Polanski And Farage Don’t Agree. But They Have More In Common Than You Might Think
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC, by Laura Kuenssberg.
It is very much a must read article comparing two of the most controversial party leaders in the UK.
This is the sub-heading.
One is a former stockbroker from the south who, by his own proud admission, loves smoking, drinking and women. The other’s a proud vegan, gay, northern former actor, who told me he’d never drunk a drop.
These first three paragraphs add detail to the story.
But the jubilant Zack Polanski and Nigel Farage have rather a lot in common.
Before you scream, burst out laughing, or think I have lost my marbles, of course, there are very big differences between them.
The Greens talk about a climate emergency. Reform UK calls the government green plans, “net stupid zero”.
This is Laura’s summing up of the Terrible Twins.
Their views on the cause of Britain’s pain vary wildly.
The Greens might point the finger at the super-rich, the “donor billionaires” they often cite. Reform often blames immigration, which they controversially characterise as an “invasion” of people arriving in the UK without permission.
But both parties feed off and stir up sentiment that’s felt by lots of the public: that Britain doesn’t work any more.
Whether it’s the new Green MP saying “working hard used to get you something” in her victory speech, or Nigel Farage repeatedly telling us “Britain is broken”, the same argument flows from both: that the country is in such a dreadful state that only new political saviours can fix it.
And both Reform and the Greens are willing to push the conventions of what traditional UK politicians would find acceptable – or what they believe would make them electable.
That’s not just about their image or the unstuffy ways they court publicity – Nigel Farage willingly going into the I’m A Celebrity jungle, or Zack Polanski being seen on a dance floor in campaign videos – but how they choose to focus on sensitive issues, where others might not choose to tread.
I would disagree that Britain is broken, but that it needs someone with sensible policies that everybody can get behind.
The Greens policies on the super-rich would drive anybody with ambition and money from this country and already countries like Canada are advertising for migrants.
With two immigrant lines, Farage is everything my father thought was bad about Oswald Mosley and his fascists in the 1930s. If a Reform UK Government started rounding up illegal immigrants on the streets, the violence would probable be enormous.
How Much Renewable Energy Will The UK Be Generating By 2030?
I have to admit, that whether you like the Tories or not, they have developed an energy generation policy and an energy relationship with Germany, that appears to be working and is allowing the current Government to do a bit of spending on defence and other needs.
I asked Google AI, the question in the title of this section and received this reply.
The UK government has set an ambitious target to reach 95% low-carbon electricity generation by 2030, aiming for a system driven by 43-50 GW of offshore wind, 27-29 GW of onshore wind, and 45-47 GW of solar power. This plan aims to dramatically reduce fossil fuel reliance, supported by 23-27 GW of battery capacity.
Key 2030 Renewable Energy Projections & Targets:
Total Clean Power Goal: The goal is 95% of electricity from low-carbon sources (renewables and nuclear) by 2030, up from roughly 74% in 2024.
Offshore Wind: Target of 43-50 GW, deemed crucial to powering the grid.
Onshore Wind: Target of 27-29 GW, with recent policy changes lifting bans to accelerate development.
Solar Power: Target of 45-47 GW, aiming to triple current capacity.
Flexibility: 23-27 GW of battery capacity and 4-6 GW of long-duration storage are needed to manage intermittency.
Challenges and Forecasts:
Shortfall Risks: While the government target is high, some projections suggest wind and solar may only account for 44% of generation by 2030, requiring significant acceleration to reach the 95% clean goal.
Investment Needs: Achieving these goals requires an estimated £48 billion in additional investment, on top of planned projects.
Progress: In 2024, renewable sources already hit a record of over 50% in certain quarters, with low-carbon sources overall (including nuclear) providing nearly 70% of generation.
My Thoughts
I will add some of my thoughts.
Electricity Demand: As I write, according to National Grid: Live it is 33.3 GW, which is met by with Production of 27.1 GW and Transfers of 6.2 GW.
Electricity Production: In 2030, I believe that if the UK has long-term battery capacity of something like 4 GW/40 GWh, that total UK electricity production could be upwards of 125 GW.
Hinckley Point C Power Station: This should add 1.6 GW in 2030 and 2031 to further boost UK electricity production.
Pumped Storage Hydro: In How Much Pumped Storage Hydro Will Be Operational In The UK By 2030?, I estimate that the Bank of England standard of energy storage, will add 5 GW of electricity production.
Highview Power: Highview Power are developing long duration liquid-air energy storage and have identified locations for sixteen 300 MW/3.2 GWh monsters.
Excess Electricity Production: This will be exported, either as electricity or after conversion to hydrogen. It will be a Magic Money Forest for the victor of the General Election in 2029.
If Hinckley Point C, the pumped storage hydro and Highview Power’s batteries work as their engineers hope, then the result of the next General Election will be predictable.
It is certainly, Kier Starmer’s to win, by getting the energy right!
Highview Power And The 2029 General Election
Every extra GWh added to energy storage has the following affect.
It will mean that more wind farms will not have to be switched in times of high wind and over production, as the electricity can be stored.
At the present time, there are four ways of storing energy.
- Turn it into hydrogen. But the Hindenberg did a good PR job for not using hydrogen.
- Store it in a pumped storage hydro system, but these have problems with their large land use.
- Store it in a large lithium battery, but these have problems with fire risks and need a large amount of expensive lithium.
- Store it in one of Highview Power’s liquid air batteries.
I believe that Highview Power’s liquid-air long duration batteries, have several advantages.
- They are built from readily available components.
- They can be scaled to the need at the location, where they are installed.
- A small one is 50 MW/300 MWh and a large one is 300 MW/3.2 GWh.
- The batteries come with grid stabilisation and other features.
- The batteries have a lifespan of greater than 50 years
- The energy storage fluid, is captured from the air.
- They are a product, that would be easy to finance in quantity.
- Goldman Sachs is an investor.
- A village with a power problem could fund a Highview Power battery and have a nice little earner, with perhaps a wind turbine on a nearby hill.
- Centrica is an investor.
If a politician were to understand it, it could wind them the next General Election.
German Far-Right Vows To Tear Down Wind Turbines
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on oilprice.com.
These two paragraphs add detail to the story.
Germany’s far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party has vowed to dismantle wind parks and wind turbines should it win power in the upcoming presidential elections in February, aligning itself with similar sentiments by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. AfD asserts in its election platform that it “rejects the further expansion of wind energy” and has called for cuts to renewable subsidies.
German offshore-wind group BWO has hit back at AfD’s anti-wind policy, saying Putin would be the biggest beneficiary of such a move. AfD chairwoman Alice Weidel has also tried to walk back that position, saying her earlier anti-wind comments referred to a local matter in the state of Hesse.
This could be good for the UK.
This is the first two paragraphs of the Wikipedia entry for Wind Power in Germany.
Wind power in Germany is a growing industry. The installed capacity was 55.6 gigawatts (GW) at the end of 2017, with 5.2 GW from offshore installations. In 2020, 23.3% of the country’s total electricity was generated through wind power, up from 6.2% in 2010 and 1.6% in 2000.
More than 26,772 wind turbines were located in the German federal area by year end 2015, and the country has plans for further expansion. As of the end of 2015, Germany was the third largest producer of wind power in the world by installations, behind China and the United States. Germany also has a number of turbine manufacturers, like Enercon, Nordex and Senvion.
By the end of June 2022, Germany had a total of 30,000 installed wind turbines, with a capacity in excess of over 64 GW.
Large numbers of second-hand wind turbines to plant all over Starmer, Reeves and Miliband’s vision of the UK would go down just fine in the cash-strapped Treasury, but would the British public like them?
So as Starmer and Reeves will talk to anybody to save their skins, are they talking to the AfD?
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.
Robertsbridge Station – 25th September 2024
I went to Robertsbridge station, today and took these pictures of the station.
Note.
The tracks are electrified.
- The platforms can accommodate eight-car trains and probably ten-car trains.
- There is a level-crossing at the South end of the station.
- The bridge is not step-free.
- Passengers may be able to use the level-crossing to cross the tracks
- The station has a good collection of books for passengers.
- The London trains are in good conditiopn.
- There is an adequate amount of car parking.
It is a small workmanlike country station typical of many in the UK.
This Google Map shows the station.
Note.
The London and Hastings Line runs down the West side of the map.
The station buildings are marked by the usual sign and are on the East side of the tracks.
Also on the East side of the tracks is a siding used by Network Rail to store machinery and a car park and then the premises of the Rother Valley Railway.
Station Road with its level crossing runs across the bottom of the map.
These are my thoughts.
The Aim Of The Rother Valley Railway
This is the first paragraph of the Wikipedia entry for the Rother Valley Railway.
The Rother Valley Railway (RVR) is a heritage railway project based at Robertsbridge in East Sussex, England. It takes its name from the original name for what later became the Kent and East Sussex Railway, running from Robertsbridge through to Headcorn in Kent, via Tenterden. The project is to replace the “missing link” between Robertsbridge, a station on the Tonbridge to Hastings mainline, and Bodiam on the Kent and East Sussex Railway, a heritage railway which operates from Bodiam to Tenterden.
This OpenRailwayMap shows the route of the railway between Robertsbridge and Tenterden Town.
Note.
- Robertsbridge Junction is in the South-West corner of the map.
- Tenterten Town is in the North-East corner of the map.
- Bodiam, Northiam, Wittersham Road and Rolverden are the intermediate stops.
This second OpenRailwayMap shows the tracks at Rotherfield.
Note.
- Robertsbridge station is on the West.
- Robertsbridge Junction station of the Rother Valley Railway is on the East.
- Network Rail’s siding runs between the stations.
It appears that the Robertsbridge Junction station has a turnback for a locomotive.
Progress On The Rother Valley Railway
This is the second paragraph of the Wikipedia entry for the Rother Valley Railway.
Following a public inquiry in 2021, the government approved the project in May 2023 and granted the RVR’s application for a Transport and Works Act Order. This came into force on 2 August, allowing the reinstatement scheme to be completed. There will be then an end-on link with the Kent and East Sussex at Bodiam enabling through-running of passenger trains between Tenterden and Robertsbridge for the first time since 1954. Heritage trains will make use of the Rother Valley Railway’s own new station at Robertsbridge Junction, a short walk from the mainline station. Work is expected to begin on the final phase of reinstatement in 2024, following detailed surveys.
It certainly looks like progress is being made.
Tenterden Is The Largest Town In Kent Without A Railway Station
Although compared to some towns, that have recently got stations, it is somewhat smaller.
But it is larger than Okehampton, which has successfully opened a National Rail station.
Perhaps, a supermarket car park can be found big enough for a single platform station?
Starmer May Give Tenterden Some New Development
A few more houses could generate commuter traffic.
Will VAT On School Fees Encourage train Travel To School?
But train travel may be cheaper than a car to say Tonbridge by car! Every little helps!
More Trains At Robertsbridge Could Draw Traffic
Two trains per hour would surely help.
Conclusion
A Tenterden branch could be viable for a shuttle between Robertsbridge and Tenterden.
The Anonymous Widower 