The Vivarail Fast Charge System At West Ealing – 7th November 2022
I went to West Ealing station today and took these pictures.
At last, it seems something is happening.
Note the concrete pads on the other side of the track for the bay platform. There appear to be eight pads, which could be to support the containers that will hold the Vivarail Fast Charge System.
bp And Mauritania To Explore Green Hydrogen At Scale
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from BP.
I’m fairly certain, that this post is the first on this blog about Mauretania.
This Google Map shows the country’s position in West Africa.
Note.
- The population is about ten percent more than Wales.
- But the land area is fifty times as large.
- Most people live in the South-West of Mauretania.
The weather appears very different in the two countries.
This is the first paragraph of the press release.
bp today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Mauritania under which it will deliver an innovative programme exploring the potential for large-scale production of green hydrogen in the country. Building on bp’s existing strong relationships with the country, the agreement could be an important step towards the development of significant green hydrogen production in Mauritania.
There’s certainly a large area to explore.
The MoU was signed today in a meeting alongside COP27.
This paragraph outlines what will be done.
Under the agreement, bp will carry out a number of studies to evaluate the technical and commercial feasibility of producing green hydrogen in Mauritania. Green hydrogen is produced by the electrolysis of water, powered by renewable energy.
Given the area of Mauretania, there could be a substantial tonnage of green hydrogen produced.
BP And Mauritania
This paragraph details the current relationship between BP and Mauretania.
bp and Mauritania already have a long-standing relationship. bp and partners, including Mauritania’s Société Mauritanienne Des Hydrocarbures (SMH), are now working toward the completion of the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) Phase 1 liquefied natural gas project. The development of this innovative offshore project on the border of Mauritania and Senegal was approved in 2018. It is set to produce around 2.3 million tonnes of LNG per year, with sufficient resources to support production for over 20 years. Earlier this year, bp also announced the signature of an Exploration and Production Sharing Contract for the BirAllah gas resource in Mauritania.
There could be scope to move Mauretania towards net-zero.
Electrolysis Of Salt Water
Typically electrolysis for hydrogen uses pure water, but companies like Torvex Energy, which I covered in a post called Torvex Energy can electrolyse salt water.
Surely, in a country like Mauretania, where water is much more precious than the UK, salt water electrolysis should be used.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see a major gas company like BP or Shell form a very strong relationship with Torvex Energy.
Isle of Man Steam Packet Fears Wind Farm Plans May Disrupt UK Routes
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
These are the first four paragraphs.
Plans to build two new offshore wind farms in the Irish Sea could disrupt Isle of Man ferry services, a Manx operator has warned.
Energy firms have proposed projects named Morgan and Morecambe in areas between the island and Lancashire.
The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company said the developments could cause navigation issues for its sailings to Liverpool and Heysham in bad weather.
But the project’s backers said it was possible to find “ways to co-exist”.
Given, that the approaches to the Ports of Felixstowe, Immingham, Leith, Liverpool, London Gateway and Tilbury, are littered with hundreds of wind turbines, I would suspect that finding a solution will not be difficult.
Perhaps, The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company is angling for a subsidy.
The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company has a current fleet of three ships.
- The company serves Belfast, Dublin, Heysham and Liverpool.
- All routes will likely be through wind farms in a few years.
- The ships were all built in 1998.
- A new ship is being built in South Korea for delivery in 2023.
- All ships are diesel-powered.
Does The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company have a decarbonisation policy?
With the three wind farms having the following sizes.
- Mona – 1500 MW
- Morgan – 1500 MW
- Morecambe – 480 MW
Perhaps, some of the nearly 3.5 GW could be used to power electric or hydrogen ships to the Isle of Man.
The Isle of Man is also powered currently by the Isle of Man to England interconnector and an 85 MW combined cycle gas turbine power station at Pulrose, in the capital, Douglas.
With all of the wind power surrounding the island, perhaps there is some scope for repurposing the island’s economy.
It’s not the island for steelmaking or heavy industry, but what about a few data centres?
The Anonymous Widower 