Deal Worth £12bn Announced To Build Offshore Wind Farms
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
A £12bn deal to construct wind farms has been described by Prime Minister Andy Burnham as “a vote of confidence for building in Britain”.
These two paragraphs add more details.
Energy company RWE and investment firm KKR have announced the funding, which will deliver the Vanguard West and Vanguard East offshore wind farms off the Norfolk coast.
The wind farms are expected to be fully commissioned in 2030, with offshore construction scheduled to begin in early 2027.
These two paragraphs give Andy Burnham’s view.
“It is great news for billpayers because every turbine we put up is power under British control, not at the mercy of events on the other side of the world,” added Burnham, as he prepared to head to the Cop31 climate summit.
“With coastal communities from Scotland to East Anglia powering Britain’s future, the places that host this energy benefit from the jobs and opportunities that it brings,” he added.
But I’m not sure that all the small print has been disclosed yet.
These are my thoughts.
Germany’s Energy Problems
Germany’s energy problems are that they don’t have enough energy and in particular the don’t have enough green energy.
- Twenty percent of their electricity comes from coal.
- Some of that is even the ultra-filthy brown coal.
- They have closed down all their nuclear stations.
- In 2025, they imported 22 TWh of electricity.
But they do make good electrical generators, wind turbines and other electrical equipment.
This map shows the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) around the UK.
Note.
- The UK EEZ is shown in light blue.
- The Irish EEZ is shown in mauve and marked IE.
- The small German EEZ is marked DE.
- Undoubtedly, the rules by which EEZs were drawn, favoured the UK, and countries like Belgium and Germany didn’t do as well.
- The area of the UK’s European EEZ is twenty-three times that of Germany’s whole EEZ, which also includes an area of the Baltic Sea.
- Belgium doesn’t do well compared to The Netherlands.
- There is a substantial area between the UK and Ireland, which can deliver energy to where it is worth more.
- Great Britain and Ireland are surrounded by a large area, that must be worth developing.
- There is a convenient corridor, that runs North-West from the German EEZ to the UK EEZ, which could be used to deliver energy to Germany.
Didn’t the UK (and the Irish) do well!
But the Germans are running out of space to put new offshore wind farms, in their small EEZ.
The Two-Pronged German Solution
The first part of their solution, is to create a gas network called H2ercules that will bring hydrogen to any power station and industry, that needs it from the deep-water port of Wilhelmshaven in North-West Germany, where they would import or generate the gas.
Their first plan to bring green hydrogen to Germany, by creating it in the Namibian deserts using solar panels and wind turbines. It would then be transported to Germany as green ammonia in tanker ships and then converted back to hydrogen.
Unsurprisingly, it never got very far.
Finally, they settled on AquaVentus, which is a system of pipes and wires, that uses wind power in the North Sea to create green electricity, which can also be turned into green hydrogen, which is then brought to Wilhelmshaven in Germany to feed H2ercules.
AquaVentus has planned legs to Denmark, Norway and The Netherlands, and North-East Scotland and Humberside in the UK.
In countries like Denmark, Norway and the UK, we will use AquaVentus to send our surplus electricity to Germany.
The Location Of The Norfolk Wind Farms
This map from RWE shows the Norfolk wind farms.
Note.
- The Norfolk Zone consists of three wind farms; Norfolk Vanguard West, Norfolk Boreas and Norfolk Vanguard East.
- The three wind farms are 1.4 GW fixed-foundation wind farms.
- In Vattenfall Selects Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone O&M Base, I describe how the Port of Great Yarmouth had been selected as the O & M base.
- Great Yarmouth and nearby Lowestoft are both ports, with a long history of supporting shipbuilding and offshore engineering.
- Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft both have a good rail connection to London.
- The Sizewell nuclear power complex is a few miles down the cost just North of Aldeburgh.
- Sizewell C is using hydrogen to minimise the carbon dioxide emissions from construction.
From my knowledge of the area and tales from bringing home North Sea Oil and Gas, I would feel, that the three Norfolk projects wouldn’t be the most difficult of large wind projects to undertake.
The Location Of Wilhelmshaven
This Google Map shows the location of Wilhelmshaven in North-West Germany.
Note.
- Bremen is in the South-East corner of the map.
- Bremerhaven is to the North of Bremen.
- Hamburg is off the map to the East.
- Note the islands along the coast, which feature in the Riddle of the Sands.
- Groningen in The Netherlands is in the South-West corner of the map.
Wilhelmshaven is picked out in red.
This larger map shows the sea and coasts between Hull and Bremen.
Note.
- Bremen and Bremerhaven are in the North-East corner of the map.
- Wilhelmshaven is a dozen miles West of Bremerhaven.
- The red arrow to the North of Norwich on the Norfolk Coast is where the Norfolk Vanguard cables will make landfall at Happisburg.
- Norfolk Boreas cables will make landfall at South Happisburg.
- Hull is in the North-West corner of the map.
From the map, it does appear to me, that the a cable between Humberside and Wilhelmshaven could possibly be routed via the Norfolk wind farms.
Connecting The Norfolk Boreas and Vanguard Wind Farms To The Grid
Google AI gave me this answer.
The Norfolk Boreas and Norfolk Vanguard offshore wind farms (owned and developed by RWE after acquiring the Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone from Vattenfall) connect to the UK National Grid via a major High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission system:
Landfall Point: Power comes ashore via subsea export cables at Happisburgh on the coast of North Norfolk.
Onshore Cable Route: Electricity is transmitted inland through a 60 km underground cable corridor running across three local authority areas (North Norfolk, Broadland, and Breckland District Councils).
Grid Connection Substation: The underground cables lead to an onshore converter and substation infrastructure adjacent to the Necton substation in Breckland, where it ties into the UK’s National Grid.
Technology & Ownership: The projects use HVDC technology for long-distance transport to minimize environmental and visual impact on the Norfolk countryside compared to overhead lines, backed by multi-billion-pound funding agreements involving RWE and the National Wealth Fund.
My only worry, is will the Norfolk Nimbys allow the 60 km. underground cable to be built?
What Is An Offshore Hybrid Asset?
Google AI defines an Offshore Hybrid Asset like this.
An Offshore Hybrid Asset (OHA)—formerly known as a Multi-Purpose Interconnector (MPI)—is a dual-function subsea power infrastructure that combines offshore wind farm transmission with cross-border electricity interconnection.
How They Work
Instead of individual wind farms building separate dedicated cables to the shore, and countries running point-to-point interconnectors separately, an OHA merges both functions.
Key Examples of Offshore Hybrid Assets
LionLink: A first-of-its-kind OHA project connecting Dutch offshore wind farms (via the TenneT Nederwiek 3 platform) to the Great British grid (landing in Suffolk), providing up to 1.8–2 GW of clean electricity and cross-border trade between the UK and the Netherlands.
Nautilus: A project connecting Belgian offshore wind generators—including links routed via Princess Elisabeth Island (PEI) and the Modular Offshore Grid 2 (MOG2)—to the Great British grid (landing at the Isle of Grain in Kent), delivering up to 1.4 GW of shared wind and interconnector capacity between the UK and Belgium.
Other Integrated Marine Concepts: In a broader renewable context, hybrid marine prototypes combine diverse sources like floating offshore wind with marine solar, or pair ocean wave energy converters with offshore storage and green hydrogen production.
I can see Offshore Hybrid Assets, developed extensively in the future.
GriffinLink
In February 2026, in National Grid, TenneT Germany Launch GriffinLink, A First Of A Find Project To Maximise Offshore Wind, I introduced GriffinLink which was being proposed as a Multi-Purpose Interconnector between the UK and Germany.
Consider.
- The Germans are building electrolyser capacity at Wilhelmshaven in North-West Germany of up to 1 GW.
- I estimate that from Norfolk Boreas wind farm to Wilhelmshaven is 230 miles.
- The Langeled pipeline is a 725 miles between Norway and UK.
- The Viking Link is a 475 mile electrical interconnector between Denmark and the UK.
- Neuconnect is a 460 mile interconnector between the Isle of Grain and Wilhelmshaven.
I believe that despite the distances involved, that the GriffinLink could be an Offshore Hybrid Asset between Happisburg in Norfolk and Wilhelmshaven in Germany.
- It would connect to the three Norfolk wind farms.
- There would be 230 mile electrical connection to Wilhelmshaven.
- There would be 45 mile electrical connection to Happisburg.
- If both electrical connections were 2 GW, then if the three wind farms were at the full total output of 4.1 GW, there would almost be enough capacity to keep all wind farms generating at full capacity.
- It is known that RWE are developing offshore electrolysis and any spare electricity generated in the Norfolk wind farms could be used to create hydrogen.
- Any hydrogen would be stored or sent to Wilhelmshaven in a pipeline.
But Vanguard West and East would be fully operational until 2030, so Germany would have a couple of years of slack in which to build the hydrogen generation, storage and transfer infrastructure.
In What Are Offshore Hybrid Assets?, I describe the concept.
- It would allow hydrogen and electricity to be sent as required to Norfolk or Germany.
- Infrastructure in the two countries could be sized appropriately.
- Hydrogen could be generated offshore
- I believe that batteries could be placed offshore with the wind farm.
- More wind farms could be added.
I can see Offshore Hybrid Assets, developed extensively in the future.
Do Some Undiagnosed Coeliacs Get Diagnosed With ADHD?
There has been talk today in the media about ADHD.
I found this article in The Times, which was entitled Benefits Bill In UK Cities 50 Times More Than Employment Support, to be particularly interesting.
In a discussion with my late wife in the last century, about a case she had taken to court, she said that the pre-coeliac me, which she’d lived with for over thirty years, could have been diagnosed with ADHD. She also felt, I was different mentally after going gluten-free.
So I asked Google AI, the question in the title of this post.
This was the answer I received.
Yes, some individuals with undiagnosed coeliac disease do receive a diagnosis of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
The Connection
Symptom Overlap: Undiagnosed coeliac disease can cause systemic inflammation, chronic fatigue, brain fog, inattentiveness, and behavioral or mood disturbances. These neurological and cognitive symptoms can closely mimic or overlap with the presentation of ADHD.
Overrepresentation: Medical studies have noted that coeliac disease appears at higher rates in people presenting with ADHD symptoms than in the general population.
Misattribution: Because coeliac disease can present with atypical or non-gastrointestinal symptoms (without classic digestive distress), the underlying autoimmune condition may go unnoticed, leading clinicians to attribute cognitive and behavioral struggles to a primary psychiatric or neurodevelopmental disorder like ADHD.
Impact of Treatment
Research has shown that in individuals who actually have coeliac disease alongside ADHD-like symptoms, adopting a strict, long-term gluten-free diet often leads to a significant reduction in behavioral, attention, and executive-functioning difficulties as intestinal healing and a decrease in systemic inflammation take place.
Because of this overlap, some health organizations suggest considering coeliac screening during ADHD evaluations when gastrointestinal signs, nutritional deficiencies, or a family history of autoimmune conditions are present. You can learn more about clinical screening guidelines via the National Celiac Association.
These are my experiences of coeliac disease.
My Personal Experience
I spent a ghastly childhood, as my otherwise-excellent GP had no idea, what I was suffering from.
But as there was no test for coeliac disease until about 1960, when I would have been 13, he didn’t have much chance.
Incidentally, I’ve only ever met one coeliac, who is older than me. But as their parents were both GPs, they worked out their daughter’s illness by food elimination.
I was finally diagnosed as coeliac at the age of fifty in 1997.
My Youngest Son’s Experience
My late wife felt he was coeliac, mainly because he had a lot of my characteristics.
But we never persuaded him to be tested.
Although, I did see him a couple of times exhibiting very ADHD-like behaviour.
Sadly, he died at the age of just 36 from pancreatic cancer.
I am certain he was coeliac and his immune system, which was degraded by coeliac disease was too weak to fight the cancer.
BW ESS Puts Europe’s Largest BESS Into Commercial Operation In The UK
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Energy Storage News.
This is the sub-heading.
BW ESS has put its 350MW/1,240MWh Hams Hall BESS project in the UK into operation, the largest in Europe.
Note.
- Hams Hall is in Birmingham
- That is roughly a three-and-a-half hour battery.
- Hams Hall’s capacity will increase to 400MW/1,424MWh once a second phase is complete.
- Google AI said the first phase was commissioned in late October 2026.
The Hams Hall BESS is certainly not on the small side.
In Manchester and Scotland Highview Power are building two liquid-air batteries.
- The Carrington battery in Manchester will be a 50 MW/300 MWh battery.
- The Hunterston battery in Scotland will be a 300 MW/3.2 GWh battery.
I can see a lot of healthy competition developing between the two technologies.
The two technologies can both build batteries around the same size.
But liquid-air technology appears to offer a longer duration.
First Community-Funded Solar-Plus-Storage Plant Opens For Investment
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Solar Power Portal.
This is the sub-heading.
The 7.4MW Common Lot solar park will be co-located with a 10MWh grid-connected BESS.
Note.
- UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has a median benchmark of 5.6 acres (2.25 hectares) per megawatt, so this solar park will be around 41.4 acres or a square with quarter-mile sides.
- If the BESS can provide full power for two hours, which is common, then it will have an output of 5 MW.
- Common Lot Solar Park has a web site.
- Both my houses in Suffolk, were in hamlets, where a system like this could have been installed.
I can see this model being repeated in rural areas or where there is a large building, that could support a large solar roof.
Is There A Working HiiROC Electrolyser in The United States?
I don’t know, but Google AI gave me this answer.
As of late 2026, there is no working or operational HiiROC electrolyser (Thermal Plasma Electrolysis plant) in the United States.
While the UK-based company has expanded its focus to the U.S. market—incorporating HiiROC USA in Delaware and working with the U.S. Department of Energy’s GREET model to calculate its carbon intensity—its active and pilot deployments remain concentrated in Europe and the United Kingdom.
Current HiiROC Projects & Status
Instead of U.S. facilities, HiiROC’s current physical footprint and major milestones include:
The Brigg Pilot Plant (UK): A demonstration facility built in partnership with Centrica at a gas-peaking plant in Lincolnshire, England, which represents their primary working test site.
Industrial Scale Deployments (UK): Scaled industrial rollouts, such as a major project at Cemex’s Rugby cement plant and a pilot facility at Saltend Chemicals Park in Hull.
Future Pipelines: The company has targeted commercial unit deployments starting in 2026, alongside feasibility studies for massive clean methanol and hydrogen plants in Scotland.
The U.S. hydrogen market currently relies heavily on other local producers (such as Monolith Materials for methane pyrolysis or Plug Power and Electric Hydrogen for water electrolysis), though HiiROC is actively building its in-country team to service future pipeline demand from U.S. customers.
You do wonder, if because of Trump, no American companies decided to get involved with HiiROC.
Is There A Working HiiROC Electrolyser in Japan?
I don’t know, but Google AI gave me this answer.
No, there is no working HiiROC electrolyser (Thermal Plasma Electrolysis unit) in Japan.
HiiROC and Tokyo Gas signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in January 2025 to jointly assess and explore the potential deployment of HiiROC’s technology across Japan, rather than an operational installation.
It looks to me that the Japanese are taken a careful route.
Is There A Working HiiROC Electrolyser in Korea?
I don’t know, but Google AI gave me this answer.
No, there is currently no working HiiROC electrolyser operational in South Korea.
While the UK-based clean technology company HiiROC has established deep ties to South Korea through major corporate investments, its active deployments and pilot projects remain focused primarily in Europe and the United Kingdom.
The South Korean Connection
Although a physical unit is not yet running in the country, South Korea plays a vital role in HiiROC’s growth:
Strategic Backing: Major South Korean automotive and industrial giants, including Hyundai Motor Group, Kia, and HD Hyundai, are key strategic investors. They backed HiiROC during its major £26 million funding rounds to support the scaling of its Thermal Plasma Electrolysis (TPE) technology.
Future Intentions: Financial and sustainability reports indicate an explicit intent to manufacture and deploy products in South Korea in collaboration with these local partners as part of the country’s broader push toward a hydrogen economy.
Where HiiROC Electrolysers Are Working
HiiROC’s initial real-world demonstrations and operational commercial pilots are located closer to its home base:
Germany: A 400 kg/day hydrogen production facility in Thierbach, developed alongside energy companies Wintershall Dea and VNG.
United Kingdom: Active projects injecting hydrogen into gas-fired peak power plants with Centrica at Brigg Energy Park, a biohydrogen pilot with EPi in Chelmsford, and industrial decarbonization efforts with the building materials company Cemex at their Rugby cement plant.
South Korea is aggressively building out its own domestic hydrogen capabilities, including a planned 320MW water electrolysis facility at Saemangeum and a 20 MW byproduct hydrogen plant in Ulsan, but these currently utilize different technologies rather than HiiROC’s proprietary plasma torches.
I can see Korea eventually being a large market for HiiROC.
EU Deal Means Return Of Pet Passports For Dogs, Cats And Ferrets
The title of this post is the same as that of this article in The Times!
This is the sub-heading.
New rules will be ratified at a summit on November 20 at which Britain must juggle trade-offs to gain access to Europe’s car and energy markets
I don’t care about dogs, cats and ferrets, provided everybody treats them right and allows me to say hello occasionally, but I do care about energy.
In my opinion the most important paragraph in the article is this one, which introduces, what it will mean for energy in the EU and the UK.
In a separate negotiation, the EU is calling on the UK to pay into European development funds if British energy companies are to gain the freedom to trade in the EU’s single market for electricity. Brussels would stipulate that British taxpayers’ money be funnelled into projects to build roads, airports and green energy facilities in the bloc’s poorer member states.
It might mean, that we have to pay some money in, but we are sitting on one of the largest green energy resources in Europe.
This map shows the The Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) around the UK.
Note.
- Undoubtedly, the rules by which EEZs were drawn, favoured the UK, and countries like Belgium and Germany didn’t do as well.
- The area of the UK’s European EEZ is twenty-three times that of Germany’s whole EEZ, which also includes an area of the Baltic Sea..
- Belgium doesn’t do well compared to The Netherlands.
- There is a substantial area between the UK and Ireland, which can deliver energy to where it is worth more.
- Great Britain and Ireland are surrounded by a large area, that must be worth developing.
- There is a convenient corridor, that runs North-West from the German EEZ to the UK EEZ, which could be used to deliver energy to Germany.
Didn’t the UK (and the Irish) do well!
Earlier in my opinion, I considered this paragraph to be the most important paragraph in the article.
In a separate negotiation, the EU is calling on the UK to pay into European development funds if British energy companies are to gain the freedom to trade in the EU’s single market for electricity. Brussels would stipulate that British taxpayers’ money be funnelled into projects to build roads, airports and green energy facilities in the bloc’s poorer member states.
I believe that if we joined the EU’s single market for electricity, this will open up joint UK/EU energy projects.
Energy Supply To The Island Of Ireland
This may be a bit parochial, but it’s important if you live in the Irish Republic or Northern Ireland.
I asked Google AI, the title of this section and received this reply.
The island of Ireland relies heavily on a mix of natural gas, wind power, and energy imports, operating through an all-island wholesale electricity market.
Key Energy Supply Facts
Fossil Fuel Reliance: Ireland remains a net energy importer, with fossil fuels accounting for roughly 79% to 83% of primary energy supply.
Electricity Generation Mix: In recent data, gross electricity supply is led by natural gas (~40%), wind energy (~32%), and net imports (~16%). Coal-fired generation at Moneypoint ended in 2025, and peat-fired generation has phased out or transitioned to biomass.
Single Electricity Market (SEM): The wholesale electricity market operates across the entire island of Ireland (Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland) as a single pool, managed via the Single Electricity Market Operator (SEMO).
Grid Operators: Transmission systems are operated by EirGrid in the Republic and ESB Networks handling distribution. Interconnections link the island to Great Britain and France.
Demand Drivers: Total electricity demand sits around 34.1 TWh, with commercial services and data centers making up a significant and growing portion of consumption.
Note.
- Energy on the island of Ireland is one of the oldest cross-border energy projects in Europe.
- Sixteen perecent of electricity is imported.
- It appears that electricity in all of Ireland is highly integrated and operates as a single market.
- In What Is The Potential Capacity Of Wind Farms In The Atlantic To The West Of Ireland?, I showed that as much as 600 GW of green electricity could be developed to the West of the island of Ireland.
The island of Ireland has outstanding potential for the development of offshore wind.
How Much Electricity Is Transferred Between The UK And The Irish Republic?
I asked Google AI, the title of this section and received this reply.
The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland import approximately 16% of their combined electricity needs from Great Britain.
Interconnectors Between Britain and Ireland
The power exchange happens via subsea high-voltage direct current (HVDC) and AC interconnections:
East-West Interconnector (EWIC): Connects Portan (County Meath, Ireland) and Shotton (North Wales) with a capacity of 500 MW.
Greenlink Interconnector: Connects Great Island (County Wexford, Ireland) and Pembroke (Wales) with a capacity of 500 MW (operational since early 2025).
Moyle Interconnector: Connects Scotland and Northern Ireland with a capacity of 500 MW (Northern Ireland shares an all-island Single Electricity Market with the Republic of Ireland).
North-South Interconnector: Links the grids of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland (capacity around 540 MW).
It would appear that the UK grid and the two grids on the island of Ireland are well-connected.
Would There Be Advantages If Both The UK And The Irish Republic Were In The Same EU Single Market For Electricity?
I asked Google AI, the title of this section and received this reply.
Re-aligning or fully coupling the UK and the Irish Republic within the EU single market for electricity (or the EU’s Internal Energy Market) offers several well-documented economic and operational advantages:
Lower Wholesale Electricity Prices: Post-Brexit decoupling between Great Britain and the island of Ireland’s Single Electricity Market (SEM) caused wholesale electricity prices in Northern Ireland to be up to 20% higher. Recoupling helps lower consumer bills by restoring efficient cross-border trade.
More Efficient Use of Interconnectors: Market coupling links electricity markets across interconnected regions so that prices and power flows are set simultaneously via shared algorithms, allowing electricity to move seamlessly from lower-cost areas to higher-cost ones.
Enhanced Security of Supply: Larger integrated electricity networks make local grid problems easier to manage by enabling immediate energy imports from neighboring systems when a plant trips or demand spikes.
Reduced Reserve Requirements: Operating across a larger, unified grid lowers the total amount of spinning or standby generation reserves needed to maintain stable system performance, since a single plant outage has a smaller relative impact.
Better Integration of Renewable Energy: Greater interconnection prevents the wasteful curtailment of wind and solar farms during high-generation periods, letting regions export surplus green power and maximize environmental and economic returns.
Wind farms could also be built between the two islands with the ability to send electricity where it was needed most.
Would A Combined EU/UK Single Market For Electricity Encourage Cross-Border Energy Projects?
I asked Google AI, the title of this section and received this reply.
A combined EU/UK single market for electricity would significantly encourage cross-border energy projects by removing administrative bottlenecks, optimizing physical infrastructure, and reducing system costs.
Key Ways Integration Encourages Cross-Border Projects
Day-Ahead Market Coupling: Reconnecting Great Britain to the EU’s day-ahead market-coupling system restores automated pan-European optimization for electricity flows. According to the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER), integrated trading lets countries seamlessly share generation, storage, and demand-side flexibility, which directly supports investments in new interconnectors.
North Sea Hybrid and Offshore Projects: The UK and EU share massive ambitions for North Sea offshore wind (targeting up to 300 GW by 2050). A unified market framework creates the regulatory alignment, carbon pricing clarity (such as linking the UK and EU Emissions Trading Systems), and long-term investor confidence needed to finance multi-country grid links and hybrid wind projects.
Reduction of System Inefficiencies: Current post-Brexit trading arrangements lead to sub-optimal use of interconnector capacity (roughly 12–14 GW). Reintegration is estimated to eliminate annual system inefficiencies worth £120 million to £370 million, making cross-border commercial cases much stronger for developers.
Context and Trade-Offs
Financial and Political Conditions: Discussions and draft proposals (including reports around potential UK contributions to EU development or regional funds in exchange for access) highlight that market re-entry involves political and financial trade-offs for both sides.
Broader Alignment: Analysts note that while full market coupling lowers wholesale power costs and improves grid balancing, its ultimate success depends on avoiding new non-tariff or carbon-border friction (like unaligned Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms) that could offset green export gains.
It would appear that on balance a combined EU/UK single market for electricity would encourage cross-border projects and would.be beneficial.
Could A Combined EU/UK Single Market For Hydrogen Work?
I asked Google AI, the title of this section and received this reply.
A combined EU/UK single market for hydrogen could work economically and technically, driven by shared resources in the North Sea and complementary supply-and-demand needs, but faces major political and doctrinal hurdles.
Economic and Technical Potential
Shared Infrastructure: Collaborating on North Sea renewable power generation, hydrogen pipelines, and carbon capture and storage (CCUS) can significantly cut project costs and improve financial backing.
Regulatory Alignment: Both the UK and the EU are implementing Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms (CBAM) that cover hydrogen imports by 2027 to prevent carbon-leakage. Harmonizing standards avoids expensive compliance duplication.
Supply and Demand at Scale: The EU has set massive renewable hydrogen targets through REPowerEU, while the UK aims to scale its own domestic capacity (though facing domestic policy and delivery delays).
Political and Institutional Obstacles
The “Indivisibility” Doctrine: The European Commission has previously assessed that deep energy market linkages of this nature run counter to the EU’s core doctrine of the indivisibility of the single market.
Red Lines on Bureaucracy: UK policymakers remain cautious about accepting EU oversight or rejoining Brussels regulatory bodies, while EU officials resist allowing the UK to “pick and choose” cherry-picked single-market access outside of full membership.
Current Frameworks: Post-Brexit trade relies on the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which lacks deep, permanent integration for emerging clean-energy sectors, though both sides have signaled intent to hold technical and regulatory exchanges on hydrogen and clean tech.
I feel that if the single market can be made to work for electricity, it can be made to work for hydrogen.
What Is The Potential Capacity Of Wind Farms In The Atlantic To The West Of Ireland?
In Is This Healey’s Magic Money Tree?, I published this map of the EEZ of the UK and those of neighbouring coastal states.
Note.
- The European part of the UK EEZ is shown in bright blue.
- Google AI gives its size as 766,309 square kilometres.
- The Irish EEZ is labelled IE, and surrounds the island of Ireland.
- Google AI gives its size as 880,000 square kilometres.
- Much of the European part of the UK and Irish EEZs stretch a full 200 nautical miles from the coast.
- The German EEZ is indicated by DE.
- Google AI gives its size as 32,982 square kilometres.
- The European part of the UK EEZ is 23 times the size of the whole of the German EEZ, which includes a small part in the Baltic Sea
- The Irish EEZ is 27 times the size of the whole of the German EEZ.
Just like the UK, the Irish seemed to have been very lucky, when the EEZs were drawn.
What Is Google AI’s Estimate Of The Potential Capacity In The Atlantic To The West Of Ireland?
I asked Google AI the question in the title of this post and received this answer.
The potential capacity of floating offshore wind (FLOW) farms in the Atlantic Ocean to the west of Ireland ranges from at least 30 gigawatts (GW) under official government long-term goals to roughly 197 GW to 600 GW in technical and scientific assessments.
Key Capacity Estimates for the Atlantic / West Coast:
Official Long-Term Policy Target: The Irish government’s Programme for Government aims to tap into at least 30 GW of offshore floating wind power off the Atlantic coast by 2050.
Scientific & Technical Potential (Regional): Studies examining floating offshore wind deployment in designated areas of Irish waters (spanning over 58,000 km²) estimate a total capacity of 197 GW, with about 80% concentrated in water depths of 60 to 200 meters.
Broader Atlantic / Exclusive Economic Zone Ceiling: Theoretical and high-ambition studies suggest the vast Atlantic marine area possesses an upper technical bound reaching up to 600 GW (with long-term high-ambition scenarios exploring around 150 GW by 2075).
Why the West Coast Has High Potential
Stronger Winds: Wind speeds of 9 to 11 meters per second at typical hub heights yield high capacity factors of 50% to 60%, significantly outperforming typical North Sea sites (35% to 45%).
Floating Technology (FLOW): Because waters off the Atlantic west coast are deep, development relies on floating wind platforms rather than fixed-bottom turbines.
Detailed analysis and context on these projections can be explored via the The Irish Atlantic Energy Vision Report and technical evaluations hosted by IEEE Xplore.
These really are capacities with extreme potentials.
Are There Any Personal Reasons, Why Meloni Started Testing All Children For Coeliac Disease And Type One Diabetes?
I asked Google AI the question in the title of this post and received this reply.
While Italy’s historic mass screening program was passed during Giorgia Meloni’s administration, there are no documented personal health reasons involving Meloni herself that triggered the initiative. Instead, the narrative surrounding the policy focuses on medical research, high hidden prevalence rates, and a different prominent politician.
The primary drivers behind the policy include:
The Actual Promoter: The landmark Law 130/2023 was championed and introduced by Giorgio Mulè, the Vice-President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies. While Meloni’s broader right-wing coalition government supported and enacted the legislation, Mulè was the core political force and promoter driving it through parliament.
Alarming Research Data: The law was heavily motivated by medical studies—specifically a trial led by Professor Elena Lionetti. It revealed that coeliac disease prevalence had doubled in Italy over 25 years, and an estimated 60% of cases in children were completely undiagnosed because they were asymptomatic or presented classic symptoms poorly.
Preventative Healthcare Goals: The government backed the program to reduce critical health complications. Early screening for type 1 diabetes is proven to cut severe cases of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) by 50%. Catching coeliac disease early protects children from long-term consequences like growth delays, iron deficiency, and osteoporosis.
Ultimately, the testing mandate stems from Italy’s status as a world leader in coeliac awareness and a calculated public health shift toward secondary disease prevention.
The law doesn’t seem to have been very controversial.