project proposal wind farm Ritchie Bros. Moerdijk

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1 Ir. Jaap Bosch Eneco Wind project proposal wind farm Ritchie Bros. Moerdijk

2 table of contents Chapter 1 page 2 Introduction Chapter 2 page 3 Nature of the wind farm Dimensions Electricity production Grid connection Use of land Uncertainties Chapter 3 page 6 Cooperation Project development Financing Construction Operation and maintenance Supply of electricity Renewable energy certificates Health, Safety and Environment Chapter 4 page 10 Project plan Permits and consents External communication Design Planning Proposal 1., Proposal 2. Appendix page 16 Introduction Wind prediction and choice of turbine Noise Shadow flickering Ecology Landscapes Consents Safety Conclusions 1

possibility for a wind farm at their auction site in Moerdijk.

requested a project proposal which could serve as decision making

Therefore Eneco produced a short PowerPoint presentation for

This more elaborate paper should be read as supporting documentation

This document describes (chapter 2) the complex nature of wind farm

3 chapter 1 Introduction Ritchie Bros. invited Eneco, on advice of Allard Architecture, to discuss the possibility for a wind farm at their auction site in Moerdijk. Due to the complex nature of wind farm projects Ritchie Bros. requested a project proposal which could serve as decision making document. Therefore Eneco produced a short PowerPoint presentation for decision making purposes. This more elaborate paper should be read as supporting documentation to the PowerPoint presentation. This document describes (chapter 2) the complex nature of wind farm projects and risks involved, (chapter 3) suggestions for co-operation between Ritchie Bros. and Eneco and (chapter 4) a first estimate of the project planning. This document further gives visual sketches of how wind farm Ritchie Bros. might look like. highway A59 2

Nature of the wind farm chapter 2 Dimensions On average, wind speeds are stronger in the coastal area than inland, where the wind is impeded

In general, one can say that the higher the hub of the turbine, the higher the yield of wind energy.

At this moment Eneco would like to investigate two options, both with tower heights of at least 100 m: Option one has three wind turbines

0-100 and Repower 3.4M104. For visualization see Proposal 1. at page 12-13.

4 Nature of the wind farm chapter 2 Dimensions On average, wind speeds are stronger in the coastal area than inland, where the wind is impeded by trees and buildings. Higher layers of air are less influenced by these impediments and result in higher and more constant wind speeds. In general, one can say that the higher the hub of the turbine, the higher the yield of wind energy. Also, a wind turbine with a larger rotor diameter will yield more energy than a wind turbine with a small rotor diameter. At this moment Eneco would like to investigate two options, both with tower heights of at least 100 m: Option one has three wind turbines with a rotor diameter of about 100 m with a power output of around 3,000 kw. Current options are Enercon E101, GE 3.6, Siemens SWT and Repower 3.4M104. For visualization see Proposal 1. at page Option two has two wind turbines with a rotor diameter of about 130m with a power output of 4,500 to 6,000 kw. Currently available are Gamesa G128, Repower M5 and M6 and Enercon E126. For visualization see Proposal 2. at page Enercon E101 Repower 3.4M Gamesa G128 Enercon E126 3

5 independent connection chapter 2 Electricity production The wind farm with an installed capacity of 9-12MW will generate roughly between 22,000 MWh and 30,000 MWh, all options produce many times more than Ritchie Bros. current consumption of 800 MWh. Grid connection There are two options for connecting the wind farm to the grid. Either the wind farm connects directly and independently to the grid or the wind farm uses the Ritchie Bros. connection. Sharing the grid connection in some cases reduces transport costs, energy tax and provides the company with 20 years of renewable energy. Eneco has built several wind farms with a shared grid connection. Eneco and Ritchie Bros. can explore the possible project benefits of sharing a grid connection. EAN return EAN return EAN supply public grid shared connection meter public grid EAN EAN return supply 4

chapter 2 Use of land The tower diameters differ between turbine types and tower heights, with by far the largest is the Enercon E126 with a diameter of 14m at the base of the tower.

Uncertainties It is not unusual that local Authorities in the Netherlands limit the dimensions of a wind farm.

6 chapter 2 Use of land The tower diameters differ between turbine types and tower heights, with by far the largest is the Enercon E126 with a diameter of 14m at the base of the tower. Most wind turbines have foundations with a diameter of less than 20m. These foundations can be laid under surface level, so that the area can be used by Ritchie Bros. Uncertainties It is not unusual that local Authorities in the Netherlands limit the dimensions of a wind farm. These limits can have their origin in all kinds of spatial aspects, ranging from safety distances to gas pipes, interference with military radar or just visual impact on the surrounding communities. Detailed studies on all necessary subjects will be discussed with the Authorities, before making decisions on final layout and dimensions. Attached is a feasibility study which outlines all spatial subjects that have to be covered for the local Authorities to cooperate. 5

Cooperation chapter 3 The core business of Eneco Wind BV is to develop, finance, construct and operate wind farms, in order to build up renewable energy assets and generate renewable energy.

Following this line of thought, Eneco develops the wind farm at own risk, finances the wind farm 100%, construct itself and maintains the wind farm at own risk as well. Ritchie Bros.

is responsible for the grid connection. Ritchie Bros. being a local company- is very valuable in building up local support. The benefits for Ritchie Bros.

7 Cooperation chapter 3 The core business of Eneco Wind BV is to develop, finance, construct and operate wind farms, in order to build up renewable energy assets and generate renewable energy. This proposal has the aim to build a cooperation wherein both parties stay as close to their core business as possible. Following this line of thought, Eneco develops the wind farm at own risk, finances the wind farm 100%, construct itself and maintains the wind farm at own risk as well. Ritchie Bros. being site owner is in control of layout requirements, site access and health & safety requirements. When choosing for sharing a grid connection, Ritchie Bros. is responsible for the grid connection. Ritchie Bros. being a local company- is very valuable in building up local support. The benefits for Ritchie Bros. would be: 20 years of renewable energy at the auction site in Moerdijk; Increased visibility of Ritchie Bros., because of the landmark function of the wind turbines with Ritchie Bros. advertisement; Increased green image of Ritchie Bros.; To compensate the land use, grid connection and effort it is Eneco s ambition is to reduce the Ritchie Bros. electricity bill to zero. 6

chapter 3 Project development In order to start project development, the exclusive right to develop a wind farm on the site of Ritchie Bros. is of great importance.

At least 2 out of 3 projects fail before building permit is granted.

8 chapter 3 Project development In order to start project development, the exclusive right to develop a wind farm on the site of Ritchie Bros. is of great importance. It is a precondition for starting project development and for negotiating details of further collaboration. Project development in wind energy is high risk business. At least 2 out of 3 projects fail before building permit is granted. Eneco has more than 400 MW of wind turbines in operation and has the ambition to construct 100 MW of newly installed wind turbines per year on land. It is our core business and Eneco would develop the wind farm at own risk. Activities in the project development phase include: Detail design study for layout, additional civil works and electrical works; Preparations with Authorities for permitting; Ecological study and safety study; Application of consents; Application of all necessary permits. Financing Eneco has a preference for simple financial constructions with Eneco as single shareholder. Whether the wind farm is financed on the balance sheet or with non-recourse project financing will be determined in a later stage. 7

This includes proper timing no construction when the site is full with equipment-, health and safety procedures, and also accessibility of the site.

9 chapter 3 Construction During the construction phase, large transport (50m trailers) will enter the site. Eneco and Ritchie Bros. will prepare good planning for this phase in order to minimize the impact on daily business of Ritchie Bros. This includes proper timing no construction when the site is full with equipment-, health and safety procedures, and also accessibility of the site. Construction managers of Eneco would take the responsibility for planning with mutual satisfaction. Operation and maintenance It is of utmost importance that during the operational period the turbine is working properly. Between 95% and 97% technical availability is guaranteed by the turbine manufacturer provided that that service teams have access to the site 24 hours a day. Site accessibility and health & safety procedures should thus be agreed between Ritchie Bros., Eneco and contractors. Supply of electricity The two alternative grid connection methods result in two alternatives for supply of electricity as well: When sharing the same grid connection, the electricity generated by the wind farm will be used by Ritchie Bros. and only the surplus electricity is directed to the grid. When the wind speed available is too low for electricity production, Ritchie Bros. will consume grid electricity. To manage the interface on the grid, Ritchie Bros. should have all electricity (wind energy as well as back up capacity from the grid) from only one supplier, Eneco. An advantage of this supply system is that Ritchie Bros. may be offered additional discount on electricity by minimizing transport costs, because the transport costs for the wind energy are zero. When the wind farm has a separate grid connection, the discount on the electricity bill will be an administrative solution. Enercon E126 8

chapter 3 Renewable energy certificates While generating wind energy, Eneco receives renewable energy certificates. When Eneco sells the wind electricity to Ritchie Bros.

10 chapter 3 Renewable energy certificates While generating wind energy, Eneco receives renewable energy certificates. When Eneco sells the wind electricity to Ritchie Bros., the certificates are consumed as well. In this way green electricity has its certificate of origin. All electricity that Eneco sells to Ritchie Bros. will be guaranteed with the renewable energy certificates of the wind farm. This way Ritchie Bros. consumes 100% renewable electricity for the whole operational period and reduces its carbon footprint significantly. Health, Safety and Environment Safety is number one priority of Eneco as employer as well as business partner. With greatest care the safety of the wind farm will be assessed, as well as the safety procedures during construction and operations. Eneco and Ritchie Bros. should both agree on all safety aspects regarding this project. 9

project plan chapter 4 Permits and consents The time needed to realize the wind energy project is highly depending on the attitude of local Authorities, especially from the municipality.

Political desirability cannot be achieved with only a decent plan with a lot of details; also support from neighboring residents, companies and the port authority is needed.

11 project plan chapter 4 Permits and consents The time needed to realize the wind energy project is highly depending on the attitude of local Authorities, especially from the municipality. Eneco has recently realized permit application in 7 months, while in other projects it can take years, especially when local politicians have to make up their minds about the desirability. Political desirability cannot be achieved with only a decent plan with a lot of details; also support from neighboring residents, companies and the port authority is needed. External communication External communication is the crucial factor in creating local support. For external communication Eneco will cooperate with Allard Architecture and will realize a communication plan to create local support for the project. Design In regular projects, beside a foundation also crane pads are needed and access roads. The crane pad dimensions to be constructed at each wind turbine location are typically 25m by 50m to accommodate the crane needed. The crane pad must provide a ground bearing capacity of more than 200 KN/m2, depending on the chosen turbine type. Because Ritchie Bros. already has gravel pavement, additional access roads are probably not needed. Design works will focus on layout and will be primarily influenced by the detailed studies on safety, flora and fauna, consents and additional requirements from Ritchie Bros. This will be done as part of the permitting preparations. 10

12 Planning chapter 4 Project idea Commitment from Ritchie Bros. Q Investigate desirability of Municipality Q Project development Work out contract details between Ritchie Bros. and Eneco Q1 Q Build up local support Q1 Q Detail design studies Q1 Q Permitting preparations Q Q Permitting procedure (from application to irrevocable permit) Q Q Financing and contracting Tender wind turbines, civil and electrical works Q Q Secure financing Q Construction Prepare site, build foundations Q Construction turbine parts, commissioning and testing Q Operation 20 years of operations Q Q Decommissioning Decommissioning Q

13 Proposal 1. 3,4 MW aerial visualization 3,4 MW 3,4 MW 2010 allard architecture 12

14 Proposal 1. streetview visualization 2010 allard architecture 13

15 Proposal 2. 5 MW aerial visualization 5 MW 2010 allard architecture 14

16 Proposal 2. streetview visualization 2010 allard architecture 15

17 Introduction appendix Core of project development is a thorough understanding of all factors that influence the design of the wind farm. The first step in developing a project is to mitigate all possible obstacles in the earliest stage. In this feasibility study one finds an overview of uncertainties in the dimensions of the project and this document can help the project developer to determine priorities in the process of permit application. 16

18 Wind prediction and choice of turbine appendix On average winds are stronger on the coast than inland, as winds are impeded by trees and buildings. Higher layers of air are less influenced by these impediments and result in higher and more constant winds. In general one can say that the higher the hub of the turbine, the higher the yield of wind energy. Also, a wind turbine with a larger rotor diameter will yield more energy than a wind turbine with a small rotor diameter. This chapter will argue turbine sizes based on an estimated wind speed. Wind speeds For this phase it will do that Eneco estimates wind speed at 7.0 m/s at 100m hub height. In The Netherlands this is considered a moderate wind regime. A detailed wind study will be done in later phase of the project, when all spatial restrictions are mapped. Choice of wind turbine The ideal wind turbine is not necessarily the turbine with the lowest investment and the highest yield. Amongst others the subsidy scheme in The Netherlands interferes with this. One has also to consider that the project development could take several years and new turbine types might be brought to market and for others sales have stopped. Therefore a broad notion of possibly interesting turbines would suffice in this stage. At this moment Eneco would like to investigate two options: Option one has three wind turbines with a rotor diameter of about 100m with a power output of around 3,000 kw. Current options are Enercon E101, GE 3.6, Siemens SWT and Repower 3.4M104. Option two has two wind turbines with a rotor diameter around 130m with a power output of 4,500 to 6,000 kw. Currently available are Gamesa G128, Repower M5 and M6 and Enercon E

19 Noise appendix Wind turbines produce noise, mainly caused by the rotor blades and the gear box. Dutch noise emission law restricts the noise that is emitted to so-called noise sensitive buildings. Noise sensitive buildings include residential dwellings, schools and hospitals. It does not include offices at industrial sites. Noise laws for wind turbines Currently the structure of the law is being changed; it will probably be in effect by 1 January It is expected that the new method will give similar restrictions as the current law and as a rule of thumb we can use a safe distance from noise sensitive buildings of 500 meters in a wind farm with three wind turbines. Implications for wind farm Ritchie Bros. At first sight there seem to be no noise sensitive buildings in the area of 500m around the wind turbines. Detailed study will have to point out all sensitive buildings nearby. 18

20 Shadow flickering appendix The realization of wind turbines can cause hindrance to the environment by shadow flickering. This effect is stronger when the sun is low and the sky is cloudless. Especially in winters shadow flickering can be annoying on windows of houses. Dutch Law Dutch law gives directions to the local Authority, suggesting automatic stand still systems for shadow flickering in case: The distance between the wind turbine and noise sensitive objects is less than 12 times rotor diameter; and More than 17 days per annum shadow flickering can occur more than 20 minutes per day on this object; and The buildings have windows in the façade facing the wind turbines. Lastly shadow flickering has to be minimized by choosing light absorbing coatings on the blades of the wind turbines. Implications for wind farm Ritchie Bros. Shadow flickering is seldom a show stopper and also in this project there are only few houses in the vicinity. A detailed study will have to conclude whether stand still systems are needed. 19

21 Ecology appendix Preservation of nature is founded in two Dutch laws. The first is the Nature Conservation Act and the other is the Flora and Fauna Act. Both the effects on nature conservation areas (European Natura 2000 areas) and the effect on plants and animals have to be mapped, so that local Authorities can take these effect into consideration when decided on cooperation to a project. Flora en fauna An ecological study will be done to map: The effect on nearby nature preservation area Biesbosch; The risk of collision of birds and bats; The effect on breeding and feeding animals; The effects for important bird migration routes. Implications for wind farm Ritchie Bros. In many cases the negative effects of wind farms are limited. Especially in industrial areas, like the Ritchie Bros site, few effects are expected. Nevertheless, the vicinity of the Biesbosch needs some attention. 20

22 Landscapes appendix Wind turbines can have a big influence on the landscape. Spatial characteristics and quality can be enhanced with smart choices for sites and layouts. Wind turbines fit better in industrial areas than in open land and enhance the industrial character of the environment. Visualizations The height of modern, large wind turbines is hard to estimate because of lacking references. Although people tend to oppose to higher turbines, studies have shown that the ratio between the hub height and the rotor diameter as well as the speed of rotation have bigger visual impact than the size. Larger turbines have a lower rotational speed and are generally perceived as calmer. Visualizations of the two alternatives will aid the assessment of the visual impact of wind turbines on this site. Political choices Spatial planning in combination with wind turbine is a highly political subject. There are no hard criteria in the law to make the decision to accept or reject a plan. Nevertheless there are policy documents on various levels of governments, which appoint the Moerdijk Port Area as an acceptable location for wind turbines. The Municipality of Moerdijk is still an uncertain factor, as there are much more initiatives within the Municipality border for wind energy than is accepted in the policy paper. Eneco assumes that because it is in the Port Area- the Municipality might very well accept the project. Eneco would like to discuss the options with the municipality as soon as possible. 21

23 Consents appendix Several consents are needed for the Municipality to assess the desirability of a wind farm on the site of Ritchie Bros. Consents might be needed from public aviation, defense aviation and radar, telecommunications and Gasunie. These consents might influence the layout, turbine choice, maximum heights, beforehand no show-stoppers can be thought of. Eneco shall apply for these consents in a later stage. 22

24 Safety appendix Wind turbines that are realized in The Netherlands have to meet international norms IEC to guarantee 20 years of safe operations. Eneco only buys wind turbines from established manufacturers that have certification to prove that they meet IEC standards. However the site can be close to other activities with specific risks. These can be analyzed by a Quantative Risk Analysis (QRA). Local authorities can demand extra safety measurements based on the QRA. Direct risks To assess direct risks Handboek Risicozonering Windturbines defines personal risks (PR) and group risks (GR). The PR and GR are methods to describe risks in the same way as the law Besluit Externe Veiligheid Inrichtingen (BEVI) for installations with hazardous materials. Wind turbines do not use hazardous materials and are not subject to BEVI laws. The BEVI method however makes it possible to define criteria for the PR (which is the chance that a person dies when he is permanently and unprotected at a single spot, caused by an accident of the installation) and the GR (the chance that an accident with the installation causes 10 or more fatal casualties). Within a contour of PR = 10-6 around the wind turbines no vulnerable objects are allowed (houses and crowded offices for example). A risk assessment should determine distances from certain buildings. 23

25 appendix Indirect risks When a wind turbine is positioned in vicinity of other installations, the wind turbine can affect the PR = 10-6 contour of those installations. Whether these indirect risks are acceptable has to be assessed as well. The PR = 10-6 contours of neighboring installations are given in the picture below: Implications for wind farm Ritchie Bros. At first sight safety is not expected to be of a serious issue for the feasibility of the wind farm. For the project size and layout it can be of major influence though. 24

26 Conclusions appendix The quick scan did not result in any major obstacles. For the first half of 2011 several detail studies still have to be done that can influence the wind farm layout and outer dimensions as well as the choice for the alternative of two or three turbines. 25

27 Mike Bollen Real Estate Acquisition and Development Manager Europe Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Concordiastraat NB Breda NL t m mbollen@rbauction.com Ir. Jaap Bosch Project Developer Eneco Wind BV Kanaalweg 15G 3526 KL Utrecht t f m j.bosch@eneco.eu Allard Meine Jansen MScArch BNA Jurriën Boon BArch - project leader Allard Architecture BV Lijnbaansgracht GR Amsterdam NL t f m info@allardarchitecture.com

Renewable and Alternative Energies

Topic 1. Wind energy case study Department of Electrical and Energy Engineering This work is published under a license: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 Description: Renewable and Alternative Energies This