SCOTTISH FIRM WINS EDF CONTRACT

Scottish manufacturing firm Burntisland Fabrication (BiFab) has been announced as a contractor on EDF’s £2 billion Neart Na Gaoithe (NnG) offshore wind farm.

It is hoped the deal will revive BiFab’s fortunes in Scotland and create 200 jobs at the firm’s Methil yard in Fife – with further pin pile work done at the firm’s Arnish yard, on Lewis.

A spokesman for DF Barnes said: “We welcome this positive statement from EDF in relation to the NnG project and the opportunities it presents for communities in Fife and the Isle of Lewis - Link

ACMC AWARDED O2 BLADE CONTRACT

Orbital Marine Power Ltd (Orbital), the world’s leading developer of floating tidal stream turbines, has awarded the composite blades contract for the company’s first commercial O2 tidal turbine to A C Marine & Composites (ACMC) who will carry out the manufacturing at their facilities in Gosport, Hampshire, England.

The contract will see ACMC build 10m composite blades for both of the O2’s twin rotors (four blades in total) giving the machine a swept area of over 600 square meters, the largest ever on a tidal turbine.

The O2, capable of generating over 2MW from tidal stream resources, will become the world’s most powerful tidal turbine when it enters operation later next year (2020) as part of a long term project at the European Marine Energy Centre, Orkney. Improvements in Orbital’s platform design have allowed for a rotor diameter increase of 4m on the company’s previous, record breaking, 2MW SR2000 turbine, with the O2 capable of producing electricity for over 1,700 UK homes - Link - more like this (sea/H2) - link

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(TOS) FOR FOX SAKE

An anonymous second year student at Hertford college, has recently been fined £500, as well as being banned from all social spaces within his college for Michaelmas term due to stealing a stuffed fox from Hertford’s MCR. 

The student was trashed after his first year exams holding the fox, and has since then been discovered by college officials.

In a Facebook post attaching his ‘gofundme’ page, he states that he will ‘bear the brunt’ of his punishment and has since paid the fine. 

He has since set up his ‘gofundme’ page, in which he shares harsh words for the college, making his point against taxidermy and raising money against the practice, rather than for the payment of his fine - more of this article (The Oxford Student) - link - more like this (Hertford) - link

HYDROGEN TRAINS COMING SOON(ER)

The introduction of hydrogen-powered trains moved a step closer yesterday with plans for a safety strategy to allow them to operate on the mainline network.

The Rail Safety and Standards Board industry body said that it had appointed consultants to create a “route map” designed to smooth the way for hydrogen trains in the next few years.

Arup has been appointed to assess the operational hazards associated with running the trains as well as recommending a series of safety rules - Link

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PURGE THE STURGE

NICOLA Sturgeon has said a Labour government under Jeremy Corbyn will grant a second independence referendum.

The First Minister, who met the UK Labour leader in Westminster a fortnight ago, also said she would ask the next Prime Minister "before Christmas" for the power to hold Indyref2.

Waving goodbye to 5.438 million Scottish people will be incredibly sad/depressing but the fact that Nicola Sturgeon will be one of them somehow makes it a fair trade off - Link

OXFORD'S CHILDREN - STUNTED

A report written by King's College London analysed 13 health conditions in people living in high pollution areas and compared them to the general population..

The study found roadside air pollution stunted lung growth in children by approximately 14% in Oxford. 

The new research also shows an increased risk of cardiac arrest, heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, bronchitis as well as reduced lung function in children but apart from that, nothing to worry about. - link

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BEST MASH PROJECT - MARK 10

Here we go, version ten in my quest to create the best mash ever made by a human being. More swede, more parsnips, same amount of carrots, less potatoes.

MARS ROVER TO BE TESTED IN OXFORD

NASA has announced that it will be testing their latest 'Curiosity Mars Rover IV' planetary investigation vehicle in Oxford as from 2020.

William B Sharfenzimmer Junior of NASA's interplanetary transit team revealed in a recent interview with 'Speed & Power' magazine "We know from previous satellite planet orbiting missions around Mars and the current landed mission that the surface is incredibly uneven and challenging and we have to test the new 'Curiosity Mars Rover IV' on comparable terrain in order to guarantee mission success".

In 2017, NASA contemplated building it's own rough terrain mock up facility replicating Mar's Mount Sharp in Philadelphia until a chance vacation brought engineer William Sharfenzimmer to Oxford who within minutes of his arrival realised that the test facility was already built and available in the UK.

The US$ 472 million 'Curiosity Mars Rover IV' will undergo nine months of preliminary terrain testing in Houston before being shipped to Oxford, England for the final testing described as 'brutal' by NASA along the stretch of pavement between Beaumont Street and Little Clarendon Street. Link

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POPS

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in Plastics: Impact on WEEE Recycling

POPs are a group of organic chemical substances which, due to their specific physical and chemical properties, are able to persist in the environment for long periods of time. Once released into the environment they have the ability to bio-magnify and bio-accumulate in ecosystems and have significant negative environmental and human health impacts

The flame retardants previously used in the manufacture of WEEE plastics are now identified as POPs, the most common being brominated flame retardants. Whilst these substances were legitimately added to plastics at the point of manufacture, they are now prohibited under the Stockholm Convention which places guidelines on the disposal of waste containing POPs. 

Waste containing POPs above a certain threshold is required to be disposed of in such a way that the POP is ‘destroyed or irreversibly transformed’ and the negative environmental impact is therefore removed. This means that WEEE plastics containing POPs cannot be treated in the same way as WEEE plastics which do not contain POPs. - link

ENERGY OBSERVER

The world’s first hydrogen-powered ship has arrived in London as part of a six-year, zero emissions voyage around the world.

The 30-metre long Energy Observer catamaran has already travelled 18,000 miles since leaving Saint Malo on the west coast of France and will remain stationed by Tower Bridge for 10 days as it finishes its European tour.

Crew say they want their “floating laboratory” to show that shipping can be decarbonised, emphasising that this needs to happen urgently to avoid catastrophic levels of climate change. - link

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KITTEN SCHOOL

FFS IT'S CORBYN

When Corbyn surprised almost everyone, including himself, by comfortably securing the leadership of his party in 2015, the Washington Post suggested that “he will do his best to sabotage relations with Washington - those who favor the strategic partnership between Britain and the United States can only hope that Labour’s new leader is not the voice of an emerging generation but the last gasp of an old one.” link

CSIRO - SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY

We need to revolutionise agriculture in the next 30 years. In 2050 we may have almost 10 billion people to feed. Farmland is already degraded by existing agriculture, and climate change is putting new pressure on crops and livestock.

With the tools we have now we can’t create new breeds and cultivars fast enough to cope with the rapidly changing conditions. How will we get strong yields in uncertain environments and make more food without using more land? link

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UK POLLUTION LEVELS

Pollution levels in parts of the UK regularly break international air quality standards, but they vary massively around the UK - and you can find out the levels in your area, along with how many deaths it causes, by using our interactive tool below.

Particulate matter (PM2.5) is regularly used as a measure of air quality, and it is one of the most serious pollutants in the UK, it is carcinogenic and can lead to lung cancer and heart disease.

PM2.5 is composed of tiny particles of harmful matter such as sulfates, ammonia, black.. - Link

A BLOT ON THE CARAVAN SCAPE

Building wind farms 'could destroy Welsh landscape'

Anna Pryce, a director of Dolgead Hall caravan park near Llanfair Caereinion, was one of 1,500 people who protested against energy plans at the Senedd in 2011. - Link

BEST MASH PROJECT

My quest to make the best mash ever - part 9 - swede, parsnips, carrots, potatoes.

UK WIND POWER

Offshore wind generation has flourished in the UK in recent years. The UK’s long coastline and geographic location mean it is ideally situated to exploit the power of the wind. 

In Scotland, wind turbines generated almost twice the entire country’s domestic power requirements in the first six months of 2019 and Britain plans to generate a third of its power from wind by 2030. - Link

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Merton College - link - more like this - link

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FFS

An idiot, dolt, dullard or (archaically) mome, in modern use, is a stupid or foolish person.

It was formerly a technical term in legal and psychiatric contexts for some kinds of profound intellectual disability where the mental age is two years or less, and the person cannot guard himself or herself against common physical dangers - Link

THE BEST BOOK EVER WRITTEN

The Flying Classroom (German: Das fliegende Klassenzimmer) is a 1933 novel for children written by the German writer Erich Kästner. 

Ignore that, this book is a must read before Christmas regardless of whether you're eight or fifty eight.

This is even better than a Stuart Macbride - Link

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TU DELFT

While tidal power feasibility studies reaching positive conclusions can be traced back to the 1920s, the United Kingdom has all but abandoned the early lead established in 2003 with the foundation of the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC). 

This organisation pushed forward the development of a relatively large number of prototype tidal energy designs by providing real-world testing situations.

However several promising projects have lost government backing in recent years. According to Minesto’s CEO, Martin Edlund, “the UK is making a huge mistake”. He is someone who is certainly entitled to comment with his company sinking £25m in groundbreaking tidal power technology to effectively exploit water currents off the Welsh coastline. Link

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130 MILLION EV BY 2030

The International Energy Agency’s most conservative estimate puts 130 million electric vehicles on the road by 2030, and Gorguinpour said those vehicles will contain almost ten times the amount of energy storage needed by the grid.

The IEA’s most aggressive estimate, 250 million EVs, would mean 6 percent of the batteries in the automotive fleet could meet all of the grid’s energy-storage needs. - Link

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DRIVING HYDROGEN - ITM POWER

Unfortunately Oxford is currently not a good place to live if you want to be a cutting edge hydrogen vehicle driver. 

The nearest refuelling  points to date are:-

ITM Power- Shell Beaconsfield - Shell Beaconsfield, Extra Motorway Service Area, M40 Junction 2, A355, Windsor Drive, Beaconsfield, HP9 2SE

ITM Power - Swindon Station - Johnson Matthey Fuel Cells, Lydiard Fields, Great Western Way, Swindon, SN5 8AT - Link

HYUNDAI NEXO

Why aren’t we switching to hydrogen fuel-cell cars rather than battery-electrics? - Link

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ALSTOM HYDROGEN

31 October 2019

Alstom and the Province of Groningen, local operator Arriva, the Dutch railway infrastructure manager ProRail and the energy company Engie have signed plans for a pilot project to test the Coradia iLint, the world’s first passenger train powered by hydrogen fuel cells, for the first time in the Netherlands.

The signature took place as part of the “Klimaattop”, or Climate Summit Northern Netherlands, taking place this week in Groningen. - Link - more like this - link

EDF BUY PIVOT POWER

French company EDF has acquired Pivot Power, the UK start-up bidding to build a network of 50MW batteries to provide grid services and high speed electric vehicle charging.

The firm announced plans to develop up to 2GW connected directly to the transmission system last year, which would require investment of up to £1.6bn.

To date, Pivot has planning, land and grid connection agreements in place at two sites in Kent and Oxford, where it is involved in the ‘superhub’ project. Last year it also announced planning permission for a big battery near Southampton.  - Link - more like this (Superhub Oxford) - link - more like this (EDF) - link

HOW TO MANAGE ARSEHOLES

Although there is no easy way to mitigate the toll on morale and productivity that arseholes often make, it can be helpful to be philosophical about the predicament they present. - Link

DELHI PM 2.5

New Delhi: As pollution levels in Delhi continued to rise unabated post Diwali, one of the most sensitive areas in the national capital –Delhi University – recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 740 early Tuesday.

The city’s overall air quality breached the “severe" mark today. - Link

2019 - WORST YEAR EVER

2019 scores again. This is by far the worst f****** year I can remember - roll on 2020.

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BLINDED BY YOUR GRACE PT 2

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Heyford Hill - link - more like this - link

CHINA - 500,000 TONNES OF BATTERY WASTE

Electric vehicles (EVs) are catching on faster than even their most ardent supporters ever expected, which inevitably means the pile of spent lithium-ion batteries that once powered those cars is also rising fast.

China alone is forecast to generate around 500,000 tonnes of battery waste by 2020, a number that would hit 1.2 million tonnes per year by 2030, when considering global consumption, London-based Circular Energy Storage (CES) said Thursday. - Link