Government Approval For Large Solar Farm
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
A large solar farm in East Yorkshire has been given the go ahead by the government.
These two introductory paragraphs add more detail.
The 3,155 acre (1,277 hectares) site will be built on land around Gribthorpe, Spaldington and Wressle and Howden.
Its developers said it would produce 400 megawatts of electricity – enough to power 100,000 homes.
Note.
- This solar farm is five square miles or a 2.2 mile square.
- Due to the size of the scheme the planning application was handled by the Planning Inspectorate as it was classed as national infrastructure.
- Ed Miliband may have been involved in the final decision.
- The solar farm would connect to the National Grid at the Drax substation in North Yorkshire.
But the solar farm is not without opposition, as these last three paragraphs indicate.
George McManus, spokesman for East Riding Against Solar Expansion (ERASE), said the approval “brings us a step closer to enormous swathes of agricultural land being blanketed in a million, Chinese manufactured, solar panels.”
He added: “Other projects in the pipeline will see another 20,000 acres disappear under glass.
“The East Riding is being industrialised and people need to wake up to that.”
Nothing is said about where Reform UK’s Mayor for Hull and East Yorkshire sits.
Silvertown Tunnel: Has Sadiq Khan’s £2.2billion Scheme Ended Rush-Hour Jams?
This video from The Standard shows the Silvertown Tunnel in the Peak.
It also shows traffic in the Rotherhithe Tunnel.
Name Your Poison!
The weather is hot and my cardiologist, GP and physiotherapist are advising me to keep hydrated.
This picture shows what I’m drinking.
Note.
- The 500 ml. bottle of beer costs £1.25 or £0.0025 per ml.
- The 330 ml. can of Diet Coke costs £4.75 for 8 or £0.0018 per ml.
The prices are from Ocado.
Tapwater is not much cheaper.
Could High Speed Two Serve Blackpool North?
Consider.
- Blackpool North station is electrified and will have an electrified route to London Euston HS2 and Birmingham Curzon Street stations, when High Speed Two opens.
- Yesterday, both 11-car and 9-car Class 390 trains, which are longer than single High Speed Two classic-compatible trains, used Blackpool North station.
- Blackpool is noted for fresh air and fun.
- Blackpool needs leveling-up. Surely High Speed Two will help with this?
- Blackpool has a unique Modern and Ancient tramway to bring residents and visitors to High Speed Two.
I am fairly sure, that single High Speed Two class-compatible trains could use Blackpool North station.
But could another High Speed Two service have a path between London and Preston to serve Blackpool?
Because of the cancellation of Phase 2 of High Speed 2, there are spare paths on High Speed Two between London and the West Midlands.
If the core section of High Speed Two is extended Northwards to Crewe, as advocated by Dyan Perry of the High Speed Rail Group, that I wrote about in The Future Of HS2 Could Lie In Its Original Vision, this would create extra paths to Crewe.
It looks to me, that the tricky part of the route is between Crewe and Preston.
This diagram shows High Speed Two services, as they were originally envisaged before Phase 2 was discontinued.
Note.
- Trains to the left of the vertical black line are Phase 1 and those to the right are Phase 2.
- Full-Size trains are shown in blue.
- Classic-Compatible trains are shown in yellow.
- Blue circles are shown, where trains stop.
- The dotted circles are where trains split and join.
- In the red boxes routes alternate every hour.
Click on the diagram to enlarge it.
Note that if Phase 1 were to be completed to Crewe, there would be five full-size and five classic-compatible trains using the West Midlands and Crewe section of the High Speed Two route, of which five trains would terminate at Manchester Piccadilly HS2 station and two classic-compatible trains would terminate at Liverpool Lime Street.
So just three Scottish trains and one to Lancaster would go North of Warrington Bank Quay station, which would be an average of one train every fifteen minutes.
High Speed Two will be fully digitally signalled and I’m sure that trains could run as flights of two or more trains, a couple of minutes apart.
This would mean that a London and Blackpool North service could run say two minutes behind one of the London and Scotland services to Preston
- Between London and the West Midlands, there would be twelve trains per hour (tph).
- Between the West Midlands and Crewe, there would be also be twelve tph.
- Between Crewe and Preston, there would be five tph.
I believe it would be possible for High Speed Two to run a London and Blackpool North service, provided that the London Euston to Crewe core of High Speed Two is completed soon after Phase 1 is completed.
It should also be noted, that I believe the second Scottish service from London could also have a flight with another service. So could Barrow or Blackburn have a High Speed Two service from London?
Surgeon Invents Plastic-Reducing Urine Collection Pot
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
A hospital specialist has invented a new product that manages to reduce plastic and simplify the process of testing urine.
These three introductory paragraphs, add more detail.
Consultant urologist Dr Nick Burns-Cox has been working on his own innovation, the Pee-In-Pot (PiP) for 10 years.
Made from bamboo and sugar cane, it removes four items from the current urine collection process, three of them plastic.
Mr Burns-Cox, who works at Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton, said he hoped it would cut down the use of single-use plastic in the NHS and reduce the chance of errors.
I like the design of this simple device.
But, personally, I hope it becomes universal, as I have trouble giving urine samples.
I had my stroke in Hong Kong and the Chinese nurses, were so aggressive, when it came to taking urine samples, they have given me an aversion to them.
In my view the device could help the patient psychologically, at what could be a difficult time.
The Anonymous Widower 