News: Looking LEFT to protect turbine blades

Highlighting the emerging Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District (AMID) in Sheffield and Rotherham, a new project led by local firms looks set to significantly improve the performance of offshore wind turbines throughout their service life.

The Leading Edge for Turbines (LEFT) project, part-funded by Innovate UK, is a two-year, £1m collaboration between Doncasters Bramah, a Sheffield-based specialist aerospace component manufacturer and Performance Engineered Solutions (PES), an engineering design solutions business based on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham. The project is being supported by the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult in Blyth, the UK's leading technology innovation and research centre for offshore renewable energy.

The project involves developing a novel system to protect the turbine blades from rain erosion which is currently the leading source of damage to offshore wind turbine blades and is caused by rain and wind hitting the blades. Over time this erosion breaks down the protective coatings attached to the blades, exposing and eventually compromising the blade's structure.

It is a significant issue for both turbine manufacturers and operators as they look to improve a blade's operational life to match the 25-year active service life of the turbines.

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The LEFT project sees Doncasters using their expertise in supplying leading edge erosion shields for civilian and military aircraft and helicopters, to solutions for the offshore wind industry. Meanwhile the PES engineers are applying their experience in component performance and composites optimisation on the project. In particular this includes their understanding of lightweight materials, and aerodynamic design.

The project will investigate integrating nickel cobalt erosion shields into the overall design of the wind turbine blades. Doncasters' electroforming method is an additive manufacturing process which enables them to "grow" the new erosion shields in a chemical bath.

Andrew Woods, business development manager at Doncasters Bramah (pictured, third from right), said: "At Doncasters we have more than 20 years' experience of producing electroformed metallic leading-edge protection solutions to the global aerospace industry. This project represents an exciting opportunity for us to cross-sectorise this knowledge and capability from aerospace into the growing offshore renewables market. Along with our partners on Project LEFT we aim to adapt and develop a lifetime protection solution to arguably one of the biggest problems in the offshore wind industry today."

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Dean Gardner, engineering director at Performance Engineered Solutions (PES) Ltd (pictured, far left), added: "We already work closely with the Doncasters team on other R&D projects. One of the skills of our team is our understanding about materials, light weighting and design which we can apply within a range of industry sectors. As a team we really enjoy working on projects that are challenging and were we can create solutions that will make a marked positive impact for our clients."

If successful, this project will lead to the introduction of a new product that provides significant benefits to the offshore wind industry.

Performing better than the current coating solutions, the new metallic erosion shields are estimated to save operators around £1.3m per turbine during a typical service life, removing the significant cost of repair operations and downtime.

Doncasters Bramah website
PES Performance website

Images: PES

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News: Turbine plans in for Aldwarke

A 125m wind turbine could join the chimneys of the steelworks on the Aldwarke skyline as Kelda Water Services (KWS) submits a planning application for a wind turbine at its water treatment site.

Kelda's main subsidiary is Yorkshire Water, whose annual energy bill has increased significantly over recent years and now stands at around £50m. The Rotherham application is part of a plan to reduce energy consumption with the aim of generating up to half of its energy from renewable sources by 2020.

The waste treatment works at Aldwarke, close to Tata Steel and the Waddington Way commercial development, serve the vast majority of Rotherham's population (over 100,000). It treats 26,000m3 of waste water from local homes and business each day.

The proposed turbine will have a maximum height of 125m from the turbine base to tip of the blade. With an estimated generating capacity of 2.5 - 3.5 Gigawatt hours of electricity annually, it should be able to generate the equivalent of approximately 70-100% of the site's annual electricity needs.

In comparison, the turbines at Penny Hill wind farm in Ulley have a maximum height of 132m, and the latest turbine outside the Nuclear AMRC research factory at the Advanced Manufacturing Park, is 100m high.

The design and location of the turbine is dictated by the large number of telecommunication links that cross the Aldwarke Lane site. The plans, supported by planning consultants, ARUP, state that there are "clearly some adverse landscape impacts from the propped development" but with the nearest residential buildings more than 350 metres away, it is not believed to "not adversely affect residential amenity."

The application also includes environmental reports, transport assessments, noise and shadow flicker assessments and studies into the impact on birds and other wildlife, as well as TV and radio signals.

It concludes: "The proposed development has the potential to provide all the energy needed to power the Aldwarke Waste Water Treatment Works, offering renewable energy to power critical infrastructure with limited environmental effects on the surrounding area. The proposal meets national and local planning policy and it is our view that this scheme should be approved by RMBC."

Kelda Water Services website

Images: Kelda Water Services

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News: Siemens Energy boss to discuss offshore wind and factory plans at GMF

Matthew Chinn, managing director, Siemens Energy UK and Ireland, will give a keynote speech at the Global Manufacturing Festival (GMF) in Rotherham about Siemens' plans for Green Port Hull and the Paull wind turbine blade factory development.

Siemens recently confirmed a £160m investment in Green Port Hull at the city's Alexandra Dock and in a new blade factory in Paull, East Yorkshire. The total combined investment with Associated British Ports is £310m.

The investment is expected to create up to 1,000 jobs at the two sites making offshore wind turbine blades, the assembly of nacelles and related construction, service and logistics activities.

Firms in the Sheffield city region are set to benefit from the German firm's UK supply chains.

Matthew Chinn was appointed as managing director for Siemens Energy division in the UK and Ireland in April 2010. He has more than 20-years experience in the UK energy sector. He said: "We are delighted that this important investment in offshore renewable energy and in the city of Hull has been approved, after what has been a long wait for many.

"Representing some £310m of investment with Associated British Ports, the two sites offer local and national engineering companies substantial subcontract opportunities worth millions of pounds.

"At the Festival I will outline some of the challenges for the offshore wind industry and explain how our plans for the blade factory and Green Port Hull help address those challenges."

Senior Siemens Energy procurement executives will attend the Festival to answer visitors questions about applying for supplier agreements.

The GMF has been running since 2011 and has grown in popularity each year with some of the world's biggest manufacturing and engineering companies attending. It was held for the first time at the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) last year and will return with a trade show and conference, keynote speakers, workshops and 150 exhibitors set to form proceedings on June 24 - 25.

Part of the UK's International Festival for Business, GMF is being organised by Sheffield Chamber of Commerce, the University of Sheffield AMRC with Boeing and Marketing Sheffield.

The conference and trade show is free to attend and registration is open now.

GMF website
Siemens website

Images: Siemens

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News: Energy Minister visits Rotherham wind farm

The Secretary of State for Energy & Climate Change, the Rt Hon Edward Davey MP, has been to visit the site of South Yorkshire's newest wind farm, in Ulley, Rotherham.

Mr Davey took a tour of the new £21.9m Penny Hill wind farm, which is located on green belt land to the west of the junction of the M1 and M18, alongside representatives of the Barlborough-based business behind the scheme, Banks Renewables.

The six-turbine scheme began generating renewable energy earlier this year, and is now making a significant contribution towards meeting Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council's renewable energy targets.

With an installed capacity of 20.4MW, the Penny Hill wind farm will produce enough energy to meet the annual electricity consumption requirements of over 12,000 homes – or around ten per cent of all the homes in the Rotherham area.

Around 30 jobs were created directly on site through the construction of the Penny Hill scheme, with related contracts worth over £1.1m awarded to businesses across Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire.

In addition to this, Banks has already made a further £50,000 investment to help establish a Warm Zone scheme across the Rotherham area. This scheme will deliver practical measures such as cavity wall insulation and loft insulation into local homes.

Ed Davey MP (pictured above, left), said: "I am delighted to have visited the Penny Hill wind farm, which has created jobs and delivered a range of community and environmental benefits in partnership with local people.

"We remain committed to the deployment of appropriately-sited onshore wind as a key part of a diverse, low-carbon and secure energy mix."

Phil Dyke, development director at Banks Renewables (pictured above, right), added: "We were extremely pleased to welcome the Secretary of State to our Penny Hill Wind Farm, and believe that the way in which it has been developed, built and now operates provides a model of best practice for the industry.

"The most recent Department of Energy & Climate Change figures shows that wind power generated 5.5% of the UK’s electricity needs in 2012, compared to 4% in 2011, but there remains an increasingly pressing need for us to generate substantially more of the energy we all use from such indigenous renewable sources, and we're extremely pleased to be playing our part in meeting this crucial objective."

Banks Renewables website

Images: Banks Renewables

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News: First turbine tower complete at Rotherham wind farm

Work on the construction of the first turbine tower at the £21.9m Penny Hill wind farm in Rotherham has been completed.

Banks Renewables secured planning permission for the six turbine wind farm at Ulley in 2010. Turbines with a maximum height of 132m, are set to be built on green belt land to the west of the junction of the M1 and M18.

Around 30 jobs are being created directly on site through the construction of the scheme, with a number of contracts also being awarded to local firms for the supply of materials and sub-contract works.

The turbines that have been specified for the scheme have the highest capacity of any ever used in a UK onshore wind farm and are expected to be generating electricity by the end of March.

With an installed capacity of 20.4MW, the Penny Hill wind farm will produce enough energy to meet the annual electricity consumption requirements of over 12,000 homes – or around ten per cent of all the homes in the Rotherham area.

In addition to this, Banks has already made a further £50,000 investment to help establish a Warm Zone scheme across the Rotherham area. This scheme will deliver practical measures such as cavity wall insulation and loft insulation into local homes.

Phil Dyke, development director at Banks Renewables, said: "Erecting the first turbines towers is obviously a real landmark for us, and takes us ever closer to being able to generate substantial amounts of renewable energy from the Penny Hill scheme.

"A great deal of work went into the planning of our delivery schedule to both minimise local traffic disruption and ensure that everyone is fully kept up to date on when deliveries are scheduled to take place, and we're very pleased with how things have gone so far.

"Further deliveries will take place over the coming weeks to enable us to continue the construction process, and we will ensure that everyone remains fully informed about the schedule ahead of any convoys' arrival.

"The wind farm is already making a positive contribution to the local area in several different ways, including new jobs, supply chain support and the Warm Zone scheme, and with regular funding from the wind farm's benefits fund still to come, this is just the beginning of the long-term, positive impact that our work here will have on the local community."

Banks Renewables website

Images: Banks Renewables

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News: Work starts on Rotherham wind farm

Preparatory development work by Banks Renewables has begun on the site of the new £21.9m Penny Hill wind farm in Rotherham.

The Durham-based developer secured planning permission for the six turbine wind farm at Ulley in 2010. Turbines with a maximum height of 132m, are set to be built on green belt land to the west of the junction of the M1 and M18.

Around 30 jobs are being created directly on site through the construction of the scheme, with a number of contracts also being awarded to local firms for the supply of materials and sub-contract works.

The turbines that have been specified for the scheme have the highest capacity of any ever used in a UK onshore wind farm, and are scheduled to be delivered to the site by early 2013.

The Penny Hill wind farm will produce enough energy to meet the annual electricity consumption requirements of over 12,000 homes – or around ten per cent of all the homes in the Rotherham area.

Mark Dowdall, environment and community director at Banks Renewables, said: “Utilising onshore wind farms like Penny Hill to update the UK's power infrastructure today is already helping to address the energy challenges that we know the 21st century will bring, and we're very pleased to be reaching such an important landmark for this scheme.

“The Penny Hill scheme is already making a positive contribution to the local area through the Warm Zone energy efficiency scheme that we established last year, and with new jobs, commercial opportunities for local firms and regular funding from the wind farm's benefits fund still to come, this is just the beginning of the long-term, positive impact that our work here will have on the local community.

"We're already working closely with local people through a community liaison group to ensure everyone is kept fully up to date with the progress that is being made on site, and look forward to starting to generate safe, clean and sustainable energy at Penny Hill next year."

Banks Renewables website

Images: Banks Renewables

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News: Rotherham's hydrogen technology demonstrated in new exhibit at Eureka!

A new interactive exhibit at Eureka! The National Children’s Museum in Halifax, West Yorkshire will tell children all about new hydrogen technology. Funded by regional development agency Yorkshire Forward, the exhibit has been designed to bring to life the groundbreaking renewable energy development that is being championed at the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham by energy consultancy, TNEI and the Pure Energy Centre. The project is one of the first in the UK to use "green" hydrogen energy to power a large commercial building, the AMP Technology Centre, and to create a store of hydrogen for use as a fuel for vehicles. An onsite 225kW wind turbine will generate the electricity for the mini grid and it is estimated that the turbine will produce in excess of 500MWh a year. The exhibit's "Power Wall", will demonstrate the complex process of converting raw energy into efficient hydrogen power and will explain how hydrogen is extracted from water, compressed and then stored to power vehicles and buildings. Projects Director at Eureka!, Tudor Gwynn said: "The new Power Wall will be a great way to explain the complex theory behind green hydrogen energy to young children." Sara Ragan, PR & Communications Manager at TNEI says: "We were keen to work with Eureka! to take the message about hydrogen power and the groundbreaking energy developments in Yorkshire to as wide an audience as possible. This is the real science of the future and Eureka!'s visitors are an ideal audience – they are likely to see the extensive use of hydrogen power during their lifetime." The first hydrogen is set to be produced on site within a matter of days.
Hydrogen Yorkshire website

Eureka website

AMP website
Rotherham

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News: Follow the progress of Rotherham's revolutionary energy project

The progress of the revolutionary "hydrogen mini-grid" system at the Advanced Manufacturing Park in Rotherham can be followed in detail after specialists, TNEI Services Ltd launched a dedicated website. http://www.hydrogen-yorkshire.co.uk/ details the system that should provide the Environmental Energy Technology Centre (EETC) with all its power from a 225kW turbine. Even when the wind does not blow, the turbine should be able to provide the building's power needs through a hydrogen fuel cell system. The pioneering development is set to be largest wind-to-hydrogen power system in the UK. The website explains the technology, includes technical data, reports on site progress and an education zone. A countdown to hydrogen production is also included, currently 111 days away.
Hydrogen Yorkshire website
AMP website
Rotherham

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News: Rotherham to have the first building in the UK to be powered by wind and hydrogen

The £8.7m Environmental Energy Technology Centre (EETC) at the Advanced Manufacturing Park in Rotherham will have a wind turbine installed by North East company, TNEI to generate hydrogen gas which will be stored and then converted into electricity. It is the first of its kind on this scale – where conventional wind energy will be used on site to generate hydrogen. The EETC opens next year as an entirely energy self-sufficient centre which will house more than 30 businesses working in the renewable energy industry.

AMP website

North East Business article

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