AI deals give investment banks a glimmer of hope
Dealmaking on Wall Street hit a dead end last year and has struggled ever since.
1970-01-01 08:00
South African Coal Heartland Is Ill-Prepared for Energy Transition
South Africa’s main coal producing province of Mpumalanga, the focus of the country’s $8.5 billion Just Energy Transition
1970-01-01 08:00
Premier League crisis club of the week 2023/24: Sheffield United
This week's 'Premier League crisis club of the week' is Sheffield United after their harrowing 8-0 defeat to Newcastle United,
1970-01-01 08:00
Two-time world champion sprinter Dafne Schippers says she is retiring from the sport
Two-time world champion sprinter Dafne Schippers says she is retiring from track and field at the age of 31
1970-01-01 08:00
Wind turbine blades repurposed into bridges
Engineers have figured out how to repurpose disused wind turbine blades to serve as bridges capable of supporting up to 30 tonnes of weight. Turbine blades have a lifespan of around 20 to 25 years, meaning hundreds of wind farms set up at the start of the century are now being upgraded. Decommissioned blades are typically sent to landfill or incinerated, with the thousands of non-biodegradable units now posing a major environmental challenge. In an effort to address the issue, five universities and research institutes in Ireland, Northern Ireland and the US set up the Re-Wind Network, which has come up with several ways the blades can be recycled. Potential solutions include bus shelters, street furniture and telecommunications towers, however bridges already offer a practical way to repurpose the blades, with two footbridges successfully built in Draperstown and Cork. “With so many of these blades due to reach the end of their lifespan, we need to find ways to transform them into something useful,” said Jennifer McKinley, a professor at Queen’s University Belfast’s School of Natural and Built Environment. “I am delighted that by working together we’ve been able to find a way to repurpose wind turbine blades. This can only be a good thing, as without intervention they would end up in landfill or they would have to be incinerated.” A third bridge is set to be built in Atlanta, Georgia, before the research team turn their focus towards increasing the length and size of the bridges. The researchers estimate that there will be around 8.6 million tonnes of scrapped wind turbine blades within the next 20 years, though the glass fibre reinforced polymer material could prove useful for building a huge range of objects, like motorway noise barriers and playground equipment. Three of the engineers from the Re-Wind Network project have also formed a spin-out startup called BladeBridge that will look to commercialise the idea, while also looking for new ways to reuse old turbine blades. “We are partnering with well-known designers here in Ireland to create a portfolio of durable and sustainable products, such as greenway furniture and bridges,” said BladeBridge co-founder Dr Angie Nagle. Read More Fossil fuels ‘becoming obsolete’ as solar panel prices plummet Fossil fuels ‘becoming obsolete’ as solar panel prices plummet Solar panel breakthrough could supercharge ‘miracle material’ production Scientists invent solar panels that work in a snow blizzard
1970-01-01 08:00
Crisis at Evergrande deepens as it misses another bond payment
Evergrande Group has just missed another bond payment, casting further doubt over the future of the embattled property developer at the epicenter of China's real estate crisis.
1970-01-01 08:00
Man Utd senior figures 'hopeful' of Jadon Sancho reintegration after first-team banishment
Senior figures at Manchester United are 'hopeful' that Jadon Sancho will be reintegrated into Erik ten Hag's first-team plans soon. Sancho is training away from the senior squad until he apologises for an outburst on social media.
1970-01-01 08:00
Erdogan sees advantage in U.S. senator Menendez's troubles -media
ANKARA President Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey needs to turn the legal troubles of U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, a
1970-01-01 08:00
Aston Villa confident of finalising new contract for Ollie Watkins
Aston Villa are continuing talks with Ollie Watkins over a new contract. His current deal runs until 2025.
1970-01-01 08:00
Trump's bizarre whale rant is a bit much, even for him
Donald Trump has gone on a bizarre rant about offshore wind turbines, claiming they are driving whales “a little batty” and killing them “in numbers never seen before”. The former US President made the claim, which is rooted in a climate sceptic conspiracy theory, at a rally in South Carolina this week. There, he was taking aim at President Joe Biden’s regulations to impose speed limits on speed boats, vowing to overturn the rules on “day one” should he be voted in. Trump told the South Carolina crowd that the “Biden speed limit” would “demolish the charter fishing business, crush boat manufacturers and desecrate your cherished Low Country traditions.” That was when he got sidetracked by whales and wind turbines, or “windmills”, as he prefers to call them. “The windmills are driving them crazy. They’re driving the whales a little batty. And they are washing up on shore in levels never seen before.” It comes days after Trump praised Rishi Sunak for rolling back several key UK climate change promises. He congratulated the Prime Minister for “recognising this SCAM before it was too late”. As for this week's speech, it isn't the first time Trump has gone to war with wind turbines. In 2019, he suggested that wind turbines cause cancer, which is a lie. Months later, he attacked renewable energy again, suggesting that wind power doesn’t work when it’s not windy. This is also untrue. Wind-powered electricity supply isn’t affected by wind not blowing all the time because energy is stored for when it's needed. The US Department of Energy website even says that it's not a problem. At Trump's South Carolina rally, he was likely trying to appeal to a vocal community of misinformed protestors. In February, thousands of people gathered at New Jersey’s Point Pleasant beach to demand authorities pause offshore wind projects in response to recent whale deaths. Since 2023, 10 whales have washed ashore on the New York and New Jersey coastlines. Conspiracy theorists claim the noise created by wind turbines has been messing with the whales’ navigation systems. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has called the deaths “unusual mortality events”, and said there is no link between the wind turbines and whale deaths. “It’s just a cynical disinformation campaign,” Greenpeace oceans director John Hocevar told to USA Today. That’s hardly going to stop former President Trump though, is it? Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
1970-01-01 08:00
RYDER CUP '23: A glossary of golf terms in Italian for the event outside Rome
The Ryder Cup is being held in Italy for the first time and The Associated Press has put together a glossary of golf terms in Italian that might be heard around the Marco Simone club this week
1970-01-01 08:00
Thousands of ethnic Armenians flee Nagorno-Karabakh after breakaway region's defeat
Nonna Poghosyan spent Monday morning walking around her family home in Nagorno-Karabakh "trying to understand what to take, what is the most important stuff I can fit into my suitcase."
1970-01-01 08:00
