Philips Lighting announced Wednesday that it will lay off 22 employees in November at its plant in Salina because of a drop in demand for fluorescent lamps.
"Twenty-two jobs were let go because of a reduction in the demand of the products made at the (Salina) facility," said Silvie Casanova, spokeswoman for Philips Lighting.
The layoffs come in the area where linear fluorescent lamps are made.
Gaye Kinnett, human resources manager at Philips Lighting in Salina, said plant managers met with employees Wednesday evening to deliver the news.
Kinnett and Dan Mendicina, plant manager, said they couldn't comment on the layoffs.
Casanova said Philips employs 420 people in Salina but that will drop to fewer than 400 after the layoffs.
"We have tried very hard to ensure we mitigated as much of the job losses as we could," Casanova said. "Unfortunately, it has still resulted in 22 layoffs."
Casanova said the reduction of jobs also comes at a time when the plant is not filling positions when employees quit or retire.
Dennis Lauver, president and CEO of the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce, said the losses could have been higher.
"We certainly feel bad for the people being impacted by this announcement, but my understanding is that Salina isn't seeing quite as negative an impact as other plants have seen (that are) making the same product," Lauver said. "This is because of the high productivity levels at the Salina plant."
Casanova said other Philips plants have laid off people in the past, but not recently.
Lauver said a reduction in demand for fluorescent bulbs is partially to blame for the job loss, but so are regulations that have increased the cost of making the bulbs.
"There has been a drop in fluorescent lamps, but part of the problem is at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (the White House)," Lauver said. "The increased regulations have impacted fluorescent lighting so we can lay some of this on the feet of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue."
Lauver said the White House and the U.S. Department of Energy have attempted to reduce the use of T12 light bulbs, which is the primary light bulb made in Salina, through higher energy standards.
"The is a case of err on the side of regulation, which is the approach this White House has taken," Lauver said. "It has made it more expensive to produce light bulbs because the cost of phosphor has increased. This is the standard light bulb. They are trying to kill off the demand for these light bulbs."
Salina city commissioners voted in January 2011 to give Philips $750,000 over three years in special sales tax money from the Salina Economic Development Incentive Council fund in an attempt to secure a plant expansion and bring 50 jobs to the city.
At the time, Philips said the 50 jobs would bring an additional payroll of $2.35 million and the company would invest $5 million in Salina.
The amount is the largest given out by the SEDIC. The city also gave Philips $150,000 in June 2010 to bring 22 jobs to Salina.
The state of Kansas invested between $275,711 and $499,755 in June 2010 and planned to invest almost $500,000 more in 2011.
Mendicina said the jobs being eliminated are not those that were added with the money given by the SEDIC and the state. Therefore, that money is secure.
"The jobs that were brought here from other closures have been added and we are making products," Mendicina said.
2012年8月30日 星期四
2012年8月27日 星期一
GCC to spend $252 Billion on energy over next 5 years
Pushing better energy models has been a stalwart of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in recent years. Now, the GCC is looking to continue that effort by spending some $252 billion over the next five years to increase energy production.
Among the projects on tap are new power production plants, distribution systems and supply grids, the Emirates official news agency WAM reported.
In its report it said that “in the United Arab Emriates (UAE), Shams 1 will be one of the world’s largest concentrated solar power plants, with a capacity of 100 megawatts.”
It comes as the GCC continues to suffer rising energy bills and higher infrastructure costs, but the new investments are aimed also at looking at alternative energy sources, including green technology.
Energy-efficient projects, including new lighting systems – 19 percent of all electricity worldwide comes from lighting – and design will be invested in by the GCC.
Epoc Messe Frankfurt, organizers of Light Middle East 2011, the key regional trade platform for lighting design and technology, have reported considerable interest in the energy and cost-saving potential of modern lighting systems.
“With energy becoming ever more expensive, there is huge interest in the cost-reduction potential afforded by new technology,” said Ahmed Pauwels, Chief Executive Officer of Epoc Messe Frankfurt.
“And it is not just the high costs — there is also increasing awareness on the environmental effects of climate change,” he said.
“It is predicted that the use of energy efficient lighting solutions — all of which already exist today, but are not widely implemented — could save an average of 40 percent per year in terms of CO2 emissions and in energy costs,” Pauwels stated.
The New York headquarters of Mutual of America has obtained the LEED Gold (EB-OM) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). Mutual of America is an expert in offering retirement products and connected services to organizations and their staff and also to individuals and provides ideas to help build resources that provide an economically secure future.
The Mutual of America structure extending over 750,000 sq. ft. has satisfied all the LEED Existing Building or Operations and Maintenance stipulations. The USGBC identified the efforts in making the building green compliant and ecologically friendly and also recognized its excellent design.
The 35-floor structure was rebuilt in 1995 by Swanke Hayden Connell Architects and Turner Construction and its functioning is managed by Jones Lang LaSalle for Mutual of America. Vital improvements to the structure comprise executing power-saving measures inclusive of LED light retrofit at the lobby and energy-efficient roof lighting with power-saving fittings and bulbs, and 31% decrease in water usage when compared to standard usage
Mutual of America has always been dedicated to providing sustainability. Its headquarters was the first structure in New York City to get LEED Silver EB 2.0 certification during April 2009. It has also obtained the Energy Star award in 9 out of the last 10 years.
According to Thomas J Moran, Chairman, CEO and President of Mutual of America, the organization is proud that USGBC identified its dedication to maintaining the earth’s natural wealth. He added that winning the LEED Gold is one more acknowledgement of the organization’s unceasing efforts to generate creative means of safeguarding the surroundings.
Among the projects on tap are new power production plants, distribution systems and supply grids, the Emirates official news agency WAM reported.
In its report it said that “in the United Arab Emriates (UAE), Shams 1 will be one of the world’s largest concentrated solar power plants, with a capacity of 100 megawatts.”
It comes as the GCC continues to suffer rising energy bills and higher infrastructure costs, but the new investments are aimed also at looking at alternative energy sources, including green technology.
Energy-efficient projects, including new lighting systems – 19 percent of all electricity worldwide comes from lighting – and design will be invested in by the GCC.
Epoc Messe Frankfurt, organizers of Light Middle East 2011, the key regional trade platform for lighting design and technology, have reported considerable interest in the energy and cost-saving potential of modern lighting systems.
“With energy becoming ever more expensive, there is huge interest in the cost-reduction potential afforded by new technology,” said Ahmed Pauwels, Chief Executive Officer of Epoc Messe Frankfurt.
“And it is not just the high costs — there is also increasing awareness on the environmental effects of climate change,” he said.
“It is predicted that the use of energy efficient lighting solutions — all of which already exist today, but are not widely implemented — could save an average of 40 percent per year in terms of CO2 emissions and in energy costs,” Pauwels stated.
The New York headquarters of Mutual of America has obtained the LEED Gold (EB-OM) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). Mutual of America is an expert in offering retirement products and connected services to organizations and their staff and also to individuals and provides ideas to help build resources that provide an economically secure future.
The Mutual of America structure extending over 750,000 sq. ft. has satisfied all the LEED Existing Building or Operations and Maintenance stipulations. The USGBC identified the efforts in making the building green compliant and ecologically friendly and also recognized its excellent design.
The 35-floor structure was rebuilt in 1995 by Swanke Hayden Connell Architects and Turner Construction and its functioning is managed by Jones Lang LaSalle for Mutual of America. Vital improvements to the structure comprise executing power-saving measures inclusive of LED light retrofit at the lobby and energy-efficient roof lighting with power-saving fittings and bulbs, and 31% decrease in water usage when compared to standard usage
Mutual of America has always been dedicated to providing sustainability. Its headquarters was the first structure in New York City to get LEED Silver EB 2.0 certification during April 2009. It has also obtained the Energy Star award in 9 out of the last 10 years.
According to Thomas J Moran, Chairman, CEO and President of Mutual of America, the organization is proud that USGBC identified its dedication to maintaining the earth’s natural wealth. He added that winning the LEED Gold is one more acknowledgement of the organization’s unceasing efforts to generate creative means of safeguarding the surroundings.
2012年8月23日 星期四
'Solar power for every household'
According to CERA vice chairman Constantinos Iliopoulos, the scheme will be tested on 125 volunteer homes for a year, to see if its implementation in all households would be sustainable. If so, the aim is to install the systems on all Cypriot homes from 2014 onwards.
“The system will be implemented in homes for a year on a pilot basis, to see the consequences it will have on the entire system and the aim is to implement it more generally later,” Iliopoulos told state radio yesterday.
“A small photovoltaic system that corresponds to the house’s consumption will be installed on the homes, so that at the end of the day the production from the photovoltaic will be roughly the same as the house’s consumption,” he added.
“We estimate that broader implementation after the pilot scheme will take place in 2014 for the entire population, if our observations, estimations and figures are as we expect them to be.”
Iliopoulos explained that the systems would produce electricity throughout the day – when there is sun – only needing the central supply network during the evening hours.
But he added: “We need to see the reliability of the system and see through this pilot implementation what the financial consequences will be to the system. Because if you think that all houses have zero consumption, the network (the EAC) will not be able to cover its maintenance and operational costs and therefore we will have to find a way to charge consumers, so as to cover these costs.”
According to the CERA official, the system has not yet been implemented in other EU states, apart from Denmark and Italy, where it is also being tested as a pilot scheme.
Acting EAC spokesman Yiannis Tsouloftas yesterday said the authority was not against such measures, so long as it was compensated for the subsidiary services it provides.
“What the EAC wants to ensure is that it is compensated for the subsidiary services it offers, with the aim of keeping its system functioning,” said Tsouloftas.
He explained: “For example, an application is made to supply a house with electricity and this house is quite far out of town. We have to plan a network to supply that house. Say that costs us around 5,000; we estimate that through consumption we will receive a certain amount a month… and because we estimate making some profit, we charge the client less.”
Tsouloftas said the EAC viewed it as an investment: “If the customer now comes and starts net metering, we won’t have the estimated returns. So who will pay for the money we initially put down?”
Also, he argued, solar power was unreliable. “If for two or three days a year there are clouds and no solar production, we can’t say we didn’t make any provisions as we thought there would be sun. We can’t depend on the sun, so we have to have the system ready in case it is needed.”
“Our investigation into the matter showed that up to 5,000 house roofs could immediately be turned into solar power producers without operational problems…It is time for the EAC to abandon its negative stance towards self-production of electricity,” said the Greens.
“Unfortunately the promotion of solar power use in Cyprus hits a dead end due to unacceptable and intolerable bureaucracies and a lack of vision (as well as vested interests),” it added.
“The system will be implemented in homes for a year on a pilot basis, to see the consequences it will have on the entire system and the aim is to implement it more generally later,” Iliopoulos told state radio yesterday.
“A small photovoltaic system that corresponds to the house’s consumption will be installed on the homes, so that at the end of the day the production from the photovoltaic will be roughly the same as the house’s consumption,” he added.
“We estimate that broader implementation after the pilot scheme will take place in 2014 for the entire population, if our observations, estimations and figures are as we expect them to be.”
Iliopoulos explained that the systems would produce electricity throughout the day – when there is sun – only needing the central supply network during the evening hours.
But he added: “We need to see the reliability of the system and see through this pilot implementation what the financial consequences will be to the system. Because if you think that all houses have zero consumption, the network (the EAC) will not be able to cover its maintenance and operational costs and therefore we will have to find a way to charge consumers, so as to cover these costs.”
According to the CERA official, the system has not yet been implemented in other EU states, apart from Denmark and Italy, where it is also being tested as a pilot scheme.
Acting EAC spokesman Yiannis Tsouloftas yesterday said the authority was not against such measures, so long as it was compensated for the subsidiary services it provides.
“What the EAC wants to ensure is that it is compensated for the subsidiary services it offers, with the aim of keeping its system functioning,” said Tsouloftas.
He explained: “For example, an application is made to supply a house with electricity and this house is quite far out of town. We have to plan a network to supply that house. Say that costs us around 5,000; we estimate that through consumption we will receive a certain amount a month… and because we estimate making some profit, we charge the client less.”
Tsouloftas said the EAC viewed it as an investment: “If the customer now comes and starts net metering, we won’t have the estimated returns. So who will pay for the money we initially put down?”
Also, he argued, solar power was unreliable. “If for two or three days a year there are clouds and no solar production, we can’t say we didn’t make any provisions as we thought there would be sun. We can’t depend on the sun, so we have to have the system ready in case it is needed.”
“Our investigation into the matter showed that up to 5,000 house roofs could immediately be turned into solar power producers without operational problems…It is time for the EAC to abandon its negative stance towards self-production of electricity,” said the Greens.
“Unfortunately the promotion of solar power use in Cyprus hits a dead end due to unacceptable and intolerable bureaucracies and a lack of vision (as well as vested interests),” it added.
2012年8月20日 星期一
It's craft - but not as we know it
OUTSIDE THERE’S that hum you get in the city on a really hot day. Inside there’s a hum of a different kind, call it industrious activity crossed with intense focus and fun. This is MakeShop – where people come to make “stuff”: Everything from Bristle Bots and LED Throwies (a combination of lights and magnets) to eight-bit cross stitch (needle work and retro computer design) and clocks (here you can “clockify” anything you like). It’s craft but not as we know it in a place where you can create robots from markers and paper cups or a bird house from Gay Mitchell’s face. What’s not to like?
This newly opened collaborative workspace was created by the Science Gallery and is open to adults and children of any skill level. Here the imagination can run riot, confined only by the four walls and the ability of the facilitators who help to turn your curiosity into reality. On a smaller scale it’s like Fab Labs in the US – fully-fitted design and fabrication laboratories where the public can turn concepts into creations.
In MakeShop, a trestle table which seats eight to ten people, stands in front of a well-stocked wall on which the tools of invention hang neatly arranged: scissors and screwdrivers, Dremels (multi-tasking handheld tools) and battery packs and temptingly dangerous soldering irons and glue guns.
In this mass-produced age, when it’s often cheaper and easier to buy new things than to make or fix old ones, it can sometimes be difficult to find the time or reason to create. But the desire to make and mend is still strong, as evidenced by the steady stream of enthused visitors throughout the afternoon. An Italian family, two friends who buy some books – all curious people enticed by the funky-looking wooden 3D printer in the window.
Once inside, the staff’s enthusiasm finds them, glue guns poised, creating spinning robots from sawn-up dishwashing brushes and three-volt battery packs. Gearoid Keane one of the facilitators, who helps me make a bird house-shaped clock from a Gay Mitchell election poster, says that “The workshops last around 15 or 20 minutes so we get the kids’ full concentration. We get a wide range of ages but all really interested in what they are doing.”
While the target audience is 15- to 25-year-olds, people of all ages can attend the drop-in workshops. Adults and children sit side-by-side and there is a quiet sense of community interrupted by sudden bursts of laughter and excitement. Fionn Kidney of the Science Gallery says it’s about “Taking DIY and turning it into ‘Doing it Together’. It’s about developing a spark of discovery. We want to help young people find their interests.” Fundamentally, he says, MakeShop is about getting hands-on and creative, encouraging questioning and conversation.
Niall Hunt a 14-year-old from Sandymount in Dublin was making a badge – incorporating soldering techniques with learning about circuits by connecting LED lights to a battery. “I’ve always wanted to try soldering but never had the chance before,” says Niall, who likes the idea of a space where people can try out new things. With an interest in DIY, Niall’s dad John says that MakeShop provides access to materials he wouldn’t have at home as well as being an “ideas space”.
“Technology has now got to a stage where you can be creative very easily,” says Fionn Kidney. “Components are more readily available and low cost, so it makes things more accessible.” Aside from basic workshops, MakeShop also plan to run premium workshops including 3D printing, papercraft for model making and Arduino (a microcontroller platform that can be used to control everything from computers to household appliances).
English tourists Phil Eaton and Ian Patterson found MakeShop after visiting nearby Trinity College. “There’s no need to make things anymore – you can just go and buy them. But you come away from this workshop with something tangible that you’ve made, so there’s a great sense of satisfaction,” says Eaton. “I also think it’s great for kids as it gives them an interest in mechanics, electronics and finding out how things work. I feel like I’ve regressed to being a seven-year-old again. It’s nice sometimes to do that – to do things just for fun.”
This newly opened collaborative workspace was created by the Science Gallery and is open to adults and children of any skill level. Here the imagination can run riot, confined only by the four walls and the ability of the facilitators who help to turn your curiosity into reality. On a smaller scale it’s like Fab Labs in the US – fully-fitted design and fabrication laboratories where the public can turn concepts into creations.
In MakeShop, a trestle table which seats eight to ten people, stands in front of a well-stocked wall on which the tools of invention hang neatly arranged: scissors and screwdrivers, Dremels (multi-tasking handheld tools) and battery packs and temptingly dangerous soldering irons and glue guns.
In this mass-produced age, when it’s often cheaper and easier to buy new things than to make or fix old ones, it can sometimes be difficult to find the time or reason to create. But the desire to make and mend is still strong, as evidenced by the steady stream of enthused visitors throughout the afternoon. An Italian family, two friends who buy some books – all curious people enticed by the funky-looking wooden 3D printer in the window.
Once inside, the staff’s enthusiasm finds them, glue guns poised, creating spinning robots from sawn-up dishwashing brushes and three-volt battery packs. Gearoid Keane one of the facilitators, who helps me make a bird house-shaped clock from a Gay Mitchell election poster, says that “The workshops last around 15 or 20 minutes so we get the kids’ full concentration. We get a wide range of ages but all really interested in what they are doing.”
While the target audience is 15- to 25-year-olds, people of all ages can attend the drop-in workshops. Adults and children sit side-by-side and there is a quiet sense of community interrupted by sudden bursts of laughter and excitement. Fionn Kidney of the Science Gallery says it’s about “Taking DIY and turning it into ‘Doing it Together’. It’s about developing a spark of discovery. We want to help young people find their interests.” Fundamentally, he says, MakeShop is about getting hands-on and creative, encouraging questioning and conversation.
Niall Hunt a 14-year-old from Sandymount in Dublin was making a badge – incorporating soldering techniques with learning about circuits by connecting LED lights to a battery. “I’ve always wanted to try soldering but never had the chance before,” says Niall, who likes the idea of a space where people can try out new things. With an interest in DIY, Niall’s dad John says that MakeShop provides access to materials he wouldn’t have at home as well as being an “ideas space”.
“Technology has now got to a stage where you can be creative very easily,” says Fionn Kidney. “Components are more readily available and low cost, so it makes things more accessible.” Aside from basic workshops, MakeShop also plan to run premium workshops including 3D printing, papercraft for model making and Arduino (a microcontroller platform that can be used to control everything from computers to household appliances).
English tourists Phil Eaton and Ian Patterson found MakeShop after visiting nearby Trinity College. “There’s no need to make things anymore – you can just go and buy them. But you come away from this workshop with something tangible that you’ve made, so there’s a great sense of satisfaction,” says Eaton. “I also think it’s great for kids as it gives them an interest in mechanics, electronics and finding out how things work. I feel like I’ve regressed to being a seven-year-old again. It’s nice sometimes to do that – to do things just for fun.”
2012年8月15日 星期三
Save some green with Hometown Rewards program
What would you choose? An energy-efficient splash pad in a west side park; LED lighting at Penn Meadows Park; or LED lighting on the bike trail?
One of these North Liberty projects will be funded by Alliant Energy utility company, as part of their Hometown Rewards program that encourages energy-saving behaviors and upgrades for Iowa towns, but only if North Liberty residents sign up to save money and energy.
In 2010, North Liberty was the first city in Iowa chosen to be a part of Hometown Rewards, and it has been picking up steam since.
To get the rewards, the community must meet some challenges in reducing energy and water use, increasing recycling and decreasing solid waste.
The challenges were laid out by a committee that is now transitioning to an action plan for achieving three-fourths of the list of goals and become eligible for one of the three rewards.
Many on the list are easy or already being done in some households, turning off lights and appliances when not in use, adjusting the thermostat to use less energy, installing insulation, energy-efficient appliances and compact fluorescent bulbs.
Some are already on the city's radar, like reducing energy consumption and associated green-house gas emissions from North Liberty government facilities by eight percent by the end of 2012 and 25 percent by 2020, shortening city staff commutes and greening the city's transportation fleet.
Others will involve Hometown Rewards Coordinator Maggie Wiederen presenting information at workshops on weatherizing homes and other energy and sustainability topics.
She'll use North Liberty Television, public schools and the library to present educational forums on going green, but she needs the community's help.
A minimum of 1,000 residents must sign up and pledge to conserve water and energy. Once they have signed the pledge, they can vote for their favorite reward (splash pad or the two LED lighting projects).
Residents will also start saving money by line-drying laundry, for example ($91 annually), or by walking or biking instead of driving (over $100 annually).
Baseline energy use has already been mapped for residential, government, industrial and commercial sectors in North Liberty. Residents and business owners will need to green their buildings to meet the challenges and the city is already meeting some of its goals.
North Liberty City Clerk Tracey Mulcahey said the city has some water-saving rules in place. They eliminated irrigation meters for watering new sod lawns and, in light of the summer's historic drought, they won't require lawns for new homes built this summer until the fall.
The city's water treatment plant has an aquifer storage retrieval (ASR) system that injects treated water back underground. Mulcahey said the ASR came online this summer and they did not use it during the drought, but she was glad to have it in case of another.
Mulcahey said the whole point of Hometown Rewards is to clean up North Liberty, become sustainable, and maybe prevent another power generating station from being built nearby.
One of these North Liberty projects will be funded by Alliant Energy utility company, as part of their Hometown Rewards program that encourages energy-saving behaviors and upgrades for Iowa towns, but only if North Liberty residents sign up to save money and energy.
In 2010, North Liberty was the first city in Iowa chosen to be a part of Hometown Rewards, and it has been picking up steam since.
To get the rewards, the community must meet some challenges in reducing energy and water use, increasing recycling and decreasing solid waste.
The challenges were laid out by a committee that is now transitioning to an action plan for achieving three-fourths of the list of goals and become eligible for one of the three rewards.
Many on the list are easy or already being done in some households, turning off lights and appliances when not in use, adjusting the thermostat to use less energy, installing insulation, energy-efficient appliances and compact fluorescent bulbs.
Some are already on the city's radar, like reducing energy consumption and associated green-house gas emissions from North Liberty government facilities by eight percent by the end of 2012 and 25 percent by 2020, shortening city staff commutes and greening the city's transportation fleet.
Others will involve Hometown Rewards Coordinator Maggie Wiederen presenting information at workshops on weatherizing homes and other energy and sustainability topics.
She'll use North Liberty Television, public schools and the library to present educational forums on going green, but she needs the community's help.
A minimum of 1,000 residents must sign up and pledge to conserve water and energy. Once they have signed the pledge, they can vote for their favorite reward (splash pad or the two LED lighting projects).
Residents will also start saving money by line-drying laundry, for example ($91 annually), or by walking or biking instead of driving (over $100 annually).
Baseline energy use has already been mapped for residential, government, industrial and commercial sectors in North Liberty. Residents and business owners will need to green their buildings to meet the challenges and the city is already meeting some of its goals.
North Liberty City Clerk Tracey Mulcahey said the city has some water-saving rules in place. They eliminated irrigation meters for watering new sod lawns and, in light of the summer's historic drought, they won't require lawns for new homes built this summer until the fall.
The city's water treatment plant has an aquifer storage retrieval (ASR) system that injects treated water back underground. Mulcahey said the ASR came online this summer and they did not use it during the drought, but she was glad to have it in case of another.
Mulcahey said the whole point of Hometown Rewards is to clean up North Liberty, become sustainable, and maybe prevent another power generating station from being built nearby.
2012年8月13日 星期一
Dry year helps knock 28pc off Meridian profit
The worst inflows into its hydro lakes for 79 years took a toll on Meridian Energy's earnings in the year to June 2012.
The state-owned generator and electricity retailer yesterday reported a net profit after tax of $74.6 million, down from $303.1 million the year before.
But the prior year's earnings had been boosted by the sale of its Tekapo generating assets to fellow-SOE Genesis, and by the settlement of some long-running litigation with its largest customer, New Zealand Aluminium Smelters, operator of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter.
After backing those one-offs out, the latest year's bottom line was still 28 per cent down on the year before.
Chief executive Mark Binns argues, however, that a fairer comparison is with 2008, the last previous dry year.
Compared with that year, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and financial instruments (ebitdaf) at $476.6 million was $106 million higher, even though inflows were even lower and the company no longer had the Tekapo assets.
Chief financial officer Paul Chambers said lake levels had started to drop last December.
"We picked it early and started to bolster our hedge positions and conservatively managed lake levels."
The company had benefited from increased liquidity in the derivatives market and a more sophisticated and mature approach by other industry players, he said. "We were able to offer the thermal generators certainty of price and bring their power on to the system, avoiding the sort of mad price spikes we saw in 2008."
Meridian, normally a net seller into the wholesale market, was a net buyer over the past year - on the wrong side of wholesale prices which were 138 per cent higher than the year before.
Its hydro generation fell 22 per cent, or 16 per cent excluding Tekapo, a tenth of which was offset by increased wind generation.
Since Binns took over as chief executive in January, Meridian has scrapped plans for the Project Hayes wind farm in Central Otago and the Mohikinui hydro project.
It has sold its WhisperTech business. It also plans to exit its stake in a solar power operation in the United States.
"Not because we don't believe solar has a part in our portfolio, but when we do develop solar it will be in Australasia, and we have learned all we are going to from the US venture," Binns said.
Meridian believes solar power might be competitive with wind by 2020 in Australia and more broadly sees the cross-party political commitment to renewable generation across the Tasman as an opportunity for it, when in New Zealand demand growth is weak and there is overcapacity in generation.
When asked about the possibility of a sudden huge increase in over-capacity if the Tiwai Point smelter were to shut down, Binns said there had been no overt threats of closure.
The company disclosed last week that Rio Tinto, majority owner of NZAS, had approached it to discuss possible changes to the smelter's contract.
Meridian needed to do some quite complex modelling of the potential outcomes and, when it had, the board would make a decision based on what was good for Meridian.
The state-owned generator and electricity retailer yesterday reported a net profit after tax of $74.6 million, down from $303.1 million the year before.
But the prior year's earnings had been boosted by the sale of its Tekapo generating assets to fellow-SOE Genesis, and by the settlement of some long-running litigation with its largest customer, New Zealand Aluminium Smelters, operator of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter.
After backing those one-offs out, the latest year's bottom line was still 28 per cent down on the year before.
Chief executive Mark Binns argues, however, that a fairer comparison is with 2008, the last previous dry year.
Compared with that year, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and financial instruments (ebitdaf) at $476.6 million was $106 million higher, even though inflows were even lower and the company no longer had the Tekapo assets.
Chief financial officer Paul Chambers said lake levels had started to drop last December.
"We picked it early and started to bolster our hedge positions and conservatively managed lake levels."
The company had benefited from increased liquidity in the derivatives market and a more sophisticated and mature approach by other industry players, he said. "We were able to offer the thermal generators certainty of price and bring their power on to the system, avoiding the sort of mad price spikes we saw in 2008."
Meridian, normally a net seller into the wholesale market, was a net buyer over the past year - on the wrong side of wholesale prices which were 138 per cent higher than the year before.
Its hydro generation fell 22 per cent, or 16 per cent excluding Tekapo, a tenth of which was offset by increased wind generation.
Since Binns took over as chief executive in January, Meridian has scrapped plans for the Project Hayes wind farm in Central Otago and the Mohikinui hydro project.
It has sold its WhisperTech business. It also plans to exit its stake in a solar power operation in the United States.
"Not because we don't believe solar has a part in our portfolio, but when we do develop solar it will be in Australasia, and we have learned all we are going to from the US venture," Binns said.
Meridian believes solar power might be competitive with wind by 2020 in Australia and more broadly sees the cross-party political commitment to renewable generation across the Tasman as an opportunity for it, when in New Zealand demand growth is weak and there is overcapacity in generation.
When asked about the possibility of a sudden huge increase in over-capacity if the Tiwai Point smelter were to shut down, Binns said there had been no overt threats of closure.
The company disclosed last week that Rio Tinto, majority owner of NZAS, had approached it to discuss possible changes to the smelter's contract.
Meridian needed to do some quite complex modelling of the potential outcomes and, when it had, the board would make a decision based on what was good for Meridian.
2012年8月8日 星期三
Clean light
In northern Uganda district of Alebtong, Patrick Abali (32) purchased Firefly Lamp to not only light his home at night but also start business of charging mobile phones.
The Light Emitting Diode (LED) lamp has three parts - the light, the battery and the solar panel to charge the battery. Other components are the switch and a micro-controller to avoid overcharge and over-discharge of the battery.
"I am not worried about the prices of paraffin going up because my fuel (sun) is free. My children can now read and night and prepare well for their examination," Abali said.
"Most importantly my wife has a commercial venture to manage. She re-charges phone batteries of our clients and that is another side income for the family."
According to the main findings of "Phone Charging Micro-businesses in Tanzania and Uganda" research conducted in 2011, phone charging is a highly viable economic activity where the grid is absent or where grid electricity is present but used by few people.
The report, conducted by Simon Collings of Global Village Energy Partnership (GVEMP) International, stated that the availability of a local charging service results in greater phone use and increased expenditure on airtime.
"The lack of accessible sources of electricity for recharging a phone is a huge constraint on use and denies many people the full benefits to be derived from a phone which include increased economic activity, banking services, information, and reduced travel time, the report read.
It stated that phone charging is a highly profitable activity. On average businesses in Tanzania are charging 19-20 phones a day and in Uganda 7-8 phone a day..
According to the report, a business charging 20 phones a day (600 phones a month) at $17 cents a go earns revenues of $100 a month.
"The size of system required to service this level of business costs around $480 (excluding installation) meaning the business can pay for itself in five months," the report adds. "Once the system is paid for the business has virtually no costs. In addition to charging phones the entrepreneurs operating from their home also used the solar PV system for lighting and TV.
Dr. Izael Da Silva, the director of the Centre for Research in Energy and Energy Conservation (CREEC) in his book published in 2002: "Global Lighting Energy Savings-Potential Light and Engineering stated the single greatest way to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions associated with lighting energy use is to replace kerosene lamps with white LED lighting.
The benefits of Off-grid system is it extends extend the working day for small and medium enterprises and this leads to growth in production, improving working conditions and increasing customers.
Further the technology enhances safety and security via outdoor lighting for personal, business and community activities as well as education by creating conditions to attract teachers retain students, expand time for student reading and studying both in the classroom and at home.
The long productivity time in homes raises household incomes as well as expands time for adult literacy and higher education programmes. The systems improve health services delivery and reduce greenhouse gas emission.
Despite Uganda's ambitious plan to connect rural areas to the national grid, there still remains a big market for off-grid business as defined by the total number of unconnected households and their current spending on kerosene for lighting and other lighting products.
The Light Emitting Diode (LED) lamp has three parts - the light, the battery and the solar panel to charge the battery. Other components are the switch and a micro-controller to avoid overcharge and over-discharge of the battery.
"I am not worried about the prices of paraffin going up because my fuel (sun) is free. My children can now read and night and prepare well for their examination," Abali said.
"Most importantly my wife has a commercial venture to manage. She re-charges phone batteries of our clients and that is another side income for the family."
According to the main findings of "Phone Charging Micro-businesses in Tanzania and Uganda" research conducted in 2011, phone charging is a highly viable economic activity where the grid is absent or where grid electricity is present but used by few people.
The report, conducted by Simon Collings of Global Village Energy Partnership (GVEMP) International, stated that the availability of a local charging service results in greater phone use and increased expenditure on airtime.
"The lack of accessible sources of electricity for recharging a phone is a huge constraint on use and denies many people the full benefits to be derived from a phone which include increased economic activity, banking services, information, and reduced travel time, the report read.
It stated that phone charging is a highly profitable activity. On average businesses in Tanzania are charging 19-20 phones a day and in Uganda 7-8 phone a day..
According to the report, a business charging 20 phones a day (600 phones a month) at $17 cents a go earns revenues of $100 a month.
"The size of system required to service this level of business costs around $480 (excluding installation) meaning the business can pay for itself in five months," the report adds. "Once the system is paid for the business has virtually no costs. In addition to charging phones the entrepreneurs operating from their home also used the solar PV system for lighting and TV.
Dr. Izael Da Silva, the director of the Centre for Research in Energy and Energy Conservation (CREEC) in his book published in 2002: "Global Lighting Energy Savings-Potential Light and Engineering stated the single greatest way to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions associated with lighting energy use is to replace kerosene lamps with white LED lighting.
The benefits of Off-grid system is it extends extend the working day for small and medium enterprises and this leads to growth in production, improving working conditions and increasing customers.
Further the technology enhances safety and security via outdoor lighting for personal, business and community activities as well as education by creating conditions to attract teachers retain students, expand time for student reading and studying both in the classroom and at home.
The long productivity time in homes raises household incomes as well as expands time for adult literacy and higher education programmes. The systems improve health services delivery and reduce greenhouse gas emission.
Despite Uganda's ambitious plan to connect rural areas to the national grid, there still remains a big market for off-grid business as defined by the total number of unconnected households and their current spending on kerosene for lighting and other lighting products.
2012年8月5日 星期日
Epson Enters Healthcare Business With Simple “Wear & Measure” Wristwatch
Epson has launched the E200 - a revolutionary, simple-to–use wristwatch-type pulse monitor featuring the company’s advanced sensing technology, as it aims to grow its healthcare device business.
The Epson E200 wrist watch pulse monitor uses an Epson-made sensor that measures one’s pulse rate by contact with the wearer’s wrist while LCD screen indicates the amount of exercise required to achieve a fat-burning heart rate. Currently, the E200 is only sold in Japan. Sales plans for other markets have not been announced.
Ease Of Use
Conventional pulse monitors – including those previously manufactured on an OEM basis by Epson – involve a band sensor wrapped around the finger. However, such finger bands are cumbersome and make it difficult for users to perform work. Epson drew on its 20 years of experience in pulse sensing technology to develop the E200 to answer customer demands for a pulse monitor that did not require a finger band.
How It Works
The E200 takes advantage of the light-absorbing property of the hemoglobin in blood to measure the wearer’s heart rate. The monitor directs a harmless LED into the skin, and then uses light-absorbing elements to measure the amount of light that is not absorbed by the hemoglobin and which is reflected back from inside the body. The device measures the pulse rate according to the difference in the amount of light reflected back to the light-absorbing elements. Users can also download their heat rate information to their computers using a USB docking station.
There were two main challenges associated with measuring pulse rates from the wrist:
The first of these is that there are far fewer blood vessels that can be used for measuring the pulse rate in the wrist compared to the finger. The amount of light that can be detected from the wrist by the light-absorbing elements is only one thirtieth of the amount that can be detected from fingers. To solve this issue, Epson increased the efficiency of the light-absorbing elements and developed a sensor that concentrates these elements on the wrist to ensure a stable pulse signal.
The second challenge was the blood flow “noise” generated when moving the arm while walking. This can make it difficult to measure the pulse rate. Epson therefore built into the pulse monitor an accelerometer capable of measuring the excessive blood flow noise data generated when the arms moved. This data is then automatically removed from the actual data generated by the overall blood flow, making it possible to measure the pulse rate accurately.
Helping More Patients
Epson has developed this new type of pulse monitor by refining its sensing technology and after a lengthy series of user trials. Thanks to these efforts, it is now possible for people to measure their pulse rate simply by attaching the monitor to their wrists. In addition to supporting people looking to lose weight, Epson hopes that the pulse monitor will become a useful tool in the exercise programs of people suffering from cardiac health related illnesses like mild diabetes, or those recovering from heart ailments.
Going forward, Epson aims to contribute to its customers’ healthy lifestyles by leveraging its technologies to create new value-added products in healthcare, sports and medical care.
The Epson E200 wrist watch pulse monitor uses an Epson-made sensor that measures one’s pulse rate by contact with the wearer’s wrist while LCD screen indicates the amount of exercise required to achieve a fat-burning heart rate. Currently, the E200 is only sold in Japan. Sales plans for other markets have not been announced.
Ease Of Use
Conventional pulse monitors – including those previously manufactured on an OEM basis by Epson – involve a band sensor wrapped around the finger. However, such finger bands are cumbersome and make it difficult for users to perform work. Epson drew on its 20 years of experience in pulse sensing technology to develop the E200 to answer customer demands for a pulse monitor that did not require a finger band.
How It Works
The E200 takes advantage of the light-absorbing property of the hemoglobin in blood to measure the wearer’s heart rate. The monitor directs a harmless LED into the skin, and then uses light-absorbing elements to measure the amount of light that is not absorbed by the hemoglobin and which is reflected back from inside the body. The device measures the pulse rate according to the difference in the amount of light reflected back to the light-absorbing elements. Users can also download their heat rate information to their computers using a USB docking station.
There were two main challenges associated with measuring pulse rates from the wrist:
The first of these is that there are far fewer blood vessels that can be used for measuring the pulse rate in the wrist compared to the finger. The amount of light that can be detected from the wrist by the light-absorbing elements is only one thirtieth of the amount that can be detected from fingers. To solve this issue, Epson increased the efficiency of the light-absorbing elements and developed a sensor that concentrates these elements on the wrist to ensure a stable pulse signal.
The second challenge was the blood flow “noise” generated when moving the arm while walking. This can make it difficult to measure the pulse rate. Epson therefore built into the pulse monitor an accelerometer capable of measuring the excessive blood flow noise data generated when the arms moved. This data is then automatically removed from the actual data generated by the overall blood flow, making it possible to measure the pulse rate accurately.
Helping More Patients
Epson has developed this new type of pulse monitor by refining its sensing technology and after a lengthy series of user trials. Thanks to these efforts, it is now possible for people to measure their pulse rate simply by attaching the monitor to their wrists. In addition to supporting people looking to lose weight, Epson hopes that the pulse monitor will become a useful tool in the exercise programs of people suffering from cardiac health related illnesses like mild diabetes, or those recovering from heart ailments.
Going forward, Epson aims to contribute to its customers’ healthy lifestyles by leveraging its technologies to create new value-added products in healthcare, sports and medical care.
2012年8月1日 星期三
Tunneling Below Second Avenue
In Manhattan, where street traffic tends to stall, only one subway runs the length of the East Side. Every weekday, 1.3 million passengers — more than are carried in 24 hours by the transit systems of Boston, Chicago and San Francisco combined — cram onto the Lexington Avenue line. Yet the chaos above and below has inspired afeat: about 475 laborers are now removing 15 million cubic feet of rock and 6 million cubic feet of soil — more than half an Empire State Building by volume — out from under two miles of metropolis.
In December 2016, that tunnel will make its debut as a portion of the Second Avenue subway — the great failed track New York City has been postponing, restarting, debating, financing, definancing and otherwise meaning to get in the ground since 1929.
This past spring, between 69th Street and 72nd Street on Second Avenue, cages descended every eight hours, five days a week, lowering roughly 50 men in neon vests and hard hats into a deep hole. Overhead, fluorescent bulbs provided a noonish light and yellow ventilation tubes undulated. A cool, roaring wind filled the void and carried the intense aroma of Emulex explosives, an ammonialike, Fourth of July smell. Men with tripods surveyed; men with blowtorches welded; men guiding hoses poured concrete . They took brief lunch breaks and relieved themselves hastily where and when they could.
The hurry actually began more than 80 years ago, when city leaders first proposed constructing a new subway parallel to the Lexington line to serve the developing East Side. It would run from 125th Street south to Houston and cost $86 million. Then came the Great Depression. Then World War II. Then existing subways needed repairs. In the early ’70s, short sections of the Second Avenue tunnel were burrowed at the foot of the Manhattan Bridge, between 99th Street and 105th and between 110th and 120th, before the city’s looming bankruptcy in 1975 halted all digging.
The dream of a Second Avenue subway lay dormant until April 12, 2007, when contractors for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority again broke ground — to extend the Q line from 63rd and Lexington over to Second Avenue and up to 96th Street. That alone costs $4.5 billion. Eventually they will lengthen the Q to 125th and dig a new line, the T, from the Financial District straight up Second Avenue to 125th Street. At least that’s the plan.
One evening in March, Amitabha Mukherjee, an engineering manager at Parsons Brinckerhoff, the firm supervising construction at Second Avenue, led a small group through a tunnel headed from 69th Street toward 63rd. The tunnel was dark, but there was, in fact, a light burning at the end. Where the rock was naturally fractured, groundwater squeezed in, darkening the walls with Rorschach figures: here a stegosaurus, there a lady in a gown.
“Geology defines the way you drive the tunnel,” Mukherjee said. The bedrock below Second Avenue and for much of the rest of Manhattan is schist — a hard, gray black rock shot through with sheets of glittery mica. Some 500 million years ago, Manhattan was a continental coastline that collided with a group of volcanic islands known as the Taconic arc. That crash crumpled layers of mud, sand and lava into schist, lending it an inconsistent structure and complicating tunneling: in some places, the schist holds firmly together, creating self-supporting arches; in others, it’s broken and prone to shattering, forcing workers to reinforce the tunnel as they go to keep it from falling.
In December 2016, that tunnel will make its debut as a portion of the Second Avenue subway — the great failed track New York City has been postponing, restarting, debating, financing, definancing and otherwise meaning to get in the ground since 1929.
This past spring, between 69th Street and 72nd Street on Second Avenue, cages descended every eight hours, five days a week, lowering roughly 50 men in neon vests and hard hats into a deep hole. Overhead, fluorescent bulbs provided a noonish light and yellow ventilation tubes undulated. A cool, roaring wind filled the void and carried the intense aroma of Emulex explosives, an ammonialike, Fourth of July smell. Men with tripods surveyed; men with blowtorches welded; men guiding hoses poured concrete . They took brief lunch breaks and relieved themselves hastily where and when they could.
The hurry actually began more than 80 years ago, when city leaders first proposed constructing a new subway parallel to the Lexington line to serve the developing East Side. It would run from 125th Street south to Houston and cost $86 million. Then came the Great Depression. Then World War II. Then existing subways needed repairs. In the early ’70s, short sections of the Second Avenue tunnel were burrowed at the foot of the Manhattan Bridge, between 99th Street and 105th and between 110th and 120th, before the city’s looming bankruptcy in 1975 halted all digging.
The dream of a Second Avenue subway lay dormant until April 12, 2007, when contractors for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority again broke ground — to extend the Q line from 63rd and Lexington over to Second Avenue and up to 96th Street. That alone costs $4.5 billion. Eventually they will lengthen the Q to 125th and dig a new line, the T, from the Financial District straight up Second Avenue to 125th Street. At least that’s the plan.
One evening in March, Amitabha Mukherjee, an engineering manager at Parsons Brinckerhoff, the firm supervising construction at Second Avenue, led a small group through a tunnel headed from 69th Street toward 63rd. The tunnel was dark, but there was, in fact, a light burning at the end. Where the rock was naturally fractured, groundwater squeezed in, darkening the walls with Rorschach figures: here a stegosaurus, there a lady in a gown.
“Geology defines the way you drive the tunnel,” Mukherjee said. The bedrock below Second Avenue and for much of the rest of Manhattan is schist — a hard, gray black rock shot through with sheets of glittery mica. Some 500 million years ago, Manhattan was a continental coastline that collided with a group of volcanic islands known as the Taconic arc. That crash crumpled layers of mud, sand and lava into schist, lending it an inconsistent structure and complicating tunneling: in some places, the schist holds firmly together, creating self-supporting arches; in others, it’s broken and prone to shattering, forcing workers to reinforce the tunnel as they go to keep it from falling.
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