First of its kind ‘high-density’ hydro system begins generating electricity in Devon
A hillside “battery” outside Plymouth in Devon has begun generating electricity using a first of a kind hydropower system embedded underground.The pioneering technology means one of the oldest forms of energy storage, hydropower, can be used to store and release renewable energy using even gentle slopes rather than the steep dam walls and mountains that are usually required.The design means the principles of hydropower could be used as a form of “long duration energy storage” in many more locations across the UK, and the world, than traditional hydropower dams.The projects could be quicker and cheaper to build too.Engineers at RheEnergise built the project to mimic the UK’s traditional hydropower plants, which have powered the grid for decades by using electricity to pump water uphill when power supplies are abundant, and later releasing the water back down through turbines to generate electricity when supplies are short.
But instead the company’s “high-intensity” hydro project uses a mineral-rich fluid, which has more than two and a half times the density of water, to create the same amount of electricity from slopes that are less than half as high.Stephen Crosher, the chief executive of RheEnergise, said the government-backed project was able to consistently meet its goal of generating 500 kilowatts, or enough electricity to power 400 homes for a year if run continually, in a vote of confidence for the technology as the company prepared to build commercial-scale projects around the world.RheEnergise said it was in talks with independent developers in the UK, Italy, Poland, Spain and North America to build the first commercial-scale project within the next three years.It expects to partner with larger utilities to develop larger projects in the 2030s, when widespread use of renewable energy is expected to make long-duration storage options highly sought after.The UK government has made more than £69m in funding available to develop long-range storage options and believes that using this technology could reduce the cost of meeting net zero by helping to manage variation in wind and solar power output by storing extra-low carbon generation for longer periods of time.
This could reduce the amount of fossil fuels needed to top up electricity supplies when renewable energy is low, and reduce how often the system operator is forced to pay wind and solar farms to stop generating when their output threatens to overwhelm the grid.Patrick Vallance, the minister for science, innovation, research and nuclear, said: “Storing energy will play an increasingly important role as we transition to clean power.RheEnergise’s first-of-a-kind system has the potential to strengthen our future long duration energy storage capabilities.Scaling up innovations like these is essential as the UK’s energy demand grows and we move to a clean power system that we control.”
Treasury announces business rate support package worth more than £80m a year – as it happened
The Treasury has unveiled a support package worth more than £80m a year for pubs and live music venues in England and Wales, in a climbdown that follows a fierce backlash against plans to overhaul business rates.Trade bodies had warned that Rachel Reeves’s changes to business rates, announced at the chancellor’s November budget, would trigger widespread closures and job losses in the hospitality sector, particularly in pubs.On Tuesday, the government announced financial support to mitigate the effect of the rates shake-up, after officials admitted that they had not foreseen its total financial impact.The package, final details of which were still being hammered out on Monday night, is expected to be worth more than £80m a year, over three years, for pubs and gig venues.Dan Tomlinson, the exchequer secretary to the Treasury, said every pub in England and Wales would get 15% off its new business rates bill from 1 April, worth an average of £1,650 for each
Pubs and live music venues to get support after business rates backlash
The Treasury has unveiled a support package worth tens of millions of pounds for pubs and live music venues in England and Wales, in a climbdown that follows a fierce backlash against plans to overhaul business rates.Trade bodies had warned that Rachel Reeves’s changes to business rates, announced at the chancellor’s November budget, would trigger widespread closures and job losses in the hospitality sector, particularly in pubs.On Tuesday, the government announced financial support to mitigate the effect of the rates shake-up, after officials admitted that they had not foreseen its total financial impact.The package, final details of which were still being hammered out on Monday night, is expected to be worth nearly £100m for pubs and gig venues.Dan Tomlinson, the exchequer secretary to the Treasury, said every pub in England and Wales would get 15% off its new business rates bill from 1 April, worth an average of £1,650 for each
How ICE is using facial recognition in Minnesota
Immigration enforcement agents across the US are increasingly relying on a new smartphone app with facial recognition technology.The app is named Mobile Fortify. Simply pointing a phone’s camera at their intended target and scanning the person’s face allows Mobile Fortify to pull data on an individual from multiple federal and state databases, some of which federal courts have deemed too inaccurate for arrest warrants.The US Department of Homeland Security has used Mobile Fortify to scan faces and fingerprints in the field more than 100,000 times, according to a lawsuit brought by Illinois and Chicago against the federal agency, earlier this month. That’s a drastic shift from immigration enforcement’s earlier use of facial recognition technology, which was otherwise limited largely to investigations and ports of entry and exit, legal experts say
UK ministers accept $1m from Meta amid social media ban consultation
Ministers have accepted $1m (£728,000) from Meta, the US tech and social media company, to build AI systems for defence, national security and transport, sparking warnings about the UK government’s “alarmingly close relationship with Trump-supporting US tech giants”.The money from Mark Zuckerberg’s company will be used to pay experts to “develop cutting-edge AI solutions … to support national security and defence teams”, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) announced on Tuesday.The money will pay for four British AI experts, coordinated by the government-funded Alan Turing Institute, to “play a pivotal role in rewiring our healthcare, police, transport systems and more”, said Ian Murray, the minister for data and digital government.The move comes after Meta executives had 50 meetings with ministers in the last two years for which data was available, one of the highest levels of direct access of any technology company, a Guardian investigation found.The government is consulting on a ban on social media use by under-16s, which would have a major effect on Meta’s Instagram platform
Sri Lanka v England: third men’s cricket one-day international – live
Gone! Rashid lures Hasaranga into a chip which just isn’t timed. Duckett takes the catch as if he’d never dropped one a few minutes ago.41st over: Sri Lanka 263-7 (Rathnayake 94, Hasaranga 9) Hasaranga fancies this. Facing Curran, he plays himself in for two balls, then strokes a gorgeous off-drive on the up for four, folowed by a pull for four more. Eleven off the over!40th over: Sri Lanka 252-7 (Rathnayake 92, Hasaranga 0) Meanwhile Rathnayake motors on into the 90s
Elina Svitolina humbles Coco Gauff to set up Sabalenka semi in Australian Open
Coco Gauff is known across her sport for her mental toughness and problem-solving abilities, her tendency to grind out victories from unenviable positions. However, down 1-6, 0-3, 0-30 on Tuesday night and sinking quickly, the 21-year-old has rarely looked as helpless on a tennis court as when she expressed her despair to her support team: “She’s outdoing me in everything,” she said.This time, there was no way back for the third seed as Elina Svitolina ended a courageous, focused performance by securing the most significant result of the Australian Open so far, completely dismantling Gauff 6-1, 6-2 to reach her first semi-final in Melbourne.Svitolina, the 12th seed, will next face Aryna Sabalenka, the world No 1 and two-time Australian Open champion. Earlier on Tuesday, Sabalenka dismantled the 29th seed Iva Jovic 6-3, 6-0 to reach her fourth consecutive semi-final here
‘She was a bitch in the best possible way’: the life and mysterious death of drag queen Heklina
‘I don’t go around telling people I love the Spice Girls’: Mo Gilligan’s honest playlist
My cultural awakening: A Queen song helped me break free from communist Cuba
The Guide #227: A brain-melting sci-fi movie marathon, curated by Britain’s best cult film-maker
From Saipan to Take That: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead
Tell us your UK town of culture nomination