You Need Timing!
As the song says, and any good sportsman will tell you, timing is all important!
When we created Artemis, what helped us to be successful was a growth in large projects around the UK and the alternative methods of large mainframe computers, needed more space and a lot more money to do the same job.
We did to the Project Management industry, what Issigonis did to the UK car market with the Mini, Apple did to the music industry and Dyson did for vacuum cleaners, by launching the right product at the right time.
Because of the UK Electoral System, Theresa May was able to start the 2017 General Election campaign at a time convenient to the Conservative Party and its resources.
I think she chose well, when she announced the election on April 18th, as the organisation was already in place for the Local Elections on May 4th. Building a team is surely one of the major costs of fighting an election, so the costs of fighting the General Election can be shared.
This double election will also save costs for other parties, but are their finances in a robust enough state to fight two elections close together? Especially, when they were only planning for one election!
Theresa May’s manifesto could have been planned to be a very easy-to-write document, as she must have been working out policies with her cabinet since she became Prime Minister last Summer, many of which would have been implemented with or without the General Election.
But then she had the luck, that someone by accident or design, leaked the Manifesto, written by the Corbynistas.
This has enabled the Conservatives to wait to disclose their Manifesto last, just releasing the odd morsel here and there.
Policies like housing have been outlined, but they are by no means complete.
The big surprises if there are any, will be disclosed when the manifesto is finally launched!
How many times have your football team lost or won by a late goal?
Ovo Energy Snaps At Heels Of Big Six With Corgi HomePlan Takeover
Ovo Energy seem to be making a play for the big time according to an article in City AM, with the same title as this post.
If it comes about, I think I’ll sign up for my boiler, as I’m with Ovo.
Welcome To The Corbyn Comedy Channel
The leaking of the Draft Labour Manifesto is to my mind, proof, if it were needed, that the current Labour Party can’t be trusted to organise a piss-up in a brewery.
I have only read summaries, but most of the policies show such a disregard for the rules of economics, taxation and politics, that it could have been written by someone with Monty Python’s grasp of comedy.
Stephen Fitzpatrick On May’s Energy Cap
Stephen Fitzpatrick is the chief executive of OVO Energy, so you could expect a well-thought out response to Theresa May’s proposed cap on energy prices.
This article on Sky is entitled May vows to cap energy bill increases if Tories win election.
This is reported as comments by Stephen Fitzpatrick in the article.
He described the policy as a “bold and ambitious move” – and argued that a cap on standard variable tariffs would not harm consumers or competition.
“It will be painful for some companies, especially those currently taking advantage of customer disengagement, but it will offer consumers a safety net, protecting them from some of the worst practices of the industry whilst still allowing innovative suppliers to compete,
I just wonder, if the energy cap is more targeted than we think.
Unlimited Energy Is More Than A Pipe Dream
This is the title of a comment in Friday’s Times from Ed Conway, who is economics editor of Sky News.
He says how energy storage will eventually solve our energy supply problem, by storing the energy generated from solar, tidal, wave and wind.
He mentions a storage idea from a company called ARES or Advanced Rail Energy Storage, which uses trains to store energy by pushing weights up hill.
This article from Interesting Engineering is entitled These Cool Energy Storage Trains Simply Work With the Power of Gravity.
This is said.
- Trains are loaded with concrete blocks.
- Trains are powered by third rail electrification.
- Energy is released using the regenerative braking, when the trains come down.
- Very little environmental damage is sustained.
- No water is used.
I have a feeling that in the right place, this idea could be made to work.
Consider the following facts and thoughts.
Dinorwig Power Station
Dinorwig Power Station in Snowdonia colloquial known as Electric Mountain is the UK’s largest pumped storage hydroelectric scheme.
Wikipedia says this about the power of Dinorwig.
From standstill, a single 450-tonne generator can synchronise and achieve full load in approximately 75 seconds. With all six units synchronised and spinning-in-air (Water is dispelled by compressed air and the unit draws a small amount of power to spin the shaft at full speed), 0 MW to 1800 MW load can be achieved in approximately 16 seconds. Once running, the station can provide power for up to 6 hours before running out of water.
So Dinotwig can effectively store about 6 x 1800 or 10800 MwH of electricity.
How Much Energy Would A Train Store?
If we took a 100 tonne wagon and raised it through a thousand metres, it would acquire 0.272 MwH of energy.
On a rough calculation, you would need to raise 40,000 wagons to have the capacity of a Dinorwig.
That would need a very large marshalling yard at the top and the bottom.
How Powerful Is A Locomotive?
A modern electric locomotive like a Bombardier TRAXX can be as big as 6 MW.
This locomotive doesn’t come with third-rail electrification, but that could easily be arranged.
If it took the train with say four locomotives, two hours to climb from the low to the high yards, this would expend 48 MwH of electricity.
So this energy would be enough to raise about two hundred wagons to the top.
Making All The Numbers Bigger
The numbers seem challenging and I think the idea is only possible with larger numbers.
- The trains would need to be raised through a much greater height – Say 2,000 metres
- The wagons would need to be very heavy – Say 2,000 tonnes
- The locomotives would need to be more powerful – Say 10 MW.
These give the following.
- The wagon would acquire 10.88 MwH of energy.
- Each train would expend 80 MwH of energy.
- A Dinorwig-sized facility would need about a thousand wagons.
Making the components bigger certainly reduced the numbers.
Could A Heavy And Powerful Self-Powered Wagon Be Designed And Built?
Concrete has various attributes including heavy weight, ease of use and affordable cost.
Boat builders have even built high-performance yachts from concrete.
Could it be possible to create a self-powered wagon with the following characteristics?
- A number of powered bogies, with a total power of perhaps 20-30 MW.
- Third rail power collection.
- Regenerative braking to generate power on the way down.
- A weight of 10,000 tonnes.
I suspect that the engineering exists to do it.
It would also need a very robust railway to carry it.
The potential energy acquired by the wagon at 1,000 metres would be 27.2 MwH.
If the time to get up the hill and the power of the wagon were balanced, I could see an efficient design being created.
Conclusion
This project might just be possible in an area like Nevada, where it could be coupled to massive solar farms, but I believe there are few other places in the world, where it would be as feasible.
Good Riddance To The Garden Bridge!
This article on the BBC, is entitled Garden Bridge: London mayor Sadiq Khan withdraws support.
It looks like that’s it for the complete waste of money!
Unless of course, some private individual decides to pay for it. Hopefully, Sadiq Khan, will tell the donor, “Thsnks! But no thanks!”
The Beginning Of The End For Coal In The UK
This article on the BBC is entitled First coal-free day in Britain since Industrial Revolution.
This is opening two paragraphs.
Britain went a full day without using coal to generate electricity for the first time since the Industrial Revolution, the National Grid says.
The energy provider said Friday’s lack of coal usage was a “watershed” moment.
Let’s hope it’s not a long goodbye.
Sadly, whilst there are people like Trummkopf about, it will be a long time before coal burning across the world descreases to a low level.
Breakfast At Saltaire
On my way back from Skipton station, I stopped off for breakfast at Saltaire.
I ate in Salts Diner and as you can see, I had a large gluten-free full-English breakfast with tea and juice for £9.95.
A Walk In Bradford City Centre
I like walking in City Centres and Bradford didn’t disappoint.
Little Germany with its collection of Listed buildings was certainly a surprise.
The Female Of The Species Is More Deadly Than The Male
The title of this post is from a poem by Rudyard Kipling, but could the 2017 General Election be a rerun of the 1983 General Election, where Margaret Thatcher gave Michael Foot, the order of the boot?
Jeremy Corbyn is actually two years younger than Michael Foot was at the 1983 General Election, which was incidentally when he was elected for the first time.
At the 1983 General Election Margaret Thatcher was in her late-fifties and now Theresa May is in her early-sixties.
I think that humorists and cartoonists will be having a good election, drawing comparisons.
Thatcher won her biggest victory in the Falklands, so will May win her victory in the Brexit negotiations?
I certainly feel that far outposts like the Falklands and Gibraltar could figure in this election.
The Anonymous Widower 