The Anonymous Widower

Severe Delays At Blackwall Tunnel, Woolwich Ferry And Dartford

The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Murky Depths.

These three paragraphs give more details.

There are severe delays at all crossings of the Thames between east and south east London and beyond this afternoon after a collision on the Dartford crossing.

Miles of queues are in place at the approach to the Blackwall crossing with traffic backed up for the entire length of the A2 and A102 between the M25 and Greenwich then back into east London.

Extremely long waits for the Woolwich ferry are also seen, with numerous bus routes delayed.

It appears to have been caused by a crash on the Dartford Crossing, that required extensive repairs to the road and barriers.

In 2015, I published No To Silvertown Tunnel.

Since the tunnel opened, I have written Is The Silvertown Tunnel A Silver Elephant?

I am certainly keeping an open mind, after yesterday’s article in Murky Depths.

July 4, 2025 Posted by | Transport/Travel, Uncategorized | , , , | Leave a comment

GE Vernova To Build Up To 18 MW Offshore Wind Test Turbine In Norway

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.

This is the sub-heading.

The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) has granted GE Vernova’s subsidiary Georgine Wind permission to build and operate an 18 MW test turbine in Gulen municipality.

These first three paragraphs add more detail.

The project, which is part of a test programme to advance offshore wind technology, will feature an up to 18 MW turbine, with a maximum tip height of 275 metres and up to 250 metres in rotor diameter.

The turbine is expected to have an annual electricity production of 55 GWh, which corresponds to the annual energy consumption of approximately 2,750 Norwegian households.

The unit is planned to undergo testing for up to five years, after which it will remain on land and generate electricity for an additional 25 years.

Note.

  1. It is the largest wind turbine to be licensed in Norway.
  2. The turbine will be erected atSløvåg, which is a few miles North of Bergen.
  3. It is  the first wind power plant in Norway to be licensed within an existing industrial area.
  4. Research will be done to see how the giant turbine interacts with existing industry.
  5. I can see a lot of research being done during the 25-year lifetime of the turbine to the reactions of those living and working near the turbine.

I do feel that as GE are an American company with worldwide interests, under normal political circumstances, this turbine would have been erected at a site in the United States.

But with Trump in charge and his opposition to renewable energy, it may be that the Norwegian tax regime makes the installation in Norway, a better financial proposition.

On the other hand, the Norwegians may be looking at decarbonising remote rural areas with single large turbines.

 

July 4, 2025 Posted by | Energy, Finance | , , , | Leave a comment