12/01/2018 by Mark
A futuristic wind power hub is set to begin operations on Dogger Bank, which lies some 78 miles east of the East Yorkshire coast, within a decade.
The project’s backer, the Dutch power grid operator TenneT, had already gained approval for its plans from Brussels last March, when it also announced that Energinet had become its first partner in the project.
According to a recent report by TenneT, despite the inevitable challenges of building an artificial island in the middle of the North Sea, the new island could work out billions of euros cheaper than building more conventional offshore windfarms and laying international cables. This is because as coastal locations fill up with wind turbines, new turbines will be pushed further out to sea where operational costs may be higher. In contrast, Dogger Bank offers relatively shallow waters of between 15 and 36 metres, which is suitable for traditional fixed-foundation wind turbines.
In addition to acting as a hub for distributing wind power to 80 million people in Britain, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Germany and Belgium, the artificial island will also feature a harbour, an airport runway, a small road network, housing, workshops, and even green spaces and an artificial lake. Staff living on the island will be on hand to repair the nearby wind turbines, as well as perform routine maintenance, such as ensuring good lubrication with greases like Mobilith SHC 220.
While the island itself it set to go live in 2027, the surrounding wind turbines are expected to come later.
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