Hydrogen plant proposals fail to blow away concerns over wind farm project Ayrshire scheme claims to solve turbine slowdown
By Steven Vass, Deputy Business Editor
AN AUSTRALIAN RENEWABLES START-UP is hoping to deflect local opposition to a wind farm currently under consideration by North Ayrshire Council, by applying to build a hydrogen plant that would allow it to feed electricity into the grid even on calm days.
In a £60 million project in the 70,000-acre Clyde Muirshiel regional park, the Sydney-based firm Wind Hydrogen has patented a scheme for using wind power to produce hydrogen which can be stored and converted into electricity when there is no wind.
The company claims that the linked developments would overcome the problem of wind power intermittency, and if built would be the first such project in the world.
On a visit to Scotland in April, Wind Hydrogen's American chief executive Larry Podrasky said that solving intermittency would change the way that wind farms were perceived by electricity companies.
"It means that we can meet electricity demand throughout a full
24-hour period rather than it just being an intermittent system that's supported by other sources of energy coming through from the National Grid. It means that wind farms can move up the electricity rankings," he told the Sunday Herald.
According to local campaigners, however, Wind Hydrogen is "misleading" affected communities by making a "fallacious" link between the wind farm and the hydrogen plant. They claim that the energy used to produce the hydrogen is not derived from the turbines and that the project therefore does not solve intermittency.
Wind Hydrogen originally started making presentations to Ayrshire communities in early 2006, when it proposed a 125-turbine farm and a hydrogen plant with a total capacity of 375MW of electricity in a £150m project which would have been the largest in Scotland. Strong local opposition meant that the project was never submitted to the planning authorities.
The firm then switched wind farm sites within the park from Ladymoor to Kings Law and in June last year submitted an application for only 24 turbines producing 48MW - just below the 50MW level above which projects are "called in" by the Scottish government. With a decision on the wind farm expected later this year, the company is now submitting an application for the 5MW hydrogen plant 5km away from the proposed site of the turbines, in the town of Kilbirnie.
Robert Maund of the Ladymoor Wind Factory Action Group said campaigners were still opposed to the scheme, on the grounds that regional parks should not be used for wind farms. He said: "It's not just the structure of a wind farm. There has to be a road to every single turbine. There has to be a large hard standing beside each one for cranes. Drainage chains are put in and very large ditches are dug to put the cables in. They also require quarries."
The Wind Hydrogen wind farm application is one of around eight for the park, all of which are opposed by the group, which claims the support of all the affected community councils. There has also been a local petition taken on by the Scottish parliament against development in regional parks, which awaits a response from the government, expected after the summer recess.
The Scottish government recently rejected an application on appeal by Airtricity to build a wind farm in the park close to Greenock, while an application by Renewable Energy Systems near Kelburn that was turned down by North Ayrshire Council is just about to reach the appeal stage. However, several small farms have been given permission by the council in the past near Dalry and Ardrossan.
Of the Wind Hydrogen application Maund said: "There is no physical link between the hydrogen plant and the wind farm. When all the turbines are running, all the electricity goes into the national grid, so the hydrogen plant could be anywhere."
Charlie Woodward, manager of Clyde Muirshiel park, called the link between the two projects "fallacious" and said he the park had "grave concerns". He added that the wind farm project suffered from being on the edge of an EU special protection area, which has been noted in an objection raised by Scottish National Heritage.
There has also been an objection from National Air Traffic Control, which is concerned about the effect on aircraft radar.
A spokesman for Wind Hydrogen said: "This project will contain the UK's first grid-connected commercially sized prototype hydrogen balancing facility. The wind farm will generate the required amount of electrical power required to power the hydrogen balancing facility. Excess electricity from the wind farm is being utilised through transfer via the grid to the hydrogen plant. "
|
|
Posted by: Scamp on 9:04am Sun 4 May 08
A Scottish university has developed a new form of hydrogen electrolyser but nobody would put any money into it.
A Scottish university has developed a new form of hydrogen electrolyser but nobody would put any money into it.
Posted by: Charles McGrory, Glasgow on 12:27pm Sun 4 May 08
The sooner we move to a hydrogen economy, the better; most people are completely unaware that you can fuel a normal car with hydrogen. BMW are producing a hydrogen-gasoline hybrid saloon and hydrogen-filling stations are being installed in Germany. Tailpipe exhaust is only clean water! Perfect solution.
Meanwhile....
The sooner we move to a hydrogen economy, the better; most people are completely unaware that you can fuel a normal car with hydrogen. BMW are producing a hydrogen-gasoline hybrid saloon and hydrogen-filling stations are being installed in Germany. Tailpipe exhaust is only clean water! Perfect solution.
Meanwhile....
Posted by: sailorjim, Portugal on 1:09pm Sun 4 May 08
IN the past there has been lots of hydrogen power ideas and proposals. The fat cats have a great deal of money sunk in conventional petroleum based fuels. Untilthey can be shown there's more money in hydrogen - they'll bury any enterprise in that direction. Just think of how much of the stuff's in the oceans around us!
Jim Currie
IN the past there has been lots of hydrogen power ideas and proposals. The fat cats have a great deal of money sunk in conventional petroleum based fuels. Untilthey can be shown there's more money in hydrogen - they'll bury any enterprise in that direction. Just think of how much of the stuff's in the oceans around us!
Jim Currie
Posted by: HEN BROON, SCOTLAND on 6:58pm Sun 4 May 08
"The PURE project was set up in March 2004 by a community group, the Unst Partnership, and has developed a unique facility for generating hydrogen using wind power to supply an industrial estate on Unst."
The hydrogen is stored and used when there is no wind to supply electricity, which means that the estate is powered solely from renewable energy resources.
The project, which also incorporates the only licensed hydrogen fuel cell car in Scotland, has enabled the Unst Partnership to establish close links with several academic research institutions including Imperial College London, St Andrews and Robert Gordon Universities."
Mr Steven Vass please Google, UNST PURE HYDROGEN. This technology has been up and running for nearly 4 years in Shetland. Home grown graduates who decided to show the way ahead, and the oil companies, and the nuclear liars must be shaking in their wellies.
If this technology was given equal status with Nuclear and has the money thrown at it that Nuclear has cost the tax payer since the 1950s, then we will become the richest country on earth. It is here now, but vested interest and corruption is holding it back.
Dark forces may also be at work there, no well read on:
Obituary
Sandy Macaulay
* Gordon Thomson, Ian Macaulay and Jane Macaulay
* The Guardian,
* Tuesday April 15 2008
* Article history
About this article
Close
This article appeared in the Guardian on Tuesday April 15 2008 on p32 of the Obituaries section. It was last updated at 00:18 on April 15 2008.
Sandy Macaulay, whose death has been confirmed at the age of 49, was a talented man who worked with aid organisations in Africa and Asia, and had lived in Shetland for more than 20 years. He went missing from the island of Unst in October 2006, but it was only in February that DNA testing of a thigh bone found in the sea three miles from where he was last seen identified it as his.
Sandy grew up in Aberdeen, where his father, Donald, taught modern languages. He went straight from Aberdeen grammar school to work as a volunteer with Project Trust in Botswana, helping in the construction of traditional round houses.
With a degree in international relations from Sussex University, and just married to Jane, from 1981 to 1984 he ran Sudanaid, part of the aid and development wing of the Catholic church, in Gedaref, eastern Sudan. He and Jane were then recruited by Save the Children in Ladakh, northern India. Living and working at 12,000 ft in Tibet with the Leh nutrition project - sometimes walking for two weeks to reach remote villages - was one of the happiest periods of Sandy's life.
After the birth of their son Jamie, in 1986, Sandy accepted the offer to manage a new salmon hatchery on Unst, and went on to manage the Unst Partnership, set up to combat the decline in jobs and population. With an inquiring mind and a determination for justice, he became heavily involved in developing renewable energy. He was central in establishing the Pure Energy Centre in Unst, which continues to demonstrate the capability of hydrogen fuel cell technology. But he continued to work for aid organisations specialising in emergency response work, including coordinating efforts in Rwanda, Afghanistan, Iraq, Indonesia, Angola and the Congo.
A talented musician, Sandy often played classical or backing guitar at local events with the music and dance club, in addition to raucous lead guitar with the island's rock band, the Bonxies. He is survived by Jane, his children Jamie, Bobby and Anna, his parents and his brother Ian.
http://www.guardian.
co.uk/theguardian/20
08/apr/15/4
"The PURE project was set up in March 2004 by a community group, the Unst Partnership, and has developed a unique facility for generating hydrogen using wind power to supply an industrial estate on Unst."
The hydrogen is stored and used when there is no wind to supply electricity, which means that the estate is powered solely from renewable energy resources.
The project, which also incorporates the only licensed hydrogen fuel cell car in Scotland, has enabled the Unst Partnership to establish close links with several academic research institutions including Imperial College London, St Andrews and Robert Gordon Universities."
Mr Steven Vass please Google, UNST PURE HYDROGEN. This technology has been up and running for nearly 4 years in Shetland. Home grown graduates who decided to show the way ahead, and the oil companies, and the nuclear liars must be shaking in their wellies.
If this technology was given equal status with Nuclear and has the money thrown at it that Nuclear has cost the tax payer since the 1950s, then we will become the richest country on earth. It is here now, but vested interest and corruption is holding it back.
Dark forces may also be at work there, no well read on:
Obituary
Sandy Macaulay
* Gordon Thomson, Ian Macaulay and Jane Macaulay
* The Guardian,
* Tuesday April 15 2008
* Article history
About this article
Close
This article appeared in the Guardian on Tuesday April 15 2008 on p32 of the Obituaries section. It was last updated at 00:18 on April 15 2008.
Sandy Macaulay, whose death has been confirmed at the age of 49, was a talented man who worked with aid organisations in Africa and Asia, and had lived in Shetland for more than 20 years. He went missing from the island of Unst in October 2006, but it was only in February that DNA testing of a thigh bone found in the sea three miles from where he was last seen identified it as his.
Sandy grew up in Aberdeen, where his father, Donald, taught modern languages. He went straight from Aberdeen grammar school to work as a volunteer with Project Trust in Botswana, helping in the construction of traditional round houses.
With a degree in international relations from Sussex University, and just married to Jane, from 1981 to 1984 he ran Sudanaid, part of the aid and development wing of the Catholic church, in Gedaref, eastern Sudan. He and Jane were then recruited by Save the Children in Ladakh, northern India. Living and working at 12,000 ft in Tibet with the Leh nutrition project - sometimes walking for two weeks to reach remote villages - was one of the happiest periods of Sandy's life.
After the birth of their son Jamie, in 1986, Sandy accepted the offer to manage a new salmon hatchery on Unst, and went on to manage the Unst Partnership, set up to combat the decline in jobs and population. With an inquiring mind and a determination for justice, he became heavily involved in developing renewable energy. He was central in establishing the Pure Energy Centre in Unst, which continues to demonstrate the capability of hydrogen fuel cell technology. But he continued to work for aid organisations specialising in emergency response work, including coordinating efforts in Rwanda, Afghanistan, Iraq, Indonesia, Angola and the Congo.
A talented musician, Sandy often played classical or backing guitar at local events with the music and dance club, in addition to raucous lead guitar with the island's rock band, the Bonxies. He is survived by Jane, his children Jamie, Bobby and Anna, his parents and his brother Ian.
http://www.guardian.
co.uk/theguardian/20
08/apr/15/4
Posted by: Wilson, Blairgowrie on 7:04pm Sun 4 May 08
http://www.fueltrips
.com/?hop=webdirect2
I am currently getting 45mpg from a 4.6 litre Range Rover. Don't care if you believe me or not.
http://www.fueltrips
.com/?hop=webdirect2
I am currently getting 45mpg from a 4.6 litre Range Rover. Don't care if you believe me or not.
Posted by: Scamp on 8:51pm Sun 4 May 08
If you all wish to feel suitably humiliated look at this..
www.h2stations.org
It shows you just how far behind we are.
If you all wish to feel suitably humiliated look at this..
www.h2stations.org
It shows you just how far behind we are.
Posted by: Maxgen, Swindon on 9:48pm Sun 4 May 08
It takes 44KWh of electrcity to produce one kilo of hydrogen, equivilent to one US gallon of unleaded. The UK consumes the equivilent of 45 million metric tonnes of unleaded every year. To produce that amount of hydrogen would require 280,000 1MW wind turbines. Assuming that all they did was produce hydrogen and no electricity. Do you really think that we can get planning permission 280,000 wind turbines plus all the ones that we would need to generate electricity. If there is going to be a hydrogen economy it will only be for the few. Are the oil companies shaking in their wellies? No they are off to Alberta to make some real money.
It takes 44KWh of electrcity to produce one kilo of hydrogen, equivilent to one US gallon of unleaded. The UK consumes the equivilent of 45 million metric tonnes of unleaded every year. To produce that amount of hydrogen would require 280,000 1MW wind turbines. Assuming that all they did was produce hydrogen and no electricity. Do you really think that we can get planning permission 280,000 wind turbines plus all the ones that we would need to generate electricity. If there is going to be a hydrogen economy it will only be for the few. Are the oil companies shaking in their wellies? No they are off to Alberta to make some real money.
Posted by: HEN BROON, SCOTLAND on 1:47pm Mon 5 May 08
Hydrogen does not just require the erection of a wind turbine to generate the stuff.
Good luck in Alaska, if your only priority in life is for "real money," then Alaska deserves you.
Some of us have "real" priorities.
You have predictably completely missed the point.
Hydrogen does not just require the erection of a wind turbine to generate the stuff.
Good luck in Alaska, if your only priority in life is for "real money," then Alaska deserves you.
Some of us have "real" priorities.
You have predictably completely missed the point.
Posted by: HEN BROON, SCOTLAND on 1:48pm Mon 5 May 08
Hydrogen does not just require the erection of a wind turbine to generate the stuff.
Good luck in Alaska, if your only priority in life is for "real money," then Alaska deserves you.
Some of us have "real" priorities.
You have predictably completely missed the point.
Hydrogen does not just require the erection of a wind turbine to generate the stuff.
Good luck in Alaska, if your only priority in life is for "real money," then Alaska deserves you.
Some of us have "real" priorities.
You have predictably completely missed the point.
Posted by: Birlin Roon An Roon on 6:07pm Mon 5 May 08
Sounds like a great way to generate not just hydrogen but jobs. Perhaps jobs centered round the area of the ex -car plant at Linwood in Renfrewshire or around the lochs at Lochwinnoch and Kilbirnie in North Ayrshire? Employing folk in future technology is more humane than just giving them hand outs like pets.
Sounds like a great way to generate not just hydrogen but jobs. Perhaps jobs centered round the area of the ex -car plant at Linwood in Renfrewshire or around the lochs at Lochwinnoch and Kilbirnie in North Ayrshire? Employing folk in future technology is more humane than just giving them hand outs like pets.
Comment | Read Comments (10)
Print this story
Email to a friend
