Great moments of international or economic crisis are well identified as catalysts for extensive reform in the years that follow. That's why it is well worth studying the big themes behind UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's energy strategy that was unveiled last week.
The main headline was a framework for eight new nuclear power stations through an accelerated approvals process. The target for offshore wind capacity was raised fivefold to 50 gigawatts by 2030 with new targets for solar and onshore turbines as well. The showstopper, though, was a real push for hydrogen.
Read correctly, the UK sees hydrogen as the real bridge fuel to the future. Arguments over "green hydrogen" and "blue hydrogen" were set aside for a real drive to carve out a role for the clean tech power source. Thought through, the strategy paper wants to remake Britain as an almost fully electrified country.
The make-up of the UK energy system relies heavily on two parallel systems. There is the national grid that provides lighting and power for appliances. But when it comes to homes, there is mostly gas on offer.
That means a home or a residential building has a water-based heating system. A heavily engineered boiler fed by gas provides hot water throughout the building both for washing and other needs as well as heating radiators. Of course this boiler relies on electricity for its own management, thermostats and smart metering.
By making British homes fully electric, Johnson would complete the 19th-century Edison vision
In the teeth of an energy crisis that has seen prices of natural gas double and forecast to double again, the whole set-up has become anachronistic. Or at least that is what hindsight is likely to assess at some point over the next decade.
By making British homes fully electric, Mr Johnson would complete the 19th-century Thomas Edison vision.
Transport systems seem likely to go electric in short order, too. The government is doubling down on private cars targets – wanting half of new vehicles to be fully electric models by 2028.
These two drives are why hydrogen is the lynchpin of the whole project. It offers the promise of renewables acting as a 24-hour, 365-day steady source of power. Excess power generated when the wind is blowing hard but grid demand is low – for example at night – can be diverted to electrolysis, splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen.
The idea that transport would be caught up in a "Betamax v VHS" battle between hydrogen and batteries now seems to be for the birds. Instead, the grid will supply power either for mobility through rechargeable batteries or steadily directly to homes and charge points.
The strategy has come under fire. For one, the UK can reduce energy demand substantially just by sealing up Britain's leaky homes. The plan has also been widely criticised for not really addressing the immediate crisis at hand.
This issue is not just a big systemic problem. It acerbates the already the variable nature of demand and supply. The figures for last year show that average daily demand can peak at around 35GW but go below 28GW. Renewables, meanwhile, can contribute as much as 11GW but as little as 5GW. For the moment, the UK government is sidestepping the upfront costs and dilemmas posed by both high prices and inefficient end users. But it may be that if Russia can be faced down and the supply crunch eases, that is a gamble worth taking.
London also has an issue with politicians on the right that want to ape the US domestic shale revolution. Mr Johnson is criticised by his own supporters for his thrall to green goals. At a time of rising energy prices, this is the one ideological political threat to his political base (there are plenty of dangers arising from his personal behaviour, but that is a separate issue) with the potential to go horribly wrong.
The UK is not alone on taking a big leap on hydrogen – Italy is about to sign a deal with Algeria and Germany is seeking to source solar generated supplies from Australia – but it is striking how it is ready to push the adaptation of the emerging technologies so aggressively.
By looking to both big nuclear plants and small modular reactors developed by aero-engine maker Rolls-Royce, the UK is also recognising that the stability of the power system is crucial. It also has a good chance of emerging as a leading engineering supplier of these systems for the rest of the world.
Change is coming very fast even if the timelines in the UK strategy are what seems quite far away, like 2030 and 2050. There is no dearth of imagination in the plans either and Mr Johnson can fairly proclaim he has seen the future.
For the length and breadth of the UK, and very probably the world, the lesson is clear: the future is coming fast and it is wired.
MATCH INFO
Who: UAE v USA
What: first T20 international
When: Friday, 2pm
Where: ICC Academy in Dubai
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Cofe
Year started: 2018
Based: UAE
Employees: 80-100
Amount raised: $13m
Investors: KISP ventures, Cedar Mundi, Towell Holding International, Takamul Capital, Dividend Gate Capital, Nizar AlNusif Sons Holding, Arab Investment Company and Al Imtiaz Investment Group
PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
UK's plans to cut net migration
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
ORDER OF PLAY ON SHOW COURTS
Centre Court - 4pm (UAE)
Gael Monfils (15) v Kyle Edmund
Karolina Pliskova (3) v Magdalena Rybarikova
Dusan Lajovic v Roger Federer (3)
Court 1 - 4pm
Adam Pavlasek v Novak Djokovic (2)
Dominic Thiem (8) v Gilles Simon
Angelique Kerber (1) v Kirsten Flipkens
Court 2 - 2.30pm
Grigor Dimitrov (13) v Marcos Baghdatis
Agnieszka Radwanska (9) v Christina McHale
Milos Raonic (6) v Mikhail Youzhny
Tsvetana Pironkova v Caroline Wozniacki (5)
Jebel Ali results
2pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 50,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner: AF Al Moreeb, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
2.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 60,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Shamikh, Ryan Curatolo, Nicholas Bachalard
3pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 64,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: One Vision, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
3.30pm: Conditions (TB) Dh 100,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Gabr, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson
4pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 96,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner: Just A Penny, Sam Hitchcock, Doug Watson
4.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 60,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Torno Subito, Sam Hitchcock, Doug Watson
5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 76,000 (D) 1,950m
Winner: Untold Secret, Jose Santiago, Salem bin Ghadayer
Company profile
Date started: Founded in May 2017 and operational since April 2018
Founders: co-founder and chief executive, Doaa Aref; Dr Rasha Rady, co-founder and chief operating officer.
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: Health-tech
Size: 22 employees
Funding: Seed funding
Investors: Flat6labs, 500 Falcons, three angel investors
PULITZER PRIZE 2020 WINNERS
JOURNALISM
Public Service
Anchorage Daily News in collaboration with ProPublica
Breaking News Reporting
Staff of The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Ky.
Investigative Reporting
Brian M. Rosenthal of The New York Times
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T. Christian Miller, Megan Rose and Robert Faturechi of ProPublica
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Ben Taub of The New Yorker
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Nikole Hannah-Jones of The New York Times
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Christopher Knight of the Los Angeles Times
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Jeffery Gerritt of the Palestine (Tx.) Herald-Press
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Audio Reporting
Staff of This American Life with Molly O’Toole of the Los Angeles Times and Emily Green, freelancer, Vice News for “The Out Crowd”
LETTERS AND DRAMA
Fiction
"The Nickel Boys" by Colson Whitehead (Doubleday)
Drama
"A Strange Loop" by Michael R. Jackson
History
"Sweet Taste of Liberty: A True Story of Slavery and Restitution in America" by W. Caleb McDaniel (Oxford University Press)
Biography
"Sontag: Her Life and Work" by Benjamin Moser (Ecco/HarperCollins)
Poetry
"The Tradition" by Jericho Brown (Copper Canyon Press)
General Nonfiction
"The Undying: Pain, Vulnerability, Mortality, Medicine, Art, Time, Dreams, Data, Exhaustion, Cancer, and Care" by Anne Boyer (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
and
"The End of the Myth: From the Frontier to the Border Wall in the Mind of America" by Greg Grandin (Metropolitan Books)
Music
"The Central Park Five" by Anthony Davis, premiered by Long Beach Opera on June 15, 2019
Special Citation
Ida B. Wells
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'The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey'
Rating: 3/5
Directors: Ramin Bahrani, Debbie Allen, Hanelle Culpepper, Guillermo Navarro
Writers: Walter Mosley
Stars: Samuel L Jackson, Dominique Fishback, Walton Goggins
SNAPSHOT
While Huawei did launch the first smartphone with a 50MP image sensor in its P40 series in 2020, Oppo in 2014 introduced the Find 7, which was capable of taking 50MP images: this was done using a combination of a 13MP sensor and software that resulted in shots seemingly taken from a 50MP camera.
