UK Confirms £205 Million Budget To Power More Of Britain From Britain
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from the Department of Energy Security And NetZero.
This is the sub title.
UK government confirms budget for this year’s Contracts for Difference scheme as it enters its first annual auction, boosting energy security.
These are the three bullet points.
- Government announces significant financial backing for first annual flagship renewables auction, boosting Britain’s energy security
- £170 million pledged for established technologies to ensure Britain remains a front runner in renewables and £10 million ring-fenced budget for tidal
- Scheme will bolster investment into the sector every year, delivering clean, homegrown energy as well as green growth and jobs
These are my thoughts.
First And Annual
The scheme is flagged as both first and annual!
Does this mean, that each Budget will bring forward a pot of money for renewables every year?
My father, who being a letterpress printer and a Cockney poet would say it did and I’ll follow his lead.
Two Pots
In Contracts for Difference Round 4, there were three pots.
- Pot 1 – Onshore Wind and Solar
- Pot 2 – Floating Offshore Wind, Remote Island Wind and Tidal Stream
- Pot 3 – Fixed Foundation Offshore Wind
This document on the government web site lists all the results.
For Contracts for Difference Round 5, there will be two pots, which is described in this paragraph of the press release.
Arranged across 2 ‘pots’, this year’s fifth Allocation Round (AR5) includes an allocation of £170 million to Pot 1 for established technologies, which for the first time includes offshore wind and remote island wind – and confirms an allocation of £35 million for Pot 2 which covers emerging technologies such as geothermal and floating offshore wind, as well as a £10 million ring-fenced budget available for tidal stream technologies.
It could be described as a two-pot structure with a smaller ring-fenced pot for tidal stream technologies.
Contract for Difference
There is a Wikipedia entry for Contract for Difference and I’m putting in an extract, which describes how they work with renewable electricity generation.
To support new low carbon electricity generation in the United Kingdom, both nuclear and renewable, contracts for difference were introduced by the Energy Act 2013, progressively replacing the previous Renewables Obligation scheme. A House of Commons Library report explained the scheme as:
Contracts for Difference (CfD) are a system of reverse auctions intended to give investors the confidence and certainty they need to invest in low carbon electricity generation. CfDs have also been agreed on a bilateral basis, such as the agreement struck for the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant.
CfDs work by fixing the prices received by low carbon generation, reducing the risks they face, and ensuring that eligible technology receives a price for generated power that supports investment. CfDs also reduce costs by fixing the price consumers pay for low carbon electricity. This requires generators to pay money back when wholesale electricity prices are higher than the strike price, and provides financial support when the wholesale electricity prices are lower.
The costs of the CfD scheme are funded by a statutory levy on all UK-based licensed electricity suppliers (known as the ‘Supplier Obligation’), which is passed on to consumers.
In some countries, such as Turkey, the price may be fixed by the government rather than an auction.
Note.
- I would trust the House of Commons Library to write up CfDs properly.
- As a Control Engineer, I find a CfD an interesting idea.
- If a generator has more electricity than expected, they will make more money than they expected. So this should drop the wholesale price, so they would get less. Get the parameters right and the generator and the electricity distributor would probably end up in a stable equilibrium. This should be fairly close to the strike price.
I would expect in Turkey with Erdogan as President, there are also other factors involved.
Renewable Generation With Energy Storage
I do wonder, if wind, solar or tidal energy, is paired with energy storage, this would allow optimisation of the system around the Contract for Difference.
If it did, it would probably mean that the generator settled into a state of equilibrium, where it supplied a constant amount of electricity.
Remote Island Wind
Remote Island Wind was introduced in Round 4 and I wrote about it in The Concept Of Remote Island Wind.
This was my conclusion in that post.
I must admit that I like the concept. Especially, when like some of the schemes, when it is linked to community involvement and improvement.
Only time will tell, if the concept of Remote Island Wind works well.
There are possibilities, although England and Wales compared to Scotland and Ireland, would appear to be short of islands.
This map shows the islands of the Thames Estuary.
Note.
- In Kent, there is the Isle of Sheppey and the Isle of Grain.
- Between the two islands is a large gas terminal , a gas-fired power station and an electricity sub-station connecting to Germany.
- In Essex, there is Canvey, Foulness and Potton Islands.
- There is also the site at Bradwell, where there used to be a nuclear power station.
If we assume that each island could support 200 MW, there could be a GW of onshore wind for London and perhaps a couple of SMRs to add another GW.
This map shows the islands around Portsmouth.
Note.
- Hayling Island is to the East of Portsmouth.
- Further East is Thorney Island with an airfield.
The Isle of Wight could be the sort of island, that wouldn’t welcome wind farms, although they do make the blades for turbines. Perhaps they should have a wind farm to make the blades even more green.
But going round England and Wales there doesn’t seem to be many suitable places for Remote Island Wind.
I do think though, that Scotland could make up the difference.
Geothermal Energy
This is directly mentioned as going into the emerging technologies pot, which is numbered 2.
I think we could see a surprise here, as how many commentators predicted that geothermal heat from the London Underground could be used to heat buildings in Islington, as I wrote about in ‘World-First’ As Bunhill 2 Launches Using Tube Heat To Warm 1,350 Homes.
Perhaps, Charlotte Adams and her team at Durham University, will capitalise on some of their work with a abandoned coal mine, that I wrote about in Exciting Renewable Energy Project for Spennymoor.
Timescale
This paragraph gives the timescale.
The publication of these notices mean that AR5 is set to open to applications on 30 March with results to be announced in late summer/early autumn 2023, with the goal of building upon the already paramount success of the scheme.
It does look like the Government intends this round to progress at a fast pace.
Conclusion
If this is going to be an annual auction, this could turn out to be a big spur to the development of renewable energy.
Supposing you have a really off-beat idea to generate electricity and the idea place in the world is off the coast of Anglesey.
You will certainly be able to make a bid and know like Eurovision, one auction will come along each year.
Portsmouth Waterfront – 1st November 2021
I took these pictures as the ferry to the Isle of White left Portsmouth.
I would have taken some of the ferry, but I caught it with just twenty seconds to spare.
A Dreadful Hot Chocolate At Woking Station
On my trip to the Isle of Wight today, to ride on the new Class 484 trains on the Island Line, I got on a Portsmouth & Southsea train, rather than one to Portsmouth Harbour station.
I was told be the guard, that it would be convenient to change at Woking station, which I did.
I took these pictures at the station.
Note.
- I alighted on Platform 5, where there is a Starbucks.
- I bought a hot chocolate in the Starbucks.
- I then moved to Platform 4 to catch my train to Portsmouth Harbour.
- It was a bit of a precarious platform transfer as the lifts are at the other end of the station.
- Where there was a Pumpkin.
It’s a pity, I didn’t wait to get my drink, as it was one of the worst Hot chocolates I’ve ever tasted.
Later I had a much better hot chocolate in another cafe at Ryde.
First Class 484 Arrives On The Isle Of Wight
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.
The title says it all, but the article contains links to interesting pictures and video of the solution to getting a two-car Class 484 train onto an island.
Graffiti Vandals Paralyse Island Line Service
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railnews.
This is the first paragraph.
The Island Line timetable was suspended on Monday morning, after the only serviceable train on the route was sprayed with graffiti. Passengers were being diverted to buses until the graffiti could be removed.
I can’t understand the motives of people who spray graffiti and I hope that the culprits are found and given time in one of the Isle of Wight’s prisons.
Reinstatement Of Branch Lines On The Isle Of Wight
This is one of the successful bids in the First Round of the Restoring Your Railway Fund.
This article on isleofwhiteradio is entitled Funding From Government To Develop Isle Of Wight Railway Reopening Proposals.
The article lists two proposed schemes for expansion of the Island Line.
• Extension of the existing Island Line service (Ryde-Shanklin) south of Shanklin to reach Ventnor, calling at Wroxall.
• Integration with, and extension of, the existing Isle of Wight Steam Railway route to provide passenger services through Smallbrook from Ryde to Newport.
The article has an informative map.
Nearly, three years ago, I wrote Diesel And Battery Trains Could Be The Solution For Island Line, based on an article on the Island Echo, with the same title.
Since then, things have moved on and these developments have started.
- Vivarail are building a fleet of five new zero-carbon Class 484 electric trains.
- Network Rail have promised £5 million to upgrade Ryde Pier to secure the future of the line.
- The track and signalling system will be upgraded this winter.
- The passing loop at Brading will be reinstated.
This will allow a thirty minute service interval from May 2021.
Wikipedia states that a twenty-minute service could be possible in the future.
The Trains
These pictures show the Class 230 trains on the Marston Vale Line.
Note.
- These are a diesel-electric version of the Class 484, which will use the existing third-rail electrification and possibly batteries on the Island Line.
- The operator can choose an interior appropriate to their needs.
- Three-car versions of the train have been ordered by Transport for Wales.
Battery versions of the train are available with a forty-mile range, See Retired London Underground Train Travels Forty Miles Solely On Battery Power.
The Extension To Ventnor
Looking at the map and measuring distance using methods that would have been known to Drake and Grenville, I estimate that the distance between Shanklin and Ventnor via Wroxhall is less than fifteen miles.
- As the battery range of Vivarail’s trains can be in the region of forty miles, this must open up the possibility of using battery power between Shanklin and Ventnor.
- Building the extension without electrification would lower the cost.
- Trains running from Shanklin to Ventnor would be charged on the electrified section of the route.
- One of Vivarail’s charging systems could be installed at Ventnor if required. See Charging A Battery-Powered Class 230 Train.
Would Vivarail just add a third car with batteries to the Class 484 trains and update the software to enable trains to run on the extension to Ventnor?
The Extension To Newport
The Island Line connects to the Isle of Wight Steam Railway at Smallbrook Junction station.
Note.
- The Island line running North-South on the Eastern side of the map.
- The Isle of Wight Steam Railway curving away to the South-West.
- The two railways connecting at Smallbrook Junction station.
- Ryde is to the North.
- Shanklin is to the South.
- Newport is to the West.
I doubt, that allowing trains to run between Ryde and Newport, would be one of the most challenging projects in railway engineering.
The map on the isleofwightradio web site, shows a chord, that would allow trains to run between Shanklin and Newport.
I would estimate that the distance between Smallbrook Junction and Newport is around ten miles.
- The terminus would appear to be in the Barton area of Newport.
- Much of the route would appear to be across open countryside.
- The only place for a station could be the Isle of Wight Crematorium. Why not?
As with the extension to Ventnor, I believe that battery-electric Class 484 trains could run services to Newport.
Will The Isle Of Wight Steam Railway Object?
I very much feel, that if the scheme is well-designed, that they could be a beneficiary because of increased numbers of visitors.
The scheme might also be able to give the steam railway paths to run steam trains as far as Ryde St. John’s Road station.
Conclusion
This proposal is an elegant one, that uses proven technology and builds smoothly on work, that is already underway.
It is also a zero-carbon solution, if the electricity is from renewable sources.
I also suspect, if Network Rail put one of their brighter teams on the current upgrade to the track and signalling of the Island Line, that the extra work needed to connect to Ventnor and Newport, could be planned and costed in a very short time.
Delivery Drone Flies Medical Supplies To Britain’s Isle of Wight
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Reuters.
This is the introductory paragraph.
A new drone service will reduce delivery times for urgent medical supplies to a hospital on the Isle of Wight, which lies about 8 kilometres off the south coast of England.
In some ways the most remarkable thing about this project, was that the drone was developed by Southampton University to deliver medical supplies in remote parts of Africa.
- It is twin-engined.
- It has a range of 100 km.
- It can carry a 100 kg payload.
- It can take off and land on short grass runways.
More details can be found on this page of the Southampton University web site.
This is a video of the first delivery.
Will We Get Trams On The Isle Of Wight?
The Island Line on the Isle of Wight, is an oddity in that it is part-tourist attraction, part-commuter link and part-important railway, run using old London Underground tube trains. I wrote about my only ride on the line in A Trip On The Island Line.
According to this report on Rail Magazine, which is entitled Garnett report advises trams for the Isle of Wight, it would be better if the line was redeveloped using trams or light rail, and probably run under much greater local control.
I agree, but I can already hear moans from people who want to keep the line as it is. But it must be a maintenance and operational nightmare! All credit should probably go to South West Trains and their partners, who keep this museum piece running.
I also feel that there could be some innovative form of light rail, run on this difficult line, using a mix of all the new technologies now coming in to the mainstream.
- Ability to run on a well-laid standard gauge track, without electrification.
- Battery/flywheel and electric operation with charging at end and interchanges to give a range of five to ten miles between charging stations.
- Spacious, step-free and enough vehicles, with the capacity of probably a three-car tram.
- Street running capability.
- Totally automatic or semi-automatic one-man operation.
- Tramway-style infrastructure and rules, so stops would be safe and simple.
- Several trips an hour frequency
- Contactless bank card ticketing.
In some ways the nearest form of transport at present is a Parry People Mover. But these are just not big or automated enough. However a modern tram run with more automation and on batteries could be a solution.
I think there is an opportunity on the Isle of Wight to create the prototype of an advanced form of self-contained, environmentally-friendly transport system.
The Island Line is unique in the UK at the moment, but I can think of several places, where this form of automatic light rail people mover might be a solution.
- Chessington South to Chessington World of Adventures
- Greenhithe to Bluewater
- Ipswich to Felixstowe – It could even extend to the seafront along pedestrianised streets.
- Romford to Upminster – Surely, running a four-car Class 710 train is an expensive solution!
- St. Erth to St. Ives
There must be many places in the UK and around the world, where a simple standard drop-in automatic light rail system can be applied.
Many could even be built by local commercial interests or authorities.
A Gluten-Free Lunch In Shanklin
I needed some lunch and was walking back to the station, when I saw Micky’s Munch Box.
As you can see I sat in the sun and ate a toasted cheese and bacon sandwich in gluten-free bread.
With the long lasting qualities of some gluten-free breads like Genius, I think we’ll see more of this type of cafe catering for those like me, who need to be gluten-free.
Shanklin
I got off the Island Line train at the end, which was Shanklin.
As you can see I walked to the beach and then went back up the hill to the station.
I was glad to see a map, although the town had lots of finger posts and my original navigation system had no difficulty finding my way around.
The Anonymous Widower 