The Economic Case For Hydrogen In Domestic Heating
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Chemical Engineer.
The Wikipedia entry for The Chemical Engineer has this introductory paragraph.
The Chemical Engineer is a monthly chemical engineering technical and news magazine published by the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE). It has technical articles of interest to practitioners and educators, and also addresses current events in world of chemical engineering including research, international business news and government policy as it affects the chemical engineering community. The magazine is sent to all members of the IChemE and is included in the cost of membership. Some parts of the magazine are available free online, including recent news and a series of biographies “Chemical Engineers who Changed the World”, although the core and the archive magazine is available only with a subscription. The online magazine also has freely available podcasts.
It is a source on the Internet, where anything non-scientifically correct will be unlikely to appear.
The article has two introductory sub-headings.
Despite its thermodynamic disadvantages, global energy technology specialist Thomas Brewer believes hydrogen has an economic and efficient role in domestic heating. It forced him to deviate from his usual mantra of ‘efficiency above all else’ to get there, though
The work of decarbonisation by chemical engineers is about how we can cost effectively enable our organisations’ transition away from fossil fuels. This requires foresight. A decision chemical engineers make on a project with a 20-year lifespan will still be operational in 2045, when in most global locations, internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles will probably be in the minority and grid electricity will be mostly renewable.
This is the first actual paragraph.
It is unsurprising, therefore, that chemical engineers are researching and debating the prospects of the future of energy availability from renewables, and the likely role and cost of hydrogen. There is much public noise surrounding the conversation about heat pumps vs hydrogen for domestic heating. I have noticed how few articles are written from an unbiased perspective, how very few reports talk about the whole solution, and authors avoid quantifying the financial impact of their proposed solution. I couldn’t find an unbiased study with any financial logic, so, I built a model to assess the options, for my own interests. I found the results so intriguing that I wanted to share them.
In other words, let the data do the talking and accept what it tells you.
These are some extracts from the article.
On Curtailment
The article says this on curtailment of wind energy, because you are generating too much.
Efficient electrical energy storage is expensive, which has traditionally led renewable system designers to include curtailment as a part of their design. Curtailment involves oversizing the wind supply to be higher than the grid connection to reduce the need for as much energy storage, and deliberately wasting the occasional electrical excess. The system design becomes an economical balance between oversizing the renewable generation and paying for additional electrical storage. Within the UK grid in 2023, curtailment is a small factor. As electrification and wind power become more mainstream, the financial decision between investing in excess wind vs electrical storage will lead curtailment to become a more significant factor.
Curtailment is to me a practice, that should be consigned to the dustbin of history.
To eliminate it, as much storage as is needed storage must be provided.
Eliminate Naked Flames In The Kitchen
The article says this about eliminating naked gas flames (natural gas or hydrogen) in the kitchen.
Figure 1 shows that the recommended standard of hydrogen gas installation if removing kitchen gas cooking would result in less injuries than the existing natural gas installation if cooking were converted to induction heating. Kitchen leaks are more likely than boiler leaks due to the number of valves and connections, regardless of the gas type. NOx emissions in the home because of naked flames in the kitchen are also of concern to the health of the occupants and hydrogen naked flames have a higher NOx emission than natural gas; another reason to eliminate naked flame cooking.
When I was financing the development of what became the Respimat inhaler, I did my due scientific diligence and found research from a Russell Group University, that naked flames (including smoking) were a cause of asthma, especially in children.
My recommendation is that, at an appropriate time in the near future, you replace your gas cooker with an electric one. My ginger-haired Glaswegian friend, who is a chef, who’s had Michelin stars would recommend an electric induction cooker.
Pumped Storage
The article says this about building more pumped storage.
The pumped storage assumption is based on the SSE proposal for Coire Glas, a 30 GWh £1.5bn storage system in Scotland which will more than double the UK’s current pumped storage capacity. The capital cost of this pumped storage system is about £50/kWh which will be delivered at about 80% efficiency. Pumped storage is a good balance between low cost and high efficiency. However, it requires natural resources. The Mott MacDonald report, Storage cost and technical assumptions for BEIS (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) suggests the equivalent of four Coire Glas-scale installations in the UK by 2050. The model optimistically assumes that ten more similar additional Coire Glas-size pumped storage schemes could be installed.
This page on the Strathclyde University web site, gives these GWh figures for the possible amounts of pumped-storage that can be added to existing hydroelectric schemes.
Strathclyde’s total for extra storage is over 500 GWh.
Distributed Batteries
The article says this about distributed batteries.
A distributed battery assumption could be configured with multiple 10 kWh batteries which typically cost about £3,000 installed, near or in homes with a heat pump. This could be coupled with larger battery storage systems like the £30m Chapel Farm 99 MWh battery installation near Luton, commissioned in 2023. The small battery systems at each home are similar to the proposed virtual power plants using electric vehicle battery capacity to help balance the grid. Placing these batteries at locations with grid limitations could reduce the costs of upgrading the grid system. This is a more expensive energy storage scheme than pump storage and for the purposes of the model it is assumed that battery storage schemes are limitless. In both cases cited, the cost is £300/kWh. Battery efficiency varies significantly with temperature, and typically ranges from about 90% to 97%. As the system design needs to be focused on the coldest periods, the model is optimistically assuming 93% efficiency, which would require many of the batteries to be in a heated environment.
New lower-cost alternative batteries are also being developed.
Hydrogen Generation
The article says this about hydrogen generation.
Alternatively, the electricity generated from wind energy could be used in the electrolysis of water to produce hydrogen. While the fully installed electrolysis equipment costs about £2,100/kW, hydrogen storage in specially built cylinders is relatively cheap at about £23/kWh. The model, however, assumes salt mine storage which the US DoE in their report, Grid Energy Storage Technology Cost, calculate at a total system cost for hydrogen of $2/kWh. Electrolysis is the least efficient energy storage option, with a conversion efficiency of 75%, including compression. The waste heat from this conversion loss is useful for industrial heating, or in a district heating system. This has been ignored for simplicity.
Pumped storage, distributed batteries and hydrogen electrolysers distributed all over the UK, will mop up all the spare electricity and release it to heat pumps and for charging cars as necessary.
The hydrogen will be used for heating, to decarbonise difficult-to-decarbonise industries and provide fuel for hydrogen-powered vehicles, railways and shipping.
Curtailment will be a thing of the past.
The UK Offshore Wind Potential
The article says this about the UK offshore wind potential.
The UK government target for wind generation by 2030 is 50 GW. The UK offshore wind potential is reliable and available and has been estimated to be as high as 2,200 GW. There are, however, a few low wind periods that can last for several days.
I am not going to argue with 2,200 GW, but I will say that a lot of that will be used to generate hydrogen offshore.
Conclusions
This is the article’s main conclusion.
A wind-based supply for heating will mean that large quantities of potentially unused electricity will be available for more than 90% of the year, for potentially very low cost. While this could appear wasteful, it provides further synergistical opportunities for the decarbonisation of other interruptible energy duties, such as production of hydrogen for road transport or supplying heat via heat pumps for interruptible industries.
The sensitivity analysis shows that these conclusions are robust even with significant variation in the assumptions on equipment cost, efficiency, and other electricity source options.
This is also said about the most cost-effective solution.
A cost-effective national heat pump-only solution is about £500bn (50%) more expensive than a hydrogen-only boiler solution. The most cost-effective system is a combination of the two, £100bn cheaper than the hydrogen-only solution, and £600bn cheaper than the heat pump-only solution.
A cost-effective national heat pump-only solution has a system efficiency 40% lower than the hydrogen-only solution, requiring more than 750 GW of installed wind capacity. A hydrogen boiler solution requires less than 500 GW but the most efficient system, however, is a combination of the two.
The conclusions mean that everybody will be able to use the most appropriate solution for their circumstances for both heating their housing or powering their vehicles, as there will be massive supplies of affordable electricity and hydrogen.
How Will Everything Be Paid For?
Just as Germany and others built its industry on cheap Russian gas, it will now choose to use the plentiful and reliable UK electricity and hydrogen to rebuild its industry.
A New Future Beckons For Scotland’s Historic Canals
The title of this post is the same as that as this article on The Herald.
This is the sub-heading.
Scotland’s canals, created for the industrial revolution but in recent times focused more on leisure than industry, are finding a new purpose as a different revolution, this time a green one, gets underway
The article was found by my Google Alert for the Coire Glas project, which is one of the UK’s largest green projects.
The article describes how Scotland’s canals are helping a green revolution and is well worth a read.
EDF Receives Green Light For Solar Farm At The Macallan Estate
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Solar Power Portal.
These three paragraphs outline the story.
Energy company EDF Renewables UK has been granted the green light to develop a 4MW solar farm to decarbonise the production of The Macallan’s single malt Scotch whisky in Craigellachie.
Located at The Macallan Estate in north-east Scotland, the distillery company alongside EDF Renewables will integrate ground-mounted solar panels to deliver up to 50% of the daytime electricity needs at peak output. In doing so, this could provide 30% of the site’s yearly electricity demand.
A key aspect of the project is biodiversity and local community engagement – aspects of solar projects which regular readers of Solar Power Portal will be aware of across a number of different schemes.
This Google Map shows the Macallan Estate about sixty miles to the North-West of Aberdeen.
This page on the Macallan Estate web site gives details about the company, its whisky and principles.
As the estate is 485 acres, they’ve certainly got enough space for 4 MW of solar panels.
I do wonder though if low- or zero-carbon whisky and other spirits is the way the industry is going.
Searching the Internet for “Zero-Carbon Whisky” gives some worthwhile results.
- NC’NEAN is organic Scotch Whisky distilled in a net-zero distillery in the Western Highlands of Scotland.
- Cooper King is the is the very first whisky in England to be distilled using net zero energy.
- Diageo opens its first carbon neutral whiskey distillery in North America
- The Scotch Whisky Association will achieve Net Zero emissions by 2040 in our own operations.
- Scotch Whisky Heads To Zero Emissions With Wind & …
Scotland seems to be moving to make whisky at least carbon neutral.
There are also two hydrogen projects aimed at distilleries under development.
This is a paragraph from the home page of the Cromarty Hydrogen Project.
The Cromarty Hydrogen Project is the first project in the Scotland Hydrogen Programme. It originated from a collaboration between the Port of Cromarty Firth, ScottishPower, Glenmorangie, Whyte & Mackay and Diageo and the project originator, Storegga during the feasibility stage. This project is looking to develop a green hydrogen production hub in the Cromarty Firth region and revolves around the local distilleries forming the baseload demand for early phases of the project, which would enable them to decarbonise in line with their own ambitions and sector targets.
This project appears to be backed by three companies, who produce Scotch whisky.
In Major Boost For Hydrogen As UK Unlocks New Investment And Jobs, I said this.
I have just looked at the InchDairnie Distillery web site.
- It looks a high class product.
- The company is best described as Scotch Whisky Reimagined.
- The company is based in Fife near Glenrothes.
- They appear to have just launched a rye whisky, which they are aiming to export to Canada, Japan and Taiwan.
The press release says this about InchDairnie.
InchDairnie Distillery in Scotland, who plan to run a boiler on 100% hydrogen for use in their distilling process.
That would fit nicely with the image of the distillery.
I suspect the hydrogen will be brought in by truck.
Would a zero-carbon whisky be a hit at Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil parties?
Diageo
This page on the Diageo web site is entitled Accelerating To A Low Carbon World.
It would probably help if more companies thought like Diageo.
Conclusion
Macallan are certainly going in the right direction.
Slow Tourism Train Operator Launches First Service
Tyhe title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.
These are the first two paragraphs.
FS Group’s recently formed tourist train business FS Treni Turistici Italiani has launched its first service.
Branded Espresso Cadore, the overnight service between Roma Termini and Calalzo-Pieve di Cadore-Cortina will run every Friday night until mid-February. On arrival, a connecting bus takes passengers to Cortina d’Ampezzo in 45 min. The return train departs on Sundays, arriving at Roma Termini on Monday morning.
It is surely an interesting concept and I believe it could work on several routes in the UK.
- Settle and Carlisle would be an obvious route.
- Cumbrian Coast Line.
- Bristol and Oxford, which I wrote about in Leisure Market Boom? GWR’s Vision For Direct Bristol-Oxford Services.
There must also be a couple of routes in Scotland and Wales.
As the three routes, I named are electrified at both ends, there is a possibility that they could be run by quiet battery-electric trains.
Price Framework Paves Way For Vast Electricity Storage Scheme
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Times.
This is the sub-heading.
SSE welcomes step forward in plans to build the £1.5bn Coire Glas hydroelectric project
These two paragraphs outline the article.
Ministers have provisionally agreed to a power pricing framework that could pave the way for more pumped storage hydroelectricity projects in Britain, including a gigantic £1.5 billion scheme from SSE that is starting to take shape in the Scottish Highlands.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said it intended to develop a “cap and floor” pricing mechanism that would advance the Coire Glas storage project being developed by SSE, the energy company, and could unlock further pumped storage power stations.
Coire Glas will be one of the largest renewable power projects ever built in the UK.
- It will have a power output of 1.5 GW, which is comparable with some of the large wind farms in the North Sea or four gas-fired power station or Rolls-Royce SMRs.
- It will be able to store 30 GWh of electricity and provide 1.5 GW for twenty hours.
- Coire Glas has a web site.
- Coire Glas will more than double pumped storage hydroelectric capacity in the UK.
Bath County Pumped Storage Station in Virginia, US claims to be the world’s largest battery, but Coire Glas will be able to store more electricity.
You wait decades for one of these monsters to come along in the UK and SSE also have another on the way.
- Loch Sloy hydroelectric power station is the largest conventional hydroelectric power station in the UK.
- It has an output of 152 MW.
- It opened in 1950 and was largely built by German and Italian prisoners-of-war.
SSE plan to convert Loch Sloy power station into a pumped storage hydroelectric power station.
- It will be able to store 25 GWh of electricity.
- Loch Sloy will be the upper lake.
- Loch Lomond will be the lower lake.
- The existing dam, upper lake, pipes and powerhouse will be retained.
- The developments have a web page.
The project is aimed at a commissioning date of 2028.
This paragraph explains how the ‘cap and floor’ mechanism works.
In the scheme, operators would be guaranteed a minimum level of revenue, while consumers would be protected by a price ceiling, above which surplus revenue would be returned to them.
And these two paragraphs give SSE’s reaction.
Finlay McCutcheon, 46, director of onshore Europe at SSE, said the pricing framework was welcome news. He said that a deal for Coire Glas was needed by the end of this year to secure a firm investment decision by early 2026. Planning for the project started in 2007.
“Given the time taken to reach this point, much work is now needed to ensure an effective mechanism is finalised and put in place as early as possible to enable Coire Glas to take final investment decisions and move into construction,” he said.
I believe that the negotiations between the Government and SSE will lead to a monster on Loch Lochy and another one on Loch Lomond.
Conclusion
There are also these pumped storage hydroelectric schemes under development.
- Balliemeanoch Pumped Hydro – 1.5 GW/45 GWh
- Balmacaan Pumped Hydro – 600 MW/15-20 GWh
- Corrievarkie Pumped Hydro – 1.5 GW/14.5 GWh
- Fearna Pumped Hydro – 1.8 GW/37 GWh
- Glenmuckloch Pumped Hydro – 400 MW/1.6 GWh
- Loch Earba Pumped Storage Hydro – 900MW/33 GWh
- Loch Kemp Pumped Storage Hydro – 300MW/9 GWh
- Loch Na Cargeach/Red John Pumped Storage Hydro – 450 MW/2.8 GWh
These total up to 7.4 GW/100+ GWh.
This page on the Strathclyde University web site, gives these GWh figures for the possible amounts of pumped-storage that can be added to existing schemes.
- Errochty – 16
- Glasgarnock – 23
- Luichart – 38
- Clunie – 40
- Fannich – 70
- Rannoch – 41
- Fasnakyle – 78
- Tummel – 38
- Ben Lawers – 12
- Nant – 48
- Invermoriston – 22
- Invergarry – 41
- Quoich – 27
- Sloy – 20
That is a total of 514 GWh.
Scotland will be the Saudi Arabia of energy storage.
Thousands Pay More Tax In ‘Chaotic’ Yousaf Budget
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in The Times.
It has this sub-heading.
Efforts to plug £1.5bn funding hole put Scotland at a disadvantage, say business leaders
I have a feeling that the rise in income tax will have unintended consequences.
The UK’s Current Hydrogen Plans
Last week, the UK Government announced grants for eleven big hydrogen projects, around the UK, with two in Scotland. The new Scottish electrolysers will be playing a large part in decarbonising the Scotch whisky industry and HGVs.
I wrote Major Boost For Hydrogen As UK Unlocks New Investment And Jobs to describe the investments scope and benefits.
The Government estimated that these grants will create 700 jobs, across the UK.
How many quality high-paid jobs will this funding create in Scotland? As two of the eleven projects are based in Scotland, it could be around 127 quality jobs.
More UK Hydrogen Plans Are On The Way
The Government also indicated that this was only the first stage of bringing hydrogen production to the UK, so I will expect more high-paid quality jobs will be created.
Projected UK Offshore Wind Power
This Wikipedia entry is a list of all installed, under-construction and proposed offshore wind farms in the UK.
Aggregating the new unbuilt wind farms says the following capacity will very likely be installed in the UK in the next few years.
- Scotland – 32, 750 MW.
- England – 25,558 MW
- Wales – 700 MW
As more proposals have been called for, particularly in the Celtic Sea, I don’t think it would be unreasonable to add perhaps another 10,000 MW.
Wind farms are also proposed for around the island of Ireland and in the waters of the Channel Islands.
Upgrading Of The National Grid
These three posts could well be forerunners of other posts, I will write in the next few months.
- National Grid Fast-Tracks Overhead Line Upgrade Project To Help Accelerate Connection Dates Of 175 Clean Energy Projects
- National Grid To Accelerate Up To 20GW Of Grid Connections Across Its Transmission And Distribution Networks
- National Grid’s London Power Tunnels Breakthrough Completes £1 Billion Project’s Tunnelling Activity
National Grid is increasing its capacity at a fast pace and will need a large number of quality engineers.
Crossrail And Electrical Engineers/Electricians
I suspect we’ll find, that when a report on the late delivery of Crossrail is published, an electrician shortage will get some of the blame.
I have friends, who are electricians. Because of the shortage of trained electricians, they were offered fortunes to work on Crossrail.
Do We Have Enough Engineers?
For all the reasons I have outlined, our path to net-zero will need a lot of trained electrical engineers and electricians and just as Crossrail showed, when there is a shortage of labour in a particular area, remuneration rises.
Electrical engineers and electricians in the British Isles will be able to pick and choose the jobs they take, just as they did with Crossrail and the other major projects being built at the same time.
Effects On Scotland
If you were an engineer, who had skills and could work on these projects, would you prefer to work on a project, where the tax rate was lower?
Scotland’s tax rise will harm their decarbonisation ambitions.
Surely, the Greens should have vetoed a tax increase, which will inevitably slow their progress to net-zero?
Or are Greens a tad short of the grey matter?
Conclusion
I believe the Scottish government has shot itself in the foot.
Building Inside Mountains: Global Demand For Pumped Hydroelectric Storage Soars
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Construction-Europe.
This is the sub-heading.
Pumped hydroelectric storage plants around the world have been secretly storing electricity in remote mountain lakes for the last century. But the switch to renewable energy sources is prompting a surge in new construction.
These two paragraphs introduce the article.
Looking out over the ragged beauty of the Scottish Highlands, Coire Glas, a horseshoe-shaped valley holding a clear mountain lake above the shores of Loch Lochy, seems like an unlikely spot to build a megaproject.
In this remote location, surrounded by clumps of pine trees, a team of construction workers from contractor Strabag are tunnelling their way through the rock which they hope will form part of a vast new power storage facility.
The article is a must-read that talks about pumped storage hydroelectricity in general and SSE Renewables’s 1500MW/30 GWh Coire Glas power station in particular.
The Future Of Pumped Hydroelectric Storage
These two paragraphs from the article give a glimpse into the future.
According to the International Energy Agency, global pumped storage capacity is set to expand by 56% to reach more than 270 GW by 2026, with the biggest growth in India and China.
Current pumped storage megaprojects currently in construction include the Kannagawa Hydropower Plant near Minamiaki in Japan which when fully completed in 2032 is expected to have a total installed capacity of 2,820MW; and Snowy Hydro 2.0 in New South Wales, Australia, which is currently expected to complete in 2028.
Note.
- I can count two Indian and ninety Chinese systems under construction. All have a capacity of upwards of one GW.
- The Kannagawa Hydropower Plant appears to be the largest with a capacity of 2.82 GW. The Japanese are keeping quiet about the storage capacity.
- The Snowy Hydro 2.0 has a capacity of 2 GW and a storage capacity of 350 GWh.
- The Wikipedia entry for Snowy Hydro 2.0 states that it is the largest renewable energy project under construction in Australia.
Against this onslaught of massive systems, SSE Renewables are pitching the 1500MW/30 GWh Coire Glas and the 252MW/25 GWh Loch Sloy systems.
Pumped hydroelectric storage will have a big part to play in decarbonising the world. Even in little old and relatively flat UK.
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners Takes FID On 1,000 MWh Battery Energy Storage Project
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners.
This is the sub-heading.
The battery energy storage system Coalburn 1 will be one of the largest battery storage projects in Europe. Construction has commenced in November 2023 and the project will be 500 MW / 1,000 MWh once complete.
These two paragraphs outline the project.
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) through its Flagship Funds has taken final investment decision and commenced construction on a 500 MW / 1,000 MWh energy storage system in Coalburn, Scotland, which will be one of the largest of its kind in Europe.
The facility is the first project to be developed from the partnership between CIP and Alcemi to deploy 4 GW of energy storage assets across the UK. CIP aims to take final investment decision on two other projects next year with a combined capacity above 1 GW. The portfolio will provide vital support to the UK’s energy network, accelerating the integration of renewable energy and the transition to net zero by 2050.
Note.
- FID means final investment decision.
- 500 MW / 1,000 MWh could become a common size as it is two hours of power and easy for politicians to add up.
- CIP and Alcemi seem to be planning a total amount of energy storage, eight times bigger than Coalburn 1.
This battery could be the largest in the UK, when it is commissioned.
Who Are Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP)?
Their About CIP web page gives a lot of details.
Who Are Alcemi?
Their Who We Are web page gives a lot of details.
Environmental Considerations
The press release says this about environmental considerations.
The Coalburn 1 facility has been developed with extensive landscaping and ecological mitigation measures, including the maintenance of peat reserves, tree and wildflower planting, and new habitats, promoting biodiversity across the site.
I’ll agree with that, but add that I hope that they look after the hares. It will be interesting to see how big batteries and big bunnies co-exist. As co-exist they will!
Operation
The press release says this about operation.
The scheme will reduce the need for fossil fuel power generation during periods of peak demand leading to a decrease in CO2 emissions but also provide balancing services to help lower the costs for end consumers to manage the UK Power system.
As a Control Engineer, I suspect, it will act in a little-and-large mode with Scotland’s pumped storage.
Location
This page on the SP Energy Networks web site is entitled Coalburn Connection – South Lanarkshire.
There is this introductory paragraph.
SP Energy Networks own and maintain the electricity network in central and southern Scotland. As part of our infrastructure, Coalburn Grid Substation is a key installation in the transmission network situated to the south of Lesmahagow in South Lanarkshire.
Underneath is this map.
Note.
- The orange arrows are wind farms and there appear to be around a dozen of them.
- The blue arrow is Coalburn Grid Substation.
- Running through the area is the M74 between Glasgow and Carlisle.
- There are some remains of opencast coal-mines in the area, which have been restored and turned into wind farms.
- I have found the capacity of fourteen of the existing wind farms and it totals 946 MW, which is an average capacity for each wind farm of 67 MW.
- During my search for capacity, I found a couple of wind farms that were being upgraded with larger turbines.
- The SP Energy Networks page gives a date of Q3 2025 for connection of the Coalburn battery to the sub-station.
With the 500 MW/1000 MWh Coalburn 1 battery, I wouldn’t be surprised that this massive onshore wind farm complex has been designed to provide a guaranteed 1000 MW to the grid.
Vertical Farming Consortium Secures UK Government Funding To Advance Low-Emission Food Production Using Energy Storage
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Renewable Energy Magazine.
This is the sub-heading.
A consortium of four British companies, comprising UK Urban AgriTech (UKUAT), Intelligent Growth Solutions Ltd, RheEnergise and James Hutton Institute has received a grant from the UK Government to advance the development of low-carbon and low-cost food production by co-locating renewable energy with vertical farms.
These paragraphs outline the project.
The V-FAST consortium’s £488,000 project will explore how co-locating RheEnergise’s HD Hydro Energy Storage system with vertical farms can support a low-emission route to growing protein-rich crops in a controlled environment.
Last year, V-FAST – Vertical Farming And Storage Technologies – started investigating sites in Scotland’s Central Belt for the location of Scotland’s next generation of hectare+ scale vertical farms, powered by 100 percent renewables and using RheEnergise’s High-Density Hydro energy storage system. These farms would provide locally produced fresh foods (salads and fruits) to over 60 percent of the Scottish population and help meet the Scottish Government’s ambitions to produce more homegrown fruit and vegetables. These site investigations in Scotland continue.
Now, with the Innovate UK and BBSRC funding as part of the Novel Low Emission Food Production Systems competition, V-FAST will broaden the area for its site feasibility studies to across the UK, using GIS to identify and rate suitable locations for vertical farms that are co-located with renewables and High-Density Hydro energy storage. As part of the project, V-FAST will also undertake crop trials to establish optimal climate recipes in terms of their energy efficiency relative to produce metrics (e.g. protein per kWh or kg of CO2e).
It certainly sounds unusual to pair vertical farming with energy storage, but if it works, why knock it?
RheEnergise’s HD Hydro Energy Storage system is effectively pumped storage hydroelectricity using a fluid with a specific gravity of 2.5.
So instead of needing mountains to store energy, it can use medium-sized hills.
The Wikipedia entry for vertical farming, introduces the concept like this.
Vertical farming is the practice of growing crops in vertically stacked layers. It often incorporates controlled-environment agriculture, which aims to optimize plant growth, and soilless farming techniques such as hydroponics, aquaponics, and aeroponics. Some common choices of structures to house vertical farming systems include buildings, shipping containers, tunnels, and abandoned mine shafts.
As both HD Hydro Energy Storage system and vertical farming seem to need some form of vertical space, can colocation be advantageous in terms of cost?
Wikipedia also says that vertical farms also face large energy demands due to the use of supplementary light like LEDs.
So could V-FAST be an unusal marriage made in heaven of plant science and energy storage?
Are LNER Going To Take On The Airlines?
Nine years ago, I wrote Edinburgh – Plane Or Train?, after a trip to Scotland, where I took easyJet up and came back in First Class by train.
- Both trips were about five hours door-to-door.
- The flight was about six quid more,
- But I got free food and drink on the train.
- Security on the plane was a pain.
- I had to take my passport for identification at Stansted.
I haven’t flown internally in Great Britain since, although, I have flown to Belfast.
For shorter flights the market is going towards rail, as these posts seem to suggest.
- 2.7M Tonnes Of Co2 Could Be Saved Per Year If UK Domestic Flights Went Electric
- Air Travellers To Be Hit By Carbon Charge On All Tickets
- Climate Change ‘May Curb Growth In UK Flying’
- France Bans Short-Haul Flights To Cut Carbon Emissions
- KLM Replaces Plane With High Speed Train
- Lumo Carbon Data Shows Its Trains Are 22 Times Greener Than Flying
- Next Time I’ll Go By Train
- Ryanair One Of Europe’s Top Polluters, EU Data Suggests
- Stop Taking Internal Flights And Go Green, Says Lib Dem Contender Davey
The climate seems to be turning against flying short-haul.
This is a paragraph, in this press release from LNER, which is entitled First Tri-Mode Long Distance Trains For The East Coast Main Line.
This new fleet of trains will keep LNER on track to reduce its emissions by 67 per cent by 2035 and be net zero by 2045. LNER has already reduced carbon emissions by 50 per cent compared with 2018/19. Per mile, LNER trains produce 15 times less carbon emissions than a domestic flight.
Are LNER building a number of climate-based sticks, with which to beat the airlines on the routes, where they compete?
These are my thoughts on the various routes, where LNER compete with airlines.
Newcastle
Newcastle is an interesting one.
- Newcastle station is in the city centre and is on the Tyne and Wear Metro.
- London King’s Cross is one of London’s major Underground hubs.
- There are lots of buses and local trains within walking distance of both stations.
- There are three trains every two hours and an additional eight trains per day (tpd) between the two London King’s Cross and Newcastle stations.
- Lumo also run five tpd on the route.
- There are generally no security delays at rail stations.
- London King’s Cross is laid out to maximise passenger flows. If it gets busy, everybody just walks out into King’s Cross Square.
- I’ve never had a problem at Newcastle station with overcrowding.
Perhaps, if you live near one of the airports, flying is more convenient.
LNER’s weapons against the airlines between London King’s Cross and Newcastle will be convenience and journey times.
Convenience is all about the location of the stations, their excellent local transport networks and good walking routes around the station.
Journey times will only get better, as the magic of digital in-cab signalling, allows the Azumas, the new CAF tri-mode long distance trains and the few remaining InterCity 225s to show what they were designed to do.
Dalton-on-Tees, where the first phase of the digitally signalling will end, is 39.8 miles South of Newcastle, so once the Newcastle train is passes Dalton-on-Tees on the East Coast Main Line, it will be a digital-signalled electrified railway all the way to Woolmer Green.
- Dalton-on-Tees is 39.8 miles South of Newcastle
- Woolmer Green is 244.8 miles South of Newcastle.
- Dalton-on-Tees and Woolmer Green is 205 miles.
- Newcastle and Dalton-on-Tees takes 37 minutes.
- Woolmer Green and King’s Cross takes 18 minutes
- Trains take typically an average three hours and nine minutes between London and Newcastle.
- A typical train time by LNER between Dalton-on-Tees and Woolmer Green is two hours and 14 minutes.
- This is an average speed of 91.8 mph between Dalton-on-Tees and Woolmer Green.
- Between London King’s Cross and Newcastle is fully-electrified.
I can build a table of timings and savings at various average speeds.
- 120 mph – 103 minutes – two hours and 38 minutes – 31 minutes
- 125 mph – 98 minutes – two hours and 33 minutes – 36 minutes
- 130 mph – 95 minutes – two hours and 30 minutes – 39 minutes
- 135 mph – 91 minutes – two hours and 26 minutes – 43 minutes
- 140 mph – 88 minutes – two hours and 23 minutes – 46 minutes
Note.
- The first field is the average speed between Dalton-on-Tees and Woolmer Green.
- The second field is the time between Dalton-on-Tees and Woolmer Green.
- The third field is the time between London and Newcastle.
- The fourth field is the saving over current timings.
- The London and Newcastle time is calculated by adding the times for the three sections together.
I have regularly timed trains at a very constant 125 mph, so with digital signalling, I suspect an average of 130 mph is possible.
This would mean, times of a few minutes under two hours and thirty minutes could be possible between London and Newcastle.
Edinburgh
Edinburgh builds on the improvements South of Newcastle.
Edinburgh station Waverley is a well-connected station.
- There are lots of buses, local trains and the Edinburgh Tram within walking distance of Edinburgh Waverley station.
- There are three trains every two hours and an additional seven tpd between the London King’s Cross and Edinburgh Waverley stations.
- Lumo also run five tpd on the route.
- Trains take typically an average four hours and thirty minutes between London and Edinburgh Waverley.
- Any savings because of the digital in-cab signalling between London and Newcastle can be applied to London and Edinburgh Waverley services.
As my calculations showed that averaging 130 mph between Dalton-on-Tees and Woolmer Green could save 39 minutes on journey times, I am fairly sure than a sub-four hour journey time will be possible between London and Edinburgh Waverley.
It should also be noted that that the power supply has been improved between Newcastle and Edinburgh Waverley.
- The distance between Newcastle and Edinburgh Waverley is 124.2 miles
- Newcastle and Edinburgh Waverley takes around one hour and 30 minutes.
- This is an average speed of 82.8 mph between Newcastle and Edinburgh Waverley.
- Between London King’s Cross and Edinburgh Waverley is fully-electrified.
As the record time for between London King’s Cross and Edinburgh Waverley was set by an InterCity225 train in 1993 at three hours and twenty-nine minutes, I suspect that with more digital signalling and some track improvements, that there are more journey time improvements to be squeezed out.
I certainly believe that a time of three hours and fifty minutes between London and Edinburgh Waverley will be regularly achieved. This is a journey time saving of around forty minutes.
Dundee
Dundee has an airport and a station on the East Coast Main Line.
Trains between London King’s Cross and Dundee take around five hours and 45 minutes.
LNER run three trains per day to and from London King’s Cross and one tpd to and from Leeds.
CrossCountry also run services.
Loganair has two flights per day to Heathrow.
Aberdeen
Aberdeen builds on the improvements South of Edinburgh.
The four direct tpd between London and Aberdeen take around seven hours and ten minutes.
This should come down to around six hours and thirty minutes with the journey time savings between London King’s Cross and Edinburgh Waverley.
Will this tempt travellers from the airlines?
Battery-Electric Trains To Dundee And Aberdeen
One thing that will help, is that Edinburgh and Aberdeen is to be partially electrified.
InPiling Work To Get Underway To Electrify Line To Fife, I included this Network Rail map of the electrification.
This map has been downloaded from the Network Rail web site.
The electrification is split into four phases.
- Haymarket and Dalmeny – 25 km
- Kirkcaldy and Thornton North – 25 km.
- Lochgelly and Thornton North – 20 km.
- Thornton North and Ladybank – 34 km.
Note.
- The last three phases of electrification connect to Thornton North.
- The new rail link to Leven will also be electrified. and connected to Thornton North.
- The Forth Bridge is not to be electrified.
As Ladybank station is just 91.4 miles from Aberdeen, I suspect LNER will use Hitachi Intercity Battery Hybrid Trains to serve Aberdeen.
If these trains haven’t got the range, then I suspect LNER’s new CAF Tri-Mode Trains could handle the route.
Inverness
Inverness has a problem.
Zero-carbon trains will be unlikely to get to the city without full electrification of the Highland Main Line.
- Dunblane is the nearest electrified station to Inverness, but it is 146.2 miles away over a route with lots of steep climbs.
- I doubt that a battery-electric train could handle that route.
One solution would be for LNER to run the new CAF Tri-Mode Trains to Inverness using HVO or biodiesel.
Glasgow
Glasgow is the only other Scottish city with an airport and good rail connections to the South.
I am sure that Avanti West Coast will target airline passengers, if LNER prove it is a successful policy.
Other Factors
These are other factors, that will come into a traveller’s choice.
First Class
Some travellers like a bit more comfort and service.
Ability To Work
Some travellers like to work on a train.
You Don’t Get Tables On a Plane
I like to open a paper or magazine flat, which is difficult on a plane.
Views Tend To Be Better On a Train
Providing you get a window!
Parking Tends To Be Better At An Airport
But it may be more expensive!
Security Is Less Hassle On A Train
At the moment!
You Don’t Need To Prove Your Identity On A Train
Not in the UK! Yet!
Conclusion
It looks like LNER can offer the airlines to four of our major Northern cities serious zero-carbon competition.
The Anonymous Widower 