ILI Group To Develop 1.5GW Pumped Storage Hydro Project
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Solar Power Portal.
These are the first two paragraphs.
Clean energy developer ILI Group has begun the initial planning phase for a new pumped storage hydro project in Scotland.
The Balliemeanoch project at Loch Awe, Dalmally in Argyll and Bute will be able to supply 1.5GW of power for up to 30 hours. It is the third and largest of ILI’s pumped storage hydro projects, with the other two being Red John at Loch Ness and Corrievarkie at Loch Ericht.
It is a big scheme at 45 GWh.
The ILI Group has an extensive web site, that is worth a read.
- This page describes pumped storage.
- This long document from the company is part of their submission to the Government.
The company seems to be going in the right direction.
This Google Map shows the Loch Awe area.
Note.
- Loch Awe is in the North West corner of the map.
- Loch Fyne is the large loch in the South East corner of the map.
- Balliemeanoch is marked by the red arrow.
I am a bit puzzled as to the layout of the scheme.
But I have now noticed a Ballimeanoch close by Loch Awe.
This is a map of its location.
I suspect that is the correct location of the pumped storage scheme.
I shall be interested to see the layout of the full scheme.
Offshore Service Facilities
Some years ago at a wedding in The Netherlands, I got talking to a Dutch engineer, who had a lot to do with the creation of the Delta Works.
Also in The Netherlands, I visited the Watersnoodmuseum, which describes the floods in the Netherlands, that brought about the Delta Works.
So I was not surprised to see the spectacular offshore construction ideas talked about on the Offshore Service Facilities web site.
The site talks about a project to create a four GW wind farm, eighty kilometres off the coast, all serviced from an artificial island.
This is their overview of what they call the IJVER project.
IJmuiden Ver (IJVER) is one of the designated wind farm areas under the Dutch offshore wind road map 2030. With a capacity of at least 4 GW and a distance to shore of approximately 80 km, it is currently the largest foreseen Dutch wind farm zone, and the furthest from shore. The area also includes legacy oil & gas asset, including several gas pipelines that can be retrofitted to transport other gasses such as hydrogen or for CCS-purposes.
Note.
- 80 km. is not far offshore, when you consider the UK’s Dogger Bank C wind farm is 196 km from Teesside.
- There are depleted gas fields for storage and pipelines to transport gases to and from the shore.
This page describes the concept, starting with this introductory paragraph.
A multi-purpose island provides additional benefits over fixed offshore platforms (so-called jackets). It stimulates the energy transition, drives down the costs of the renewable energy transition, creates room for nature inclusive island design, facilitates Research & Development (R&D) and innovation, creates a safe working environment, as well as additional economic opportunities.
One feature they are proposing is an interconnector to the UK.
In Is There A Need For A Norfolk-Suffolk Interconnector?, I suggested that Bacton, Sizewell and Felixstowe could be places, where wind power from the North Sea were to be landed.
Distances to the IJVER island would be as follows.
- Bacton – 85 miles
- Sizewell – 77 miles
- Felixstowe – 92 miles
These distances are feasible for an interconnector.
There is this explanatory video.
Conclusion
My experience of the Dutch, their civil and marine engineers and their creations, indicates to me, that the Dutch could build an island like this.
Once you have built the island and it can stand up to the weather, you could of course fit it out how you want. Even with a football pitch, as shown in the video.
As with many ideas, the realisation of this concept will depend on the costs involved.
It should be noted, that some UK wind farms have been built with offshore substations, but nothing appears to be as ambitious as this idea and is probably based on proven oil and gas platform technology.
The Dutch also have plans with the Germans and the Danes to create the North Sea Wind Power Hub in the middle of the North Sea.
- This would probably connect to the UK’s Dogger Bank wind farms.
- It would feed electricity as required to the countries around the North Sea.
- Hydrogen could be created on the hub.
- Over a hundred GW of electricity could be generated according to some forecasts.
I like the concept of the North Sea Wind Power Hub and suspect that the Dutch will see it built.
A Walk Around New Bermondsey – 8th February 2022
I took these pictures as I walked around Millwall’s Football Ground to the site of New Bermondsey and then on to South Bermondsey station to get the train to London Bridge.
These are my thoughts.
New Bermondsey Development
In Housing Development Next To Planned Overground Station Gets Approved, I used this description of the development from this article on Ian Visits.
The development, New Bermondsey, will see a cluster of residential towers built around the Millwall football ground on former light industrial sites, and will provide some 3,500 homes, a new sports facility, auditorium with 800 seats, and it’s said some 1,250 jobs. The towers vary in height across the site from 13 – 44 storeys; most towers are around 29/30 storeys.
Ian’s article also shows a visualisation with nineteen towers and some shorter blocks.
The development has a web site, which has a video on the home page.
Car Parking
I have gone through the New Bermondsey web site and the only mentions of parking are in these two statements, which describe the basement.
- Allocation for move in and out bays for vans.
- Secure residents’ cycle parking.
Does this mean that no car parking spaces are provided?
This article on LondonReconnections is entitled Canal Knowledge: The Fall and Rise of Surrey Canal Road Station.
One of the comments says this about parking around the station.
The permission for this development includes zero car parking provision, and a restriction preventing the granting of street parking permits. Such a restriction has been common in the “skyscraper zone” of the Isle of Dogs for many years but I suspect is a fairly novel stipulation in other boroughs.
It does appear that those living in the New Bermondsey development will have to live car-free.
New Bermondsey Station
New Bermondsey station appears to be an empty concrete shell, that just needs fitting out with stairs and/or lifts, entrances/exits, ticketing and platforms alongside the line.
- The London Overground started running in December 2012 over the bridge.
- Wikipedia says it will be an accessible station.
- It probably needs to be an accessible station, if no car parking is provided in the development.
- The article on LondonReconnections confirms that lifts will be fitted from opening date.
- There are hints on the Internet, that the station will open before substantial development happens in the area.
I would hope that the station wouldn’t take too long to finish.
South Bermondsey Station
South Bermondsey Station is at the other end of the development and it is a station that needs improvement.
- I used it today and there are lots of stairs to the platforms.
- As with New Bermondsey station, it needs to be made step-free.
- It is also a cold, draughty station and needs a few shelters.
But it could be made into a much better station to serve Millwall Football Club.
Millwall Football Club
Millwall Football Club appear to have plans for the future and the New Bermondsey development will probably make access to the ground more difficult.
But it will have two stations close by, instead of one.
Traffic
There were roadworks in the area and that partly explains the crowded roads.
But will the road network be able to cope with construction traffic generated by the development?
At least the residents won’t have any cars of their own.
Conclusion
I hope this development works as it will create 3,500 much-needed homes, but will the absence of car parking in the development mean that many won’t want to move there?
Dogger Bank C In UK Offshore Wind First To Provide Reactive Power Capability
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from the Dogger Bank wind farm.
This paragraph gives an explanation.
Dogger Bank Wind Farm has secured a UK power first by becoming the first offshore wind farm project to win a tender from National Grid ESO to provide reactive power capability. The sector-first contract will help deliver a greener grid, maintain a stable voltage power supply, and help drive down UK consumer costs by millions of pounds.
Note that the three Dogger Bank wind farms; A, B and C will each have a capacity of 1.2 GW and that Hartlepool nuclear power station has a capacity of 1.32 GW. The latter is due to be decommissioned in 2024.
So the wind farms will effectively replace the nuclear power station.
This paragraph describes the contract.
Under new £22.5m Pennines Voltage Pathfinder contracts announced today, National Grid ESO has awarded a 10-year power contract to Dogger Bank C that will see its onshore converter station at Lazenby in the North-East of England provide 200 MVAr* of reactive power capability between 2024 and 2034. This marks the first time that an offshore wind transmission asset has been awarded a contract through a reactive power tender by National Grid ESO.
I suspect that there will need to be some form of energy storage added to the system somewhere, either at Lazenby or could we see a system like one of Highview Power’s CRYOBattery installed offshore?
It should be noted that CRYOBatteries are no more complicated, than some of the equipment installed on offshore gas and oil platforms.
The Lackenby Substation
It does seem that there has been a mix-up between the two nearby villages of Lazenby and Lackenby.
I can’t find a Lazenby substation, but I can find one at Lackenby.
This Google Map shows that the location of the Lackenby substation.
This second map shows the substation in more detail.
Note.
- There are a lot of large chemical works on both banks of the Tees.
- I can find nothing on the route of the cable from Dogger Bank C to Lackenby substation.
- Perhaps, it’s planned to go up the River Tees or it could come ashore South of the mouth of the River Tees.
Plans must be published soon, so that the substation can be updated before the wind farm is commissioned.
Housing Development Next To Planned Overground Station Gets Approved
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on IanVisits.
This paragraph describes the development.
The development, New Bermondsey, will see a cluster of residential towers built around the Millwall football ground on former light industrial sites, and will provide some 3,500 homes, a new sports facility, auditorium with 800 seats, and it’s said some 1,250 jobs. The towers vary in height across the site from 13 – 44 storeys; most towers are around 29/30 storeys.
The Overground station is New Bermondsey station, which was originally to be called Surrey Canal Road station.
This Google Map shows the area.
Note.
- The railway going down the East side of the map in the South London Line of the London Overground.
- The railway going round the West side of the map is the National Rail line going through South Bermondsey station to London Bridge.
- The two lines meet at Queens Road Peckham station to the South.
- Surrey Canal Road runs East-West across the map to the South of The Den.
- New Bermondsey station will be where Surrey Canal Road crosses under the London Overground.
- Most of the new housing will be clustered along this road and around the football ground.
The development will be convenient for Millwall supporters.
‘Biggest Breakthrough’ On Pancreatic Cancer Is On The Horizon As Scientists Hail Two-In-One Teatment That Could Even CURE The Disease
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Daily Mail.
These three paragraphs give an introduction to the research.
Scientists are on the cusp of the ‘biggest ever’ breakthrough in the treatment of pancreatic cancer.
UK researchers have developed a two-in-one treatment that could dramatically improve survival and even cure the disease, which is one of the deadliest cancers.
Survival rates for pancreatic cancer have barely improved in the last 50 years and it has the worst prognosis of any common cancer.
It is a state, that you don’t want to go near.
This is the heart of the new two-in-one treatment.
One of the treatments is immunotherapy, whereby a drug fires up the immune system to fight the cancer.
The drug is a checkpoint inhibitor, which means it blocks proteins that stop the immune system from attacking cancer cells. It has had stunning results against some types of cancer.
But pancreatic cancer tumours have a thick outer layer which stops the drug in its tracks.
The second treatment, known as high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), involves blasting the tumour with pulses of sound waves.
This creates tiny bubbles in the cells, which bounce around with such force that they puncture holes in the protective barrier – allowing the immunotherapy drug to get to work.
I find it strange that I when I wrote Glencore & Strategic Partner Britishvolt Strengthen Relationship And Agree To Build Battery Recycling Ecosystem In The UK, I found that a similar technique is being investigated by the Faraday Institute in the recycling of lithium-ion batteries.
In this article on the BBC, which is entitled As The World looks To Electrify Vehicles And Store Renewable Power, One Giant Challenge Looms: What Will Happen To All The Old Lithium Batteries?, I found this paragraph.
The team has also found a way to achieve direct recycling of the anode and cathode using an ultrasonic probe, “like what the dentist uses to clean your teeth,” he explains. “It focuses ultrasound on a surface which creates tiny bubbles that implode and blast the coating off the surface.” This process avoids having to shred the battery parts, which can make recovering them exceedingly difficult.
Umpteen million tiny bubbles can’t be wrong! It sounds to me that engineers from the Faraday Institute and Medics from the Institute of Cancer Research have been imbibing pints of the thinking man’s liqueur; real ale in a serious meeting in a pub.
But if it works don’t knock it! Just use the technique on your project to remove an awkward coating.
My son, who died of pancreatic cancer was a coeliac like me, but he had never been tested and as he was a sound engineer in the music business, he lived on a diet of Subways, cigarettes and high strength cannabis.
I asked the Professor at Liverpool University’s Pancreatic Cancer Research Unit, if this had contributed to his death and he nodded.
But my son certainly, didn’t have my strong immune system, which is because I’m coeliac and have been gluten-free for nearly thirty years. I know it is strong, as it gave the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine a good kicking. But by the time I got the second dose, it had worked out it was a friend, so I got no reaction.
I have three questions.
What is the hard skin of the pancreatic cancer made from?
Do all cancers have hard skins?
When patients are given immunotherapy drugs, do they go gluten-free for a Tesco effect (Every little helps!)?
Talgo To Begin Fuel Cell Loco Trials
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.
These are the first two paragraphs.
Trials are to begin shortly with the TPH2 fuel cell test locomotive developed by Talgo as part of its hydrogen traction programme. This forms part of a low-carbon research and development strategy which is being supported by a green hydrogen supply alliance and financing from the European Investment Bank.
The TPH2 loco has been produced by fitting fuel cells and traction batteries to the Travca L-9202 ‘Virgen del Buen Camino’ prototype multi-system and variable gauge locomotive which was built by Talgo in 2005.
This page on the Talgo web site describes the Travca locomotive like this.
Travca: Traction Without Borders
Travca is a locomotive that stops at nothing; not at different power supplies, track gauges nor signalling systems all of which makes Travca Talgo’s most advanced development in the field of traction.
This is the specification of the electric locomotive from the Talgo web site.
- Operating speed – Up to 250km/h (passenger version)
- Configuration – Bo-Bo
- Track gauge (mm) -1435-1668
- Length (m) – 19400
- Bodyshell width (mm) – 2950
- Unladen weight (tonnes) – 72 (passenger version)
- Number of axles – 4
- Power – 2,400 kW (25kV, 50Hz) / 2,000kW (3kV dc)
- Brakes – Regenerative, rheostatic and air brakes
Notes.
- It is a variable-gauge and variable-voltage locomotive.
- 1435 mm is standard gauge
- It is lighter and wider than a Class 90 locomotive.
It does seem to be the basis of a very useful locomotive.
This article on Railway News is entitled University Of Extremadura To Work With Talgo On Its Hydrogen Train, says this about the test train.
During the first stage of the hydrogen train project, Talgo is developing the necessary engineering for the assembly and commissioning of hydrogen traction in a test train. The train will comprise a Talgo Travca MS locomotive, which can change gauges and run under different electrification systems, and five Talgo hauled cars that will house the hydrogen fuel cell system. One of the cars will be a laboratory car.
This would appear to be an experimental train with the hydrogen power station in four of the coaches.
It also appears that Extremadura is developing a hydrogen infrastructure.
Applications In The UK
The obvious application in the UK, is as a Class 66 diesel locomotive replacement, for some of the light to medium duties.
The Class 66 locomotives have a power of 2400 kW, which could be within the range of the Talgo locomotive.
In LNER Seeks 10 More Bi-Modes, I speculated that Talgo, with all their experience of high speed trains might like to bid for the extra ten trains, that LNER requires.
They could be ideal to allow electric trains to run between London and Aberdeen and Inverness.
- The Travca locomotive running on electricity could certainly handle 140 mph between London and Edinburgh.
- The power requirements North of Edinburgh would be less, as speeds would be lower.
- Ranges on hydrogen would be under two hundred miles.
It would be a flagship service for both LNER and Talgo.
Guided Beam Treatment Is Extending Life For Patients With Pancreatic Cancer
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in The Times.
This is the first two paragraphs.
The lives of patients with inoperable pancreatic cancer could be extended by years with a “game-changing” radiation treatment that uses MRI technology to accurately target tumours.
A study has found that MRI-guided radiotherapy almost doubles the median survival rate in cases of inoperable pancreatic cancer compared with conventional treatment that uses CT scans.
It looks like a case of the more accurately you target your weapon, the more effective it is.
A few years before she died of a much more serious but totally unrelated cancer, my wife suffered from breast cancer.
- The cancer wasn’t massive and it had probably been caused by a severe bruise, where she had been struck by an exploding air-bag in a car accident.
- She also had a top-class surgeon in Cambridge. Barristers always get the best, as local chambers always know those who are being sued for malpractice.
- To make sure, the cancer didn’t return she had targeted radiotherapy in Harley Street daily for four or five weeks.
- She even travelled up to London from Suffolk daily on the train, often fitting Court appearances around the appointments.
- A few weeks before she died, she was checked for breast cancer and pronounced clear.
The treatment had worked and it convinced me of the value of targeted radiotherapy.
I must say, it increases my optimism, that pancreatic cancer might be one cancer, where we can at least prolong life in many cases.
My optimism about pancreatic cancer probably started , after the results of the research to which I added funding in a small way were published. I wrote about them in There’s More To Liverpool Than Football And The Beatles!.
Black Mass One Of The Hottest Issues In Battery Recycling
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Recycling Magazine.
It gives a good description of black mass.
Glencore & Strategic Partner Britishvolt Strengthen Relationship And Agree To Build Battery Recycling Ecosystem In The UK
The title of this post is the same as that of this press release from Glencore.
These are the first two paragraphs.
Glencore is proud to have entered an industry-leading battery recycling joint venture with strategic partner and battery pioneer Britishvolt, the UK’s foremost investor in battery cell technologies and R&D.
The joint venture will develop a world-leading ecosystem for battery recycling in the UK. This ecosystem will be anchored at a new recycling plant located at the Britannia Refined Metals operation (BRM-located in Northfleet), a Glencore company. BRM will continue with its current production and trading operations.
These appear to be some of Glencore’s objectives for the project.
- They intend to recycle a minimum of 10,000 tonnes of lithium-ion batteries per year, including but not limited to valuable battery manufacturing scrap, portable electronics batteries and full EV packs.
- They intend to recycle Britishvolt’s scrap.
- They intend to be up and running by mid-2023.
- They intend to be 100 % powered by renewable energy in the longer term.
It all seems admirable.
These are my thoughts.
Britannia Refined Metals
This Google Map shows the Britannia Refined Metals site at Northfleet.
Note.
- Britannia Refined Metals is indicated by the red arrow.
- The Port of Tilbury is on the other side of the Thames.
This second Google Map shows the site in more detail.
Note.
- It is not a very large site.
- There doesn’t appear to be much space for expansion.
- They appear to have a wharf on the river.
I’ve found this company video from the 1980s on the Internet.
They do seem to have developed a sophisticated process for recycling lead-acid batteries.
Renewable Energy
There are these offshore wind farms in the Thames Estuary.
- Gunfleet Sands – 172 MW
- Kentish Flats – 140 MW
- London Array – 630 MW
- Thanet – 300 MW
Two of these could be extended.
I am sure that there could be more space in the Thames Estuary for more wind power.
Recycling Batteries
I have found this article on the BBC, which is entitled As The World looks To Electrify Vehicles And Store Renewable Power, One Giant Challenge Looms: What Will Happen To All The Old Lithium Batteries?.
This is the third paragraph.
While this may sound like the ideal path to sustainable power and road travel, there’s one big problem. Currently, lithium (Li) ion batteries are those typically used in EVs and the megabatteries used to store energy from renewables, and Li batteries are hard to recycle.
The article talks about possible solutions.
- Don’t treat the batteries as disposable.
- Increasing the number of batteries recycled from the measly five percent.
- Automate the recycling process, which currently is labour intensive.
- Give the cathode, anode and other parts a second life in new batteries, by refurbishment.
- Batteries that degrade on command.
But the idea, I like is described in this paragraph from the article.
The next step for scientists pushing direct recycling of Li batteries forward is working with battery manufacturers and recycling plants to streamline the process from build to breakdown.
In context with the tie-up between Glencore and Britishvolt, you can imagine engineers from both companies, getting together to improve the design of the battery, so that manufacturing and recycling of batteries are two mutually efficient and complimentary processes.
I can also see some very sophisticated logistics systems being developed to return batteries to an approved recycler, who may be in another country.
But then we are dealing with something that could have a substantial value.
Deals Between Battery Manufacturers And Recyclers
I can see more deals like this between battery manufacturers and recyclers.
- It could reduce the cost of batteries.
- It could impress governments seeking to reduce the about of batteries going into landfill.
- It would reduce the amount of new metals to be mined.
It may even help, in the protection of intellectual property rights, that are concerned with battery manufacture and recycling.
A Second Similar Glencore Deal
There is also a second deal about battery recycling mentioned in a press release on the Glencore web site, which is entitled Glencore & Managem Set Up Partnership For Moroccan Production Of Cobalt From Recycled Battery Materials.
- The press release was issued only a few days before the one announcing the deal with Britishvolt.
- It is for 12,000 tonnes of recycling.
- The press release mentions renewable power.
I do wonder, if Glencore or one of their companies has developed a new process.
The Anonymous Widower 