East Midlands Railway’s Dirty Trains
I took these pictures today on my return from East Midlands Parkway.
The trains seemed particularly dirty. Perhaps it’s the colour scheme.
Last Of The Many
I took a train to East Midlands Parkway station, this morning and took these pictures of the cooling towers of the last coal-fired power station to generate electricity in the UK.
Note.
- The power station was commissioned in 1968.
- It has a nameplate capacity of 2.116 GW.
- Dogger Bank wind farm is intended to have a capacity of 3 GW
- There are eight cooling towers.The diesel locomotive hauling a freight train past the site is a Class 66 locomotive.
- These locomotives are likely to be scrapped in the next few years, to improve air quality in areas, where they run. Some will be replaced by electric or even hydrogen locomotives.
This Google Map shows a map view of the power station in 2024.
As the famous estate agent Roy Brooks would have said in the 1960s, it is a site with enormous potential.
Ensuring A Sustainable Future For A Coal-Fired Power Station Site Approaching Closure
The title of this section is that of an ARUP report on the future of the Radcliffe-on-Soar site.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Operating for more than 50 years, the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station closed in September 2024. Its buildings, cooling towers and other structures will be decommissioned and demolished, making the site and surrounding land suitable to be redeveloped as a zero-carbon technology and energy hub for the East Midlands. Arup, working with Uniper, the site owner, supported Rushcliffe Borough Council to establish a Local Development Order (LDO) to make the most out of the potential development opportunities of the site.
ARUP’s report is a good start for one of the most important sites in the Midlands.
Highview Power Releases More Details Of The Hunterston LDES
In a long and detailed press release, these are the first two paragraphs.
London, 15 October 2024: The First Minister for Scotland, John Swinney MSP, welcomed Highview Power Executives to Scotland House in London today as the company announced its intention to develop its Hunterston project in Scotland as part of its multi-billion-pound LDES programme. Hunterston will deliver five times Scotland’s current operational battery storage capacity and is strategically placed in the grid transmission network to maximise the use of Scottish-produced renewable electricity. This follows Highview Power’s funding round in June where it secured a £300 million investment for its 300MWh proprietary Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES) technology at Carrington, near Manchester.
Supported by the Scottish Government, Hunterston is the first project in Highview Power’s second phase, which comprises four projects across Scotland and Northern England. The 2.5GWh LAES plant at Hunterston will deliver an 8-fold increase in storage capacity on Carrington – to deliver enough power 650,000 homes for 12.5 hours.
Note these important points.
- The Hunterston battery will be the first of four 200 MW/2.5 GWh batteries.
- Together, these four batteries will have a distributed 1600 MW/10 GWh capability.
- For comparison, Dinorwig pumped storage hydroelectric power station, in Snowdonia, which opened in 1984, has a 1600 MW/9.1 GWh capability.
- The second battery will be in Aberdeenshire.
- The Hunterston project will support 1,000 jobs onsite during construction and 650 jobs in the supply chain.
John Swinney, who is First Minister for Scotland, summed the project up like this.
The creation of the largest liquid air energy facility in the world, in Ayrshire, demonstrates just how valuable Scotland is in delivering a low carbon future as well as supporting the global transition to net zero.
Highview Power Plans To Develop 2.5GWh LDES Project In Scotland
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Power Technology.
This is the sub-heading.
The liquid air energy storage plant at Hunterston is set to deliver a substantial increase in storage capacity
These first three paragraphs add a few more details.
Highview Power has announced plans to develop a long-duration energy storage (LDES) project in Ayrshire, Scotland, with a capacity of 2.5 gigawatt hours (GWh).
The project will be built at Peel Ports’ property at Hunterston, North Ayrshire and will provide five times the existing battery storage capacity of Scotland.
It is supported by the Scottish government and its strategic location optimises the use of renewable electricity produced in the country.
Note.
- Highview Power talks of 200MW/2.5GWh capacity batteries in Scotland on its web site, so I suspect this battery is one of those.
- This battery is as large as some pumped storage hydro systems.
- In UK Infrastructure Bank, Centrica & Partners Invest £300M in Highview Power Clean Energy Storage Programme To Boost UK’s Energy Security, I described the funding now behind Highview Power. The funding appears to be solid, as it includes the UK Infrastructure Bank, Centrica, Goldman Sachs and Rio Tinto.
This is a good start for Highview Power.
Improvements At Marylebone Station – 15th October 2024
I passed through Marylebone station today and took these pictures of the improvements.
Note.
- The Class 165 and Class 168 trains are being refurbished.
- The Chiltern gate line has been improved.
- A wider ticket gate line has been installed in the Underground station.
- The stairs to the Bakerloo Line has been replaced with a third escalator.
- The last picture shows the lack of grab handles in the doors of Bakerloo Line trains.
It certainly looks like Chiltern Railways and its assets are improving.
UK Investment Summit Latest: Starmer Announces £1.1bn Expansion Of Stansted Airport
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Times.
The Times has this sub-heading about Stansted
Analysis: Stansted Deal Prioritises Growth Over Climate
There are four paragraphs of analysis.
Over the weekend, Sir Keir Starmer made clear that his commitments to boost workers’ rights would not get in the way of his desire to bring in cash from the owners of P&O. As ministers now trumpet a deal to upgrade Stansted airport, it seems that growth and jobs also trump concerns about emissions.
Louise Haigh, the transport secretary who prompted the row with DP World by calling P&O a “rogue operator”, praised the Stansted deal as a “clear signal that Britain is open for business”. She argued that Stansted could be upgraded “while also meeting our existing environment obligations”, with the airport promising a new solar farm to generate electricity. But environmentalists will be dismayed by the prospect of more plane journeys and associated emissions.
The deal also raises fresh questions about a third runway at Heathrow after years of dithering under the Conservatives. No 10 has previously said it is “not opposed” to expansion if it can meet tests on emissions, climate change, noise pollution — and growth.
Starmer has said he will not duck decisions because they are “too difficult”. A decision on Heathrow offers a very clear test of that promise.
Is Hydrogen The Reason For The Choice Of Stansted?
I wonder if the choice of Stansted for expansion is down to the likelihood, that East Anglia will be a big centre for the generation of zero-carbon green and pink hydrogen, with gigawatts of offshore wind farms for the green and nuclear at Sizewell for the pink.
Aircraft of the future will surely need hydrogen for flying to their destinations.
Already, the massive construction of Sizewell C is going to be performed using zero-construction methods involving electricity and hydrogen, as far as is possible.
Large construction at Stansted Airport could be done in a similar manner, using perhaps a hydrogen pipeline between Sizewell and Stansted running along the A 14. This would probably be built anyway, so that East Anglia’s large numbers of heavy trucks could be converted to hydrogen.
Already the hydrogen buses to bring workers to the Sizewell C site have been ordered from Wrightbus in Ballymena.
Airbus, are planning to have their hydrogen-powered Boeing 737/A 320-size airliner in service by the mid-2030s. From visualisations released by Airbus, the Zeroe hydrogen Turbofan looks very much like a redesigned version of the current A320 neo, with two hydrogen turbofans (hopefully with RR on the side!) Converting an existing proven airliner, only means that the new parts need to be certified, so this would bring the plane into service quicker.
Airbus’s infographic shows the Zeroe hydrogen Turbofan will seat up to 200 passengers and have a range of 2,000 nautical miles or 3,700 km.
Discover the three zero-emission concept aircraft known as ZEROe in this infographic. These turbofan, turboprop, and blended-wing-body configurations are all hydrogen hybrid aircraft.
A typical A 320 neo will fly 165 passengers up to 3,500 nautical miles or 6.500 km.
A few distances from Stansted include.
- Athens – 2,400 km.
- Berlin – 905 km.
- Cairo – 3514 km.
- Copenhagen 913 km.
- Dublin – 470 km.
- Edinburgh – 509 km.
- Gander 3,800 km
- Geneva – 760 km.
- Glasgow – 540 km.
- Istanbul – 2480 km.
- Madrid – 1300 km.
- Milan – 960 km.
- Munich – 909 km.
- Palma de Mallorca – 1,400 km.
- Reykjavík – 1870 km.
- Rome – 1,442 km.
- Stockholm – 1,400 km.
- Tel-Aviv – 3,564 km.
- Tenerife North – 2944 km.
- Tenerife South – 2999 km.
- Warsaw 1,412 km.
These distances would mean, a lot of current European destinations could be reached, if the plane were filled at both airports, but a surprising number of popular places could be reached by only refuelling at Stansted.
It also appears to me, that with refuelling in Iceland and perhaps a stopover, in that delightful and different country, zero-carbon flights across the Atlantic would be possible.
If a hydrogen-powered aircraft has the 3,700 km. range that Airbus are promising, it will be an aircraft with a lot of possibilities!
Short Flights
- Amsterdam – 541 km.
- Cardiff – 253 km.
- Exeter – 284 km.
- Jersey – 344 km.
- Liverpool – 264 km.
- Newcastle – 373 km.
- Newquay – 399 km.
- Ronaldsway – 408 km.
- Southampton – 151 km.
Some of these flights would be competing with trains.
Flights Around The British Isles
One of the longest flights around the British Isles would be between Stansted and Sumburgh Airport in the Shetland Isles.
But this is only 894 kilometres, so a return trip would be possible.
I also feel that arranging hydrogen refuelling on Shetland will not be a difficult task, as the islands are likely to have copious supplies of green hydrogen.
Flights From Stansted To Europe
Applying a ten percent reserve probably means a safe one-way range of around 1,700 km.
This would mean that.
- Amsterdam – 541 km.
- Berlin – 905 km.
- Copenhagen – 913 km.
- Madrid – 1300 km.
- Milan – 960 km.
- Munich – 909 km.
- Palma de Mallorca – 1,400 km.
- Rome – 1,442 km.
- Stockholm – 1,400 km.
- Warsaw 1,412 km.
Should all be in range. of an out-and-back flight, after fully fuelling the plane at Stansted Airport.
Others like.
- Athens – 2,400 km.
- Bucharest – 2070 km.
- Cairo – 3514 km.
- Istanbul – 2480 km.
- Lisbon – 1630 km.
- Malta – 2107 km.
- Marrakech – 2350. km.
- Sofia – 2010 km.
- Tel-Aviv – 3,564 km.
- Tenerife North – 2944 km.
- Tenerife South – 2999 km.
Could be handled by refuelling at the destination.
Hopping Across The Atlantic
Consider.
- My great aunt Beatrice used to fly the Atlantic in the 1950s, although it was usually a succession of small hops between Heathrow Shannon and Gander Airports. I think she regularly used ships like the Queen Mary and Elizabeth, as she found them less stressful.
- Icelandair offer short stopovers in Reykjavik and I suspect they will offer this with hydrogen-fuelled aircraft.
- British Airways used to offer a London City Airport to New York flight via Shannon using an Airbus A 318.
I would certainly be interested to hop across from Stansted to New York in a hydrogen-powered aircraft, and I suspect others would do it for the environmental brownie points.
Legs could be.
- Stansted and Reykjavík – 1870 km.
- Reykjavík and Gander – 2568 km
- Gander and New York – 1767 km.
A stop could possibly be squeezed in at Boston.
It could be an interesting way to cross the Atlantic.
Hydrogen Production In East Anglia
I said earlier that East Anglia could produce a lot of zero-carbon green and prink hydrogen from wind and nuclear and this would be used for the following.
- Aviation out of Stansted and Southend Airports.
- Shipping out of the Port of Felixstowe, London Gateway and other smaller ports.
- Providing energy for heavy transport in East Anglia.
- Providing energy for Freeport East at Felixstowe and Harwich.
- Refuelling passing shipping.
- Supplying off-grid energy to rural properties and businesses in the East of England, which I wrote about in Developing A Rural Hydrogen Network.
Any spare hydrogen could always be sold to the Germans.
Decarbonisation Of The Railways In East Anglia
Undoubtedly, some hydrogen will be used to decarbonise some parts of East Anglia’s railways.
Many passenger trains are electrified, but some rural and cross-country services still use diesel. However, the Class 745 trains, that were built by Stadler for these services could be converted to hydrogen or battery-electric.
Similarly, locomotives that haul the freight trains out of the ports of East Anglia will be replaced with hydrogen or battery-electric locomotives.
I am fairly certain, that by 2040, all railways in East Anglia will be zero-carbon.
The East-West Rail Link
It is not known yet, whether the current government will continue to build the East West Rail Link, but it could be invaluable in connecting Stansted Airport to the West of England.
Connecting Stansted Airport To The North Of England and Scotland By Rail
If Stansted is developed as a zero-carbon airport, based on the new hydrogen-powered aircraft, travellers between say the North of England and Scotland, will surely want to travel to Stansted in a carbon-free manner.
So would it be sensible to run rail electric services between the North and Stansted?
Conclusion
Stansted could develop into the UK’s zero-carbon airport.
Indian Minister’s Health aAdvice: Lie In A Cowshed To Cure Cancer
The title of this post, is the same. as that of this article in The Times.
This is the sub-heading.
Senior politician in Narendra Modi’s party says he drinks cow urine every morning to kill bacteria and eliminate negativity
These are the first three paragraphs.
The humble cow has long been venerated in India. Revered by Hindus, pictured with the prime minister, Narendra Modi, and long used by his Bharatiya Janata Party to promote the leader’s own politically charged brand of nationalism, the animal plays a central part in Indian life.
That adoration could grow further after a senior politician claimed that cows could cure cancer.
Sanjay Singh Gangwar, 48, a BJP minister for sugarcane in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, said patients could eradicate their symptoms simply by cleaning and lying down in a cowshed. They would be cured by the “positive aura and energy” of cows, the minister said.
When I found a peer-reviewed paper entitled Coeliac Disease: Can We Avert The Impending Epidemic In India?, I discussed it with my GP at the time, who was of part-Indian extraction, and I got a rant about Narendra Modi.
I now take anything Narendra Modi says with a very large dose of salt.
Gangwar’s advice doesn’t stop there.
These two paragraphs give more pearls of wisdom.
The health benefits of a cow do not end there, added Gangwar. He advocated drinking “filtered” cow urine — which he said he did every morning — and use cow dung as flooring in village homes. And anyone suffering from high blood pressure should simply stroke a cow — once in the morning and again in the evening.
“If a cancer patient starts cleaning a cowshed and lying there, even cancer can be cured,” he insisted as he inaugurated a cow shelter in the city of Pilibhit. “If you burn cow dung cakes, you get relief from mosquitoes. Everything that a cow produces is useful in some way.”
So to Gangwar, the global-warming methane, that cows emit is useful, but in what way?
Is Gangwar, Donald Trump’s long-lost Indian son from a dalliance in the country?
Gates Open On Thames Tideway Tunnel Super Sewer
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub heading.
The first four sites along London’s new “super sewer” – officially known as the Thames Tideway Tunnel – have been brought into operation.
These are the first two paragraphs.
The valves, which operate like giant gates, are being used at four of the 21 locations that make up the system.
The rest are due to come online in the coming months, with the sewer operating at full capacity by 2025.
Note.
- The BBC article contains a video.
- The Thames Tideway has a web site.
Finally, more of London’s sewage is on its way to Beckton.
This map shows there’s even a lighthouse on the River Thames.
Abergavenny Station – 13th October 2024
For a trip today, I went to Abergavenny station to see the progress on the new step-free bridge and take a few pictures.
Note.
- The station has several unusual features.
- The car park could take all of about six cars.
- The current bridge would be dangerous for the elderly with shopping trolleys.
- Network Rail seem to be explaining the work in more detail, than usual.
Why is it that each new step-free station bridge appears to be a different design?
Paddington Square – 12th Oct 2024
Some parts of Paddington Square at Paddington station are now open and I took these pictures.
Note.
The Anonymous Widower 