DNV Certifies Floating Wind Turbine Foundation Design For Buchan Project
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Buchan Offshore Wind has received Basic Design Certification from DNV for the BW Ideol-designed concrete Damping Pool floating foundation selected for its nearly 1 GW floating wind project off Scotland.
This initial paragraph adds some more detail.
The certification covers the Buchan-specific Damping Pool design, which has been developed for the project’s North Sea site. BW Ideol’s standard 15 MW-plus Damping Pool platform received DNV Basic Design Certification in May 2025. The technology is also being used on the Floatgen demonstration project in France, which has been operating since 2018.
Note.
The Buchan Offshore Wind Farm has a web site.
It appears to have a capacity of at least 960 MW, with 64 x 15 MW turbines.
The web site has a video of the Damping Pool platform.
The platforms will be built at the Port of Ardersier in Scotland.
Council Raise No Objection To Major Hydro Scheme Near Loch Ness
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
Highland Council is to raise no objection to a major hydro-electric project near Loch Ness – on the condition there are strict rules on rock blasting and the colour of a dam wall.
These three paragraphs add some more detail.
Under the proposals, Glen Earrach Pumped Storage Hydro scheme would use Loch nam Breac Dearga, in hills above Drumnadrochit, as an upper reservoir and Loch Ness as a lower one.
In a vote, Highland Council’s south planning applications committee was split on whether to support or oppose the plans.
Committee chairman Paul Oldham used his casting vote to back an amendment to raise no objection, provided blasting took place in daytime and the dam wall was blended in with surrounding hills.
It sounds like a good Scottish compromise was reached over a few drams.
As this will be a 1.8 GW/34 GWh pumped storage hydro project, it could play a large part in Scotland’s future.
Centrica Energy, Delta Capacity and Covenergo Sign A Battery Storage Deal In Finland
The title of this post, is the same as that of this news item from Centrica.
This is the sub-heading.
Centrica Energy, Delta Capacity and Covenergo have signed a partial tolling agreement for AKKU One, a 125 MW / 300 MWh standalone battery energy storage system (BESS) being developed in Lapinlahti, Finland.
These two paragraphs add some detail.
Under the partial tolling agreement, Centrica Energy will optimise and trade the asset across Nordic power markets, leveraging its 24/7 trading and multi-market optimisation capabilities to unlock value across wholesale, balancing and ancillary service markets. Through the partial tolling structure, the project benefits from secured revenues while maintaining merchant upside.
Commissioning is planned for Q4 2027, and once operational, AKKU One will provide critical flexibility to Finland’s power system, supporting frequency regulation, balancing requirements and the continued integration of renewable generation.
In Centrica And Return Partner To Scale Battery Flexibility In Germany, I asked if Centrica were good at optimising grid batteries.
As they seem to be doing business in this area, I have to assume that they are oone of the best, at optimising batteries.
London King’s Cross Station To Glasgow Central Station For £64.35
My plan on Friday, was to see if it was possible to get to Glasgow using the historic route of the Midland Railway’s Thames-Clyde Expresses.
I used two tickets and four trains.
My first ticket was from King’s Cross to Bradford Forster Square, which cost me just £24.55 with my Senior Railcard.
- I left on the 11:40, which was a nine-car train.
- The train reversed at Leeds.
- The train was eight minutes late into Bradford Forster Square station.
I took these pictures on my route North.
Note.
- The Biggleswade Wind Farm Is Only 20 MW.
- The new A 421 Extension Will Run between Black Cat and Caxton Gibbet.
- A large number of new buildings are going up on the approach to Leeds station.
- The train reversed at Leeds station.
- The reverse took ten minutes.
- The £100 million Shipley Traincare Centre is under construction.
- This page gives more details of the Shipley Traincare Centre.
- Bradford Forster Square station has been designed and build with four long platforms.
Have Network Rail designed the station, so that it can handle ten-car Leeds and Scotland services with a reverse?
- At Bradford Forster Square station, I bought a ticket to Glasgow Central/Queen Street stations for £39.80 with a Railcard.
- So that was my total expenditure of £64.35, as the coffee was free.
- My route would take me to Carlisle over the Settle and Carlisle Line.
- From Carlisle, I would take any of a number of trains to Glasgow Central station.
But first I would have to change trains at Shipley, where I took these pictures.
Note.
- Shipley station is built in the middle of a triangular junction.
- It has two footbridges.
- The station appears to have been improved greatly in recent years.
- The toilets are some of the best, I’ve seen in a railway station in England.
There are many worse stations to change trains.
From Shipley, I was a passenger in a very crowded Class 168 British Rail-era train.
But I did manage to take these pictures.
Note.
- The route is electrified as far North as Skipton station.
- Carlisle is electrified.
- It is a very scenic line.
- Several of the stations looked to be worth an extended visit.
- It would appear that the distance between the electrification at Skipton and Carlisle is about 90 miles.
- The maximum speed between Skipton and Carlisle is generally 60 mph.
Hitachi IETs (Intercity Express Trains) have regularly used the route on diesel, when there are engineering works.
I have a few questions and observations.
Could Zero-Carbon Trains Go Between Leeds/Bradford and Carlisle?
Consider.
- To run between Skipton and Carlisle, which is not electrified would mean running for 90 miles without electrification.
- Leeds and Skipton via Bradford Forster Square is electrified for charging at the Southern end.
- Trains can run into an electrified platform at Carlisle for charging at Carlisle.
- I have estimated that the battery-electric Hitachi IETs have a range of 120 miles away from the wires.
- Hitachi confirmed my figures.
- CAF have said that their Class 897 tri-mode trains have a similar range.
- Examining the UK rail network, it appears to me, that no stretch of main line has a longer stretch longer than 120 miles without electrification.
Are Network Rail and the train manfacturers working to the same 120 mile limit for unelectrified track?
If they are, then we can decarbonise passenger train journeys in the UK.
I believe three types of trains could run express services between London and Carlisle/Glasgow via Leeds and Bradford.
- A battery-electric Hitachi IET.
- A tri-mode CAF Class 897 train.
- A hydrogen-hybrid train.
Note.
- All would be 125 mph trains.
- All would be ten-car trains.
- All would have a range away from electrification of 120 miles.
- The hydrogen-hybrid would be mouse-quiet.
- The hydrogen-hybrid would be refuelled once per day.
- All trains would be able to handle the Glasgow and South-Western route via Dumfries and Kilmarnock.
The Thames-Clyde Express can be recreated.
New Study Identifies Foundation Standardisation, Lower Cost of Capital As Key To Floating Wind Competitiveness
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Standardising floating offshore wind foundations and reducing the cost of capital to bring it in line with fixed-bottom could deliver some of the largest cost reductions for the technology, according to a new report from the UK’s Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult.
These first three paragraphs add more detail.
The report sets out a methodology for identifying and tracking the factors that drive floating wind costs as the technology moves towards commercial scale and identifies 21 potential cost-reduction factors, concluding that cost reductions are likely to result from a sequence of measures as the industry matures rather than a single breakthrough.
Standardising floating substructure designs could reduce costs by up to 17 per cent, according to the analysis. ORE Catapult said more than 100 floating substructure designs are currently in the market, with greater standardisation expected to increase supply-chain confidence and reduce technical uncertainty.
The cost of capital was identified as the single largest cost-reduction lever. Bringing financing costs closer to those of fixed-bottom offshore wind could deliver almost 20 per cent in savings, the report found. Other factors include increased competition and advances in manufacturing.
Note.
- The report analysed floating wind projects in the Celtic Sea, North Sea and waters east of Shetland.
- Different technologies are covered.
- The floating wind industry must innovate to bring their costs down.
The report can be downloaded from this link.
I am sure, if they were working today, Henry Ford and other pioneers of the motor industry would have ideas for improving productivity in the floating wind industry.
Walking Across Glasgow City Centre – 3rd October 2026
I walked from my hotel, which was next to Glasgow High Street station to Glasgow Central station.
I took these pictures as I walked.
Note.
- The Moxy Hotel was fine with a good bed.
- Glasgow has liths with maps.
- George Square is being relaid with new paving.
- Kaffateria was excellentfor coffee and some gluten-free snacks.
- I walked to Glasgow Central station.
- There is an accessible electric bus for poor walkers.
I have a couple of thoughts.
Glasgow needs a credit card contactless ticketing system for both Glaswegians and visitors.
There needs to be a few more liths.
But what surprised me, is that how easy I walked across the city.
Balgray Station – 3rd October 2026
These pictures were taken at my quick visit to the new Balgraystation.
Note.
Glasgow Queen Street Station To London King’s Cross Station For £52.40
My plan this morning, was to come home via Hartlepool, so that I could take pictures of the nuclear power station there.
I intended to take a train from Glasgow Queen Street station to Newcastle and then take local train to Hartlepool and back to Newcastle, from where I’d buy a ticket and take a train to London King’s Cross.
Things went well until I left Edinburgh on my train for Newcastle.
- I’d bought a ticket from Glasgow Queen Street station to Newcastle for £21.20 with a Senior Railcard, with a change to LNER at Edinburgh.
- I even had a reserved seat after Edinburgh.
- I found a good unreserved seat on the 13:00 Glasgow Queen Street to Edinburgh train, which left on time.
- It arrived in Edinburgh a minute late.
- As Marks & Spencer was by the platform of my Newcastle train, I was able to buy a lunch before I got on the train.
It was then that I noticed that my train took over three hours to travel to Newcastle, when I know they normally take under ninety minutes.
As the train left Edinburgh, it passed through Haymarket station, which confirmed we were going for a Grand Tour of the Southern Uplands of Scotland.
Note.
- The train took the fully-electrified line from Haymarket to Carstairs junction, where it joined the West Coast Main Line.
- I amused myself by taking pictires of the large number of wind turbines along the route and motorways and arterial roads, that share the route.
- It is certainly a route where the hills are alive with spinning wind turbines.
Eventually we arrived in Carlisle, where I took more pictures.
Note.
- The train waited at Carlisle for about 10 minutes.
- It looks like Northern Trains might have been running a pair of Class 158 trains on the Settle and Carlisle Line to add capacity. Real Time Trains confirm that they were.
- The last picture has an LNER train going North in the background.
- Some passengers joined the train at Carlisle.
By the time we left Carlisle, we taken an hour and twenty-eight minutes from Edinburgh.
Our train, then took the Tyne Valley Line to Newcastle, where I took these pictures.
Note.
- It’s not called the Tyne Valley Line for nothing.
- I didn’t see a wind farm between Carlisle and Newcastle.
- The Tyne Valley Line can handle a pair of five-car Class 800 trains.
- The train was powered for 61.4 miles on diesel.
By the time we arrived in Newcastle, we had taken a minute over three hours from Edinburgh.
I decided that I didn’t have enough time to go to Hartlepool.
- I decided to buy a ticket for London King’s Cross.
- I paid £31.20, with my Senior Railcard, for a ticket on the 16:55 Lumo.
- Two hours and 49 minutes we arrived in King’s Cross.
- We were seven minutes late.
But it was an average speed of 95.4 mph.
I have a few thoughts on the journey.
The Ambience Of The Journey Would Have been Improved By Battery-Electric Trains
The only section of the journey between Edinburgh and Newcastle, that was not electrified was the section between Carlisle and Newcastle, which is 61.4 miles.
The journey would have been a lot quieter, if the Class 800 trains had been fitted with enough batteries, to run the route on battery-power.
Direct Train Between Brighton and Newcastle Take Next Steps
The title of this post, is the same as that, as this article on The Argus.
This is the sub-heading.
Plans for a new direct rail link connecting the north and south has taken its next steps
These two paragraphs add more details.
In December last year, Arriva submitted an application to regulator the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) for permission to launch a direct service between Brighton and Newcastle.
The operator said the service would run under its Grand Central brand and call at stations such as York, Sheffield, Birmingham New Street, Oxford, Reading and Gatwick Airport.
Arriva has since confirmed it has agreed to lease four additional class 180 trains from Angel Trains to support the proposed route.
As the trains would now appeared to be leased, it would appear, that the Government will be iapproving this open access service.
The story is also reported in the Northern Echo and the Yorkshire Post, so there will be a lot of dissappointed travellers, if the service doesn’t start.
Rolls-Royce Secures Deal For ŠKODA-Made Hardware To Drive The Next Generation Of Nuclear Power Stations
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on techradar.
These three bullet-points act as sub-headings.
- Critical safety hardware for an upcoming range of Rolls-Royce’s turbine-equipped nuclear power stations is being provided by ŠKODA JS
- The Czech company will provide safety mechanisms for 470 MW reactors
- ŠKODA JS was bought by the Czech Republic’s state-backed electric power company ČEZ in 2022, removing it from its previous Russian owner, OMZ
These three paragraphs add more details.
Development of new nuclear plants based around Rolls-Royce turbines will feature critical safety hardware from ŠKODA JS, it has been announced. The Czechia-based company – once part of the old ŠKODA Works organization – will design and manufacture the Control Rod Drive Mechanisms, which are vital for regulating output and handling safety in emergencies.
The Rolls-Royce SMR (small modular reactor, but also referred to as UK SMR) is a reactor capable of outputting 470 MW of energy. That’s the equivalent of 150 onshore wind turbines, and offers a low-carbon, always on, and virtually invisible alternative to landscape-spoiling steel and fiberglass constructions.
Competition for nuclear hardware expertise is strong across Europe, and ŠKODA JS is considered a “tier-one” supplier. The deal is expected to be worth Kč 1 billion Czech Koruna (around £35 million) per Rolls-Royce power station.
In Clean, Affordable Energy For All, I said, I wouldn’t be surprised to see other countries join both projects, if they have something to offer. It looks like Skoda is a partner for Rolls-Royce.
Memorandum Of Understanding
The article also mentions a Memorandum of Understanding and says this.
Announcement of the ŠKODA JS built Control Rod Drive Mechanisms (CRDMs) follows an earlier Memorandum of Understanding with Rolls-Royce, in which the British company developed plans to develop sites in the Czech Republic, enabling deployment of up to 3GW of power.
That looks like the Czech Republic could be looking at six Rolls-Royce SMRs.
Conclusion
I must admit that I was a bit surprised that Rolls-Royce had gone to Skoda for such a critical component.
Consider.
- But in the 1960s, I put control systems on old machinery and you have to get it right.
- Skoda have probably worked with a lot of second-grade Russian hardware, so they make sure it works.
- Skoda are probably honoured to be working on such a prestige project.
- It might even be a tactic employed by Rolls-Ryce to get the best out of suppliers.
So long as it results in a safe and reliable reactor, who cares?
