weather compensating control unit, which feeds two radiator circuits and a hot water circuit.

Windhager has its UK headquarters in Wiltshire and, in recent years, has trained a growing number of certified installers and has been instrumental in raising the awareness of biomass heating systems across the country.

KWB (Kraft und Wärme aus Biomasse) is another Austrian biomass com-pany enjoying success in the UK.

A 150kW biomass boiler manufactured by KWB is providing hot water and heating at a Grade One listed building in West Sussex. Wilton House, situated amid over 6,000 acres of parkland, is used by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The government building is leading the way in the uptake of carbon lean technology. Managers of the estate saw that installing a biomass boiler would improve the Wilton House’s carbon efficiency and bring the estate’s woodland into economic life as a source of woodchip.

The boiler is situated 90m from the main house and is naturally screened by vegetation. The boiler house has an integrated woodchip store that links to the boiler via a direct auger feed and sweeper. Dried wood, transported from the estate’s woods, is chipped into the store on site.

It is hoped that the KWB system will save around 165 tonnes of carbon per year.

Biomass boilers

Windhagerboiler technology. Now the Austrian company is one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of biomass central heating systems and has a particularly strong reputation as a specialist in pellet fired heating systems.

coastline of St David’s Peninsula in Pembrokeshire, North Wales, will be comfortable whatever the weather thanks to Windhager technology.

National Trust’s Mathry base camp in the picturesque coastland area. The site, which offers dormitory accommodation for groups of 10, uses the boiler along with a solar hot water system to provide year round heating.

heat is distributed via a weather compensating control unit, which feeds two radiator circuits and a hot water circuit.

trained a growing number of certified installers and has been instrumental in raising the awareness of biomass heating systems across the country.

KWBpany enjoying success in the UK.

and heating at a Grade One listed building in West Sussex. Wilton House, situated amid over 6,000 acres of parkland, is used by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

technology. Managers of the estate saw that installing a biomass boiler would improve the Wilton House’s carbon efficiency and bring the estate’s woodland into economic life as a source of woodchip.

by vegetation. The boiler house has an integrated woodchip store that links to the boiler via a direct auger feed and sweeper. Dried wood, transported from the estate’s woods, is chipped into the store on site.

carbon per year.

Renewable heat technologies have a long tradition in Austria. Forests cover approximately 47 percent of Austria’s surface and wood fuel heating has a very long tradition in Austria. The introduction of stringent environmental regulations in the 1980s was a comparatively early catalyst to drive innovative changes in the combustion engineering sector and automatic control techniques. Today, Austrian biomass boilers rank amongst the most efficient and user-friendly in the world.

Within the last 20 years, solar thermal technologies have also developed into a thriving industry in Austria. Currently, Austria has the third highest ratio of installed capac-ity to population worldwide. Around 80 percent of current production is made for export.

Then there is the unprecedented rise in the biogas sector. Since the introduction of Feed-in Tariffs for renewable electricity in 2002 (“Ökostromgesetz”) the number of biogas plants have rapidly increased. Biogas upgrading and integration into the gas grid was pio-neered in Austria as early as 2005. Since then, a number of European best-practice initiatives have devel-oped in joint ventures between Aus-trian universities and their partners in industry.

If you want to know more about the Austrian “Experience with Re-newable Heat”, please visit us at the Austrian Pavilion (G60/G40/F50) or join our Renewable Heat Show-

case on Wednesday 18 May (11.00 am-12.30pm) at the All-Energy 2011 Conference.

We look forward

to meeting you!Georg

Karabaczek

18 May (11.00 am-12.30pm) at the All-Energy 2011 Conference

Austrian success stories in the UK

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Austria

Untitled-10 80 10/5/11 09:39:35

81

Entec Biogas, the Austrian expert in biogas technology, has complet-ed the site design and will provide process technology for North East England’s first commercial anaerobic digestion (AD) plant. The Emerald Biogas Energy Park, situated on the Newton Aycliffe industrial estate in County Durham, will use food waste mixed with organic waste and sustainable energy crops to power a combined heat and power unit or grid injection through biomethane.

It is estimated that the AD plant will produce enough power for 4,000 homes. The remaining liquid product is ideal for fertilising crops, offering an alternative to energy intensive artificial fertilisers.

The facility will also feature a pre-treatment hall that will allow all forms of packaged food waste from supermarkets, food manufacturers, local councils and restaurants to be processed.

“After having successfully realised AD plants for food waste in Japan and Germany, we are very pleased to start construction on this AD food waste plant,” commented Bernhard Schulz, the CEO of Entec Biogas. “We see high potential for these types of plants during the next few years in the UK market.”

The image shows an AD plant for food waste in Benet, France, for which Entec was the general contractor. Work at the Newton Aycliffe facility is ongoing.

The construction of the first Thöni Naturgas biogas plant has started in the UK. The contract with customer Agrigen, a consortium of large-scale agricultural enterprises, was signed in March 2011.

The plant will be built on the site of a former military airbase in Rendlesham, Suffolk. The first part of the development will involve the construction of a biogas plant with an output of 500kW. There are plans to extend the plant further to reach an output of 2.5MW.

Dr Robert Lackner, the UK busi-ness development officer for Thöni, commented: “The realisation of this project is of particular importance as it marks our successful entry into the British market, a market that is still

young in terms of biogas technology and one that offers considerable potential for future business develop-ment.”

Peter Hailes, CEO of Agrigen, added: “As a large farming group, we are very excited about our forthcoming AD develop-ment. Not only will we utilise high availability industrial standard AD technology, but will use vegeta-bles and energy crops to produce diversified income through green electricity sales and by producing recycled fertiliser.”

Biogas

SolarA number of Austrian companies specialising in solar thermal technology are breaking into the UK market. TiSun has installed a 24m2 solar thermal system at the Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club; the technology means that the water for the sailors’ hot showers will be heated in sustainable fashion. Sonnenkraft has managed solar thermal installations for a social housing project in East London. And, finally, Solarfo-cus has, alongside UK partners Oxford Renewables, car-ried out a new heating installa-tion at Braziers Park, a Grade II listed building that was home to a young Ian Fleming.

Boiler technology

The Senedd, the debating cham-ber of Wales’ National Assembly, is heated by a 360kW Binder boiler that was fitted by certified UK installer Wood Energy. Wood Energy has also installed a 100kW Hargassner wood pellet boiler to help the Lingfield Park Marriott Hotel meet its renew-able energy targets. The boiler is the Austrian company’s first contain-erised installation in the UK.

Meanwhile, Buccleuch Enegy has installed a 1500kW biomass boiler at the energy cen-tre of Queen Margaret University, on Edinburgh’s new Musselburgh campus. The campus, containing 800 student bedrooms, sports facilities, academic buildings and a student union, has a maximum 4.5mW peak heat demand and a computerised control system enables the biomass boiler to func-tion as the “lead boiler” providing heating and hot water to the site.

Untitled-10 81 10/5/11 09:41:50

Alistair Welch speaks to the chairman of the European Heat Pump Association Karl Ochsner and learns how Austrian experience is

driving the development of the European heat pumps market

Heat Pumps: Austrian Experiences

82

Austria

According to Karl Ochsner, the chair-man of the European Heat Pump Association

(EHPA), Austria is setting the exam-ple to other European countries, including the UK, in terms of the take up of heat pumps. However, he suggests that the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) will have a “substantial impact” on the UK market. Furthermore, Mr Ochsner

believes that Austrian experience and expertise in heat pump tech-nology could allow the country’s companies to be key players in a maturing UK and European market.

Mr Ochsner quite literally wrote the book on heat pumps; in 2007 he published Geothermal Heat Pumps: A Guide for Planning and Installation and, in addition to his chairmanship of the EHPA, he has 30 years experience in the industry as director of his company Ochsner Wärmepumpen.

Essentially, a heat pump operates like a refrigerator in reverse; a cool-ant gas is used to transfer heat from the ground or ambient heat from the air into a building. Although some electricity is required to run a heat pump, the overall energy saving should make a system environmen-tally preferable to conventional methods of heating.

As chair of the EHPA, Mr Ochsner has overseen a great

deal of research into the potential environmental benefits, in terms of reduction of primary energy use and pollution control, of heat pump technology. He comments: “The situation now is that ambient heat or environmental heat from open air, groundwater or the ground is defined as renewable heat. Heat pumps are a technology that allow us to use these particular sources of renewable energy.”

A number of Europe’s most suc-cessful and well-established heat pump companies are Austrian and despite the country’s relatively small population (8.4 million), it had a heat pump market in 2010 of 17,700 units. Ochsner sees the success of Austrian companies in the sector as being down to experience: “There were some lead companies 30 years ago in Austria, of which my company was one. At that time we were able to generate a number of initiatives and form

Untitled-10 82 10/5/11 09:42:54

83

alliances with policy makers in or-der to promote heat pumps. Indeed, 20 years ago the heat pump market was ahead of the solar market.”

The Austrian market benefits from a regional incentive programme that offers subsidies to cover the cost of installing heat pumps - these can be as high as €7,000 for installing a heat pump with a vertical collector in the capital city Vienna. It is hoped that the RHI will, simi-larly, encourage heat pump installation in the UK.

However, following the announcement of the RHI in March 2011, critics of the technology have argued that heat pumps do not perform efficiently enough to legitimately be considered “renewable energy”. Mr Ochsner responds to these claims by acknowledging that whilst a poorly installed or ill-conceived heat pump may suffer limited efficiency, provided proper installa-tion then heat pumps are a genuine source of renewable energy with definite environ-mental advantages.

“Criticism exists,” he says, “but everyone needs to look a little deeper. If heat pumps are not installed properly, naturally they will not work as effi-ciently as they could. To say that the technology is not efficient, however, is a false conclusion. Proper instal-lation does not necessarily mean expensive installation, but installa-tion carried out with the necessary know-how.”

The EHPA runs a successful training programme for heat pump installers across Europe. Even in established markets, such as Austria, Germany and Poland, Mr Ochsner believes

that training is a crucial factor in the sector’s ongoing success.

“It requires specific knowledge to design and install heat pump systems,” he continues. “With heat

pumps it is always very important that the system and heat source are appropriate. Even the high-est performing heat pump cannot work properly if the source is not right or the flow rate not ad-

equate.”For heat pump technol-

ogy to be adopted sig-nificantly in the UK market, such training and educa-tion is vital.

From a European-wide perspective domestic heat pumps are now well-established in a number of countries; in Sweden, for example, 79 percent of new homes are equipped with heat pumps, in Austria the figure is 50 percent.

Potential for wider ap-plication of the technology lies in systems for larger buildings such as schools, offices, hospitals and mu-seums. A number of sample installations have proved that heat pumps are very at-tractive in such applications. Furthermore, Mr Ochsner suggests that heat pumps have a role to play in the development of smart grids and smart cities: “We need storage of heat and we need smart grids - heat pumps can

buffer a little energy.”The goal of the EHPA is to see

one million heat pumps installed in Europe annually before 2015. If this target is to be met, it will be due, to a great extent, to the trans-fer of experience and expertise led by Austrian companies. ■

Untitled-10 83 10/5/11 09:43:45

Josef Plank, the president of the newly formed Federal Association for Renewable Energy Austria, offers a cross-sector perspective on

Austrian renewables

Advocates for Austria

84

Austria

Founded in February 2011 after a year of discus-sion and negotiation, the Federal Association for

Renewable Energy Austria (FAREA), or Erneuerbare Energie Österreich in German, is Austria’s first national umbrella organisation advocating renewable energy and renewable heat.

FAREA’s founding bodies are the eight existing representative organi-sations of Austria’s renewables in-dustry and include IG Wind Power, Small Hydropower Austria, Austria’s Energy, Photovoltaic Austria, Austria Solar, the Austrian Biomass Associa-tion, ARGE Compost and Biogas, and Pellets Per Austria. The members claim to account for 70 percent of domestic consumption of electricity and 30 percent of heat energy.

Josef Plank, president of FAREA, explains that whilst certain sectors of Austria’s renewables industry are well-established, such as hydro-

power, biomass and renewable heat, others, including wind and photovoltaics, are somewhat under-represented. The goal of the body is to promote Austria’s traditional areas of strength whilst developing other renewable sectors in order to create a balanced profile across renew-able energy and renewable heat.

“Individual technologies are not in competition, but will complement each other with a view to a stable and sustainable energy supply,” says Mr Plank. “We are no longer on different sides, we are trying to grow in one direction into the future.”

Mr Plank’s own background is in regional politics having served a number of years in Austrian provin-cial government where he had particular responsibility for agricul-tural and environmental affairs. His political experience has allowed him to appreciate the significance and sensitivity of offering collective representation for individual interest groups.

“We found that it is absolutely necessary to speak with one voice because we have basic work to do in a number of sectors - both politically and in terms of society. In many cases the information about new forms of energy supply is not far developed,” he adds.

Raising the profile of Austria’s renewable energy provision through

education is a key aspect of FAREA’s remit. Mr Plank explains: “There is not enough information about the growth of wind power, solar power, photovoltaics and biomass. We need to go into schools and engage in discussions with the media. Fundamentally, we want an efficient networking organisation made up of the various branch groups who are already working in their own areas.”

The EU’s 2020 target for Austria is 34 percent of total energy con-sumption to be supplied by renew-able means. In 2007 the proportion was 23 percent; this rose in 2010, but a reduction in energy consump-tion due to the financial downturn rather than an increase in renewable provisions means that this is, to an extent, a false statistic.

Mr Plank continues: “We need to strengthen our work in order to achieve the 2020 goals. Neverthe-less, we ought to reach 50 percent renewable provision within a rela-tively short period.

“We are discussing all kinds of renewable energy. Austria’s traditional areas of strength, such as renewable heat and biomass, are important, but we are also discussing renewable fuels and energy efficiency in production and consumption.” ■

Untitled-10 84 10/5/11 09:44:24

85

Heat exchangersSTAND G60-1APL APPARATEBAU GMBH

ADDRESS Gewerbestrasse 14, 6361 Hopfgarten, AustriaPHONE +43/ 5335/ 2256 FAX +43/ 5335/ 2017E-MAIL [email protected] WEBSITE www.apl-apparatebau.com

APL Apparatebau is a leading pro-ducer of one-off manufactured tube heat exchangers and pressure ves-sels for chemical, petrochemical and refinery plants, heat and energy and refrigeration technology, and special applications. Great depth of produc-tion together with modern equipment enables orders to be executed with great flexibility.

Biogas

STAND F50ENTEC BIOGAS GMBH

ADDRESS Schilfweg 1, 6972 Fussach, AustriaPHONE +43/ 5578/ 79 46-0 FAX +43/ 5578/ 79 46-800E-MAIL [email protected] WEBSITE www.entec-biogas.at

Entec biogas supplies know-how and services for anaerobic digestion plants for digestion of organic waste (food waste), agricultural, industrial and municipal sludge and wastewater.

The group is experienced in the design and construction of more than 40 large-scale biogas plants world-wide. A successful market entry in the UK could be realised by receiving the order for the food waste AD-plant for Emerald Biogas.

Solar LED

STAND F50EPS SOLTEC SOLARTECHNIK GMBH

ADDRESS Lochauer Strasse 2, 6912 Hoerbranz, AustriaPHONE +43/ 5573/ 853 79 FAX +43/ 5573/ 853 79-99E-MAIL [email protected] WEBSITE www.eps-soltec.com

EPS Soltec specialises in customer-ori-ented PV solutions and innovative LED lighting solutions (street and pathway lighting). EPS Soltec is a world mar-ket leader in the solar small modules

sector. A further specialisation is the customer specific solar cells - cut to the highest technical level by wafer saw. Top quality and impressive technol-ogy characterise EPS products, all of which carry the quality label “Made in Austria”.

Ultrafiltration

STAND G60-4KALOGEO ANLAGENBAU GMBH

ADDRESS Aredstrasse 13, 2544 Leobersdorf, AustriaPHONE +43/ 2256/ 63650 0 FAX +43/ 2256/ 63650 4E-MAIL [email protected] WEBSITE www.kalogeo.at

KALOGEO Anlagenbau is an engineer-ing company specialising in the decen-tralised treatment of waste water and sewage sludge. Kalogeo is also a proc-ess for sludge exploitation, designed for the communal waste water treat-ment sector and for industries produc-ing high quantities of sludge.

Biomass heating

STAND G40-2KWB GMBH

ADDRESS Industriestrasse 235, 8321 St.Margarethen an der Raab, AustriaPHONE +43/ 3115/ 61 16-0 FAX +43/ 3115/ 61 16-4E-MAIL [email protected] WEBSITE www.kwb.at

With its fully automatic biomass heat-ing systems, KWB has focused its business for years on the use of renew-able and efficient sources of energy. Heating with pellets, woodchip or log-wood also opens up possibilities for achieving considerable savings.

Today the product range encom-passes pellet, woodchip and log-wood boilers as well as individual extraction and storage systems for every spatial situation.

Biomass heating

STAND G60-2OLYMP WERK GMBH

ADDRESS Olympstrasse 10, 6430 Oetztal-Bahnhof, AustriaPHONE +43/ 5266/ 8910 FAX +43/ 5266/ 8910 825E-MAIL [email protected] WEBSITE www.olymp.at

For over 50 years, Olymp has excelled on account of its highly competent heating systems. The product range is continuously being enlarged and now includes innova-tive solutions for all forms of energy such as solar, pellets, wood, geother-mal and natural oil and gas burners.

Biogas

STAND G60-3THÖNI INDUSTRIEBETRIEBE GMBH

ADDRESS Obermarktstrasse 48, 6410 Telfs, AustriaPHONE +43/ 5262/ 69 03-503 FAX +43/ 5262/ 69 03-510E-MAIL [email protected] WEBSITE www.thoeni.com

Since 1990, Thöni has been involved in developing innovative technologies and modern engineering systems for treating waste and generating biogas from organic waste and energy crops.

We offer turnkey systems begin-ning with the project development through conception, construction up to the commissioning and the after-sales service.

Biomass heating

STAND G40-1WINDHAGER ZENTRALHEIZUNG GMBH

ADDRESS Windhager UK, 4 Glenmore Business Park, Vincients Road, Bum-pers Farm, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN14 6BBPHONE +44/ 1249/ 44 66 16 E-MAIL [email protected] WEBSITE www.windhager.co.uk

For 90 years the name Windhager Central Heating has been insepara-bly linked with boiler technology of the highest quality. What started as a small metalworking shop in 1921 is now one of the biggest and most important companies in the industry and one of the leading manufacturers of biomass central heating systems in Europe. In recent years Windhager has above all established a reputa-tion as a specialist for pellet-fired heating systems.

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Renewable Heat - Experiences from Austria Wednesday, 18 May 11:00am - 12:30pm Room 18-20

At present, 34.8 percent of final heat demand in Austria is supplied by renewable energy

sources. Austrian environmental technologies are leading the way in innovation and reliability

and have been successfully implemented in the UK and all over the world.

We would like to invite you to join our showcase, “Austria - Experiences with Renewable

Heat”, on Wednesday, 18 May (11:00am - 12:30pm, All-Energy Conference, Room 18-20) to

hear a series of presentations from respected figures from the Austrian renewable heat scene

and to quiz them on their experience with different technology applications.

11:00 • Opening remarks by Chair GEORG KARABACZEK, AUSTRIAN TRADE COMMISSIONER

11:05 • Solar Thermal Energy: Experiences from Upper Austria

REGINA AUFREITER, UPPER AUSTRIA ENERGY AGENCY

11:30 • Heat from Biomass: Lessons learnt in Austria

MARTIN SEIFRIED, KWB

11:45 • Biogas as a renewable heat source in Austria

ROBERT LACKNER, THÖNI

12:00 • Q&A and discussion

Please also join us the same day at 4:30pm on the Austrian Pavilion (F50, G40, G60) to chat and meet over a glass of Austria wine!

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All-Energy 2011 Make a date with the UK’s largest renewable energy event taking

place in Aberdeen on 18-19 May in Aberdeen - ENERGY ENGINEERING magazine will also be there on stand P120

With well over 530 exhibitors from 20 countries and conference ses-

sions dealing with every source of renewable energy, All-Energy 2011 makes a fascinating one-stop-shop for all interested in every aspect of the sector.

The conference opens with a ple-nary session chaired by Andrew Ja-mieson, Chairman of RenewableUK and Regulation and Markets Director, ScottishPower Renewables with speakers including Charles Hendry MP, Minister of state, DECC; Sir Ian Wood, Chairman, Wood Group; and Duncan Botting, Business Innovation and Growth Director - Power, Industry and Utilities, Parsons Brinckerhoff. Thereafter it breaks into seven parallel streams covering the complete spectrum of the renewables industry - a strong focus this year will be sessions looking at aspects of finance and funding.

UK Trade and Investment’s ‘Grow-ing the Green Economy’ session (11.00 on 18 May) will consider what the Government has done since the Coalition came to power, to improve the Green Economy (covering The Green Bank, and Elec-tricity Market Review amongst other topics); Delivery of the UK’s Offshore Wind Programme will highlight the drivers behind Siemens’ investment in

the UK and where the supply chain opportunities for UK companies are in achieving Siemens’ ambitions (this is a presentation by the Global Sourcing Manager of Siemens Global Wind Power); and other talks will include How ECGD can Help UK Exporters plus an Overview of the International Trade Potential of UK Renewable Energy Technologies and Services.

In their session ‘Bankable Projects: Regs, Risks and Returns” the Scottish European Green Energy Centre (SEGEC) has brought together key European and Scottish panellists to explore the landscape between cur-rent delivery in Scotland and ambi-tions in Europe. The session (14.00 on 18 May) will discuss the key funding, regulatory and legislative issues and the major risks involved in identifying and achieving successful ‘bankable projects’ at the demonstra-tion stage and moving to full-scale deployment.

Two sessions on Day 2 give additional insights into renewable en-ergy funding. In ‘Industry Perspectives on Financing’ (09.00 on 19 May) Adrian Scholtz, Director of Corpo-rate Finance and European Head of Renewables, KPMG Europe, chairs a panel of experts: Richard Slark, Director, Pöyry Management Consult-ing; Nick Wood, Director, Deloitte LLP, Andrew Jamieson, Regulation

and Markets Director, ScottishPower Renewables, and Rob Forrest, Chief Executive, GreenPower.

As Adrian Scholtz explains: “It is estimated that £200billion of funding for low carbon technology is required to achieve the UK’s 2020 targets. Finance is available for well-structured projects and class leading companies. However there are many challenges, ranging from the regula-tory uncertainty presented by EMR, to lower valuations resulting from the higher demand for funding. No-one is immune from the status quo, as our panel of speakers will demonstrate: the utilities need to ration and recycle capital; whilst independents must operate really efficiently to remain solvent.”

The final session with a fi-nance/funding bias is ‘Support for renewable energy in a world of constrained funding - How to make sure we are successful’. In a session chaired by Duncan Botting, Executive Chair, SEGEC, panellists including Martin McAdam, CEO, Aquamarine Power; Benj Sykes, Director, Innovations at the Carbon Trust; Dr Tony Trapp, Managing Director, OSBIT Power; and Rob Saunders, Lead Technologist for Off-shore Renewables, TSB will explore that concept.

Low carbon technologies present a huge opportunity for new

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economic growth - there is little doubt that innovation lies at the heart of accelerating the development and commercialisation of these pioneer industries and driving down costs. Research undertaken by UKERC shows that innovation makes economic sense - their “low innovation” scenario for the UK shows a total cost that is hundreds of billions of pounds greater than in a “high innovation” scenario to create a low carbon energy system over the next forty years. Moreover, academic studies point to the importance of RD&D spend (“learning by research”) in the early stages of technology development, having a far larger

impact per pound spent than “learning by doing.”

The UK has to get this right - we will be among the earliest deployers of many of these technologies, and hence the one to bear the high costs of early deployment. It is now more important than ever for the UK to continue to focus on innovation and capture the economic prize offered by the transition to a low carbon global economy. But we know very little about which approaches to innovation work best; how do we encourage and support innovation most effectively? How do we lever-age private sector spending, when public funding becomes ever more

constrained? The panel members will be airing their own views in the ‘Support for renewable energy in a world of constrained funding - How to make sure we are successful’ ses-sion, and discussing them with the audience.

The two-day show, the eleventh in the annual series, the Giant Networking Evening, associated Careers Fair, and Technical Tours are free to attend for all with a profes-sional/business interest in renewable energy. ■

www.all-energy.co.uk

Further information on all aspects of All-

Energy 2011, and free online registration is

at www.all-energy.co.uk

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EE35_AllEnergytw.indd 88 9/5/11 16:42:17

Controlling the Renewable Energy Industry

JCE�Group,�Blackburn�Business��Park,�Aberdeen,�UK,�AB21�0PS�Tel:+44�(0)1224�798600��

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JCE�Energy,�a�division�of�the�JCE��Group,�specialise�in�the�design,��manufacture,�installation�and��maintenance�of�control�systems��for�use�with�tidal,�biochemical,��wind,�solar�power�and�other��renewable�energy�sources.��

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JCEJCE energy

EE35_ads.indd 89 9/5/11 12:58:54

Since 1982, the Nord-Lock bolt securing system has been used to safely secure the world’s most critical

bolted joints. A number of these joints can be found within wind tur-bines; from the anchor bolts on the tower to the joints keeping the dif-ferent sections of the tower secured and numerous applications within the turbine itself. The most critical of these include front and rear main bearings, yaw bearings and bolts on the nacelle frame, as well as bolted joints connecting the main shaft to the hub and the blades to the bearing.

With the Nord-Lock bolt securing system, you can actually increase the output from your turbine. Safely secured bolted joints mean you are able to reduce the frequency of bolted joint maintenance inspec-tions. This, in turn, means substan-tially reduced overall maintenance costs and production downtime as well as a reduction to the human risks associated with conducting this type of maintenance.

Nord-Lock’s wedge-locking method uses tension instead of friction to secure bolted joints, making it superior to tradi-tional methods. The Nord-Lock principle incorporates a pair of washers that have cams on one side with a rise “(“ greater than the pitch “(“ of the bolt. In addi-tion, there are radial teeth on the opposing sides. The washers come pre-assembled in pairs, cam face to cam face. When the bolt/nut is tightened, the teeth grip and seat

the mating surfaces. The washers are locked in place, allowing move-ment only across the face of the cams. Any attempt from the bolt/nut to turn loose will be stopped by the wedge-locking effect of the washers.

When you choose Nord-Lock you do not only choose a manufacturer and a supplier; you also choose an expert in bolted joints as your partner. Our team of engineers meet clients all over the world, working together to solve bolt securing problems in the most demanding applications. By allowing Nord-Lock to analyse and optimise your bolted connec-tion you will increase the profitability and productivity of your company by reducing the life cycle cost of your joints.

The Nord-Lock Group is expe-rienced in providing bolt securing solutions, even for applications that are exposed to severe vibration and dynamic loads. By providing custom-ers with specific tests and perfor-mance services, we help companies in the most demanding industries to optimise their bolted joints.

Our fast-growing sales organi-sation consists of subsidiaries in Europe, USA, Asia and the Pa-cific. We also work closely with a worldwide network of carefully se-lected distributors. The Nord-Lock Group is part of a large Swedish listed investment company; Invest-ment AB Latour, working with long term developments of industrial companies. ■

www.nord-lock.com

Safe and soundThe latest from a company that provides bolt securing systems for the

most critical bolted joints

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The bolted connections in wind turbines are amongst the most demanding ones in the world. Since 1982, Nord-Lock has been using geometry to safely secure bolted joints in critical applications world wide. Once tightened, the Nord-Lock wedge lock washers will not allow the fasteners to loosen by themselves, even if exposed to extreme vibrations.

For wind turbine applications this not only means the possibility of increasing your capacity in terms of power output - it also leads to less downtime and reduced maintenance interval. Less maintenance, in turn, means less exposure to the risks typically resulting in personal injuries or even fatalities, within the wind industry.

Securing wind power

NORD-LOCK Ltd. Tel: +44 (0) 1980 847129 • Fax: +44 (0) 1980 847674

Email: [email protected] • Website: www.nord-lock.com

EE35_ads.indd 91 9/5/11 13:02:40


group that’s helping to develop the sectorLast year, the Government set a priority in the Coalition Agreement to achieve a “huge increase in energy from waste

through anaerobic digestion”. The Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association (ADBA) has calculated that, in order to meet Government renewable energy and greenhouse gas targets, almost 1,000 AD plants of various sizes will need to be built in the UK over the next 10 years. That is more than two anaerobic digestion (AD) plants a week. The cost of build-ing this number of plants is estimated to be between £2 and £5billion depending on the technology used.

However, the need for anaerobic digestion plants extends beyond helping to meet our climate change targets. AD is also a vital solution to the UK’s waste problem. Now that landfill sites are being phased out the UK needs to find alternative mecha-nisms for dealing with its waste. Furthermore, AD is a source of renew-able fertiliser, which will become of ever-greater significance as oil prices continue to rise and the farming sector looks to reduce the carbon impact of artificial fertilisers.

AD is not a new technology, which is astonishing considering the sudden and recent surge in interest. One of the explanations for this boost in the AD industry is the recent change in economics. Anaerobic digestion has been used in Britain for 100 years and there are over 550 plants operat-ing in the water sector. Despite this, AD has not taken off in the same way as it has in Germany. This is simply

due to differences in economics. There are over 6,000 plants now operating in Germany, mostly farm-based using maize as an energy crop. In compari-son over the past few decades the UK has been blessed with cheap North Sea gas. This could be considered a mixed blessing as it allowed us the freedom to ignore biogas as a source of energy. As the UK has moved from an exporter of gas to a country looking to import over 70 percent of its gas over the next 10 years, a need for biogas has evolved.

A number of factors have funda-mentally changed the economics for anaerobic digestion including the introduction of the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), which makes gas to grid injection an attractive proposi-tion. The subsidy level means that AD is now financially viable. Furthermore it is conceivable that in the near future the economics of AD and biogas production will mean that it will be cheaper to generate biogas than to import natural gas. This is based purely on predictions for the UK feedstock market.

The UK produces over 100million tonnes of organic waste, of which large proportions are produced by the agricultural and the food waste or food processing waste sectors. In order to comply with the EU Waste Directive the UK has committed to substantial reductions in waste sent to landfill. Food is a major component of residual waste and has major cost implications for councils. Separating food waste at the kerbside results in a vast reduction in these costs simply by

avoiding the landfill tax. Admittedly gate fees will have to be paid to AD plants but it is possible that these too will be reduced as more and more AD plants come into the market.

AD as an industry will affect a wide range of sectors from agriculture to food packaging, from energy dis-tribution networks to engineering and pump manufacturers. It will provide a wealth of opportunities for business development both in the UK and overseas, particularly for companies entering the marketplace now. Turning food waste from a cost into an asset will have value throughout the world. If you currently provide a service or product that could be used in the AD industry then this is the time to develop your business in anaerobic digestion and biogas. The easiest way to gauge the value of AD and understand the opportunities it could offer your business is by visiting UK AD & Biogas 2011, the only trade show in the UK dedicated exclusively to anaerobic digestion and biogas. Ensure you do not miss out by book-ing your place at the ultimate AD marketplace today.

ADBA’s trade show ‘UK AD & Biogas 2011’ takes place on 6-7 July at the NEC Birmingham This two-day exhibition and conference includes over 130 exhibitors, high profile speakers and workshops. To receive 50 percent off entry to the trade show please pre-register with this code: GEN3519. Please note this does not include entry to the conference. To register or find out more, please visit www.adbiogas.co.uk ■

Going for growthThe advent of a whole new industry that could employ as many as 35,000 people should be of huge interest to the engineering sector

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www.energyinst.orgDemonstrate your professionalism and join us today

EnergiseYourCareer

The Energy Institute is the leading membership body for the energy industry, offering learning and networking opportunities to support your professional development.

Providing registration for Chartered Engineer, Incorporated Engineer, Engineering Technician, Chartered Scientist, Chartered Environmentalist and Chartered Energy Manager, the Energy Institute is open to anyone working in energy.

EE35_ads.indd 94 9/5/11 13:17:40

Career developmentTheone Wilson interviews Anna Botten of Siemens

to find out what they are looking for in their staff

A position at Siemens could, it seems, lead you anywhere. The company can offer a wide range

of opportunities and, says Recruiter Anna Botten, the group places a great deal of importance upon personal development. The flexible approach to careers means that staff are able to move between dif-ferent sectors of the business e.g. from the industry or healthcare sec-tors to the energy sector and vice versa.

Botten herself has worked there since 2010, moving to Siemens after having held a similar role with Babcock International Group. She now oversees the recruitment process from beginning to end for

Siemens Wind Power, which is part of Siemens Energy sector in the UK. Her role embraces agreeing sourc-ing strategies with hiring managers, running advertising campaigns, managing applications and con-ducting interviews through to job offers. Positions are usually adver-tised in industry specific publications and standard job boards, alongside direct recruitment and sourcing, although this may alter depending on the role itself. However, recruit-ing for this sector can be “quite a challenge”, due to a significant skills shortage of people coming from a renewables background.

“We recruit for many different roles and all levels, including proj-ect managers, commercial project

managers, project controllers, sales and business development managers, site manag-ers, offshore installation managers, specialist offshore lifting supervisors, power electronics engineers, health and safety managers, to name but a few,” says Botten. “The construction department within the division has seen a significant amount of growth with a plan to recruit around 180 technicians in this financial year alone. The department includes installation technicians, commis-sioning technicians, and blade technicians, who will work onsite installing Siemens wind turbines, both offshore and onshore.”

offshore lifting supervisors, power

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Siemens Wind Power is also investing heavily in research and development. The group has R&D Centres of Competence at Keele University for power converters, and another centre of competence at Sheffield University for generators. The group’s Transmission & Distribu-tion business has an R&D facility at Manchester for grid connections. The specific engineering disciplines that Siemens recruits for at its R&D centres are a real recruitment challenge - according to Botten. Siemens is currently recruiting for development engineers for software, modelling and power electronics as well as generator structural design engineers and bearings engineers.

Health and Safety is an absolute priority for Siemens Wind Power, says Botten, “delivered through our policy of Zero Harm”. Not surprisingly, given this focus, there is currently a big drive to recruit HSE coordinators and HSE officers. Some of these positions will be of-fice based and some will be work-ing on site, including offshore on installation vessels. Those looking at the Renewables sector could find themselves working on projects in the Siemens Wind Power portfolio, such as Gwynt-y-Môr, London Array and Walney Wind Farms.

Siemens Wind Power is head-quartered in Brande, Denmark and the majority of new starters will spend a significant amount of time there, developing their knowledge of the Siemens product portfolio as well as establishing relationships with Danish colleagues. Siemens UK headquarters are in Frimley, Sur-rey and the company has onshore and offshore sites across the UK.

Siemens as an organisation invests heavily in its people through training and development. Specific training requirements are depen-dant on the role - for example wind power service technicians will spend a period of six weeks at Siemens’ wind power training facil-ity in Newcastle, where they will undergo various training courses including working at heights, HSE and offshore survival. The group also has designated onboarding co-ordinators, who conduct inductions for all new starters joining Siemens Wind Power.

The company also offers the chance to gain professional qualifica-tions such as its project management qualification, PM@Siemens, which is recognised externally throughout the project management profession.

In terms of the application process, all applications are initially submitted through the online careers page (www.siemens.co.uk/ca-reers). The recruiter then reviews applications, shortlists and conducts both telephone and face-to-face, competency based interviews. Depending on the role, some can-didates will undergo online tests, whilst others will be required to at-tend assessment centres. If success-ful, candidates will receive a verbal offer, followed by a written offer of employment and contract.

“We look for CVs and applica-tions that are laid out clearly and

concisely, with the right qualifica-tions and relevant experience in relation to the job specification. Ideally candidates will have experi-ence of working on large-scale, multi disciplined engineering and construction projects; however this requirement may change dependant on the vacancy,” says Botten.

There are also opportunities within the graduate scheme at Siemens Wind Power, which will be taking on around 12 graduates in this financial year. The graduate programme is two years in duration and the new starters are exposed to different departments within Sie-mens Wind Power, across Projects, Sales and Commecial and HSE. Overall, says Botten, Siemens Wind Power is able to offer significant career progression and develop-ment opportunities for those wanting to invest in a long-term career. “The Renewable Energy Sector is going to experience such a rapid growth rate over the coming years. Siemens Wind Power is excellently positioned to capitalise on this growth as the leading offshore wind power player in the UK, with an equally large onshore business. It is really a once-in-a-lifetime op-portunity,” Botten says. “It’s a great organisation to join and there is a real sense of excitement about the growth we will see over the medium to long term future.” ■

www.energy.siemens.com

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www.pmss.co.uk

waves ofopportunity

PMSS is an independent renewable energy consultancy, established in 1994, whose lists of clients, consultants and projects can all be said to be genuinely world class.

At PMSS we recognise that people are our business and only through developing, retaining and investing in our employees can we grow and meet the needs of our customers and the challenges of our sector.

Working for PMSS offers the opportunity to work with a range of globally recognised customers on some of the most exciting projects in the Renewable Energy sector.

Based at various locations, the company now has openings for the following:

Interested candidates should send their CV and a covering letter detailing which role they are interested in to [email protected] information can be found on our website

Project Manager - Cables, Romsey, Glasgow

Project Manager, Romsey, Bath, Glasgow

Operations & Asset Manager, Bath, Glasgow, Romsey

Senior CDM Coordinator, Romsey, Bath, Glasgow

Senior Project Assurance Consultant, Various Office Locations

Senior Quality Assurance Consultant, Romsey

Senior Consultant - Asset Management, Various Office Locations

QHSE Consultant, Romsey, Bath

Quality Assurance Consultant, Romsey

Environmental Consultant, Bath, Glasgow, Romsey

Wind Turbine Contract Consultant, Bath, Glasgow, Romsey

Electrical Engineer, Bath, Glasgow, Romsey

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Energy Engineering Recruitment Advert March 2011.pdf 26/4/11 13:40:47

EE35_ads.indd 97 9/5/11 13:19:35

Flowering prospects

The Eden Project in Cornwall has unveiled a raft of new efficiency measures designed to cut its CO2 emissions by a

quarter during the next two years.These reductions will be made

through a series of upgrades to Eden’s technical systems, many of which could be replicated in homes.

They continue work that has seen Eden reduce its consumption of electricity by 6.5 percent and gas intensity by 20 percent since 2008.

A new Building Management System will be installed which will integrate the temperature controls in the Biomes with related systems on the rest of the Eden site. The new sys-tem is like a giant TV remote control allowing for very tight control of heat and electricity consumption.

Approximately 746 new LED lights have also been installed across the

Eden Project, saving in the region of 51 tonnes of CO2 a year.

Matt Hastings, Eden’s Energy Manager, comments: “While renewables are very important, the most critical tool in the box is a focused commitment to reducing consumption.

“Eden is less than ten years old so our infrastructure is reasonably new but like other businesses and homes, we can still make significant improve-ments”.

www.edenproject.com

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Cycling proficiencyThe Netherlands is developing a project to put solar panels on its cycle paths.

The project, known as SolaRoad, is the brainchild of the TNO research institute along with the Province of North Holland, the Ooms Avenhorn Group and Imtech. It will be con-

structed in the town of Krommenie, near Amsterdam. The cycle path is made from thick concrete blocks cov-ered with a 1cm thick layer of silicon solar cells. The photovoltaics are pro-tected by tough glass, which allows cyclists to travel over them. SolaRoad is expected to generate 50 kWh per square meter per year. The electricity will then be used for street lighting, traffic systems, or household use.

www.tno.nl

Flowering

Untitled-5 98 9/5/11 17:16:29

Keep maintenance costs down and send productivity soaring with the complete range of Mobil SHC synthetic lubricants and greases.

Each one is formulated to offer outstanding all-around performance, including equipment protection, keep-clean characteristics and

oil life. Take Mobilgear SHC XMP. Used in more than 30,000 wind turbine gearboxes worldwide, it’s trusted by builders, proven in the

field and supported by exceptional application expertise. Just a few of the reasons we don’t simply make things run. We make them fly.

To find out more visit www.mobilindustrial.com.

We can take wind turbines to new heights.

©2011 Exxon Mobil Corporation. Mobil, Mobil SHC, Mobilgear and the Pegasus Design are trademarks of Exxon Mobil Corporation or one of its subsidiaries.

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29th - 30th June 2011, Liverpool

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Offshore Wind Engineering advert April 2011.pdf 19/4/11 14:45:21

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energy engineering magazine issue 35 2011

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