C H I N A DA I LY U K Wednesday, March 28, 2018 U K F O C US 3

New life for

old tech in
green future
China keen to learn from British
example about generating electricity
Angus McNeice reports from cent of Britain’s energy need
the part-Chinese-owned Dud- — triple the amount supplied
geon wind farm off the east by coal.
coast of England on a technol- A portion of that was pro-
ogy that is being mastered in duced by 67 turbines that slice
the UK but coveted by China. through the sea air at the new-
ly-built Dudgeon wind farm,
It’s 10:30 a.m. on a weekday 35 kilometers off the coast of
morning in March, and the Norfolk, England.
United Kingdom is generating China cashes in on Dudgeon
40.2 gigawatts of electricity to One of the most recent off-
serve the needs of 65 million shore wind farms to go into
people. operation in the UK, Dudgeon
is owned by three companies:
Hong Kong-headquartered
China Resources, Norwegian
oil and gas company Statoil,
and Masdar, an energy com-
The industry is pany from the United Arab
Emirates. Dudgeon offshore wind farm uses turbines made by Siemens that have 6 megawatts of output. PHOTO PROVIDED BY STATOIL
developing so State-owned China Resourc-
es bought 30 percent of the date compared to the ones “When they come to shore
quickly at the wind farm for 555 million that are starting new projects,” and switch off, they really
pounds ($782.8 million) in said Harriet Green, a senior switch off, they are hard to
moment ... wind is December last year. mechanical engineer at Statoil. contact,” said Emil Orderud,
a pioneering area.” Undergoing its own renew-
able energy revolution, China
“That’s why I chose to work
in wind,” she said. “The indus-
Dudgeon operations manager.
“When they come back, we
Harriet Green, a senior plans to install 5 gigawatts try is developing so quickly at need them to switch on again,
mechanical engineer at Statoil of offshore wind capacity by the moment. Unlike oil and so we do a lot of reinduction
2020. Chinese wind compa- gas that have been around for work.”
That’s enough energy to nies are looking to learn from so long and are set in their Accidents involving death
power 4 billion LED bulbs, or the Northern European opera- ways - wind is a pioneering and serious injury occur on
run a microwave on medium tors that have made a success area.” offshore wind farms around
for every person in the coun- of the technology. Green is qualified in a range the world each year, so safety
try. After three years of con- of renewable energy systems training is a primary concern
Twenty years ago, around struction, the 402-megawatt after completing a Masters for Orderud.
half of that electricity would Dudgeon wind farm now pro- degree at the University of Sur- “Sometimes we play on emo-
have been produced by burn- vides enough energy to power rey in 2012. tions, reminding them of their
ing coal. But a revolution is 410,000 homes. Perhaps paradoxically, the loved ones at home,” he said.
occurring in the way Britain A project of this size would company’s 45 years of expe- Orderud will use props,
generates power - and China have been impossible in the rience in gas and oil explo- bringing in objects like cable
is paying close attention. 1980s, when the first offshore ration gives Statoil a huge breakers that have fallen at
Through the combination wind turbines were construct- head start when it comes to construction sites, to remind
of two old technologies - the ed. Now the technology is effi- building renewable energy workers of potential hazards.
windmill and the generator cient enough to bring the cost infrastructure. He also screens a health and The remains of a World War II era fighter plane discovered while clearing the sea bed for the wind farm.
- engineers have made it pos- of wind energy in line with How to run a wind farm safety video that Statoil pro- PHOTO PROVIDED BY STATOIL
sible to harness the energy of many conventional means of An offshore wind farm is a duced in the 1980s, starring
the wind, both on land and at generation. massive operation involving Monty Python actor John bombs offloaded by pilots fly- The power line runs through seabed that support turbines.
sea, where it’s strongest. “Development is happening enormous machinery and spe- Cleese. ing across the North Sea, as 57 different properties, each In deeper water - anything
The UK is a world leader in at such a fast pace that even cialized vessels. As well as the core team, well as warplanes that had requiring their own contract more than 70 meters - founda-
offshore wind, with a total of the turbines At Dudgeon’s operations Statoil hires a range of subcon- crashed into the water. At negotiated by Hannah Mary tions can’t be laid.
5.3 gigawatts of installed off- we have base in Great Yarmouth, doz- tractors - from bomb disposal Dudgeon, three bombs were Goodlad, Dudgeon’s stake- Turbines that are anchored
shore wind capacity, which are ens of mechanical and electri- experts to archaeologists. detonated by a demolition holder and environmental by floating structures instead
is more than one third of the already cal engineers work alongside There is a resident ornithol- unit, and several planes were manager. of foundations open up previ-
global total of 14.4 gigawatts. out of weather experts and control ogist conducting a three-year marked and registered as war “With the grave we had to ously inaccessible waters to
On that March room staff. study of the Sandwich tern, graves. come forward with the find- offshore wind farms.
morning, At sea, maintenance staff a sea bird that breeds in the Statoil also hired a team ings, which will be published “Hywind technology allows
wind work alongside cooks and area. Statoil’s marine license of archaeologists to study a next year,” said Goodlad. “It’s us to chase deeper waters and
farms medics on board the Esvagt requires them to monitor Saxon grave unearthed while full of several tens of bodies higher winds, and we are real-
supplied Njord, an 84-meter vessel spe- the birds’ movement in and constructing the power line and relics. And a lot of the ly excited about that,” Goodlad
14.5 per- cially built to service the tur- around the farm. that runs from the turbines to objects that were found will said. “The global potential of
bines. The crew is on the water When Statoil first estab- an onshore service station, 85 belong to the land owners, so that technology is huge.”
day and night, docking briefly lished the site, they hired kilometers inland at Necton there are lots of negotiations.” China currently has 1.6
every two weeks for shift rota- exploration teams to scour where the farm is connected The Dudgeon operation gigawatts of installed offshore
tion and to restock. the seabed for World War II to the National Grid. is complex but the objective capacity, with plans to install
UK OFFSHORE WIND FARMS is simple - keep the turbines a further 5 gigawatts by 2020.
Robin Rigg West Teesside Westermost Rough Humber Gateway Race Bank moving. Every second the Finding ideal locations
Dudgeon blades don’t spin, money is lost for farms in terms of wind
Number Number Number Number Number
of turbines 30 of turbines 27 of turbines 35 of turbines 73 of turbines 91 and turbines are potentially
damaged.
speed and water depths is a
challenge.
Site Site Site Site Site
capacity 90
MW capacity 62 MW capacity 210
MW capacity 219
MW capacity 574MW As the rotors are so heavy, a
stationary turbine will cause
Favorable spots off the coast
of Hebei, Zhejiang, Fujian and
“stand still marks” and dents Guangdong provinces, are
Robin Rigg East Inner Dowsing Operator in the turbine’s bearings. already being exploited.
Number
Walney 3
Number
30
of turbines of turbines 27 Statoil Maintenance teams will work
on each turbine three or four
But floating farms may soon
come to Chinese waters. The
Site Site
capacity 330MW Site
capacity 90 MW capacity 97
MW
Number
of turbines 67
times a year to conduct routine
service work and repair faults.
Chinese government has sup-
plied a grant to researchers
Site Driving down operation from Dalian University in Chi-
capacity 402MW
Walney 2 Lincs
and maintenance costs is at na and the University of Exeter
Number Number
of turbines 51 Ormonde
of turbines 75 Sheringham Shoal
the center of the arms race
between turbine manufactur-
in England to explore the use
of the technology.
Site Site
capacity 184MW Number
of turbines 30 capacity 270MW Number
of turbines 88
ers.
“In the future, the absolute
ideal is maintenance free-
“The China Sea is potential-
ly the largest offshore energy
market in the world with up
Walney 1 Site Site
Number
of turbines 51 capacity 150MW Lynn
capacity 317
MW
turbines,” said Green. “I don’t
think we are ever likely to get
to 500 gigawatts of capac-
ity, a third of which is only
Barrow Scroby Sands there, though with robotics be exploitable with floating
Number
Site
capacity 184MW Number
of turbines 30 of turbines 27 Number
of turbines 30
and digitalization it could be
that we don’t need, as human
installations,” said Bing Chen,
a researcher from Dalian
Site
West of Duddon Sands
Number
Site
capacity 90MW capacity 97MW Site
capacity 60
MW
beings, to go out there any-
more.”
University who co-leads the
project.
of turbines 108 Burbo Bank 1 Gunfleet Sands 2 Gunfleet Sands 1
Statoil is looking into the
use of both aerial and under-
Link ups with British insti-
tutions will be key if China is
Site
capacity 389
MW
Number
of turbines 25 Number
of turbines 18 Number
of turbines 30
water drones to conduct blade
and foundation inspections.
to become a force in offshore
wind, says Du Yingzhuo, vice-
And 1,000 kilometers north president of one of China’s
Gwynt y Mor Site
Number capacity 90
MW
Site
capacity 65
MW
Site
capacity 108 MW
of Dudgeon, off the coast of largest wind energy compa-

of turbines 160 Burbo Bank Extension

Peterhead in Scotland, Statoil’s
most significant contribution
nies, Tus-Energy.
“After a dozen years of rapid
Site to wind farm innovation is growth, China today manu-
capacity 576MW Number
of turbines 32 Kentish Flats 1
Greater Gabbard
Number
Galloper
Number
already up and running. factures and installs half of all
Rhyl Flats Site
capacity 258
MW
Number
of turbines 30 of turbines 140 of turbines 56 The future floats
Hywind is the world’s first
onshore wind turbines in the
world,” said Du.
Number
of turbines 25 Site
capacity 90 MW
Site
capacity 504MW
Site
capacity 352MW floating wind farm, consisting
of five foundationless turbines,
“We are now at the start
of such a journey in offshore
Site
capacity 90MW North Hoyle Rampion Kentish Flats 2 Thanet London Array
controlled from the operations
base in Great Yarmouth.
The United Kingdom bene-
wind, and there is no bet-
ter place to learn than from
the extensive experience and
Source: The Crown Estate Number Number Number Number Number
of turbines 30 of turbines 116 of turbines 15 of turbines 100 of turbines 175 fits from a shallow continental
shelf, so a large vessel known
expertise of UK innovators.”

BRETT DIETRICH Site Site Site Site Site

/ CHINA DAILY capacity 60MW capacity 400MW capacity 49.5MW capacity 300MW capacity 630MW as a jack-up can be used to
construct foundations on the
Contact the writer at angus@
mail.chinadailyuk.com