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Final turbine installed at new offshore wind farm

Posted: Sat Nov 16, 2024 9:22 am
by dan_b
https://renews.biz/97105/ocean-winds-in ... t-turbine/

“Power boost mode engaged” like something from Fast and Furious

Re: Final turbine installed at new offshore wind farm

Posted: Sat Nov 16, 2024 10:18 am
by AE-NMidlands
dan_b wrote: Sat Nov 16, 2024 9:22 am https://renews.biz/97105/ocean-winds-in ... t-turbine/
“Power boost mode engaged” like something from Fast and Furious
Apparently it's a software feature based on real-time weather (wind-speed) data. I guess it lets them keep the output more finely tuned when they are near the maximum, rather than shutting down just based on a forecast.
I also like the amount of UK employment behind it. Just a shame we can't produce the steel and fabricate the columns too.

Re: Final turbine installed at new offshore wind farm

Posted: Sat Nov 16, 2024 11:20 am
by Moxi
Well we do have the wide strip production capability at Port Talbot mills to produce the gauge and width of coil hot rolled coil. An automatic spiral wound welding line for large diameter pipe would be needed as I don’t think we have that capability anymore but they’re cheap enough at around 1.5 million installed then it’s some standard roller beds and auto sub arc welders such as ESSAB etc to weld in the ribs and flanges, some profile tables and cutters and a large building or two for fettling cleaning and finishing. If anything the move to arc furnace production at PT means that batches of medium to high alloy steels can be made and cast in amongst the plain carbon steels as required. IIRC PT still have the capacity to link cast dissimilar steel grades using a short coupling bar, even if this skill was lost they can run two dissimilar casts together and sell the slabs that are between both specifications to other purchasers - although this isn’t as effective as split linking economically. The know how and experience is still available for all of this in the uk so for a little over 50 million you can start to produce large diameter wind turbine towers, large diameter tube and pipe - this could be done all the more cheaply if the plant was built to take advantage of low cost otherwise curtailed wind power ? That would make the products extremely competitive on the international market.

I designed a plant like this back in the early naughties that was built in the Middle East, that plant was sized for 500k tonnes of fabrication product per year.

Moxi