(Article) "€300 bn for off-shore windfarms"

Amtmann

SOME €300 billion is set to be invested in European offshore windfarms over the next 20 years, according to a new report from wind turbine manufacturer Siemens.
The company, which recently signed contracts to supply up to 500 wind turbines for Dong Energy’s offshore windfarms in northern Europe, said there were existing commitments from investors for about 100 gigawatts (100,000 mega watts) across the continent.
At an installation cost cost of about €3 million per mega watt, Siemens said the total potential investment was in the order of €300 billion.
The company warned however that Ireland’s system of queuing projects for “gate” connections to the national grid meant Ireland would not be quick to achieve a significant share of the potential.
Currently the Republic has five offshore windfarms in the pipeline with a potential generating capacity of 2,655 mega watts, representing potential investment of almost €7 billion.
The next allocation of grid connections, known as Gate III, is due by next year. According to the Irish Wind Energy Association, though, Gate III is likely to give permissions for grid connections timed for about 2016.
Association chief executive Michael Walsh said some of the projects which might be approved under Gate III had been in the pipeline since 2004. To be in the pipeline since 2004 with a possible offer next year, and a potential connection in 2016, represented too much uncertainty over too long a time, he said.
Mr Walsh said, taking onshore and offshore wind proposals together, “there is about eight gigawatts in development, with a potential investment value of €16 billion to €18 billion”. About 3.9 giga watts were expected to be sanctioned by Gate III, he said.
A Department of Energy source acknowledged the difficulty but referred to plans by EirGrid to double the grid capacity under a €4 billion investment, by 2025.
The source also said it was planned to transfer control of the foreshore from the Department of Agriculture to the Department of the Environment in a bid to expedite the planning process for off-shore installations.
“We must upgrade the grid,” the source added. “There are parts of the country, usually where the wind is, where the network would not support the connection. Also we want to streamline planning and control so connections are ready and licences can be awarded like those for oil and gas.”

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2009/0929/1224255443527.html

Chris_533976

Most of the west of Ireland is a conservation area though, and didnt the government decide not to build any more offshore wind farms anyway?

Zen65

It's not the government who decided not to build more offshore windfarms, it's the windfarm developers themselves. Very costly, not a great rate of return on the investment.

Soil Mechanic

Who could blame them, in fairness?

We are nearing completion of the best Motorway road building schemes this island has ever seen, together with associated compulsory purchase of land.
How hard would it have been to apply some long-term strategic thinking and invest in laying a network (whether by tower or tunnel) of HVDC powerlines along those same acquired radial island motorway routes from Dublin to serve an offshore investment in renewables?

Arklow Bank is small compared to the potential.....
As is:
http://www.eirgrid.com/media/Eirgrid-SONI-Map-A3-Oct2007.pdf

Serving the:
http://www.eastwestinterconnector.ie/
One step closer to a European supergird.....

WE are the country that was the envy of the wrold at the formation of the state with Ardnacrusha....what happened to that trend setting vision?
The opportunity is there to capitalise on NOW:mad:

L1011

The new-built roads have cable trunking along them, which could carry a HVDC network...

Zen65

Soil Mechanic wrote: »

How hard would it have been to apply some long-term strategic thinking and invest in laying a network (whether by tower or tunnel) of HVDC powerlines along those same acquired radial island motorway routes from Dublin to serve an offshore investment in renewables?

HVDC technology is a very expensive option for use with renewable generators having a capacity of around 100MW. On an interconnector the capacity utilisation factor is much larger (by a factor of about 3), so the economics make more sense.

spacetweek

Soil Mechanic wrote: »

Who could blame them, in fairness?

We are nearing completion of the best Motorway road building schemes this island has ever seen, together with associated compulsory purchase of land.
How hard would it have been to apply some long-term strategic thinking and invest in laying a network (whether by tower or tunnel) of HVDC powerlines along those same acquired radial island motorway routes from Dublin to serve an offshore investment in renewables?

Well you definitely couldn't do it by tower or it'd have to be off to the side away from the motorway and that would require extra land and you'd be back to square one. Ducting is possible and I dunno if they could use the fiber op ducting that's being installed as part of the motorways but if they needed a high-diameter pipe, it'd also take up loads of space.

Not so obvious after all.