The Anonymous Widower

Centrica Energy Signs Biomethane Agreement With Stream BioEnergy

The title of this post, is the same as that as this news item from Centrica.

This is the sub-heading.

Centrica Energy, in collaboration with Bord Gáis Energy, has signed an agreement with Stream BioEnergy to provide long term offtake and route-to-market services for Ireland’s largest biomethane facility processing municipal food and garden waste under development near Cork, Ireland. The plant will convert food and green waste into renewable biomethane for injection into the Irish gas grid, supporting the country’s decarbonisation goals and circular economy ambitions.

These two paragraphs add more details.

Stream BioEnergy is a leading developer of biogas plants in Ireland, and this new project represents a significant step forward in scaling sustainable gas production from organic waste. When operational in 2027, the new plant will process 90,000 tonnes per year of domestic and commercial food and garden waste to generate 80GWh annually of unsubsidised biomethane.

Under the agreement, Centrica Energy will offtake 100% of the biomethane produced at the facility and manage the associated green certificates, ensuring the renewable gas reaches end users efficiently and sustainably. The deal is supported by Bord Gáis Energy, Centrica’s Irish energy supply business, which will play a key role in enabling the delivery of biomethane to the Irish market.

It looks like Centrica are using their expertise to distribute the gas and do all the required green paperwork.

 

What Is The Major Use In Ireland Of Biomethane?

This was the obvious question to ask Google AI.

I received this answer.

The major use of biomethane in Ireland is as a renewable substitute for natural gas, primarily injected directly into the national gas grid to decarbonise the heating, industrial, and transport sectors.

While currently a developing industry (with around 75 GWh per annum produced in 2024), Ireland’s National Biomethane Strategy aims for a rapid scale-up, targeting 5.7 TWh by 2030 to meet 10% of national gas demand.

Key areas of focus include:

Grid Injection & Heating: Biomethane is injected into the gas network to decarbonise residential, commercial, and industrial heating.

Transport Fuel (Bio-CNG): It is used as a sustainable alternative to diesel for heavy-duty vehicles (HGVs) and buses, often under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO).

Industrial Use: It is employed in sectors that are difficult to electrify, helping companies meet sustainability and carbon reduction goals.

Circular Economy/Agricultural Support: The production process creates a byproduct called digestate, which is used as a sustainable bio-fertiliser, helping farmers reduce reliance on chemical fertilisers.

The sector is currently shifting from relying solely on food waste to incorporating agricultural residues like slurry and grass silage.

Are Centrica Involved In Biomethane In The UK?

Out of curiosity, I had to ask Google AI this question.

I received this answer.

Yes, Centrica is actively involved in the biomethane sector in the UK, focusing on offtaking, trading, and transporting green gas, as well as investing in infrastructure.

Key aspects of their involvement include:

Partnerships and Offtake Agreements: Centrica Energy Trading has signed a 15-year agreement with Yorkshire Water and SGN Commercial Services to offtake biomethane from two new gas-to-grid plants in Yorkshire.

Production Capacity: The aforementioned plants, located at Blackburn Meadows and Knostrop, are designed to produce approximately 125GWh of biomethane annually, sufficient to heat over 10,000 homes.

Investment in Bio-LNG/CNG: Centrica acquired a 16% stake in Gasrec, the UK’s largest provider of bio-LNG (liquefied natural gas) and bio-CNG (compressed natural gas) for heavy goods vehicles, supporting the decarbonization of road transport.

Green Gas Trading: Through partnerships like the investment in Barrow Green Gas (BGG), a leading UK green gas supplier, Centrica has established itself as a major player in shipping green gas in the GB network.

Industrial Solutions: Centrica Business Solutions offers “Biomethane CHP” (Combined Heat and Power) to large organizations, enabling them to use green gas certificates to reduce their carbon footprint.

Centrica is aiming to expand its biomethane activities to support its net-zero goals, with a particular focus on using sewage treatment and other waste products for energy.

This seems to fit the pattern of the Irish deal.

Could Centrica be looking for lessons in Ireland, that can be applied to the UK market?

Do British Gas Research Have A Reputation For Innovation?

As British Gas Research developed the heata, which is an idea I like, I felt that it could be enlightening to ask this question of Google AI.

I received this answer.

Yes, British Gas (and its parent company Centrica) has a strong, long-standing reputation for innovation, particularly in the areas of home energy technology, customer services, and net-zero solutions. Their research and development (R&D) efforts are focused on energy efficiency, smart technology, and decarbonization.

Key areas where British Gas demonstrates a reputation for innovation include:

Smart Home Tech (Hive): British Gas pioneered the mass adoption of smart thermostats in the UK with the launch and development of Hive, a key part of their digital strategy for home energy management.

Low Carbon & Renewables: The company is a leading installer of heat pumps and is actively involved in hydrogen innovation for heating solutions.

Digital Customer Experience: They have utilized AI for, among other things, automating complaints root cause analysis and have developed advanced digital tools to allow customers to manage energy usage via apps.

Energy Transition Research: Through Centrica, they invest significant amounts annually in renewable generation and flexible energy solutions to meet net-zero targets.

Data Analytics: British Gas has partnered with research firms to use technologies like eye-tracking to improve the effectiveness of their digital ads and customer engagement.

Strategic Partnerships: They collaborate with industry leaders like Samsung and Barclays to provide energy efficiency incentives and optimize home appliance use.

While they are a major player in new technologies, it is important to note that the broader gas industry is currently focusing on “digital by default” and “flexible and seamless connections” for green gases, as part of their 2026-2028 strategy.

British Gas Research could give the sort of support, that those in the front line need.

April 24, 2026 Posted by | Artificial Intelligence, Energy, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Lumo Targets Drivers With ‘Pump-Primed’ Campaign Showing How To Travel To London For Less

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Business Daily.

These three paragraphs outline the story.

Motorists driving to London are being shown how taking the train could save up to half the cost of their journey – as they fill-up at the fuel pumps.

Lumo has launched digital screens at a filling station to display real-time travel information and ticket prices.

Lumo believes the bold new trial, a first-of-its-kind partnership with the Smart Outdoor digital advertising firm, will give motorists a timely reminder of a greener and often more affordable alternative to driving between Scotland and England.

Note.

  1. Displaying real-time travel information is done regularly all over the transport network, for buses and trains.
  2. Adding ticket prices would not be difficult.
  3. All filling stations must have good enough broadband.
  4. I suspect, it could work best, where the train operator sells good value walk-up tickets. This is done at LNER stations on the East Coast Main Line and in An Affordable Trip To Doncaster, I told how I went to Doncaster for the day for £46.45 with a Senior Railcard, buying the tickets on a walk-up basis.

But who knows, where this technology will lead?

As a non-driver, if anybody sees the system in action, I’d love a comment and a photo.

A Ticket Buying App

I also think, I could specify a ticket buying app for trips someone needs to make.

The app would keep a list of train journeys you want to make.

Every day, it would look up the best prices available and if you wanted to go somewhere, you could buy a ticket.

April 24, 2026 Posted by | Computing, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Four Cunard Queens To Come Together For The First Time, In Liverpool

The title of this post, is the same as that of this news item from Liverpool City Region.

This is the sub-heading.

British cruise line Cunard has announced that all four Cunard ships will come together in Liverpool in 2028.

On 16 May 2028, Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth, Queen Victoria and Queen Anne will unite on the River Mersey, the first time the full fleet of four has ever assembled.

This is a unique opportunity to see all four Queens together in one place, and will happen in Liverpool, Cunard’s spiritual home, where the company was founded in 1840.

These two paragraphs add some more details.

The last time Cunard ships gathered on the Mersey was in 2015, when the three Queens came together to celebrate the brand’s 175th anniversary, attracting more than one million spectators to the city and its waterfront.

The 2028 gathering is expected to build on that legacy, drawing significant crowds and global attention, with Liverpool marking the moment in its own distinctive style through a waterfront celebration as the Four Queens meet, returning home for the first time.

Queen Mary 2’s arrival in Liverpool on 16 May 2028 will also mark her first ever transatlantic crossing from New York directly to the city, as well as Cunard’s first eastbound arrival from New York to Liverpool in more than 61 years, since RMS Sylvania berthed at Princes Landing Stage on 18 November 1966.

But there is another big difference between the the 2015 gathering and the planned 2028 gathering, other than an extra liner, is that in 2017-8, Liverpool Lime Street station was transformed, which I wrote about in Liverpool Lime Street Station After the Transformation of 2017-18.

The station station has ten platforms, arranged so they can operate as two separate stations; one serving Manchester and the East and the other serving Crewe and the South.

  • Five platforms are longer than 220 metres, so they can handle 8-car 200 metre HS2 Classic-Compatible trains.
  • Three platforms are longer than 265 metres, so they can handle 11-car 265.3 metre Pendolino Class 390 trains.
  • Four platforms are longer than 150 metres, so they can handle 5-car Hitachi Class 802 trains.
  • Platform 5 on the Manchester and the East side of the station is 181 metres long and I suspect can handle a Hitachi Class 807 train in an emergency.

It looks to me, that the station was rebuilt, so that Liverpool can handle any combination of trains, that Network Rail envisage might want to use the station at the same time.

A major event like the Grand National, an important international football match in Euro 2028 or the 2028 Four Queens Gathering could attract lots of visitors, some of whom might come in luxury excursion trains.

If Network Rail have been prudent, they will have planned for an event like the 2028 Four Queens Gathering.

Typically, Liverpool Lime Street station now has two trains per hour (tph) to London Euston.

Usually, these are an 11-car  Pendolino and a 7-car Class 807 train, which have a total capacity of 607+453 or 1060 seats.

This picture shows Platform 9 handling an 11-car Pendolino.

Note.

  1. The curve of the platform appears to be used to allow the longer train to fit.
  2. The platform is wide, so 607 passengers and their baggage, babies and buggies can safely embark from the an 11-car Penolino train.
  3. In Wires, New Platforms And Sidings At Blackpool North Station – 17th April 2018, it appears that platforms at Blackpool North station have a slight curve too.

Have Network Rail been listening to a certain limerick about a Man of Kent?

 

 

 

April 24, 2026 Posted by | Design, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Liverpool Lime Street Station After the Transformation of 2017-18

This document from Network Rail is entitled £140m Transformation Of Liverpool Lime Street Completed On Time.

These bullet points serve as sub-headings.

  •  Track, platform and signalling improvements
  • Paving the way for bigger, better trains with more seats for more customers in future
  • Part of the wider Great North Rail Project
  • Part of #StationsDay – celebrating the £5.2billion investment to regenerate Britain’s rail stations

But I also believe two other important sub-projects were carried out during the work.

The Station Has Been Substantially Prepared For High Speed Two

Consider.

  • Platforms were lengthened so they can accept 265.3-metre long eleven-car Class 390 trains.
  • Platforms were widened, so they could handle the 607 passengers, that can be carried in an eleven-car train.
  • There appears to be five full-size platforms numbered 6-10.
  • Is there the possibility of a sixth platform, which is currently numbered E (for Emergency (?))?
  • The approaches to the station have been remodeled, so trains can enter the station very efficiently.
  • The Class 390 trains are going between Crewe and Liverpool Lime Street stations, in times that are not far off those expected from High Speed Two trains.

As Liverpool Lime Street will only need to handle half-length 200-metre long classic compatible High Speed Two trains, Liverpool Lime Street station is now ready for High Speed Two.

Liverpool Lime Street Station Is Now Effectively Two Five Platform Stations

This OpenRailwayMap shows the platform layout at Liverpool Lime Street station.

Note.

  1. The platforms indicated by blue dots with numbers are the ten platforms of the station.
  2. The platforms in the Northern-half of the station are numbered 1-5.
  3. The platforms in the Southern-half of the station are numbered 6-10.
  4. All platforms; 1-10 are electrified.
  5. The white line running diagonally across the map, shows the route of the loop of the Wirral Line.

Click the map to show it to a larger scale.

These are some of my pictures of the station.

It is without doubt, one of the best stations aesthetically and operationally in the world.

April 24, 2026 Posted by | Design, Transport/Travel | , , , , , | 1 Comment