East West Rail Train Door Row May See Launch Delayed
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
The launch of a new £7bn railway faces being delayed because of a row over who will control the opening and closing of carriage doors.
These three paragraphs add more details.
The BBC understands train operator Chiltern Railways is in a standoff with the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, which represents train guards, over how East West Rail services between Oxford and Milton Keynes will run.
The RMT said the operator wants train drivers to open and close the doors at stations, with no guards required.
Passenger trains were scheduled to start running between Oxford and Milton Keynes for the first time in nearly 60 years by the end of December.
I suspect that the unions won’t be satisfied until all trains in the UK have a crew of two.
Wind Farms Generate Record Power On Cold November Evening
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Times.
This is the sub-heading.
Turbines produced record high of 22.7 gigawatts of electricity at 7.30pm on Tuesday last week, accounting for 55 per cent of Britain’s electricity mix.
These two introductory paragraphs add more detail.
Britain’s wind farms generated a record 22.7 gigawatts of electricity on Tuesday evening last week, enough to power more than 22 million homes.
The National Energy System Operator (Neso) said the new high was set at 7.30pm on November 11, beating a previous record of 22.5 gigawatts on December 18, 2024.
In addition.
Yesterday, I wrote Ocean Winds Secures Third Celtic Sea Floating Wind Site, which will add 4.5 GW by 2035.
In Renewable Power By 2030 In The UK, I calculated these pessimistic offshore wind power totals for 206-2030.
- 2025 – 1,235 MW
- 2026 – 4,807 MW
- 2027 – 5,350 MW
- 2028 – 4,998 MW
- 2029 – 9,631 MW
- 2030 – 15,263 MW
This adds up to a total of 58,897 MW.
Conclusion
We shall be needing some new ways to export electricity to Europe.
Do People Lose Their Vision In Low Pressure Weather?
My vision was rather poor a couple of hours ago, hence the reason for this post.
I asked Google AI, the question in the title of this post, and received this reply.
While people generally do not permanently lose their vision due to typical low-pressure weather systems, they may experience temporary blurry or altered vision. This is usually associated with the physiological effects of low barometric pressure on the body or the cold, dry conditions that often accompany such weather.
That would fit the problems I encountered.
Highview Surpasses Half A Billion Pounds Of Funding With Latest £130m Capital Raise For Phase One Of Long Duration Energy Storage Facility At Hunterston, Ayrshire
The title of this post, is the same as that of this news story from Highview Power.
Funding Round Enables Build Of “Stability Island” Which Will Deliver Crucial Grid Stability Services; Represents Phase One Of LDES Facility At Hunterston
These two paragraphs outline the funding raised and where it will initially be used.
Highview has secured £130 million in funding to commence work on the first stage of its planned 3.2GWh hybrid long-duration energy storage solution in Hunterston, Scotland. This brings the total raised to commercialise and roll out Highview’s long duration storage solutions to over £500 million.
This latest investment round, involving Scottish National Investment Bank (SNIB), the British multinational energy and services company Centrica, and investors including Goldman Sachs, KIRKBI and Mosaic Capital, will fund construction of the first phase of the Hunterston project, a “stability island”, which will provide system support to the electricity grid.
The Concept Of The Stability Island
This paragraph describes the concept of the Stability Island.This stability island is a key component of Highview’s LDES system. It can operate independently of the energy storage elements and will deliver critical inertia, short circuit and voltage support to the UK power grid. The asset will support the grid at a location that faces considerable stability challenges. In turn, this will enable more power to be transmitted from the point of generation in Scotland to areas of high demand, preventing curtailment of wind energy across Scotland
A large amount of energy will be routed through Hunterston from Scotland to England, Wales and the island of Ireland and the stability island will tightly control the flow of energy.
The Facility At Hunterston
These two paragraphs describe the facility at Hunterston.
As well as the stability island, the facility at Hunterston will also eventually incorporate a hybrid long duration energy storage system, combining both liquid air storage and lithium-ion batteries for greater operational performance. This means that the entire facility will be able to send more power to the grid for longer, in a flexible way, maximising the asset for the benefit of the system operator.
The energy storage element of the Hunterston facility received significant validation recently, when it was named as an eligible project for Ofgem’s Cap and Floor support scheme for long duration energy storage, along with a planned facility at Killingholme, Lincolnshire.
I suspect the Stability Island will actually distribute the energy to where it is needed.
Ocean Winds Secures Third Celtic Sea Floating Wind Site
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Ocean Winds has secured the third floating offshore wind site in the Celtic Sea, offered through the Crown Estate’s Round 5 auction earlier this year. The developer is joining Equinor and the Gwynt Glas joint venture, which were awarded rights for two of the three sites offered in Round 5 in June.
This paragraph outlines Ocean Winds’s deal.
On 19 November, the Crown Estate said that Ocean Winds was set to be awarded the rights for a third floating offshore wind site in the Celtic Sea.
There would now appear to be three Celtic Winds deals for wind farms.
- Gwynt Glas – 1.5 GW
- Ocean Winds – 1.5 GW
- Equinor – 1.5 GW
Note.
- 4.5 GW will be able to power a good proportion of South Wales and the South-West peninsular.
- In Gwynt Glas And South Wales Ports Combine Strength In Preparation For Multi-Billion Floating Wind Industry, I talk about partnerships between the wind farms and the ports.
- If you sign up for a large wind farm from the Crown Estate, do you get to have afternoon tea with Charles and Camilla in the garden at Highgrove or even Buckingham Palace?
This map of the wind farms is available from download from this page on the Crown Estate web site.
Note.
- Gwynt Glas is in green.
- Ocean Winds is in blue.
- Equinor is in mauve.
- The white dot to the East of the wind farms is Lundy Island.
This triple wind farm is certainly well-placed to supply power to Cornwall, Devon and South Wales.
Cornwall Insight Forecasts Lower Household Energy Bills In January
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Solar Power Portal.
This is a paragraph from the article.
The Default Tariff Cap is set by the UK’s energy regulator Ofgem as the maximum rate per unit and standing charge that can be billed to customers for their energy use. Cornwall Insight’s latest forecast predicts the cap will fall to £1,733 a year for a typical dual fuel household in the first quarter of 2026.
Consider.
- I am on a dual-fuel tariff for gas and electricity.
- At present, I pay £159 per month or £1,908 per year.
If I was on the new price cap, I’d pay £144.42 per month or about 10 % less.
Rolls-Royce To Power Etihad Fleet Expansion
tThe title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Rolls-Royce.
These two paragraphs form the heart of the announcement.
Rolls-Royce (LSE: RR., ADR: RYCEY) welcomes announcement by Etihad Airways that it will expand its widebody fleet with aircraft powered by Trent 7000 and Trent XWB-97 engines.
At this week’s Dubai Airshow, the Middle Eastern carrier announced its intention to select 15 Airbus A330 Neo powered by the Trent 7000; seven Airbus A350-1000 powered by the Trent XWB-97; and 10 Airbus A350F freighter variants also powered by the Trent XWB-97.
Note.
- 32 twin-engined aircraft will need more than 64 engines, if you include spares.
- A 2014 list price of $37.9 million per Trent 7000 engine is a reference point.
- The contract would probably include a number of years of ongoing maintenance.
That is certainly what you could call a multi-billion dollar contract.
Does Uncomplicated Pancolonic Diverticular Disease Cause Erectile Dysfunction?
Over my forty years with C, I suffered from intermittent erectile dysfunction, but C generally knew how to cure it.
I do wonder if this was caused by having uncomplicated pancolonic diverticular disease during those generally happy years.
To check, I asked Google AI, the question in the title of this post and received this answer.
Yes, studies suggest that colonic diverticulosis (CD) is an independent risk factor for developing erectile dysfunction (ED). The association is likely related to shared underlying causes, such as chronic low-grade inflammation and vascular issues.
I can accept that!
As for about the first thirty years of our marriage, I was an undiagnosed coeliac, I feel I should ask if undiagnosed coeliac disease causes erectile dysfunction.
I received this answer.
Yes, undiagnosed celiac disease can cause erectile dysfunction (ED) due to the resulting malnutrition, hormonal imbalances, and inflammation. These issues can lead to sexual dysfunction, which may improve once the celiac disease is treated with a strict gluten-free diet.
That would certainly fit with my experience.
I do think, that if the link between undiagnosed coeliac disease is true, then in some cases testing of everybody for coeliac disease may avoid a degree of mental distress.
In Future Will North Africa Be Providing Renewable Energy To Europe?
I believe it is likely that mainland Europe will be getting a considerable amount of renewable energy from Iceland, Ireland, Norway and the UK, and the seas to the North of Europe.
But what about the potential of providing Europe with renewable energy from North Africa?
I asked Google AI, the question in the title of this post and received this answer.
Yes, in the future, North Africa is expected to supply renewable energy to Europe, with potential exports of up to 24 GW through subsea interconnectors. This will be driven by North Africa’s vast solar and wind resources, a strong push for renewable energy in the region, and European demand for clean power. Major projects are planned, but challenges like supply chain constraints and financing hurdles need to be addressed for these projects to be successful.
These are interconnectors I can find.
ELMED
The ELMED interconnector, also known as the Tunisia-Italy interconnector, is a planned 200 km, 600 MW high-voltage direct current submarine power cable between Italy and Tunisia.
This map shows the route of the ELMED interconnector between Tunisia and Italy.
Note.
- Tunis in Tunisia, is in the South-Western corner of the map.
- East of Tunis on the coast is a red blob, which marks the town of Menzel Temime, where the interconnector will connect to a newly-built substation.
- Palermo in Sicily, is in the North-East corner of the map.
- West of Palermo on the North-West coast of Sicily is Trapani, where the interconnector will make landfall in Italy and connect to a substation at .
As with many things engineering designed by Italians, this seems to be an interconnector with a certain simplicity and style.
The Wikipedia entry for the ELMED interconnector gives these further details.
The total cost is budgeted at €850 million.
XLinks
XLinks is a project to build a 3.6 GW interconnector between Morocco and Devon, that appears to have been rejected by the current government.
XLinks shows what engineers think could be possible. More details are given in the Wikipedia entry for the project.
The Anonymous Widower 