SSE Unveils Redevelopment Plans For Sloy Hydro-Electric Power Station
The title of this post, is the same as that of this news item from SSE Renewables.
These are the two bullet points of the news item.
- Scotland First Minister Humza Yousaf welcomes plans to convert conventional hydro plant to new, flexible pumped hydro storage facility
- If approved for delivery Sloy could provide firm, flexible renewable energy for up to 160 hours non-stop, enough to power 90,000 homes for one week
This is the introductory paragraph.
SSE Renewables, as part of SSE plc, has unveiled plans to convert its 152.5MW Sloy Power Station, Britain’s largest conventional hydro power plant, into a new pumped hydro storage facility to bolster energy security and help provide the large-scale and flexible renewable energy back-up needed in a future UK net zero power system.
And this describes the output and storage capacity.
Subject to final design, the converted Sloy scheme would be capable of delivering up to 25GWh of long-duration electricity storage capacity. At the flick of a switch, the converted Sloy scheme could provide firm, flexible renewable energy for up to 160 hours non-stop, enough to power around 90,000 homes for up to one week.
The Loch Sloy Scheme
In A Lower-Cost Pumped Hydro Storage System, I described the Loch Sloy scheme, as it currently exists.
Whilst writing some of the posts recently about pumped storage I came across the Loch Sloy Hydro-Electric Scheme.
This is the introductory sentence in Wikipedia.
The Sloy/Awe Hydro-Electric Scheme is a hydro-electric facility situated between Loch Sloy and Inveruglas on the west bank of Loch Lomond in Scotland.
This page on the Greenage web site gives comprehensive details of the power station and is well worth a read.
This Google Map shows the Lochs Sloy and Lomond.
Note.
- Loch Sloy is in the North-West corner of the map.
- The page on Greenage says that Loch Sloy can store 14 GWh of electricity
- Loch Lomond is the body of water towards the Eastern side of the map.
- Inverglas is on the West bank of Loch Lomond to the North of the Loch Lomond Holiday Park, which is indicated by the green arrow with a tent.
This second Google Map shows the power station and Inverglas.
Note.
- It is a classic layout for a hydro-electric power station.
- In the North West corner of the map is the valve house, which is connected to Loch Sloy by a three kilometre tunnel.
- The valve house controls the water flows to the power station by Loch Lomond.
- There are four two-metre pipes running down the hill, one for each of the four turbines.
- According to the page on Greenage, the power station has three 40 MW turbines and one 32 MW turbine, which gives a total output of 152 MW.
- The water discharges into Loch Lomond after doing its work in the power station.
Loch Sloy is the largest conventional hydroelectric power plant in the UK.
The 2010 Plan To Add Pumped Storage To The Loch Sloy Hydro-Electric Scheme
This page on Hydro Review, which is dated the 10th of November 2010, is entitled SSE Gets Government Consent For Sloy Pumped-Storage Hydropower Project.
These are the first paragraph.
SSE Generation Ltd., the wholly owned generation business of Scottish and Southern Energy, has received consent from the Scottish Government to develop a 60-MW pumped-storage hydro project at its existing Sloy hydropower station at Loch Lomond, SSE reported.
Note.
- Two 30 MW pumps will be added to the power station to pump water up the hill from Loch Lomond to Loch Sloy.
- According to the page on Greenage, if the two pumps worked together for six hours, they would transfer 432,000 m3 of water. Note that a cubic metre of water weighs a tonne.
- Water would be transferred, when there was a surplus of energy being generated over the demand.
It would appear to be a simple scheme, as it is just adding two pumps to pump the water up the hill.
- As pumps rather than pump/turbines as at Foyers are used, there is no corresponding increase in generating capacity.
- Water also appears to be pumped up to the valve house in the existing pipes.
- Loch Sloy and Loch Lomond would not need major works to enable the scheme..
The page on Greenage gives the cost at just £40 million.
Originally, the project was supposed to have started in 2012, but as there are environmental problems with the fish, the work has not started.
These problems are detailed on the page on Greenage.
It looks like this scheme would have had an output of 152.5 MW and a storage capacity of 14 GWh.
Expanding Loch Sloy
Yesterday’s press release says this about the proposed capacity of the proposed Loch Sloy pumped storage scheme.
Subject to final design, the converted Sloy scheme would be capable of delivering up to 25GWh of long-duration electricity storage capacity.
This Google Map shows Loch Sloy.
This second Google Map shows the dam at the Southern end.
Note.
- Earlier, I said that Loch Sloy can store 14 GWh of electricity.
- To be able to store 25 GWh would need a 78 % increase in capacity.
This could be possible to be obtained by enlarging the dam and perhaps reprofiling the banks of the loch.
Expanding Loch Slow Power Station
This Google Map shows the Loch Sloy dam and the power station.
Note.
The dam is in the North-West corner of the map.
The power station is in the South-East corner of the map.
This repeat of the second Google Map shows the power station in more detail.
There appears to be plenty of space for more turbines, pumps and other electrical gubbins.
Building The Scheme
There may be enlarged buildings and extra pipes up the mountain, but hopefully the major problem of digging more tunnels through the rock may be avoided.
For these reasons, it could be a relatively easy construction project costing tens of millions.
The 14 GWh scheme from 2010 was costed at £40 million, so this 25 GWh scheme would probably cost no more than double or £80 million.
Conclusion
This is a sensible and affordable scheme, that provides a lot of energy storage
Could Hydrogen Trains Be Used As Pathfinders?
I must admit, I have a soft-spot for hydrogen transport, but I suppose most people look back on their first real job with a certain affection.
The only new hydrogen train under development for the UK Is the Alstom Hydrogen Aventra, which was announced in this press release in November 2021 and is entitled Alstom And Eversholt Rail Sign An Agreement For The UK’s First Ever Brand-New Hydrogen Train Fleet.
Little is known about these trains, except what is in the original press release.
- Ten trains have been ordered.
- Each will be three-cars.
- Contracts will be signed in 2022, which didn’t happen.
Nothing is said about the following important features.
- What will be the operating speed?
- What will be the range on a fill of hydrogen?
- Will the trains have a pantograph, so they can be run on electrified lines with 25 KVAC overhead electrification?
All are important to train operating companies, who along with the Department for Transport need to be able to plan.
What Do I Mean By A Pathfinder?
I will look at the service between Reading and Basingstoke.
- It is 15.4 miles long.
- There are four stops, which will soon be five, with the addition of Reading Green Park.
- The line is partly-electrified.
- The service is only hourly and probably needed to be two trains per hour (tph).
- It is currently run by diesel trains.
In a decarbonised railway, there are only two options for running this line.
- Use hydrogen trains.
- Electrify and use electric trains.
Note.
- The cost of the two options will be different.
- If the hydrogen and electric trains are both quality trains, the passenger experience will be similar.
- To run two tph, track and signalling modifications will be needed.
- These modifications would also allow a two tph diesel service.
- There is no way to accurately determine, how many passengers would use a two tph hydrogen and electric service.
So suppose the following plan were to be enacted.
- Upgrade the track and signalling to allow a two tph service.
- Run the two tph service with diesel trains.
- Install hydrogen infrastructure for the route. In this case, it would probably be at the nearby Reading depot.
- Run the two tph service with hydrogen trains.
Hopefully on the completion of some months of successful running of the hydrogen trains, the number of passengers to be expected will have been predicted to a better accuracy than UK railways normally manage.
Then the decision between hydrogen and electric trains can be taken.
If hydrogen trains are the decision, the trains could stay in service, but if electrification is the solution, then once the electric service is operating, the hydrogen trains would move on to the next line to be decarbonised.
Why The Alstom Hydrogen Aventra’s Need To Be Able To Use Electrification
If you look at routes, where hydrogen trains could be used as Pathfinders, they could include, some partially-electrified routes.
- Reading and Bedwyn
- Reading and Oxford
- Reading and Gatwick
- London Bridge and Uckfield
- Ashford and Eastbourne
- Preston and Blackpool South
- Wisbech and Cambridge
- Dereham and Norwich
- Basingstoke and Exeter
- Romsey and Salisbury
- York and Scarborough
This list includes both routes with both types of electrification; 25 KVAC overhead and 750 VDC third rail.
But if the electrification is there and not used, the exercise will be labelled as greenwashing, by some.
Mercedes eCitaro Fuel Cell Will ‘See The Light’ At UITP Summit 2023
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Sustainable Bus.
This is the first paragraph.
Daimler Buses will unveil the Mercedes eCitaro fuel cell at UITP Global Public Transport Summit in early June. At the group’s stand, visitors will have the opportunity to see the first series-production eCitaro electric bus with a fuel cell as a range extender. First order for the vehicles dates back to October 2022.
This paragraph describes the bus.
The Mercedes eCitaro in fuel cell bus version offers a stated range of approximately 350 kilometers without the need for recharging. This goes together a passenger capacity, on the articulated version, of up to 128 passengers. The difference between the eCitaro fuel cell project and most of the fuel cell buses on the market stay in the battery capacity: while it’s common to feature a small LTO battery (below 50 kWh) accompanying the fuel cell module, the eCitaro is equipped with a battery capacity similar to its battery-electric counterpart (up to 392 kWh for the 18-meter).
It looks an impressive bus with a generous capacity and range.
But I doubt we’ll see many in the UK.
- Motorists object to their blocking of junctions.
- They were easy for dodging fares.
- In London, they were dubbed Ken’s Chariots of Fire.
I don’t think politicians will chance them in the UK!
Is This The Solution To The Train Tea-Bag Problem?
One of the biggest problems on a train, is disposal of a tea-bag without getting tea everywhere.
This sequence of pictures, shows my tea on the trip to Cardiff.
At least this worked.
But then British rail catering has form, as years ago, they invented the small carrier bag to bring drinks and snacks back to your seat.
I’m always surprised, that you don’t see them more often in non-travelling takeaways.
The Lady In A Sari With A Fag
She was standing in Leicester Square watching people with a partner.
It just didn’t go!
Merseyrail Saw Over 90,000 Extra Journeys Made As Eurovision Revellers Travelled Across The Region
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Advent.
These two paragraphs outline the story.
Merseyrail has reported an approximate increase of 24% in journeys made when compared to the same period in 2022 with an extra 90,000 trips made with the rail operator whilst Liverpool hosted Eurovision.
Special strategies were put in place to facilitate the increase in passengers, including late-night services to support the two busiest nights with trains running into the early hours following the Grand Final.
Sounds like Liverpool had a result, even if the UK didn’t.
Can ‘Enhanced Rock Weathering’ Help Combat Climate Change?
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
In a quarry surrounded by the din of heavy machinery Jim Mann crouches down and picks up a handful of tiny black rocks.
These three sentences introduce Jim and his magic dust.
“This is my magic dust,” he says with a smile, gently rubbing them between his fingers.
He’s holding pieces of basalt. It’s a hard volcanic rock that is neither rare nor particularly remarkable.
But through a process known as ‘enhanced rock weathering’ it could help to cool our overheating planet.
This Google Map shows Orrock Quarry, where the basalt is mined.
The article then gives a simple explanation of enhanced rock weathering.
When one of the companies, I’d backed won a green design award it was presented by David Bellamy. I remember having a very radical conversation with him, about some of the projects, where he’d been an advisor.
Some might have dismissive views about Jim Mann’s work as being too good to be true, but when I see the chemistry, I suspect,I’ll find it to be sound.
It would be a very interesting process to mathematically model!
A Waste Of Valuable Resources Between Paddington And Heathrow
Much of my working life was spent in writing project management software.
I like to think, I was an expert at writing software to juggle resources.
I wrote my first piece of software in that field in ICI, to get my boss out of trouble, after he’d promised the department a program to allocate the department’s office space more efficiently.
Unfortunately, the student, who’d written the software, without leaving anything that worked or any decent instructions.
So I told my boss;Colin, that I’d have a go.
In my previous position at ICI in Runcorn, I’d worked out an algorithm to decode mass spectrometer traces, which started with a rough idea of what was there, which was entered by an operator and then used permutations and combinations to fit the output.
I used the algorithm in every resource scheduler, I ever wrote and it worked a treat.
So when I see a waste of resources, I get angry, as I know those who devised the system could have done a lot better.
Look at these pictures, I took of a Heathrow Express, that I took today.
It is barely ten percent full.
It has become a waste of resources; train, valuable paths in the Heathrow tunnel, and platform space at Paddington.
These are a few thoughts.
Capacity To And From Heathrow
Consider.
- Heathrow Express uses twelve-car Class 387 trains, with a capacity of 672 seats, that run at a frequency of four trains per hour (tph), which is 2,688 seats per hour.
- The Elizabeth Line uses nine-car Class 345 trains, with a capacity of 454 seats, that run at a frequency of six tph, which is 2,724 seats per hour.
- The Class 345 trains can also carry another 1046 standing passengers on each journey, which adds up to a maximum of 6276 standees per hour.
- The Piccadilly Line uses 73 Stock trains, with a capacity of 684 seats, that run at a frequency of twelve tph, which is 8,208 seats per hour.
This gives a capacity of 19,896 passengers, staff and visitors per hour, or which 13,620 get seats.
Expressed as percentages, the four modes of transport are as follows.
- Heathrow Express – 13.5 %
- Elizabeth Line – Sitting – 13.7 %
- Elizabeth Line – Standees – 33.8 %
- Piccadilly Line – 41.2 %
In Effects Of The ULEZ In West London, I said this about journeys to and from the airport.
Heathrow Airport is one of the world’s busiest airports and 76,000 people work at the airport, with many more employed nearby.
The airport handled 61.6 million passengers in 2022, which is a few short of 170,000 per day.
If you consider that those that work at the airport do two trips per day and passengers generally do one, that means there are 322,000 trips per day to or from the airport.
But as it now so easy to get to the Airport using the Elizabeth Line will more people use the new line to meet and greet and say goodbye to loved ones or business associates. Since the Elizabeth Line opened, I’ve met a couple of friends at Heathrow, who were passing through.
I wonder, if that daily journey total of 322,000 could be nearer to 350,000 or even 400,000.
If the ULEZ charge makes some passengers and staff switch from their car to using a bus or train, this probably means that public transport to and from the airport, will need to be boosted by a substantial amount.
322,000 trips per day is 13,416 per hour assuming a 24 hour day.
Consider.
- The ULEZ will drive employees and passengers to trains to Heathrow.
- A lot of would-be travellers to Heathrow have had a tough couple of years.
- Because of the Elizabeth Line more meeters and greeters will go to the airport.
- The Elizabeth Line is making it easy to get to Heathrow for a large proportion of those living in the South-East.
- There have been numerous car parking scandals at Heathrow and other airports.
- Are there enough charging points for electric cars in Heathrow’s parking?
- Parking at Heathrow is expensive.
- Taxis to the airport are very expensive.
- Passengers with large cases can use the Elizabeth Line.
- Good reports of the Elizabeth Line will push people to use it.
- The Elizabeth Line serves the City, Canary Wharf and the West End.
- The Elizabeth Line has a step-free connection with Thameslink.
- Passengers seem to travel with very large cases.
- Passengers seem to be deserting Heathrow Express, as I wrote in Elizabeth Line Takes Fliers Away From Heathrow Express.
Note.
- The train, I took back from Heathrow this morning was full with all seats taken and quite a few standees.
- And it was a Sunday morning!
- We won’t know the effect of the ULEZ until August, but I believe it will be significant.
Obviously, I’m only using rough figures, but they lead me to believe that in a few months, the Elizabeth Line will be at full capacity to and from Heathrow.
Heathrow Express’s Train Paths Should Be Re-Allocated To The Elizabeth Line
This would increase hourly passenger capacity from 19,896 to 23,208 or by seventeen percent.
Great Western Railway would get two extra platforms at Heathrow and the Class 387 trains could be reallocated.
Where Would Great Western Railway Run Trains From Two Extra Platforms?
Consider.
- Various government levelling up funding has been allocated to Wales and the West.
- I talk about the Mid-Cornwall Metro in Landmark Levelling Up Fund To Spark Transformational Change Across The UK.
- The Mid-Cornwall Metro could include direct trains between London and Newquay.
- There are also plans for a new station at Okehampton Parkway.
- Given all the wind farm development in the Celtic Sea, I can see more trains between London and Pembrokeshire.
- Cardiff and Bristol would probably welcome extra services.
I don’t think Great Western Railway will have problems finding destinations to serve from two extra platforms.
What Will Happen To The Class 387 Trains?
Currently, twelve Class 387 trains are used for Heathrow Express.
In The Future Of The Class 387 And Class 379 Trains, I said this.
The Battery-Electric Class 379 Train
I rode this prototype train in 2015.
An Outwardly Normal Class 379 Train
I think it is reasonable to assume, that as battery technology has improved in the seven years since I rode this train, that converting Class 379 trains to battery-electric operation would not be a challenging project.
Creating A Battery-Electric Class 387 Train
If the Class 387 train is as internally similar to the Class 379 train as it outwardly looks, I couldn’t believe that converting them to battery-electric operation would be that difficult.
I could see a lot of the Class 379 and Class 387 trains converted to 110 mph battery-electric trains.
Would Heathrow Express Completely Disappear?
If the Elizabeth Line trains are going between Heathrow Airport and Central London, at a frequency of 10 tph or one train every six minutes, I feel there may be scope for marketing and operational reasons to create a sub-fleet of the Class 345 trains.
The trains would be identical to the Elizabeth Line’s current fleet, except for livery, seating and some internal passenger features.
- Perhaps, they could be called the Heathrow Train boldly on the outside, so even the dimmest passenger didn’t get on a Reading train instead of a Heathrow one.
- All trains would have wi-fi and 4G connectivity. These features have been promised for the Class 345 trains.
- Some coaches would be fitted with luggage spaces for the outsize cases people carry.
I could envisage the Heathrow Trains terminating at a wide number of places in addition to Abbey Wood and Shenfield. Possibilities must include Beaulieu Park, Ebbsfleet, Gravesend, Northfleet and Southend Victoria
Shenfield To Heathrow – 21st May 2023
Today, is the first day, when Elizabeth Line trains are running direct between Shenfield station and Heathrow.
I took the 10:41 train from Shenfield and it arrived at Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 station at 12:02.
I took these pictures on the route.
Note.
- The busiest section of the journey was between Ilford and Liverpool Street, when all seats were taken.
- It was also reasonably busy after Ealing Broadway.
- Are passengers going to Heathrow Airport with a change at Ealing Broadway?
Given the crowds of passengers, that I keep seeing on the Elizabeth Line, I keep thinking that the sixteen trains per hour (tph) Off Peak frequency needs to be increased.
The Anonymous Widower 