SSE Thermal's £350m to £400m 50MW project would see hydrogen produced and stored at a site near Aldbrough on Yorkshire's coast before being used to power a turbine to create electricity to feed into the grid at times of peak demand.

One of the main challenges with intermittent renewables like offshore wind is how to store the excess energy - hydrogen is an alternative to batteries.

Hydrogen would be manufactured using "low carbon" electricity, delivered via an existing substation at the site, to split water into its component parts.

It would then be stored in an underground cavern 1.8 kilometres down in a layer of rock salt, previously used to store natural gas.

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Residents at an event at Aldbrough on Thursday were told it would be the "first power station at this scale in the UK and pretty much the world".

Attendees were able to see what the site will look like from any chosen viewpoint nearby using an interactive tool.

Some were dismayed by its size and concerned by creeping industrialisation of the coastline - it will have a 30m high stack and the turbine will be 14m high.

One resident said it will "look like a chemical factory" and was a "lot bigger" than she'd anticipated.

The sugar tax has been so successful in improving people’s diets that it should be extended to cakes, biscuits and chocolate, health experts say.

The World Health Organization wants the next UK government to expand coverage of the levy to help tackle tooth decay, obesity, diabetes and other illnesses.

The plea is published in the WHO’s bulletin, which urges governments worldwide to use the reformulation of food to address the growing crisis of excess weight.

Experts from Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) have analysed the outcomes of two flagship government policies intended to make food healthier – the sugar tax and sugar reduction programme, which were introduced in 2018 and 2015 respectively.

The levy on the soft-drinks industry led to a 34.3% fall in total sugar sales from such products between 2015 and 2020 and many fizzy drinks containing much less.

But the sugar reduction programme only yielded a 3.5% drop over the same period in the amount of sugar used in the manufacture of the everyday foodstuffs it covered, the experts write in their analysis for the WHO.

Dr Kawther Hashem, a co-author and lecturer in public health nutrition at QMUL, said ministers should trial a sugar tax-style levy on treat foods that still have almost as much sugar as they did as 2015 despite firms being asked to cut sugar by 20% before 2020.

A small community of similarly minded folks had also settled in Scoraig, and he would bring a particular skill: Cambridge University educated with a background in maths and physics, he was about to become Scotland’s wind power pioneer.

Today, largely thanks to Hugh, Scoraig’s 70 or so residents are in the enviable position of never having to fear the electricity bill: they rely on wind and solar power for their energy needs, topped up when there’s really no alternative using wood, bottled gas and oil.

But that’s few and far between, says Hugh, pointing out that his 20-year-old bungalow has been so efficiently insulated and heated using hot water powered by his renewables system, that even in the depths of winter there’s no real need to resort to wood, coal or any other heating source.

Indeed, he can usually comfortably run all the electrical goods he needs, cost free.

“I have never had an electricity bill since I lived here and that’s 50 years ago,” he says. “I have all the mod cons; I have a dishwasher, all the normal appliances and they work great.

Archive

HBO Max‘s It prequel series Welcome To Derry has scored its Pennywise – and it’s a returning Bill Skarsgård.

Skarsgård, who famously donned the clown makeup in 2017’s It and 2019’s It: Chapter Two, has been confirmed to reprise his role as the creepy intergalactic clown-looking creature known as Pennywise for the upcoming TV prequel series.

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Skarsgård previously said in March 2023 that he wasn’t involved in the prequel series, though he left the door open for a future return.

In 32 days time we'll all have the chance to cast a ballot to choose who runs the country - but has all the frantic campaigning done much to change your minds so far?

Here's our favourite number cruncher, Sir John Curtice, with his take on the latest polls - in 60 seconds.

during a surprise appearance at Star Wars Celebration in 2017, he reiterated that the very first "Star Wars" installment, which would go on to be titled "A New Hope," was a "a film for 12-year-olds." Of course, that doesn't mean adults can't still find value in these sci-fi stories of heroism. But it also means that the franchise, from its inception, has always been molded to be appealing to children.

Therefore, it should come as no surprise that when Lucas got around to making "The Phantom Menace," kicking off an entire prequel trilogy about how Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader, the filmmaker entrusted the approval of one of the most pivotal parts of the movie to a five-year-old kid. When the iconic "Duel of the Fates" lightsaber battle between Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Darth Maul was being developed by stunt coordinator Nick Gillard, it needed the seal of approval from one very specific child. 

As Gillard recalled in a deep-dive into the making of "The Phantom Menace" lightsaber battle at Vulture, "George has never been in a fight in his life. So he didn't bother, really, writing it. It would say something like, 'A vicious lightsaber battle ensues — seven minutes,' and you could fill in the gap there. But that's much better for me."

Up until this point, the lightsaber fights in "Star Wars" hadn't exactly delivered fast-paced sword combat. Instead, much of the original lightsaber duels were inspired by elegant fencing techniques. Though Luke Skywalker's style in "Return of the Jedi" is a little more energetic and chaotic, fueled by his anger as he faces his father, Darth Vader, the rest of the battles are patient, calculated, and slow. That's why Gillard completely ignored those lightsaber battles when it come to creating the two-on-one fight in "Phantom Menace." As Lucas recalled in a behind-the-scenes documentary, "I thought I wanted a faster version of what the other movies were; a more energetic version; and that's basically what he gave me."

In fact, Lucas had instructed Gillard to "come up with a new kind of martial art," which the stunt coordinator described as "an amalgamation of all sword fighting." Kendo, rapier, samurai, and a little bit of tennis and even chopping down trees informed the rapid battle between the two Jedi and the Sith apprentice. All of this combined to give each of the warriors a level of mastery in wielding a lightsaber where everything had to be precise as well as fast. Gillard added, "They can only parry there, they can only attack there. The moves are so natural or so correct, that's the only place they can be."

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Gillard put together a five-minute demo reel showcasing the new lightsaber fighting style for George Lucas to see. Lucas, again believing that the "Star Wars" movies are for kids, played the test footage for his five-year old son Jett Lucas. As Gillard recalled to Entertainment Weekly, "Effectively, Jett Lucas decided the style of that fight."

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/12796407

It is a land of mire, mist and midges that could soon be awarded a special status among the planet’s wild habitats. In a few weeks, Unesco is set to announce its decision on an application to allow the Flow Country in north Scotland to become a world heritage site.

Such a designation is only given to places of special cultural, historical or scientific significance and would put this remote region of perpetual dampness on the same standing as the Great Barrier Reef, the Grand Canyon and the Pyramids.

The Flow Country straddles Caithness and Sutherland in the most northerly part of the British Isles and is the largest area of blanket bog in the world. Covering 4,000 sq km, it is also home to a remarkable range of wildlife that includes the black-throated diver, golden plover, greenshank, golden eagle, merlin and short-eared owl, as well as otters and water voles.

It is a land of mire, mist and midges that could soon be awarded a special status among the planet’s wild habitats. In a few weeks, Unesco is set to announce its decision on an application to allow the Flow Country in north Scotland to become a world heritage site.

Such a designation is only given to places of special cultural, historical or scientific significance and would put this remote region of perpetual dampness on the same standing as the Great Barrier Reef, the Grand Canyon and the Pyramids.

The Flow Country straddles Caithness and Sutherland in the most northerly part of the British Isles and is the largest area of blanket bog in the world. Covering 4,000 sq km, it is also home to a remarkable range of wildlife that includes the black-throated diver, golden plover, greenshank, golden eagle, merlin and short-eared owl, as well as otters and water voles.

Robert De Niro has been denied a prestigious award after making a speech calling Donald Trump a "clown" and a "dictator "outside the former president's trial.

The actor, 80, joined a Democrat-organised event on Tuesday outside the New York court where Trump was on trial for falsifying business records to cover up an affair before the 2016 presidential election.

Standing by Manhattan Criminal Court, De Niro tore into the Republican - calling him a "monster" - and argued with Trump supporters who he called "gangsters".

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) decided to rescind an offer to award De Niro with the Leadership Foundation's Service to America Award, which he was set to receive on Tuesday.

A spokesperson said the event at which the actor would have received the prize "is proudly bipartisan, uniting those from across the political spectrum to celebrate the impactful work of local broadcasters and our partners".

They added: "While we strongly support the right of every American to exercise free speech and participate in civic engagement, it is clear that Mr De Niro's recent high-profile activities will create a distraction from the philanthropic work that we were hoping to recognize.

"To maintain the focus on service of the award winners, Mr. De Niro will no longer be attending the event."

Can you imagine a crab the size of a cat scuttling around your backyard, climbing up trees, and quietly sneaking away with your shiniest pots and silverware? No? Then perhaps you’ve never had the privilege of meeting a coconut crab.

These crabs are curious and unfussy. In addition to coconut flesh, fallen fruit, nuts, and seeds, they’ll eat the remains of dead rats, seabirds, and even their own kind. This has led to speculation that these giants may be partly responsible for the disappearance of famed aviator Amelia Earhart, who perished in the remote Pacific. Some researchers believe that her remains were eaten by coconut crabs, who then dragged away the bones.

A global shortage of oranges that sent prices soaring has prompted some orange juice manufacturers to consider turning to alternative fruits to make the breakfast staple.

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"There are three main factors driving the soaring price of orange juice, and it's drought, disease and demand," Ted Jenkin, oXYGen Financial CEO and co-founder, told FOX Business.

The spike stems from declining output in Florida, which is the primary U.S. producer, and disease and extreme weather events in Brazil, which accounts for about 70% of global production.

Orange trees in Brazil have been suffering from a disease known as citrus greening. Once infected, citrus trees produce fruits that are partially green, small, misshapen and bitter. There is no cure, and trees typically die within a few years of infection.

The disease, along with severe heat waves and drought that occurred during the pivotal phases of flowering and early fruit formation, have put Brazil on track to register one of its worst orange harvests in more than three decades, according to a new report published by Fundecitrus and CitrusBR.

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In the past, orange juice makers have avoided long-term shortages by freezing juice stock, which can be preserved and used for up to two years, according to the Financial Times. However, even that frozen stock is dissipating because of a three-year shortage build-up.

Cools said that manufacturers may have to consider using a different fruit, like mandarins, because their trees are more resistant to the greening disease. However, that could be a lengthy process.

The Kansas Supreme Court offered a mixed bag in a ruling Friday that combined several challenges to a 2021 election law, siding with state officials on one provision, reviving challenges to others and offering the possibility that at least one will be halted before this year’s general election.

But it was the ballot signature verification measure’s majority opinion — which stated there is no right to vote enshrined in the Kansas Constitution’s Bill of Rights — that drew fiery dissent from three of the court’s seven justices.