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As relevant today as it was eighty years ago

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When I saw this sign on the weekend, it struck me that its message is just as valid today as when it was put on the wall. But when and where was that? The time was World War II, and the place was the Cabinet War Rooms - Churchill's secret underground war headquarters, a few paces from 10 Downing Street, and where he and hundreds of others worked, and often slept. But where did the electricity hashtag come from behind that switch, that lit the claustrophobic, tobacco-stained rooms? I'm 1945 Britain, the answer was 97.6% coal. Remarkably, that figure didn't drop below 50% until 1995 - exactly fifty years later. Zip forward 20 years, to 2015, and coal use had dropped to a quarter, before plummeting to single-digit figures for every year since. Today, 80 years after that sign was put up, the figure for coal in the UK electricity generation hasht fuel mix is nil, and   renewables (wind, solar, hydro and biomass  will likely surpass 50%, just as it did for the first time last ...
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Floating Wind...or Deep Water Wind?

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The concept of Deep Water Wind foundations, as an alternative or successor to Floating Offshore Wind, appears to be gathering momentum.  The traditional notion of the floating offshore wind foundation, where a heavy —typically triangular— structure is moored to the seabed using mooring lines, is being challenged. A couple of recently-unveiled designs look more like a cross between a traditional fixed-bottom jacket foundation and a guyed radio mast. An example Deep Water foundation: the FTLP+™ (Image credit: OSI Renewables) The FTLP+™ concept of OSI Renewables  appears similar to the PelaFlex Hybrid GS foundation, recently unveiled by British Innovators Marine Power Systems (MPS) . What are the potential advantages of Deep Water foundations versus traditional wind floaters? 1. Structural performance Here's a wave tank video of the MPS hybrid , with a like-for-like comparison with traditional designs, courtesy of Dr Graham Foster, CTO/Chair at MPS. As you'll see from this demons...
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State of key Offshore Wind markets, into Q4

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  So, we're three quarters of the way through 2025, and it's been somewhat of a rollercoaster for the global offshore wind sector. Here are my observations of the state of some key national markets, sorted by the footwear that I ended up acquiring in those nations in 2024 and 2025! Starting on the left, and working right. USA Represented by the Anderson Bean cowboy boots that I bought in Houston in late 2024. They're beautifully made, and supremely comfortable. I was spending a few weeks there with colleagues, having just met US project developers at the offshore wind conference of American Clean Power Association (ACP) in Atlantic City. This was during the climax of the Presidential election. I left the US just after the election result, and throughout the first three quarters of 2025 I've watched as the White House has cancelled wind farms in advanced development, or even construction. See these useful posts on Empire Wind (by Raya Peterson ) and on Revolutio...
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