The Queen Was Well-Briefed
Lord Lloyd-Webber has just said this on the BBC. But he has not been the first, in the last few days.
Some years ago, I had lunch with a Hewlett-Packard engineer, who had done some work in Buckingham Palace.
It was probably in the mid-1980s, as the lunch was just after the Queen and Prince Philip had visited San Francisco in 1983, which is reported in this article on NBC.
He told a fascinating tale about how the Queen was well-briefed.
In those days, there was a detailed card index of everybody she had ever met.
So say, she was going to meet the Mayor of Norwich, her staff might brief her with the knowledge that they had met in 1975, when his father had been the Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk.
The purpose, was so that the Queen could start a conversation, with an appropriate topic.
Will The Queen Enable One Last Important Result?
Would it be too much to hope, that the world leaders coming to the Queen’s funeral, might find that swapping their uplifting memories creates goodwill that helps to solve at least one of the pressing problems of the world?
RCAM Technologies
Wouldn’t it be a good idea to have a wind turbine with built-in energy storage?
This article on Power Engineering, is entitled Five Long-Duration Energy Storage Projects Get Funding In New York.
One of the projects, from RCAM Technologies is described like this.
To develop a 3D concrete-printed marine pumped hydroelectric storage system that integrates directly with offshore wind development in support of grid resiliency and reduced reliance on fossil fuel plants to meet periods of peak electric demand.
That sounds like an offshore wind turbine with built-in energy storage, that is 3D-printed in concrete.
The RCAM Technologies web site is all about 3D-printed concrete.
- It looks like they can build taller wind farm towers, than you can make with steel.
- It appears offshore wind turbine tower with integrated foundations can be built on-site.
- Material can be 100 % locally-sourced.
- The next step could be to build some form of pumped storage into the tower.
- They are experimenting with storing energy as pressure in 3D-printed concrete spheres. The New York grant will help fund this.
- High Speed Two is using 3D-printing of concrete, as I wrote about in HS2 Utilising UK-First Pioneering 3D Concrete Printing On Project.
The company has offices in Colorado, California and Edinburgh.
Conclusion
This technology could be on the right track. Read their web site.
Five Long-Duration Energy Storage Projects Get Funding In New York
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Power Engineering.
These are the two opening paragraphs, which outline the state’s ambitions.
New York awarded $16.6 million in funding for five long-duration energy storage projects and made another $17 million available for projects that advance development of long-duration energy storage technologies, including hydrogen.
The state’s larger goal is to install 3,000 MW of energy storage by 2030 to help integrate renewables. New York wants to eventually develop 6,000 MW.
The article then lists the projects, which I will look at in separate posts.
A Design Crime – Platform-To-Train Access On The Northern Line At Bank Station
These four pictures show the platform-to-train access on the Northern Line at Bank station.
Note.
- The first two pictures are the new Southbound platform.
- The last two pictures are the Northbound platform.
- The other pictures show the wide and level walkways between the two platforms.
The Southbound platform has level platform-to-train access, but the old Northbound platform does not!
That constitutes a design crime in my book.
Old Street Station – 9th September 2022
I took these pictures this morning, as my bus passed Old Street roundabout.
The Queen was also being shown on this bus-stop in Moorgate.
How many pictures like these are being displayed?
It Looks Like The Gas Leak Has Killed The Tree Outside My House
A couple of months ago, I had a gas leak outside my house.
These pictures show the tree outside my house.
It looks like the gas in the soil has given the tree a good kicking.
Incidentally, when I was a child, all the trees in the road outside our house in Cockfosters were killed by gas leaks.
Stromar, Broadshore And Bellrock
The ScotWind wind farms, that I described in ScotWind Offshore Wind Leasing Delivers Major Boost To Scotland’s Net Zero Aspirations, are starting to be more than numbers in documents.
This map shows the various ScotWind leases.
Note, that the numbers are Scotwind’s lease number in their documents.
- 3 is now Bellrock and 1,200 MW
- 8 is now Broadshore and 900 MW
- 10 is now Stromar and 1,000 MW
Falck Renewables, who have now been renamed Renantis, and BlueFloat Energy are involved in all three projects, with Ørsted also involved in Stromar.
This article on Renewable Energy Magazine is entitled Companies Partner on Floating Offshore Wind In Scotland, where this is said.
Together the three areas could accommodate a total of approximately 3.0 GW of offshore wind capacity, with the projects scheduled to be operational by the end of the decade, subject to securing consent, commercial arrangements and grid connections.
Dates for ScotWind seem to be emerging and 2030 seems to cover several.
Proposals Submitted To Create Darlington To Dales Rail Link
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Durham County Council web site.
These paragraphs outline the proposals.
The proposals will focus on development of the Darlington-Dales corridor, improving the connectivity of towns and villages along the Weardale line. It will also review the possibility of providing a link to Crook.
This new rail link would support economic development along the Darlington-Dales corridor, helping to attract visitors and boost spend in these areas by connecting tourism sites including Hamsterley Forest, Bishop Auckland town centre, the Durham Dales, and the Weardale Railway.
The enhanced rail connectivity would also enable residents to access wider education and job opportunities, while reducing the environmental impact of the county’s transport system by providing an alternative to cars.
It looks at first glance to be practical proposals, that could be easily achieved without spending a fortune.
As Teesside has a plentiful supply of hydrogen and is even planning a depot for hydrogen trains, what would new Alstom Aventra hydrogen trains between Weardale and Saltburn via Darlington, do for tourism in the area?
The Anonymous Widower 