Italian Firm To Build Green Hydrogen Platform For CrossWind’s Hollandse Kust Noord
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
CrossWind has awarded Rosetti Marino an Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Installation and Commissioning (EPCIC) contract for an offshore green hydrogen production and storage plant, located within CrossWind’s Hollandse Kust Noord offshore wind farm in the Netherlands.
These paragraphs describe the platform.
Rosetti Marino said that the pilot plant, called the Baseload Power Hub and fully integrated into an offshore wind farm, is a world first.
The plant on a MegaWatt scale will convert excess wind energy to green hydrogen through an electrolyser and store it as green hydrogen that can be converted to electricity when needed via a fuel cell.
It will also include battery storage for shorter-term power storage.
It looks like they’ve got all angles covered.
I suspect that we’ll see more platforms like this, as they should make the output of a wind farm much more controllable.
Ørsted Receives Development Consent For 2.6 GW Hornsea Four Offshore Wind Farm
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
The UK Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero has granted development consent to Hornsea Project Four, a 2.6 GW offshore wind farm Ørsted plans to build some 69 kilometres off the Yorkshire Coast.
This is the first paragraph.
The UK government, in a press release issued on 12 July, stated that Hornsea Four was the 126th Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project and 73rd energy application to have been examined by The Planning Inspectorate within the timescales laid down in the Planning Act 2008.
It certainly looks like The Planning Inspectorate has been working overtime.
Note that the four Hornsea wind farms are planned to have at least the following sizes.
- Hornsea 1 – 1218 MW
- Hornsea 2 – 1386 MW
- Hornsea 3 – 2852 MW
- Hornsea 4 – 2600 MW
These four wind farms give the Hornsea complex, a total capacity of at least 8056 MW.
When I worked at ICI in Runcorn in the late 1960s, I used to cross the Runcorn Bridge twice every day and would see Fiddlers Ferry power station, with its eight cooling towers, on the North Bank of the River Mersey to the East. It was generally thought of as a large coal-fired power station.
These pictures of Fiddlers Ferry power station were taken in 2021, from a Liverpool-bound train on the railway bridge.
This Google Map shows the power station.
Note.
- Fiddlers Ferry may have been large for its time at 1989 MW, but it is still less than a quarter of the size of the Hornsea wind farm!
- Drax power station in 1986 at 3960 MW, was larger than Fiddlers Ferry, but was still less than half of the size of Hornsea!
Hornsea wind farm is a true green giant!
This paragraph is from the Hornsea Project 4 section of the Wikipedia entry for the Hornsea wind farms.
Construction of the wind farm was provisionally expected to start in 2023, and be operational by 2027, at the earliest. The project’s capacity is unknown by Ørsted due to the ever increasing size of available wind turbines for the project.
When completed, it could be even bigger.
Bradford Railway Station: Axed Plans For New Travel Hub Reconsidered
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
Plans for a new railway station in Bradford will be reconsidered after the government previously scrapped them.
These paragraphs outline how the government has changed its mind.
Former Transport Secretary Grant Shapps cancelled the plan for Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR), a brand new line serving the city, in November 2021.
The government has said an updated business case for the project was expected later this year.
West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin welcomed the news but criticised the “dither and delay”.
When the Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) was unveiled in 2021, it included cutting much of HS2’s eastern leg and scaling back NPR, including plans for a new station and line in Bradford.
The announcement that the government would now reconsider plans was made in the Department for Transport’s (DfT) response to the Transport Select Committee’s report on the IRP.
The committee had argued that the department had not properly tested alternative options to its proposals and had left out analysis of wider economic “levelling up” impacts of different options for NPR.
But there are no details yet.
Do We Know Anything?
The new station has been proposed to be built on the site of the current St. James Wholesale Market In Bradford.
This OpenRailwayMap shows the route of the railway between Leeds and Bradford Interchange stations, which runs via New Pudsey station.
Note.
- Leeds is to the East.
- Bradford Interchange station is in the North-West corner of the map.
- The yellow line across the map is the railway between Leeds and Bradford Interchange stations.
- St. James Wholesale Market is the rectangular building towards the top of the map in the middle.
- The dotted line going through the market is a disused goods line.
It is not obvious how the station will be connected to the rail network.
What’s Gone Wrong With Taskrabbit?
I’ve used Taskrabbit several times in the past and as I have a few electrical problems, I thought I’d see if they could help me.
The major problem, I have is a broken smoke detector, that won’t stop bleeping. As it is in my bedroom, I’m not getting a good night’s sleep.
This would be the sort of problem, I’d have fixed myself in the past, but as it’s above my bed, I don’t think I trust my balance to fix it, after my stroke.
I could always borrow a shot-gun and fix it for ever.
My trouble with Taskrabbit is that it doesn’t recognise my address and says it is out of their coverage area.
I have sent a message to Taskrabbit and they say to ring a US number, if they haven’t got back to me in two days.
That limit expired four hours ago.
It’s the worst customer service I’ve found in years.
£20 Per Hour Is A 43 % Pay Increase Over £14 Per Hour
The BBC has just reported on the Junior Doctors Strike from outside University College Hospital.
- Banners were showing that their current pay rate is £14 per hour.
- In an interview, a strike leader said that junior doctors need an offer of £20 per hour.
That would be a pay increase of forty-three percent.
I’m sure we’d all like a pay or pension increase of that amount.
Germany Rakes In EUR 12.6 Billion Through ‘Dynamic Bidding’ Offshore Wind Auction
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Germany’s first dynamic bidding process, covering four offshore wind zones with a combined capacity of 7 GW, has generated EUR 12.6 billion in proceeds, according to the Federal Network Agency.
This dynamic bidding process seems to have brought in the euros.
I hope the Crown Estate is going to look at this bidding, to see if it would be good for the UK.
Silvertown Tunnel: Cracks In Mayoral Policies
The title of this post, is the same as that, as this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
It is an infrastructure project that is well-underway with the boring almost completed — but it has a very low profile.
These three paragraphs possibly explain why.
Every step of the Crossrail tunnelling, the media were invited along. Not so with this project.
This is Silvertown Tunnel. It is more than 1km long and will be London’s first road tunnel in over 30 years.
Perhaps one of the reasons it isn’t being pushed publicity-wise, is it is very controversial.
Reading the rest of the article it certainly is controversial in many people’s minds.
These are my thoughts.
Avoiding The Dartford Crossing
When I drove back to Suffolk from Gatwick, Kent or Sussex, in the last century, because of congestion at the Dartford Crossing, I would sometimes cut through London and use the Blackwall Tunnel, when I thought it would be quicker.
When the Silvertown Tunnel opens, this could be a viable alternative for vehicles.
My experience of modelling flows, tells me, that water finds its own level. With driving, Satellite Navigation will be able to tell drivers, which will be the fastest route.
It is my view, that the Silvertown Tunnel will become the biggest rat-run in London.
Except some of these rats will be super-rats in 45-tonne HGVs.
Cutting Pollution In London
If super-rat-running is going to happen, then this will raise pollution in Central London, with all those heavy trucks going through.
The only way to cut pollution would be to have differential pricing for vehicles in the tunnels.
Perhaps hydrogen and electric vehicles should be at a discount.
But then Sadiq Khan doesn’t have a hydrogen policy, except to ignore it and hope it goes away.
The Elizabeth Line Effect
Talking to Elizabeth Line staff at Whitechapel station, they feel that there is an increasing number of passengers, who do journeys in East London on an up-one-branch-down-t’other basis between places like Ilford and Woolwich.
I believe, that other cross-river railways and the Bank station improvements, will also take passengers out of their cars, which will free up the Silvertown Tunnel for more HGVs.
A City Airport Station On The Elizabeth Line
I wrote about this in Thoughts On London City Airport And The Elizabeth Line.
How many cars would this remove from the tunnels under the Thaames?
TfL Announces The Next Tube Stations To Be Prioritised For Step-Free Access To Meet The Mayor’s Bold Accessibility Targets
The title of this post is the same as that of this press release from Transport for London.
These are the first two paragraphs.
Transport for London (TfL) has outlined the ten London Underground stations it will be reviewing for potential step-free access, as it progresses plans to further improve public transport accessibility in London.
These ten stations, spread across London, have been identified using an approach focused on the benefits to customers, such as reducing journey times for those needing to use step-free access and reflecting issues that impact the delivery of step-free access such as the feasibility of new lifts, sufficient space for work to be carried out and the depth of each Tube station.
The ten stations listed are.
- Alperton
- Arnos Grove
- Burnt Oak – Some work has been started, but paused because of the pandemic
- Eastcote
- Finchley Road
- Northolt – Some work has been started, but paused because of the pandemic
- North Acton
- Rayners Lane
- West Hampstead
- White City
The linked posts will show the latest status at the stations.
Other stations are named in the press release, where work will be done, if funds are available.
- Boston Manor
- Brondesbury
- Colindale
- East Putney
- Hackney Downs
- Hatton Cross
- Leyton
- North Ealing
- Park Royal
- Peckham Rye
- Queen’s Park
- Rickmansworth
- Ruislip
- Snaresbrook
- Surrey Quays
in addition, TfL will be looking at the Northern Line between Elephant and Castle and Morden, where there is a gap in step-free access.
These are a few thoughts.
The London Mayor Election In 2024
How many of these stations are in areas, where Sadiq Khan is short of votes for the 2024 election?
Arnos Grove Station
Work has already started at Arnos Grove station, as I showed in Are Arnos Grove And Northolt Tube Stations Going Step Free?.
The BBC Jumped The Gun
The press release now explains the BBC story from Mpnday, that I wrote about in Are Arnos Grove And Northolt Tube Stations Going Step Free?.
CIP’s Flagship Fund On Track To Become World’s Largest Dedicated To Greenfield Renewable Energy Investments
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) has reached the first close on its fifth flagship fund, Copenhagen Infrastructure V (CI V), at EUR 5.6 billion in capital commitments received. This puts the fund on track to reach its target size of EUR 12 billion, which would make this the world’s largest dedicated greenfield renewable energy fund, according to CIP
These three paragraphs give more details on the size and investments of the latest fund, which is named CI V.
The first close of the flagship fund saw a large group of leading institutional investors across continental Europe, the Nordics, the UK, North America, and the Asia-Pacific region.
CIP noted that there is a strong interest from additional investors already in process, so CI V is on the way to reaching its target fund size of EUR 12 billion.
The fund now has ownership of more than 40 renewable energy infrastructure projects with a total potential CI V commitment of approximately EUR 20 billion, corresponding to more than 150 per cent of the target fund size.
The CIP web site gives more details on the company, including this summary on the front page.
Founded in 2012, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners P/S (CIP) today is the world’s largest dedicated fund manager within greenfield renewable energy investments and a global leader in offshore wind. The funds managed by CIP focuses on investments in offshore and onshore wind, solar PV, biomass and energy-from-waste, transmission and distribution, reserve capacity, storage, advanced bioenergy, and Power-to-X.
CIP manages 11 funds and has to date raised approximately EUR 25 billion for investments in energy and associated infrastructure from more than 150 international institutional investors.
In the UK, CIP are currently involved in the Ossian and Pentland floating wind farms.
Are Arnos Grove And Northolt Tube Stations Going Step Free?
BBC London local news announced this morning some Underground stations would be made step-free.
- It could have been two or ten stations, that would be made step-free.
- Arnos Grove and Northolt were definitely mentioned.
- A timescale of eighteen months was given.
The news story seems to have vanished without trace.
Arnos Grove Station
This Google Map shows Arnos Grove station.
Note.
- The cylindrical shape of Arnos Grove station.
- The bridge over the tracks, which gives access to the trains to the East of the cylinder.
- Car parks to the East and West of the station.
- In Go-Ahead For West London 460-Home Build To Rent Scheme, I described how houses were to be built in the two car parks.
- According to this article on Ian Visits, which is entitled Plans To Build Flats On Arnos Grove Tube Station Car Park, there will be 162 flats in four blocks.
These pictures show Arnos Grove station.
Note.
- Work on the flats on either side seems to have started.
- There are lots of period features.
- There will be a lot of work needed on the rather steep stairs.
- There will be a need for at least three lifts.
This page on Connected Living London, has a plan of the development.
- Gardens are shown each side of the iconic station.
- The gardens can be accessed from the pavement in front of the station.
- Southbound buses draw up in front of the station.
- A zebra crossing gives access to the Northbound buses on the other side of the road.
I suspect that there will be step-free access to the station bridge over the tracks from both gardens.
Northolt Station
This Google Map shows Northolt station.
Note.
- The station entrance in the South-East corner of the map on Mandeville Road.
- The long island platform stretching North-West from the station building.
- An eight-car 1992 Stock train is in the Southern platform going West.
- The land on the Northern side of the railway appears to be low-grade woodland, which is quite similar to that at Arnos Grove station.
This map from cartometro.com shows the lines through Northolt station.
Note.
- The Central Line is shown in red.
- The Central Line is laid out so that there are two ways of turning a train back to London.
- The single-track Acton-Northolt line is shown in black.
- The former second track if the Acton-Northolt line is shown dotted, as are the two former platforms.
These pictures show Northolt station.
Note.
- The station is showing signs of a sympathetic refurbishment.
- The steps down to the platform is a double set of steps separated by a handrail.
- There is a stylish glass shelter.
- There doesn’t seem much space for a lift to the station entrance.
It should also be noted that for eleven in the morning, the station seemed busy.
These are Underground passenger figures for 2021 in million for stations between Hanger Lane and West Ruislip.
- Hanger Lane – 1.47
- Perivale – 1.08
- Greenford – 2.05
- Northolt – 2.47
- South Ruislip – 0.89
- Ruislip Gardens – 0.48
- West Ruislip – 0.71
Note.
- Greenford, South Ruislip and West Ruislip have some extra National Rail passengers.
- Greenford is the only station between Hanger Lane and West Ruislip, with full step-free access.
- Greenford station uses an inclined lift and I wrote about it in The Inclined Lift In An Improved Greenford Station.
As Northolt is the busiest station without step-free access, this is probably sufficient reason for step-free access to be installed.
Could Step-Free Access At Northolt Be Linked To Property Development?
This Google Map shows a close-up of the station building and Mandeville Road.
Note.
- The station building is marked by the London Transport roundel.
- To the North of the station, is Northolt Leisure Centre, which was opened in 2010.
- Mandeville Road runs across the map to the East of the station and the Leisure Centre.
- In the South-East corner of the map, thee looks what could be a High Speed Two site, marked out with red and white barriers.
- Between the station and the Leisure Centre, there appears to be a site used for parking trucks.
Could it be possible to develop step-free access from the site to the North of the station?
This second set of pictures show that site.
Note.
- The site is rather a dump.
- There is even a subway.
This third set of pictures, show the land on the other side of the Acton-Northolt line from the platform at Northolt station.
There are certainly possibilities! Especially if, housing were to be developed alongside the Northern side of the railway.
I suspect, that there could be a bridge across the railway, at this position in the station.
Certainly something would be possible.
Conclusion
Property development at both Arnos Grove and Northolt station would probably need step-free access at both stations.
If the BBC report was right, then to build the step-free access as the first part of the projects, is probably a good idea, as passengers get some early benefits.
I suspect though, that we’ll get a press release that says what is actually happening in a few days.
The Anonymous Widower 