Diesel Buses To Be Phased Out Within 15 Years To Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in The Times.
Hallelujah!
Should be heavy trucks, next!
Hydrogen Is A Top Contender In The Race To Zero-Carbon
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Forbes.
It is written by influential academics at the Gutierrez Energy Management Institute at the University of Houston, who make some strong points about hydrogen.
- Hydrogen can’t by mined or extracted without a manufacturing process.
- They are warm on electrolysis. Does the US have an electrolyser factory?
- Hydrogen is ideal for medium trucks upwards.
- Research into hydrogen deployment is needed.
- I don’t think, that they’re impressed with Government response.
- Although they do say that the European Commission’s plan with $75billion of funds to deploy the technology is ambitious.
But their strongest comments are reserved for a comparison between the heavy trucks of Tesla and Nikola.
‘Build Greener’ You Say Boris? Got It. Just Say The Word, We’re Ready Here In North West England
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on H2 View.
The article is written by Cadent‘s Network Director for the North West and what she says is a must-read.
Keadby 3 Low-Carbon Power Station
This article on Business Live is entitled Huge Green Power Station Proposed By SSE As It Embraces Hydrogen And Carbon Capture.
SSE Thermal is working on a low-carbon 910 MW gas-fired power station to join Keadby and Keadby 2 power stations in a cluster near Scunthorpe.
A spokesman for SSE is quoted as saying they will not build the plant without a clear route to decarbonisation.
On this page of their web site, SSE Thermal, say this about Keadby 3.
As part of our commitment to a net zero emissions future, Keadby 3 will only be built with a clear route to decarbonisation, either using hydrogen as a low-carbon fuel, or equipping it with post-combustion carbon capture technology. The project is at the early stages of development and no final investment decision has been made.
It should also be noted that SSE Renewables have also built a wind farm at Keadby. The web site describes it like this.
Keadby Wind Farm is England’s largest onshore wind farm. This 68MW renewable energy generation site can power approximately 57,000 homes.
There are a lot of good intentions here and I think that SSE haven’t disclosed the full picture.
It would seem inefficient to use hydrogen to power a gas-fired power station to achieve zero-carbon power generation.
- If you are using hydrogen created from steam reforming of methane, this creates a lot of carbon-dioxide.
- If you are using green hydrogen produced by electrolysis, then, why don’t you store the electricity in a battery?
Perhaps, SSE are trying out a new process?
This Google Map shows the area of Keadby to the West of Scunthorpe.
Note.
- The River Trent meandering through the area.
- Althorpe station is in the bend of the River,
- I’m fairly certain, that I remember an old airfield in the area.
- Keadby power station is a bit to the North of the waterway running West from the River and close to where the railway crosses the waterway.
This second Google Map shows a close-up of the power station.
This visualisation from SSE Thermal shows how the site might look in the future.
For me the interesting location is the village of Althorpe, where C and myself had friends.
They were always getting tourists arriving in the village looking for Princess Diana’s grave!
Carbon Capture And Storage At Keadby
If SSE have three large power stations at Keadby, a shared carbon capture and storage system could be worthwhile.
- There are numerous gas fields in the area and a big gas terminal at Theddlethorpe, to where they all connect.
- I was surprised to see, that one of thee fields; Saltfleetby is owned by President Putin’s favourite gas company; Gazprom.
- Some of these fields are actually on-shore.
- The power stations probably get their gas from the same terminal.
Some of these gas fields that connect to Theddlethorpe could be suitable for storing the carbon dioxide.
As there is masses of space at Keadby, I can see more gas-fired power stations being built at Keadby.
All would feed into the same carbon capture and storage system.
If gas was needed to be imported in a liquified form, there is the Port of Immingham nearby.
Absorption Of Carbon Dioxide By Horticulture
Consider.
- Increasingly, horticulture is getting more automated and efficient.
- Automatic harvesters are being developed for crops like tomatoes and strawberries.
- Instead of storing the carbon-dioxide in worked-out gas fields, it can also be fed directly to fruit and vegetables that are being grown in greenhouses.
- Keadby is surrounded by the flat lands of Lincolnshire.
How long will it be before we see tomatoes, strawberries, peppers and cucumbers labelled as British zero-carbon products?
Offshore Hydrogen
I’ll repeat what I said in ITM Power and Ørsted: Wind Turbine Electrolyser Integration.
This is from a press release from ITM Power, which has the same title as the linked article.
This is the introductory paragraph.
ITM Power (AIM: ITM), the energy storage and clean fuel company, is pleased to share details of a short project sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), in late 2019, entitled ‘Hydrogen supply competition’, ITM Power and Ørsted proposed the following: an electrolyser placed at the wind turbine e.g. in the tower or very near it, directly electrically connected to the DC link in the wind turbine, with appropriate power flow control and water supplied to it. This may represent a better design concept for bulk hydrogen production as opposed to, for instance, remotely located electrolysers at a terminal or platform, away from the wind turbine generator, due to reduced costs and energy losses.
Some points from the remainder of the press release.
- Costs can be saved as hydrogen pipes are more affordable than under-water power cables.
- The proposed design reduced the need for AC rectification.
After reading the press release, it sounds like the two companies are performing a serious re-think on how wind turbines and their links to get energy on-shore are designed.
- Will they be using redundant gas pipes to bring the hydrogen ashore?
- Will the hydrogen come ashore at Theddlethorpe and use the existing gas network to get to Keadby?
It sounds inefficient, but then the steelworks at Scunthorpe will probably want masses of hydrogen for carbon-free steel making and processing.
Boosting Power Station Efficiency
There is also a section in the Wikipedia entry for Combined Cycle Power Plant called Boosting Efficiency, where this is said.
The efficiency of CCGT and GT can be boosted by pre-cooling combustion air. This is practised in hot climates and also has the effect of increasing power output. This is achieved by evaporative cooling of water using a moist matrix placed in front of the turbine, or by using Ice storage air conditioning. The latter has the advantage of greater improvements due to the lower temperatures available. Furthermore, ice storage can be used as a means of load control or load shifting since ice can be made during periods of low power demand and, potentially in the future the anticipated high availability of other resources such as renewables during certain periods.
So is the location of the site by the Trent, important because of all that cold water?
Or will they use surplus power from the wind farm to create ice?
The Proposed North Sea Wind Power Hub
The North Sea Wind Power Hub is a proposed energy island complex on the Eastern part of the Dogger Bank.
- The Dutch, Germans and Danes are leading the project.
- Along with the Belgians, we have been asked to join.
- Some reporting on the Hub has shown, airstrips in the middle of the complex to bring the workforce to the site.
- A Dutch report, says that as much as 110 GW of wind power could be developed by 2050.
- We are also looking at installing wind farms on our section of the Dogger Bank.
Geography says, that one of the most convenient locations to bring all this electricity or hydrogen gas ashore is North Lincolnshire
A Very Large Battery
I would also put a very large battery on the site at Keadby.
One of Highview Power‘s proposed 1 GWh CRYOBatteries would be a good start. This will be four times the size of the 250 MWh CRYOBattery, which the company is currently designing and building at Carrington in Greater Manchester.
Conclusion
The three power stations at Keadby are the following sizes
- Keadby 1 – 734 MW
- Keadby 2 – 803.7 MW
- Keadby 3 – 010 MW
This adds up to a total of 2447.7 MW. And if they fit carbon capture and storage it will be zero-carbon.
Note.
- Hinckley Point C is only 3200 MW and will cost around £20 billion or £6.25 billion per GW.
- Keadby 2 power station is quoted as costing £350 million. or £0.44 billion per GW.
These figures don’t include the cost of carbon capture and storage, but they do show the relatively high cost of nuclear.
Yara Launches Green Hydrogen Trial To Reduce Food Production Carbon Emissions
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Hydrogen Fuel News.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Norwegian fertilizer manufacturing giant Yara is launching a landmark green hydrogen trial. The purpose is to separate the current connection between producing food and generating carbon emissions.
Read the article and then ask yourself, how much carbon dioxide was created to make the fertiliser you use on your lawn or allotment?
Hyundai Delivers World’s First Hydrogen-Powered Trucks
The title of this post, is the same as this article on Car Advice.
The trucks llok impressive and they are going to Switzerland.
Beeching Reversal – Upper Wensleydale Railway
This is one of the Beeching Reversal projects that the Government and Network Rail are proposing to reverse some of the Beeching cuts.
This map from the Upper Wensleydale Railway web site, shows the location of the proposed reinstated railway.
This is the vision of how the railway will be used, taken from the web site.
It is hoped that a reinstated junction with the existing Leeds – Settle – Carlisle railway line at Garsdale will allow ‘through’ trains to run from Hawes via Garsdale Junction, past the Yorkshire Three Peaks to Settle, then onwards through Hellifield and Clitheroe into Lancashire for Preston and Greater Manchester.
We are also hoping that some Manchester – Blackburn – Clitheroe trains can be extended to Garsdale and Hawes thereby linking Lancashire to an enhanced service through Settle to the Yorkshire Peaks and Dales.
Connections with other trains could be made at Hellifield (for West Yorkshire & Lancaster) and at Garsdale (for Carlisle, Scotland & the North East of England).
This Google map shows the current state of the railways at Garsdale.
Note.
- Garsdale station in the South-West corner of the map.
- The Settle and Carlisle Line curving away to the North over the Dandry Mire Viaduct.
- The trackbed of the former branch to Hawes stands out as a green scar.
I have followed the route of the railway to Hawes in my helicopter and it doesn’t appear to be a very challenging project to reinstate.
- Although the comprehensive Routes and Structures page on the Upper Wensleydale Railway, indicates there is a lot to do.
- It is about six miles long.
- It is single track with a passing loop at Hawes.
This Google Map shows the town of Hawes,
It certainly looks the sort of place, where Wallace and Gromit might rent a cottage for a week and use as a base to explore the countryside.
- There’s a Wensleydale Creamery.
- There’s a traditional ropemaker called Outhwaite, dating from 1905, who have the web site; www.ropemakers.com.
- The headquarters of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority are located in the North of the town and shown by a green arrow.
Next to the Park Authority is a blue arrow marking the Dales Countryside Museum, which incorporates the original Hawes railway station.
Services To Hawes
Looking at the data from Real Time Trains, it looks like trains on the Settle and Carlisle average about fifty mph on that line, which is generally double-track with an operating speed of sixty mph.
- I would estimate that a modern diesel or hydrogen-powered train could do the return trip between Garsdale and Hawes station in around thirty minutes.
- This time would probably mean that the Hawes Branch could be worked with only one train operational on the branch.
- It would also fit in well with the service plans for the Upper Wensleydale Railway.
I am fairly certain that an hourly service could be run between Hawes and Hellifield stations, which could be extended as far South as the operator wanted.
Military Traffic To Redmire
In the Wikipedia entry for Redmire village, this is said.
Redmire is the terminus of the Wensleydale Railway. The Ministry of Defence uses trains to transport armoured vehicles from bases in the south to the Catterick military area using Redmire railway station as its terminus.
It looks like there must be a quality railway between Redmire station and the East Coast Main Line at Northallerton.
This Google Map shows the site of Redmire station.
Note.
- At the left hand side of the map, there look to be loading ramps for the military vehicles, at the end of two sidings.
- The building on the North side of the tracks appears to be the old Redmire station buildings.
- The blue dot to the right, is a Google Maps pointer for the station
If you type Redmire into Google Maps, it’s easy to find..
This Google Map shows the rail lines at Northallerton.
Note.
Northallerton station in the South-East corner of the map.
The East Coast Main Line runs about West-by-North from the station towards Darlington and Scotland.
The line to Middlesbrough branches off in a North-Easterly direction.
The Wensleydale Railway comes in from the West and joins the East Coast Main Line going North.
It also appears there used to be a tight chord that allowed trains to go between the Wensleydale Railway and the South.
It looks like the Army would like that chord for their vehicle trains.
This enlarged Google Map, shows the site of the chord.
It looks to me, that it was once a chord, but now it’s a substantial wood.
A Bigger Plan
In the Wikipedia entry for the Wensleydale Railway, there is a section, which is entitled Upper Wensleydale Railway, where this is said.
In late 2019/early 2020, a separate company was formed to campaign to reinstate the line between Hawes and Garsdale. The groups’ objective is to have a timetabled year-round service run by a train operating company, rather than a heritage service. This scheme was shortlisted for funding in the second round of the government’s Reverse Beeching Fund, in June 2020.
These are my thoughts on various topics.
The Eastern Terminal
There are three possible Eastern terminals.
- Northallerton
- Middlesbrough – There is no connection to the Wensleydale Railway.
- Darlington – Would probably mean slow trains on the East Coast Main Line.
I think we’re left with Northallerton and the tight connection, which requires the chord to be reinstated.
But, it does say in the Wikipedia entry for Northallerton station, that the station is the terminus for the proposed extended Wensleydale Railway.
This Google Map shows the Northern end of Northallerton station.
Would it be possible to sneak a line down the Western side of the East Coast Main Line and into a new bay platform at the station?
It would certainly allow trains from the Wensleydale Railway to terminate at Northallerton station.
The Western Terminal
As I said earlier, it’s the operator’s choice.
Personally, I would choose Blackburn station.
- It’s about fifty miles from Gardale station.
- There is a train depot at Blackburn.
- Blackburn station is in the Town Centre.
- Blackburn station has good rail connections to Blackpool, Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester and Preston.
Prior to COVID-19, I regularly stayed in the convenient Premier Inn next to the station.
Rolling Stock
The trains will have to be self-powered, as I don’t think the budget will run to electrification and much of the track-bed is owned by a heritage railway.
So that must mean the trains must be self-powered, which will mean either diesel, electric or hydrogen.
- I think diesel can be ruled out, except as a stop-gap, we are going carbon-neutral on the railways by 2040.
- Blackburn and Northallerton stations are too far for battery power.
So that means it must be hydrogen power.
But as, it appears that Teesside is going for hydrogen, as I wrote about in Fuelling The Change On Teesside Rails, that should be a convenient fuel.
The route might be a candidate for Vivarail’s Pop-up Metro concept, with fast charging at one or two, of any number of the stations.
Conclusion
I like this scheme, as it sorts a lot of problems.
I also think that there’s a fair chance, it will get the nod.
The local MP is the Chancellor of the Exchequer; Rishi Sunak and this could be a case of he who pays the piper, calls the tune!
JCB Unveils World’s First Hydrogen Digger
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on International Vehicle Technology.
The signs have been there for some time.
- JCB are one of the backers of ITM Power, who make large scale electrolysers in Rotherham.
- Jo Bamford has a hydrogen company called Ryze Hydrogen.
- Jo Bamford took over Wrightbus and is saying he’ll be building thousands of hydrogen buses a year.
- Ryze Hydrogen have planning permission for a giant hydrogen electrolyser at Herne Bay.
To me, it is totally logical, that JCB build a hydrogen-powered digger.
And it appears they have got there first!
Ryze Hydrogen-Suttons Tankers Partnership To Supply Hydrogen To Transport for London
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on H2 View.
From reading the article, it looks like London’s new hydrogen buses will be on the road by the end of the year.
Sadly, in some ways, the hydrogen will have to be driven from Runcorn, as the Herne Bay electrolyser won’t be completed for a couple of years.
I would assume, that the hydrogen is coming from the plant where I worked around 1970, or more likely its successor.
‘Chernobyl’ Fears Dismissed As Herne Bay Hydrogen Plant Bid Approved
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Kent Online.
it would appear that Kent Online got their prediction right. that I wrote about in Hydrogen Power Plant Bid In Herne Bay Set For Green Light From Canterbury City Council.
The Anonymous Widower 