STAR of the East

• World-class attraction, demonstration, awareness-raising, technology, leadership in East

• Fire imagination

• Statement that the East will lead the renewables revolution in the UK/Europe

Natural climate regimes and response of humans

•West Runton Elephant – biggest/best in world

•Glacial geology- most spectacular in Europe

•Earliest-known hominid presence in NW Europe

•Only Neanderthal site in UK

•Seahenge – unique in the world

•Cromer Forest Bed

•The “Elephant Bed”

•Other Fossil Beds

New Museum of Climate Change at Cromer

Integrated time-lines 1the natural environment

Integrated time-lines 2the environment influenced by the use of energy

by humans

• The Broads – biggest tourist attraction in EE and unique in the world (new National Park) – first industrial-scale use of non-renewables in UK (Europe?) – hydrocarbon-1

• Biggest concentration of pre-industrial renewables in world – windmills/pumps for drainage/power; major landscape feature

• Most spectacular example of coastal erosion in Europe (revealed the Elephant!); lost towns (Dunwich)

• Most vulnerable area to sea-level rise in UK (Broads also threatened)

New Broads Headquarters

Integrated time-lines 3global warming, now and the future

• Expertise-

School of Environmental Sciences

- Tyndall Centre

- Climatic Research Unit

- Low Carbon Innovation Centre “best in world” (Gvt Chief Scientific Adviser)

• Threats-

- EE – one of most vulnerable in UK

- Coast (Sizewell?)

- Broads

Production of energy has been/will be critical 1Hydrocarbons- now

• Hydrocarbon-3; North Sea

• (Hydrocarbon-2 is 0.5km below)

• Bacton – N Sea and now Siberia (“lights will go out in 2020’s” Radio 4 Today Programme July 2003)

Time, environment, energy and regional integration

• EE can become renewables centre of England/UK (EEDA ambition?)

• EE can lead way in awareness-raising and demonstration of link between energy and the environment

• Increase in visitors to region stimulated

• EE can organise/integrate what we already have and point to the future

Production of energy has been/will be critical 2 Beyond-Hydrocarbons

• (Sizewell)

• North Sea (wind)

• Land (wind, biofuel/biomass – EE major area)

Vision

STAR of the East

• a complete, joined-up story of how the EE could and should show the way to the renewables revolution

• Climate change – environmental change-impacts-risk-reduce greenhouse gases-renewables

• Hard- and soft-edge to the “wow” factor

• A world-landmark

Norwich

• Wind-turbine and sculpture – unique in the world

• Renewables power station – biomass (local sources), sewage sludge (pipeline in river?), (waste), (future? – hydrogen?); biofuels – unique (in world?)

• Rail/river transport

• Historic heat-pump : Hydro?

• Major tourist and technological attraction

• Connecting city and country

• Visual links

• Physical links – rail/river (biodiesel?)

• Remote links (tele-c, laser?) To:

Norfolk

- New Broads HQ (rivers, lakes,conservation, wetland management, birds etc)

- Old windmills

- Cromer Elephant Museum (turbine); physical models of cliff collapse

- Bacton – gas (CO2) import?

- Scroby Sands (turbines, SL, sediment transport, etc); new turbines

- Gas rigs?

The Region

• Dunwich (Suffolk)

• Sizewell (only nuclear station in UK in 2020s)

• Further W – via Swaffham etc, to other turbines/plant (EE has favourable topography)

• Only biodiesel train service in UK (Europe?) Norwich-Cambridge?

Thorpe Station

Whitlingham Broads

River Yare

River Wensum

Anglia Railways Carriage Depot

Aerial Photographs

Existing Switching Station

Former Power Station - now demolished

Pylons

1

Detailed Aerial Photograph

Thorpe Station

Whitlingham Broads

3

1

2

Map showing location of main photos

View across Whittlingham Broad - Photo point 1

View from Thorpe Station - Photo point 2

from Thorpe Road - Photo point 3

View from London train approaching Norwich as it passes through Lakenham.

View as train passes Trowse - land in foreground is “Yellow” area.

View after train has crossed river and passes site. The concrete area is the site of the former Power Station.

1. Baseline

North Sea

• Fossil fuel extraction - oil/gas

• Now a source of renewables (wind energy)

- Govt. announcement July 14th 2003

Glacial debris landscape, much evidence of natural climate change,coastal erosion, cliff collapse, sea level rise threat. Finest whole specimen of woolly elephant in UK and one of best in world - not yet put on show.

Broads: Major tourist area in EE, soon to be National Park. Broads are a consequence of first major use of fossil fuel in UK - peat. (opportunity for interesting comparative illustrations c.f. todays use). Important landscape features and agents of past prosperity - windmills/pumps. Susceptible to seal level-rise/environmental change - sensitive landscape/management issues. Production of Biomass

To Cromer

To Yarmouth

To Midlands To

London

Home of

Cathedral

Carrow Road

Site of old Power Station, 1.0 km from railway station, adjacent to river/rail.

Site surrounded by much development land, very close to revitalised Riverside area; grid-connection.

Cromer

NorwichYarmouth

Scroby Sands Wind Turbines

Winterton Wind

Turbines

River

Broads

Windmills

2. VisionStar of the East - a striking sculpture

- star ‘suspended’ in air and generating electricity.

‘glass’ mast with ‘glass’ lift and observation deck.

Solar panels

Wonderful architectural counterpoint to the catherdral - providing superb views over Norwich and Norfolk to the sea.

Renewables Power Station: wind; biomass (from Broads, Breckland, Norfolk Farmers, sewage works (2km down river)- pre-processing of some biomass at Thetford (existing renewables power station) and shipped in by rail; pre-processing of sewage and shipped by river (boat or pipeline). Waste? Future capacity for hydrogen (bio-ethanol from waste) built in.

Visual / high tech Link:

(microwave/laser)? To turbine on Cromer Ridge - climate change museum (mammoth, physical models of cliffs, erosion, sediment transport etc.

Yarmouth/Scroby:

visual / high tech link

also information on sea-level

New Broads Authority HQ: visual link with STAR and other remote links/ tourist centre

Physical links

rail/river - biodiesel/hydrogen boats and trains

Many wind mills/pumps (some generating electricity)?

3. DetailAn “Angel of the North” and an “Eden Project” with a hard edge.

In Norwich - the STAR of the EAST - a sculpture and a turbine.

Rotor could be star-shaped - “invisible” mast and observation deck. Flexible, future-proofed, renewable energy power station and development facility

• biofuel pre-processed outside Norwich and shipped by rail/river (or pipeline).

•Waste (pre-processed outside Norwich)

•Built in Hydrogen / bio-ethanol capability (CHP from biomass plant)

•Exhibition/learning area.

Will “throw” people out towards New Broads HQ, new Museum of Climate Change, Yarmouth.

Visual links, high-tech links (turbines at Yarmouth, Cromer, weather data, wind energy production, sea-level changes, sediment transport etc.

STAR with “draw” people in first place - all railway lines go past it as do both rivers - also new Riverside development is close by as is Carrow Road Football Ground.

3. Detail - continued

Broads HQ Visitor Centre: - wetland of global importance, major tourist area, new National Park, peat workings (CO2) , conservation issues, weltland management, climate change impacts - Sea Level rise, salt water incursion, effects on bird populations etc, produces biomass fuel all making point of renewables.

New Museum of Climate Change, Cromer: rail link, the natural climate change story; ice-ages, woolly elephants, vegetation succession, coastal erosion, cliff collapse etc - leading right up to greenhouse gas induced climate change.

Yarmouth: North Sea: Wind farms and the old fossil fuel provider

Some Technical and related Information

Biomass plant would have capacity of 30 - 40 MW and would be sufficient to supply 30% of electricity of Norwich

could be sustained by 120 - 150 sq km of land from across region via rail links. [locally/community derived power - Energy White Paper]

Plant would operate as CHP to provide process heat for biofuel production (improving CO2 benefit from these fuels).

Wind Turbine would probably reach a 15% load factor (c.f. 30%) because of importance of sculptural form.

Heat Pumps

Historically, Norwich was important in the development of the energy conservation technology of Heat Pumps when John Sumner (despite war time difficulties) installed one in Duke Street. There are plans to re-install a heat pump when the building is renovated for city centre apartments.

4. Outcome

•An architectural/sculptural statement of the highest order

•A flexible, multi-process, renewables power station linking town and country.

•A major boost to the profile of the East in the Renewables area.

•A major tourist attraction in its own right - dramatic presence

impact (laser lights at night)

•An effective mean of propelling people to the other three components of this integrated/distributed initiative.

•A complete, ‘joined-up’ story of why renewables are so important - climate change >> environmental processes >> reduce green house gases >> renewables

4. Outcome - continued

•“Hard technology” put into context of the “wow” factor - superb woolly elephant specimen, high-tech remote links - and the ‘softer’ element of windmills, birds, rivers, landscape - and the imperative of protecting them

•Opportunity for continuing hard-edged development around the STAR (sustainable technology and renewables) Park in Norwich - including future hydrogen.

•Opportunity for integrated plan (transport etc), and continuing development of low carbon links - rail shuttle bus (station - STAR), river, road etc.

STAR of the EAST

Documents

Transcript of STAR of the EAST