Archive for category: General News

Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has been given the green light to build a vertical launch spaceport in Sutherland.

The approval by the Highland Council’s north planning applications committee means that small commercial satellites and launch vehicles designed and manufactured in Scotland could be heading into orbit from a Scottish spaceport within the next few years.

The committee’s decision will now be referred to Scottish Government ministers for review.

Space Hub Sutherland is proposed to be built on an area of peatland next to the A838 on the Melness Crofters Estate on the A’ Mhòine peninsula, around six miles from Tongue.

Launch-related infrastructure will include a control centre, 2.5km of road and a launch pad, occupying a total of just over 10 acres of the 740-acre site.

As part of its planning application, HIE commissioned specialists to carry out extensive environmental impact assessments over a two-year period.

Their recommendations are reflected in conditions set out by the planning authority to ensure that construction works and site operations will minimise any potential impact on wildlife and the natural environment.

In 2018, the board of HIE approved in principle a budget of £17.3 million for the project, including contributions of £2.5m from the UK Space Agency, and £5m from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

The board’s decision reflected the potential of the spaceport to drive the national growth of the space sector, including manufacturing and supply chain jobs and training opportunities.

An economic impact assessment commissioned by the agency concluded that developing the spaceport could support around 250 high quality jobs in the Highlands and Islands, including 61 in Sutherland and Caithness – 44 of them on-site at Space Hub Sutherland itself.

HIE’s launch partner Orbex has already established a design and manufacturing facility in Forres, Moray, as a base to make the innovative Prime vehicle that it plans to assemble and put into orbit from Sutherland.

Satellites launched from the Highland site will be used for Earth observation, including gathering data to monitor and address the effects of climate change around the world.

The first launch could be as early as 2022. Once the spaceport is fully operational, it could host up to 12 launches a year.

David Oxley, director of business growth with HIE, welcomed the committee’s decision.

“Gaining planning approval from the council is a huge step forward for Space Hub Sutherland,” he said.

“The UK’s space ambitions present a wonderful opportunity for the Highlands and Islands. A vertical launch spaceport is a key piece of the national jigsaw, along with the design and manufacture of satellites and launch vehicles, that will ensure Scotland can derive maximum economic benefits from this growing and exciting sector.

“We are very aware of the environmental challenges presented by a project of this kind, particularly in such wild and unspoilt area as A’ Mhòine.

“We have been diligent in carrying out survey work to understand and mitigate all potential impacts, including a restoration plan that will see all of the peat that is dug out during construction retained on site and used to repair areas that were degraded by past digging.

“Part of our ambition is to create the world’s most low-carbon space centre and the conditions applied to the planning approval will help us make that a reality.

“Another important aspect is the role that satellites we launch from Sutherland will play in gathering data that helps understand and address the impact of global climate change.

“When all these factors are put together, that makes today’s decision a good result not just for the economy, but for the environment as well.”

A UK government spokesperson said: “This is a significant milestone for Space Hub Sutherland and another step towards putting the UK on the map as Europe’s leading small satellite launch destination.

“Scotland is already a global hub for satellite manufacturing and the addition of commercial launch from the Highlands will bring new jobs and economic growth to local communities, while supporting businesses and supply chains across the whole of the UK.

“The UK government is committed to minimising the environmental impact of spaceflight activities and developing a new National Space Strategy which recognises the unique contribution of satellite technology to our understanding of global issues like climate change and providing essential environmental monitoring and data services.”

Source: Scottish Construction Now

Engineers are setting lofty goals by finding ways to make green jet fuel, building taller wind turbines with old-school construction material, and harvesting energy from atmospheric humidity.

Carbon-Neutral Jet Fuel

Transportation, including air travel, is responsible for more than one-fourth of all human-generated greenhouse gases. While ground-based electric vehicles are poised to make a dent in those emissions, electrified airplanes are limited to small and medium-sized craft, due to the fact that fuel has a much higher power-to-weight ratio than batteries. (That’s less of an issue on the ground, but a huge problem when the vehicle is also fighting against gravity.) Jetliners, at least for the foreseeable future, will continue to rely on hydrocarbon-based fuels, so a group of innovators in Europe is working to make jet fuel that’s both renewable and carbon neutral.

Norsk e-Fuel, a consortium of European companies centered in Oslo, Norway, is building a plant that will generate renewable fuels, including jet fuel, using a combination of water, green energy and carbon-capture technology. The group is partnering with Climeworks, whose direct-air capture technology absorbs CO₂ from the atmosphere.

The life cycle of carbon-neutral jet fuel. (Image courtesy of Climeworks.)

Although burning jet fuel creates carbon dioxide, the entire process is carbon neutral, since it uses carbon that’s been removed from the atmosphere, as opposed to carbon that’s been buried underground for eons. Norsk says that the plant, which is expected to be operational by 2023, will prevent 250,000 tons of CO₂ from entering the atmosphere every year.

If John Lennon were alive today, he might say, “Isn’t it cool Norwegian fuel?”

Wind Turbine Towers Made of Wood

As wind turbines get taller in order to reach high-altitude (and high-energy) winds, steel towers become more difficult to assemble, transport and erect. Moreover, steel manufacturing has a high carbon footprint. Modvion, a Swedish manufacturer, is building taller turbine towers with an old-school construction material: wood. Why wood? According to Modvion CEO Otto Lundman, towers made of laminated wood are stronger, less expensive, easier to transport and more recyclable than their steel counterparts, and their manufacturing process is much greener.

Modular sections of laminated wood.                                                                                                               Tower assembly. (Images courtesy of Modvion.)

The towers are modular, making the sections easy to stack and transport to the site using standard trucking equipment. This, coupled with their increased strength, allows engineers to cost-effectively build taller turbines that generate more power in the same sized area. Modvion says that when the towers reach the end of their useful lives—which the company claims exceed that of steel towers—the wood can be repurposed as lower-grade construction material or it can simply be recycled.

Modvion received a €6.5 million ($7.2 million) grant from the EU’s European Innovation Council Accelerator Program to build the first modern commercial wood turbine tower, which will stand 100m (330ft) tall. The company also has agreements to build another 10 towers, each over 150m (500ft) in height.

Harvesting Energy from Humidity

Researchers at Tel Aviv University (TAU) are working to develop a “battery” that’s charged by atmospheric humidity. The underlying principle, which was discovered in 1840 and became known as the “Armstrong Effect,” is that the friction from a fluid can cause a buildup of static electricity between two dissimilar materials.

To bring this phenomenon from theory to practice, TAU scientists experimented with various combinations of metals and different levels of humidity. They found that when the relative humidity exceeds 60 percent, as it does daily in most tropical locations, a combination of zinc and stainless steel acquires a charge of 1V.

The experimental setup used by researchers. (Image courtesy of Lax, Price and Saaroni.)

That’s all well and good in a lab setting, but how about real-world conditions? To determine the practical efficacy of the concept, the researchers conducted experiments in various outdoor locations and obtained results that were similar, and sometimes even better, than the results under the experimental setup. While it’s unlikely that we’ll be able to run our modern homes and cities with these self-charging batteries, they could provide small amounts of clean, renewable energy to portable devices, thereby reducing the need for expensive chemical batteries.

Source: Engineering.com

Education City Stadium is the third FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 tournament venue to be completed, following the successful redevelopment of Khalifa International Stadium in 2017 and the inauguration of Al Janoub Stadium in 2019.

To-date, Education City Stadium is the first Qatar 2022 venue to receive a five-star rating under the Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS), which is managed and administered by the Gulf Organization for Research and Development (GORD).

GORD compiled the following sustainability features about the stadium – all of which helped it to achieve an outstanding rating.

Passive design: A passive design is one that takes advantage of the climate to maintain a comfortable temperature inside the structure. It reduces or eliminates the need for auxiliary heating or cooling, which generally accounts for a large percentage of energy use. Education City Stadium incorporates passive design through a number of techniques. Its façade makes use of highly efficient building fabric for shading purposes. This provides better insulation and protects the interior from extreme external conditions. Similarly, the structure of the stadium has been built at a lower level than the natural grade, which adds to the project’s overall insulation and temperature control mechanism. This will reduce the overall energy consumption in relation to the venue’s cooling needs.

Sustainable materials: About 85 percent of the building materials have been regionally sourced, while 55 percent of materials have been procured locally and 29 percent generated from recycled content. In addition, 35.5 percent of the building elements can be disassembled and reused, including the seats in the modular upper tier, which are due to be removed and donated after the tournament.

Post FIFA World Cup legacy: After the World Cup, the stadium’s seating capacity will be reduced from 40,000 to 20,000. The modular upper tier will be removed in order to provide a sporting facility which is suitable for local requirements, notably the needs of the Qatar Foundation (QF) community. The seats which are removed will be donated to countries which lack sporting infrastructure in order to help spread the legacy of Qatar 2022 far and wide. In addition to providing sporting facilities for the QF community, parts of the structure will be turned into lecture halls and event spaces for the various universities which are based at Education City.

Urban connectivity: The stadium takes advantage of urban connectivity through a number of public transport options, notably the Doha Metro. Education City Station, on the Doha Metro Green Line, is located just 500 metres from the stadium and will make it easy for thousands of fans to get to and from the venue during the FIFA World Cup. The stadium is also close to Education City’s People Mover System, while for private vehicles there are multilevel car parks and a number of taxi drop-off locations.

Water conservation: The installation of low-flow water fixtures means domestic water usage at the stadium is designed to be 55 percent more efficient than conventional stadiums. In addition, landscaping around the facility contains native and drought-tolerant flora to reduce water consumption. The use of water-hungry turf is minimal. About 75 percent of the landscaping is enhanced by an efficient irrigation system which features inline drippers, pressure-compensated bubblers and an automated irrigation control unit. To reduce water loss, organic mulching and gravel have been used to cover the soil without impacting on the health of the flora.

Indoor air quality: The stadium has low VOC (volatile organic compounds) indoor materials which reduce indoor airborne contaminants. All indoor spaces with high occupancy are equipped with carbon dioxide sensors that ensure efficient ventilation and enhanced air quality. Similarly, the indoor spaces receive sufficient daylight throughout the day which improves the indoor environment and contributes towards energy consumption.

Energy efficiency: A host of measures help to conserve energy within the stadium, including LED lighting systems with automatic controls, demand-controlled ventilation systems, e-glazing windows and high resistance insulating materials. The cooling for the stadium is provided from a highly efficient district cooling system.

Construction management: The project underwent comprehensive sustainability procedures for its design, operations and construction management practices – premised on the fact the construction has a direct impact on the natural environment, economy and people’s health. In addition, noise and dust levels were constantly monitored and controlled during the construction.

Sustainable operations: The stadium features an efficient waste management system which promotes waste segregation and recycling. The stadium features automated controls, leak detection and efficient metering systems. By logging and analysing data, the operators can alert for any unusual peak consumption thereby preventing prolonged leakages or energy wastage.

5* GSAS rating: For its outstanding sustainability features, the stadium has earned three GSAS certifications from GORD, making it one of the most sustainable venues for Qatar 2022. The stadium has received the following certificates: GSAS Design & Build (5*), GSAS Construction Management (Class A*) and GSAS Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio.

Source: Al-Bawaba

On 14 May 2017, China’s president Xi Jinping hosted some 30 world leaders in Beijing at the first Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Forum. He outlined plans to boost investment and trade in the Belt and Road economic corridors. More than 100 countries on five continents have signed up, showing the demand for global economic cooperation.

There were certainly questions asked when Victoria first signed a memorandum of understanding to join China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2018, but it wasn’t until the past week that the criticism reached a fever pitch.

The depth of the animosity over the deal shows the extent to which the BRI has become a faultline in the China-US competition.

And Australia, economically interdependent with China but a committed ally of the US, finds itself caught in the middle.

What is the BRI and what does China want?

There is a diverse array of projects encompassed under the BRI umbrella, focused on six main “economic corridors”.

These corridors link China to Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe by land (the “Silk Road Economic Belt”), and to Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, the Pacific and east Africa by sea (the “Maritime Silk Road”).

To date, China has pledged an estimated US$1 trillion in investments in “hard” and “soft” infrastructure (from ports and high-speed rail to telecommunications and cyberspace) and signed memorandums of understanding with 138 countries.

The BRI is designed to help export China’s excess capacity by creating new markets for Chinese construction firms and capital goods makers. This should enhance domestic investment returns and stabilise GDP growth, in addition to spurring growth in underdeveloped regions. The project involves building roads, railways, pipelines and industrial corridors across some 67 countries, requiring significant tonnages of steel and cement, large numbers of workers, cranes and diggers, new dams, power stations and power grids. With over USD 3 trillion in international reserves (25%+ of the world’s total), China has enormous resources to support the success of the BRI.

What is the BRI and what does China want?

There is a diverse array of projects encompassed under the BRI umbrella, focused on six main “economic corridors”.

These corridors link China to Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe by land (the “Silk Road Economic Belt”), and to Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, the Pacific and east Africa by sea (the “Maritime Silk Road”).

To date, China has pledged an estimated US$1 trillion in investments in “hard” and “soft” infrastructure (from ports and high-speed rail to telecommunications and cyberspace) and signed memorandums of understanding with 138 countries.

What are the benefits and pitfalls of BRI?

In thinking about BRI’s global and regional reception, we need to recognise there is demand for what Beijing is offering.

Its commitment of US$1 trillion is a drop in the bucket of the estimated US$26 trillion needed by Asia’s economies for infrastructure investment, but it still surpasses anything put up by other major regional players.

The “blue-dot network” announced by the US, Australia and Japan in November as a response to the BRI, for instance, was trumpeted as promoting infrastructure investment that is “open and inclusive, transparent, economically viable”.

But the initiative is not an infrastructure funding mechanism itself. Rather, it merely certifies projects that “demonstrate and uphold global infrastructure principles”.

While this might be an admirable goal, there is a problem, as former Asian Development Bank executive director Peter McCawley points out:

A road is a road, whether it is built with US or Chinese money. At present, it seems that the Chinese are prepared to fund the construction of infrastructure in Asia, while the US is not.

Concerns about the nature of Chinese investments under BRI are valid. Many BRI projects are financed through Chinese public financial institutions such as the Export-Import Bank of China that enjoy low borrowing costs and interest rates.

This enables them to lend on favourable terms to Chinese companies, who can then significantly undercut foreign companies for infrastructure bids.

Another concern is that Beijing is engaging in “debt trap diplomacy” by extending excessive credit to countries that will struggle to pay it back.

The aim is then to extract political and economic concessions or physical assets, such as ports or land deals, from those countries.

Several studies have suggested the “debt trap” narrative has been exaggerated. But while a Lowy Institute report last year noted that China has not “deliberately” engaged in debt-trap diplomacy, it added

the sheer scale of China’s lending and its lack of strong institutional mechanisms to protect the debt sustainability of borrowing countries poses clear risks.

Victoria’s BRI agreement: storm in a teacup?

Beyond the economics, the Belt and Road Initiative carries clear political risks for Australia.

Australia’s attempt to balance its alliance with the US and economic interdependence with China has become even more difficult, as both have become “rude and nasty” in pursuit of their interests under Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.

Some analysts claim Victoria’s BRI agreement means Chinese firms will be

building chunks of national infrastructure, perhaps with tie-ups to Chinese state banks and other entities.

But the reality may be more prosaic. The memorandum of understanding and subsequent “framework agreement” speak of mutual commitments to “promote practical cooperation” of Chinese firms in Victorian infrastructure and Victorian firms in “China and third-party markets”.

They are also not legally binding and may be terminated by mutual agreement.

Meanwhile, Premier Daniel Andrews said this week Victoria would not agree to telecommunications projects under the BRI, a key security concern.

BRI and the great power competition

The furore over Victoria’s agreement is due to the fact there is no Australian consensus on BRI or the broader issue of our relationship with Beijing. Debate on these issues is necessary if Australia is to chart a course between two great powers gearing up for confrontation.

Unfortunately, the debate on China has become toxic.

Those who recognise the risks of engaging with China, but still advocate for closer relations, are often lambasted as “craven” or worse. Those sounding the alarm bells about Beijing’s malign intentions are accused of sowing a “China panic”.

To say this is unhelpful is an understatement.

Some talk of a new Cold War between the US and China.

Yet, as the Cold War historian Odd Arne Westad, has noted, today’s China-US competition is not a replay of the past. The conflict between the two biggest powers will not lead to bipolarity, but rather

will make it easier for others to catch up, since there are no ideological compulsions, and economic advantage counts for so much more.

Tying ourselves ever more tightly to either protagonist is imprudent, as Westad says,

The more the US and China beat each other up, the more room for manoeuvre other powers will have.

Source: The  Conversation

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has said he told Prime Minister Boris Johnson “forcibly” that construction workers should not be going into work.

Mr Khan said he advised Mr Johnson at a Cobra meeting on Monday that quite a lot of construction is not “critical or essential”.

The PM placed the UK on lockdown on Monday evening.

But Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick said later that work on building sites can continue, though workers should practise social distancing.

After more scenes of packed Tube trains on Tuesday morning, Mr Khan was asked if construction workers in London should be among the travellers.

He told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “My view is no, and I made that point quite forcibly at yesterday’s Cobra, I made that point quite clearly to the Prime Minister.

“According to the Government’s advice the answer is yes.”

His comments came as builders and construction workers said they felt “angry and unprotected” as they turned up to work on building sites following the introduction of the stricter coronavirus measures.

British Safety Council chairman Lawrence Waterman said on Tuesday that all non-essential construction work should be stopped so that workers can stay safe.

He added: “The construction sector needs clarity from the Government – on most sites social distancing will be impossible or simply unsafe.

“All non-essential construction should end now so that construction workers can go home and stay home like everyone else.”

While some companies said they were closing sites down and suspending work, others said they would remain open with “strict precautions” in place.

Transport for London (TfL) announced on Tuesday that work on its Crossrail sites was being temporarily suspended but that essential maintenance of the transport network will continue.

Aylesbury Tory MP Rob Buter said he had told ministers that work on HS2 should be stopped after contractors in his area were failing to comply with social distancing.

He tweeted: “Following shocking reports of @HS2ltd contractors failing to comply with social distancing & even coughing over local people, I’ve told the #HS2 minister that work must stop now, to protect the health of my constituents. Yesterday I wrote to the CEO calling for an immediate halt.”

Source: Express & Star