Eurozone inflation hit a new record in September and is expected to rise further in the coming months amid higher energy prices, increasing the likelihood of a lengthier and deeper economic contraction at year-end.
The consumer price index–a measure of what consumers pay for goods and services–increased 10.0% in September compared with the same month a year earlier after climbing 9.1% in August, according to preliminary data from Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics agency.
The reading beats the 9.7% consensus forecast from economists polled by The Wall Street Journal.
September’s rise in the inflation rate was driven by energy prices, with prices up 40.8% year-on-year in September after a 38.6% increase in August.
There was also an acceleration of food, alcohol and tobacco prices, which rose 11.8% on year compared with a 10.6% rise in August, data from Eurostat showed.
The core consumer price index–which excludes the more volatile categories of food and energy–rose 4.8% on year in September, up from 4.3% in August.
Economists expect eurozone inflation to increase further in the coming months, remaining above double digits. Elevated inflation adds pressure on the European Central Bank, which raised key interest rates by 75 basis points in September and is expected to increase rates again by 75 basis points at its next meeting in October.
The apparent sabotage of both Nord Stream gas pipelines may be one of the worst industrial methane accidents in history, scientists said Wednesday, but it’s not a major climate disaster.
Methane — a greenhouse gas up to 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide — is escaping into the atmosphere from three boiling patches on the surface of the Baltic Sea, the largest of which the Danish military said was a kilometer across.
On Tuesday evening, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned the “sabotage” and “deliberate disruption of active European energy infrastructure.”
Here are eight key questions on the impact of the leaks.
1. How much methane was in the pipelines?
No government agency in Europe could say for sure how much gas was in the pipes.
“I cannot tell you clearly as the pipelines are owned by Nord Stream AG and the gas comes from Gazprom,” said a spokesperson for the German climate and economy ministry.
The two Nord Stream 1 pipelines were in operation, although Moscow stopped delivering gas a month ago, and both were hit. “It can be assumed that it’s a large amount” of gas in those lines, the German official said. Only one of the Nord Stream 2 lines was struck. It was not in operation but was filled with 177 million cubic meters of gas last year.
Estimates of the total gas in the pipelines that are leaking range from 150 million cubic meters to 500 million cubic meters.
2. How much is being released?
Kristoffer Böttzauw, the director of the Danish Energy Agency, told reporters on Wednesday that the leaks would equate to about 14 million tons of CO2, about 32 percent of Denmark’s annual emissions.
Germany’s Federal Environment Agency estimated the leaks will lead to emissions of around 7.5 million tons of CO2 equivalent — about 1 percent of Germany’s annual emissions. The agency also noted there are no “sealing mechanisms” along the pipelines, “so in all likelihood the entire contents of the pipes will escape.”
Because at least one of the leaks is in Danish waters, Denmark will have to add these emissions to its climate balance sheet, the agency said.
But it is not clear whether all of the gas in the lines would actually be released into the atmosphere. Methane is also consumed by ocean bacteria as it heads through the water column.
3. How does that compare to previous leaks?
The largest leak ever recorded in the U.S. was the 2015 Aliso Canyon leak of roughly 90,000 tons of methane over months. With the upper estimates of what might be released in the Baltic more than twice that, this week’s disaster may be “unprecedented,” said David McCabe, a senior scientist with the Clean Air Task Force.
Jeffrey Kargel, a senior scientist at the Planetary Research Institute in Tucson, Arizona, said the leak was “really disturbing. It is a real travesty, an environmental crime if it was deliberate.”
4. Will this have a meaningful effect on global temperatures?
“The amount of gas lost from the pipeline obviously is large,” Kargel said. But “it is not the climate disaster one might think.”
Annual global carbon emissions are around 32 billion tons, so this represents a tiny fraction of the pollution driving climate change. It even pales in comparison to the accumulation of thousands of industrial and agricultural sources of methane that are warming the planet.
“This is a wee bubble in the ocean compared to the huge amounts of so-called fugitive methane that are emitted every day around the world due to things like fracking, coal mining and oil extraction,” said Dave Reay, executive director of the Edinburgh Climate Change Institute.
Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, said it was roughly comparable to the amount of methane leaked from across Russia’s oil and gas infrastructure on any given working week.
A leak was reported near the Nord Stream 2 pipeline off the coast of Denmark’s Bornholm island | Danish Defence Command
5. Is the local environment affected?
While the gas is still leaking, the immediate vicinity is an extremely dangerous place. Air that contains more than 5 percent methane can be flammable, said Rehder, so the risk of an explosion is real. Methane is not a toxic gas, but high concentrations can reduce the amount of available oxygen.
Shipping has been restricted from a 5 nautical mile radius around the leaks. This is because the methane in the water can affect buoyancy and rupture a vessel’s hull.
Marine animals near the escaping gas may be caught up and killed — especially poor swimmers such as jellyfish, said Rehder. But long-term effects on the local environment are not anticipated.
“It’s an unprecedented case,” he said. “But from our current understanding, I would think that the local effects on marine life in the area is rather small.”
6. What can be done?
Some have suggested that the remaining gas should be pumped out, but a German economy and climate ministry spokesperson on Wednesday said this wasn’t possible.
Once the pipeline has emptied, “it will fill up with water,” the spokesperson added. “At the moment, no one can go underwater — the danger is too great due to the escaping methane.”
Any repair would be the responsibility of pipeline owner Nord Stream AG, the Germans said.
7. Should they set it on fire?
Not only would it look impressive, setting the gas on fire would hugely slash the global warming impact of the leak. Methane is made of carbon and hydrogen, when burned it creates carbon dioxide, which is between 30 and 80 times less planet-warming per ton than methane. Flaring, as it is known, is a common method for reducing the impact of escaping methane.
From a pure climate perspective, setting the escaping methane on fire makes sense. “Yes, definitely — it will help,” said Piers Forster, director of the Priestley International Centre for Climate at the University of Leeds.
But there would be safety issues and potential environmental concerns, including air pollution from the combustion. “With land — in particular the inhabited and touristic island of Bornholm — nearby, you would not venture into this,” said Rehder.
No government has yet indicated that this is under consideration.
8. How long will it last and what next?
“We expect that gas will flow out of the pipes until the end of the week. After that, first of all, from the Danish side, we will try to get out and investigate what the cause is, and approach the pipes, so that we can have it investigated properly. We can do that when the gas leak has stopped,” Danish Energy Agency director Böttzauw told local media.
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The EU is seeking to reset its often testy relationship with Israel next week, convening a summit on Monday of senior political figures for the first time in a decade.
The meeting format, known as the EU-Israel Association Council, has essentially been dormant since 2013, when Israel canceled a gathering in protest over the EU’s stance on Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Since then, the two sides have continued to clash over similar issues.
But the 2021 exit of hardline Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opened the door for current rapprochement. His replacement, Yair Lapid, who also holds the foreign minister role, has embraced a two-state solution with Palestine — a position more in line with many EU countries’ approach, even if several countries are still expected to express disapproval of Israel’s Palestinian policies on Monday. Brussels is also eager to shore up energy supplies from Israel amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Lapid is expected to attend Monday’s council meeting.
“There’s a big hope that the upcoming association council between the EU and Israel will bring … a new wind into our relationship,” Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský told POLITICO last week at the United Nations General Assembly, expressing optimism that the development will be one of the key achievements of the Czechs’ six-month rotating EU presidency.
Still, getting EU consensus on one of the world’s most notoriously contentious conflicts is not going to be easy.
Countries like Ireland and Sweden have traditionally taken a more pro-Palestinian stance — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas stopped off in Dublin for a meeting with the Irish prime minister earlier this month en route to the U.N. annual gathering. On the other end of the spectrum, Israel has strong supporters within the EU. Hungary, for example, is a staunch ally with economic and ideological bonds forged over the years between Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Netanyahu.
Before the EU-Israel council went dark, it had served for more than a decade as a forum for officials to regularly meet and discuss these issues. Now, with the council set to be revived, member states are tinkering with an official communique that needs to satisfy the spectrum of views regarding EU-Israeli relations.
Finding common language can mean weeks of fighting over a single word while backroom deals are cut to appease the myriad interests at play. Palestinian officials are also watching closely, demanding not to be left out of a similar diplomatic engagement with Brussels.
The EU’s complicated role in the Israel-Palestine conflict has played out in numerous controversies this year alone.
This spring, the European Commission was forced to delay funding for the Palestinian Authority over the content of textbooks, which critics say included anti-Israeli incitements to violence.
The decision to block the funds was led by Hungarian EU Enlargement Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi. As POLITICO first reported, 15 countries sent a letter to the Commission in April blasting the move. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen finally announced the money would be disbursed during a visit to the Palestinian city Ramallah in July.
EU commissioner for neighbourhood and enlargement Olivér Várhelyi | Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images
Further tensions with Tel Aviv emerged following an Israeli raid in July on the offices of Palestinian NGOs.
Israel had accused the groups — some of which received funds from EU countries — of being terrorist organizations. But numerous EU countries weren’t convinced.
In a joint statement at the time, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden all blasted Israel, saying it had not supplied “substantial information” to justify the raids. The bloc reiterated those “deep concerns” in August after further Israeli raids on civil society groups.
Another dynamic affecting the EU’s relationship with Israel is the Continent’s energy woes. As Europe scrambles to find alternative sources of Russian gas, furthering energy ties with Israel is one possible answer.
In a June visit to Israel, von der Leyen signed a memorandum of understanding with Israel and Egypt to boost gas exports. The EU is also Israel’s largest trade market and accounts for about a third of Israel’s total trade.
But while economic imperatives explain part of the new push for engagement with Israel, long-term observers say the outreach also reflects a new willingness to engage with Tel Aviv after Lapid came to power this summer. Lapid entered office as part of a power-sharing arrangement with Naftali Bennett, who held the job for a year prior to him.
“I think it is a genuine shift,” said Maya Sion-Tzidkiyahu, who helms the Israel-Europe Program at Mitvim Institute, an Israeli think tank. “The change of tone was made by Lapid, who shares much of the EU’s normative stance on the liberal democratic world order. It’s now much more positive than during Netanyahu’s government, even if Bennett and now Lapid government is not advancing the peace process.”
Sion-Tzidkiyahu said mutually beneficial scenarios are helping to replace “megaphone diplomacy” with closer dialogue.
“Disagreements on contentious issues such as the Palestinian or Iranian one will not disappear, but perhaps there are now better understanding for the concerns of each side,” she said.
Lipavský, the Czech foreign minister, is aware of the concerns some EU countries have about the Israeli’s government actions in the West Bank and towards Palestinians.
“We need to discuss [these concerns] openly, but I don’t think that one issue should block the debate about the others,” he said.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen poses for pictures with Israel’s Yair Lapid | Pool photo by Maya Alleruzzo/AFP via Getty Images
Officially, the EU supports the two-state solution that sees a Palestinian state living side-by-side in peace and security with Israel — a vision also shared by the United States. But making that prospect a reality seems as far away as ever.
Sven Koopmans, the EU special representative for the Middle East peace process, wrote earlier this month that all parties needed to help identify ways to solve the man-made conflict.
“The current situation is increasingly seen as a structural human rights problem, in which Israel has the upper hand,” he wrote in the Israeli outlet Haaretz. “That negatively affects how the world perceives Israel, and holds risks for the long-term. It should not be that way.”
When it comes to resuming the peace process, Sion-Tzidkiyahu is not confident.
“Under the current political circumstances in the Palestinian Authority and Israel, such development is not foreseen,” she said. “At most, the EU can push for more practical steps by Israel to improve Palestinian’s condition.”
There may be two sides to the debate about certain aspects of wind power, but the amount of oil they use is not one of them.
Despite the numbers, memes continue to make the rounds on social media claiming the technology is worthless because of the costs to produce them, and the oil required to lubricate its gears.
For example, one Twitter post reads, “the turbine has to spin continually [sic] for 7 years just to replace the energy it took to manufacture.” See other similar posts here, here and here.
The fact is that wind turbines recoup the energy required to build them within a year of normal operation, according to researchers, earning these claims a rating of False.
Jack Brouwer is a professor of mechanical & aerospace engineering at the University of California, Irvine. He is also the director of UCI’s Advanced Power and Energy Program and the National Fuel Cell Research Center.
I refute the claim that “wind power is inefficient and unnecessarily expensive.” Data regarding wind power costs has been published by many organizations, for example by the International Renewable Energy Association (IRENA) as presented below, which show that wind power costs have been dropping very significantly in the last decade and are becoming competitive with fossil fuel combustion power generation prices on an energy basis (note current prices for onshore wind less than $0.05/kWh and for offshore wind less than $0.10/kWh). And these prices are likely to continue to decline into the future as the market size and turbine sizes continue to increase. Regarding the inefficiency claim, wind turbines can convert wind energy into electricity at efficiencies in the range of 20-40%, but efficiency is an inconsequential metric that should not be used to determine the value of wind power since the input wind energy is renewable and available at zero cost, which is very different from the efficiency metric as applied to fuel generation for which fuel must be purchased.
Stephen C. Nolet, Principal Engineer and Senior Director, Innovation & Technology at TPI Composites, Inc. has this to say…
There are “notionally” many studies that have offered different conclusions (depending on the bias of the author). However, the consistent response I have seen which always contains a range of time (based upon turbine and siting conditions) report that the embodied energy of the installed turbine (which includes the entire energies in materials, transportation, erection and projected O&M over the life of the turbine) is returned in operation between 4 – 7 mo (120 to ~200 days).
Mark Bolinger, an engineer at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has this to add…
“With proper maintenance, wind turbines should be expected to operate for 20 years or longer (industry projections these days are more like 30 years), which means that over their lifetime, wind turbines repay their energy debt many times over.”
“Wind is one of the cheapest forms of electricity generation that exists today.”
U.S. consumer prices were 9.1 percent higher in June than a year earlier, the biggest annual increase in four decades. Gasoline prices are one of the major factors, as the price of gas affects commuters, the delivery of food and other goods, as well as those aching to travel this summer. The good news is that the price of gas has fallen in recent weeks by about 40 cents per gallon, the longest decline since the collapse in energy demand in early 2020, when the pandemic kept many consumers at home. Nevertheless, gas is still averaging about $4.57 per gallon (as of July 15) according to AAA. That’s a pretty steep leap up from the average of $3.15 per gallon we were paying last year.
So of course, gas prices and domestic energy production have become a political tool that Republicans use to condemn the policies of the Biden administration. On July 14, Ohio Republican congressman Jim Jordan tweeted, “Inflation isn’t getting better until gas prices go down. And how do you get gas prices down? Drill DOMESTICALLY. Sadly, Joe Biden and the Democrats refuse to.” The tweet was shared by thousands.
We rate this claim as mostly false due to its inaccuracy. Policies and decisions by the Biden administration have nothing to do with the current price of gasoline. The one-two punch of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic followed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is the reason for the high gas prices. The price of crude oil, which is a major factor in the price of domestic fuel, is controlled by the supply and demand of oil globally. According to the American Petroleum Institute (API), the main factors impacting gasoline prices are the cost of global crude oil (61 percent), refining costs (14 percent), distribution and marketing costs (11 percent) and federal and state taxes (14 percent). In other words, when the price of a barrel of crude oil rises in the global market, we see an eventual rise in the price of gas domestically.
There’s no specific body or policy that regulates the oil and gas industry in the U.S. but federal, state and local governments each regulate various aspects of oil and gas operations. Who regulates what mostly depends on land ownership and whether the territory is covered by federal regulations or state laws.
In general, according to research by the American Geosciences Institute (AGI), most drilling and production is regulated by state laws, while federal regulations mostly safeguard water and air quality, worker safety, and exploration and production on Native American and federal lands.
U.S. crude production currently stands at 11.6 million barrels per day, according to the latest data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That’s below March 2020 levels, when the country was producing 13 million barrels per day of crude oil.
Farzin Mou, vice president of intelligence at Enverus, an energy analytics company, warns that boosting supply was not easy even before the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc on the supply chain.
“The point from which you drill a rig to the point that you can turn it online, it takes about six to eight months typically,” she said.
Now add in the difficulties that oil producers are facing to procure materials like sand and steel, and it becomes clearer that producers are unlikely to provide a quick fix to current gas prices.
In an analysis published Washington Post in March, Glenn Kessler answers the question, “Can the U.S. truly change oil prices by encouraging more drilling and allowing pipelines?”
Not really. The United States in 2020 was the biggest oil producer in the world and also the biggest consumer — but it is just one player in a global oil market. (“Oil” includes crude oil, all other petroleum liquids, and biofuels.) Much of what happens in the market is beyond the government’s control.
In 2021, the United States slipped to third place in oil production, behind Russia and Saudi Arabia. That’s mainly because large shale companies committed to Wall Street that they would continue to limit production and return more cash to shareholders — “an effort to win back investors who fled the industry after years of poor returns,” according to the Wall Street Journal. Scott Sheffield, chief executive of Pioneer Natural Resources, told investors in February: “$100 oil, $150 oil, we’re not going to change our growth rate.”
ARLINGTON, Va., April 4, 2022 (Newswire.com)
– The American COMPETES Act of 2022 was passed by the House of Representatives in February 2022 to cover scientific research, economic competitiveness and various other matters related to CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR MANUFACTURING, PRE-EMINENCE IN TECHNOLOGY AND ECONOMIC STRENGTH (COMPETES). After recent breakthroughs in the fusion energy industry, Kronos Fusion Energy highly encourages the support of this act.
On March 23, 2022, the US Senate voted 66-33 on a motion to proceed to consider this Bill. There is a very important Amendment for the fusion energy industry that was sponsored by three House members who are thought leaders in developing strategies to create high-paying American jobs for the fusion energy industry.
Priyanca Ford, founder of Kronos Fusion Energy Inc, urged the U.S. Senate to consider fusion energy to be a bipartisan issue, “Fusion Energy is the cleanest and most efficient energy source in the universe that will lead mankind to a new golden age. [Ford] urges the U.S. Senate to support the Fusion Energy Amendment and to pass the COMPETES Bill quickly, to help to jumpstart the American fusion energy industry’s quest to become the global leader in jobs creation for fusion energy”.
Representative Don Beyer (D-VA), the Chairman of the House Fusion Energy Caucus, Representative Lori Trahan (D-MA), the sponsor of the Fusion Amendment to the Energy Act of 2020 that created the fusion energy milestone program, and Representative Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy in the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology sponsored the Fusion Energy Amendment that will help to foster the rapid growth of the United States fusion energy industry.
Michael Pierce Hoban, managing partner at Kronos Fusion Energy Inc, commented on why this amendment is important to the U.S. fusion energy industry, “This amendment grows the funding for the Department of Energy’s proposed milestone-based public-private partnership program for fusion energy from $325 million over five years to $800 million. It also increases authorized funding for a new materials program from $200 million to $400 million over the coming five years.”
The U.S. Senate is now considering whether to concur with the house amendment on fusion energy and whether to pass the COMPETES Bill so that a completed bill can go to President Biden for signature.
Information on Kronos Fusion Energy can be found below.
Sugar-free soft drinks, which have been around in various forms for almost 40 years, still have their problems. Remember Tab? Remember Coke Zero? Yes, they tasted sweet and saved you drinking some 40 teaspoons of sugar from each 375 ml can, but are they really healthier than regular soft drinks?
Brownie points
When you choose a diet drink, you may end up indulging in other sweet, kilojoule-dense options because you’ve been ‘good’. So, you’ll often see someone sipping a sugar-free drink while eating a chocolate bar, croissant or brownie. It confuses our brains.
Weight loss … or weight gain?
Sugar substitutes do little in the way of weight loss. In fact, the opposite may be true: some diet-beverage drinkers gain weight and have an increased risk of chronic diseases.
A 2010 study published in Physiology & Behavior concluded that regularly consuming sugar-sweetened drinks could lead to weight gain and an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
In 2013, however, researchers had 200 people replace their sugary drinks with diet varieties or water for 6 months. Their conclusion? The sugar-free-beverage drinkers actually ate fewer desserts than the water drinkers. So there’s that.
A too-sweet taste?
When you drink them regularly, no-sugar soft drinks get you used to a sweet taste. This is a long-term problem for weight loss, as well as for people with type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease. If your body is used to getting a super-sweet hit from diet soft drinks, it makes managing appetite much more difficult.
The sweetness signal tells our bodies to prepare for kilojoules (or calories) and our appetite is generated in readiness, but no kilojoules arrive. So we’re likely go out and consume other foods. In other words, sweeteners prep our bodies for a sugar fix but then don’t deliver. So sweeteners interfere with the learned responses that normally contribute to glucose and energy homeostasis.
How safe are they?
We know these sweeteners are safe, but what we don’t know are their long-term effects on appetite. So let’s just say, the scientific jury is still out on their long-term effects.
The bottom line
The key is only having sugar-free soft drinks as an occasional treat, not every day or when you feel thirsty. Long term, we don’t really know what these sweeteners are doing to our bodies. One or two is fine (say, if you’re going out to a club), but regularly consuming these zero-sugar drinks may lead to long-term overconsumption of other foods.
NEW YORK, June 25, 2021 (Newswire.com)
– Today, Student Energy, New Energy Nexus, and the Government of Denmark announced the launch of the Student Energy Solutions Movement to world leaders and governments at the United Nations High-level dialogue on Energy, Ministerial Thematic Forums. This new, youth-led, global Energy Compact bridges the gap between motivation and action by directly funding and actively supporting the deployment of 10,000 youth-led clean energy projects by 2030.
As one of the first governments to champion the initiative, the Government of Denmark announced their commitment as the first confirmed funder of the Student Energy Solutions Movement:
“Tackling climate change is the biggest challenge of our time and it will not be easy, but seeing the motivation, innovation, creativity, and drive that young people around the world today are showing gives me hope that we will achieve our goals. The kind of ambition demonstrated by Student Energy to support 10,000 youth-led clean energy projects by 2030 is precisely what we need in order to accelerate the energy transition and achieve SDG7. Denmark is proud to be a funding partner of this initiative,” says Asser Rasmussen Berling, Head of Department at the Centre for Global Climate Action at The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities, Denmark.
Announcing the Solutions Movement Energy Compact
Student Energy’s Solutions Movement Energy Compact aims to resource and deploy 10,000 youth-led clean energy projects by 2030, creating structural change by putting real financial resources in the hands of the world’s most passionate youth. Funding required to meet this objective is $10 million by December 2021, and $150 million by 2030. The Compact will scale tangible action by young people 18-30 years old through a unique combination of project funding and education, training, and mentorship within Student Energy’s programs ecosystem.
Ambitions by 2030:
Launch 10,000 youth-led sustainable energy projects or businesses
Train 50,000 agile and employable youth workers, with a particular focus on reducing the energy skills gap in developing nations, and for women
Deploy $150 million toward upskilling, mentoring, and directly financing early- and mid-stage youth-led clean energy initiatives
Quotes:
Meredith Adler, Executive Director, Student Energy — “For decades, youth ambition and motivation have existed to transition our world to a more sustainable and equitable energy system, there just simply hadn’t been the resourcing to bridge that motivation into action. In launching the solutions movement, we’re shifting gears into taking action and deploying the energy and technology solutions we already have at our fingertips. I want to commend the High-level Dialogue on Energy for putting youth front and center, and for moving so quickly to get our global network engaged. It’s refreshing to see other organizations move with the same hustle and pace as the world’s young people!”
Danny Kennedy, CEO of New Energy Nexus — “This is the decade to deploy the solutions we have at hand to address the climate crisis, and many of these solutions need to be youth-led. If these businesses are going to last decades, they are going to need the motivation and energy of young people to really disrupt the markets and overcome the incumbents that they’re going to challenge. We at New Energy Nexus are really excited to partner with Student Energy to develop this movement of guided entrepreneurship.”
Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) — “Every stakeholder has a key role to play as we aim to meet the SDG7 and Paris Agreement targets, including youth, and I am pleased to see the leadership being demonstrated by Student Energy with this Energy Compact commitment. SEforALL’s first ever Youth Summit, held in February 2020, demonstrated our renewed commitment to bringing youth to the fore in this critical year, and it is great to see one of our organizing partners for the Summit come full circle by setting the pace for other young people to follow. This shows that beyond bringing their voices to the table, young people can design and fund the innovations required to achieve our energy and climate goals.”
Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator — “I warmly welcome the launch of the Student Energy Compact. It is a strong symbol of the profound shifts taking place in the development sphere where young people are no longer waiting for others to act. They are taking up the baton, driving forward transformation in critical areas, including when it comes to how our world is powered. With more and more groups joining by the day, the United Nations is building a broad coalition of action to spark a clean energy revolution that will improve the lives of millions of people.”
About the UNHigh Level Dialogue on Energy:
The UN Secretary-General will convene a High-level Dialogue on Energy during the 76th UN General Assembly on September 20, 2021 in New York, to accelerate progress towards achieving SDG7 by 2030. It presents a historic opportunity to provide transformational action in the first years of the Decade of Action. Ministerial-level Thematic Forums are bringing together key stakeholders virtually over five days to mobilize actions on the road to the High-level Dialogue on Energy. Ministers from national governments and leaders from business, civil society, and youth organizations showcased solutions on each priority theme and presented their Energy Compacts, outlining voluntary commitments and actions.
About Student Energy:
Student Energy is the world’s largest youth-led organization empowering young people to accelerate the sustainable energy transition. Since founding in 2009, Student Energy has worked with thousands of youth from over 120 countries, to build the knowledge, skills, and networks they need to take action on energy. Student Energy operates on a unique youth empowerment model, which means that initiatives are co-created with youth, for youth.
Student Energy also works with governments, the UN, and other decision makers to facilitate meaningful youth engagement and mobilize resources, coaching, and mentorship to support youth-led work. Student Energy has built coalitions with over 100 diverse partners, such as Indigenous Clean Energy, Sustainable Energy for All, HSBC Global, the Stockholm Environment Institute, DNV, WSP, and national governments like Canada, Denmark, and Sweden. Student Energy has stewarded CAD$10 million+ in funding to date, supported the development of over 280 youth energy projects, held 6 international Student Energy Summits, and attracted over 12.5 million people to its digital energy education platforms.
Media Contacts:
Shakti Ramkumar, Director of Communications and Policy shakti@studentenergy.org +1 (604) 445 4306
Agile VTOL UAV is now available for military missions, public safety, energy and emergency response
Press Release –
updated: Mar 30, 2021
PLANO, Texas, March 30, 2021 (Newswire.com)
– Martin UAV, a leading advanced aviation technology manufacturer in the United States, today announced the public release of the latest unmanned aircraft system (UAS), the V-BAT 128, for defense and commercial use, including search and rescue, firefighting, logistic resupply, and energy and oil and gas operations.
Martin UAV previously demonstrated its upgraded version of the V-BAT featuring an increase in power, payloads and endurance at the Army Expeditionary Warrior Experiment (AEWE). Over the course of several weeks, the V-BAT 128 flew numerous missions, showcasing its VTOL capabilities and the versatility of its small footprint; one of the impressive features noted from those involved in the exercise is the aircraft’s ability to transition from take-off to a vertical hover and persistent stare capability while maintaining a sensor line of sight, in spite of difficult terrain.
“Martin UAV continues to push the boundaries of what is possible for unmanned aircraft systems,” said Heath Niemi, chief development officer. “We have listened to the customer and expanded the capabilities and agility of the V-BAT 128, delivering technology that serves a wider range of mission needs. We’re proud to make the V-BAT 128 available to the broader market and to provide more power and payload that can be transported in the bed of a pick-up truck, or, inside a Black Hawk.”
As the interest and adoption of UAV/UAS increases across commercial industries, the company stated a renewed commitment to support these verticals adapting to new technologies. Most recently, the company announced the addition of industry veteran Bill Irby as the Chief Operating Officer, who previously held leadership roles with Textron, L3 Harris and Northrop Grumman. Martin UAV strives to make UAVs more accessible and easier to implement, empowering organizations to streamline operational efficiencies, security and increase the safety measures for its staff.
The V-BAT 128 is designed to make transportation and rapid tactical deployment easier for both defense and commercial applications. It can be assembled by two personnel in less than 30 minutes. The aircraft’s duct fan propulsion design provides for top operational safety by eliminating exposed rotors, which are commonly found in propeller-driven VTOLs.
V-BAT 128 is ideal for takeoff and landing on both stationary and moving platforms, in areas with a footprint of less than 12-feet by 12-feet. The upgraded V-BAT provides significantly enhanced payload capacity of 25 pound and interchangeable payloads to meet mission-specific requirements. Increased endurance of up to 11 hours, and higher thrust were made possible by leveraging a more powerful engine, the Suter TOA 288 model. With a wingspan of 9.7 feet, the V-BAT 128 can reach over 90 knots reaching altitudes of 20,000 feet.
For more information on Martin UAV, its V-BAT and use across industries, visit: martinuav.com.
About Martin UAV:
Martin UAV is a private, advanced technology company based in Plano, TX. The company specializes in building wholly-unique, unmanned aircraft systems and associated flight control software. The company’s systems are commercially developed to fill critical operational needs in tactical & confined operational environments. Its V-BAT series aircraft is the only single-engine ducted fan VTOL that has the ability to launch & recover from a hover, fly up to eleven hours in horizontal flight, and make mid-flight transitions to “hover & stare” at any time throughout a given mission set. For more information visit: martinuav.com.
The Asian power is making a big push to acquire assets in wind and solar power, plus vital electric transmission and distribution networks; China has committed billions of dollars to lithium projects in Latin America, a region possessing more than half the world’s reserves of this strategic metal
LA JOLLA, Calif., February 10, 2021 (Newswire.com)
– China is broadening its presence in Latin America’s energy and strategic minerals sectors, posing challenges to the regional countries themselves as well as to the United States, according to a new white paper published by the Institute of the Americas (IOA), an independent, nonpartisan organization based in La Jolla, California, that focuses on inter-American affairs.
In recent years, the Asian superpower has sharply increased its takeovers of major projects in electric power transmission and distribution, renewable energy and lithium, even as its other investments in the energy sector have declined. For example, in 2020 Chinese M&A deals in Latin American energy sectors surged, reaching $7.7 billion, or a quarter of all Chinese acquisitions worldwide, the study said.
Between 2000-2019, China made investments and loans of more than $58 billion in regional energy sectors, with most going to oil and natural gas projects, followed by renewable energy.
From acquisitions of Mexico’s largest private renewable energy firm and clean energy projects in Colombia to takeovers of major electric transmission and distribution companies in Brazil and Chile, the report unpacks this new and less well-known facet of China’s economic and financial connections in Latin America. China is furnishing countries across Latin America and the Caribbean with some of the world’s most advanced technology in solar and wind power systems at highly competitive prices, thus gaining an edge on other international competitors.
The new IOA report, entitled “China Stakes Its Claim in Latin American Energy: What It Means for the Region, the U.S. and Beijing,” also raises questions regarding the real debt Latin American and Caribbean nations owe China. Since most details of Chinese financial arrangements with regional countries are undisclosed, some researchers believe that total debt is much higher than levels reported by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and other organizations.
While Chinese financing of energy projects provides Latin American countries with long-term loans, investments and new technology, it also has generated controversies and protests over stipulations that projects exclusively use Chinese equipment and labor, unequal treatment of local workers, environmental damage, mistreatment of indigenous peoples and foreign control of essential industries.
In Chile, for example, after China´s government-owned State Grid Corp. paid $3 billion to take over a major share of the country’s electric power distribution system, legislators proposed banning acquisitions of strategic assets by foreign, state-owned companies.
In Ecuador, Chinese oil companies operating in part of the Amazon rainforest have been the target of protests by indigenous groups, like the Sápara and Kichwa, who charged that the companies are damaging the Amazon and circumventing Ecuadorean laws. To reduce China’s influence, Ecuador signed an agreement with the U.S. International Development Finance Corp. that would help pay off its China debt and obtain new development loans.
China also has aggressively pursued new Latin American investments in lithium, a strategic mineral necessary for lithium-ion batteries used in cell phones, electric vehicles and the military/aerospace industries. China’s Tianqi Lithium committed $4.1 billion to buy a 24% stake in a Chilean company, SQM, that holds an important share of international lithium reserves. China has other major investments in Bolivia, Argentina and Chile. These three countries – plus Peru – possess more than half the world’s known lithium resources.
And in Argentina, Chinese investments in hydroelectric dam projects drew the ire of Argentine business groups due to mandates that only Chinese materials and support systems be used.
The Biden administration has an opportunity to reinvigorate U.S. relations with Latin America and the Caribbean. By using its own international financial and aid agencies, working with multilateral development banks, and with U.S. companies, it can assist regional governments to attract new, private-sector investments and credits for their priority projects – especially in clean energy, infrastructure and strategic minerals like lithium.
As it did recently with Ecuador, the U.S. can help Latin American and Caribbean governments pay down Chinese debt and secure new sources of financing from a good neighbor more closely aligned with regional goals, such as care of the environment, good governance and use of local labor and manufactured goods in development projects.
Established in 1981, the Institute of the Americas (IOA) is an independent, nonpartisan Inter-American institution devoted to encouraging social and economic reform in the Americas, broadening communication and strengthening political and economic relations between Latin America, the Caribbean, the United States and Canada. Since 1992, the Institute’s Energy & Sustainability program has played a crucial thought-leadership role in shaping policy discourse and informing policymakers and investors on the most important trends in the energy sector.
The Institute continues to serve as an honest broker between public and private sectors across Latin America, helping to forge a constructive dialogue on the issue of clean energy transitions and emerging economic opportunities derived from renewable energy deployment. The Institute is supported by corporate and individual donors who participate in its conferences, workshops and multi-year projects and programs. Funding is also provided by the generous support of foundations and U.S. government agencies.
For more information, contact Cecilia Aguillon, Director of the Energy Transition Initiative, Institute of the Americas: caguillon@iamericas.org; (619) 800-0103
BERLIN, July 31, 2018 (Newswire.com)
– Often doubted and even ridiculed as “ghost particles” in the past, neutrinos are now finally starting to come into the view of the public eye. Recently the revolutionary breakthroughs in neutrino research gained much attention not only at the “Nikola Tesla Forum,” but also in countless media reports across the globe. Holger Thorsten Schubart, CEO of the Neutrino Energy Group, summarized the situation in his presentation at this year’s “Nikola Tesla Forum” as follows: “The neutrino particles that reach us in a single day represent more energy than all remaining fossil fuels combined.”
Nikola Tesla, after whom the American automobile manufacturer Tesla Motors was named, was a physicist and inventor. During his lifetime he was granted over 280 patents worldwide, primarily in the field of electrical engineering. Honoring what would have been Tesla’s 162nd birthday, this year’s forum was held in the historical city of Unterwellenborn and presented a platform for discussions and the exchange of the latest research findings in the field of energy technology. Not surprisingly, neutrinos were once again a main topic of interest.
Among the high points of this year’s forum was a presentation made by Dr. Konstantin Meyl, professor for Power Electronics and Propulsion Technology, during which he took the opportunity to introduce his latest book: “Neutrino Power – Neue Erkenntnisse zu physikalischen, geografischen und kosmologischen Zusammenhängen” (INDEL Verlag, ISBN 978-3-940 703-35-4). In the course of his presentation, Dr. Meyl was able to elucidate the activity of these mysterious little particles in detail. He also gave several concrete examples of how it might be possible to tap the energy of the neutrino. “In this book, I have compiled everything that I deem to be of major importance regarding the implementation of neutrino energy,” explained Dr. Meyl in a follow-up discussion.
As the assistant chairman of the Neutrino Energy Group’s scientific advisory board, Dr. Meyl had often been exposed to the skepticism and criticism that all proponents of neutrino energy once had to face. This, however, changed radically in November of 2015 when the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to two researchers who were able to prove that neutrinos do in fact possess mass. Now it has become acceptable to point out the vast possibilities of neutrino energy. Holger Thorsten Schubart explains: “Until quite recently there were many different opinions on the subject and to some extent scathing criticism. But in the end, our approach has proven itself to be correct.” Unfortunately, some scientists are still in the “Middle Ages,” said Dr. Meyl, and concluded: “The energy of the neutrino is enough to cover the needs of the entire planet.”
“In only a few decades the earth’s fossil fuel reserves will have been exhausted. Geopolitical conflicts over the last remaining resources and devastating climate change will be the results of our total dependence on oil, coal and natural gas,” said Schubart, and he went on to point out that the world’s energy reserves are not distributed evenly, thus allowing a few nations to profit at the expense of the rest of the global population. “The implementation of neutrino energy will herald in a new era for the entire planet,” concluded the leader of the Neutrino Energy Group.
In the last few days, many respected German and international news sources have been covering the recent successes in the field of neutrino research, including the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung,” the “Spiegel” and the “Deutsche Presse Agentur,” to name only a few. One of the stories presently receiving wide media coverage is the so-called “IceCube Neutrino Observatory” in Antarctica. Here researchers are currently observing tiny blue sparks which are caused by neutrinos from the depths of the universe. In an interview quoted in the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” Marek Kowalski, the director of the Neutrino Astronomy Department at the “Deutschen Elektronen-Synchrotron,” told reporters: “We’re looking, so to speak, directly into the barrel of a cosmic shotgun.” In its coverage of the same story, the German magazine the “Spiegel“ spoke of “subatomic particles with enormous energy,” thus underscoring the true potential of this research.
In the end, there’s nothing “ghostly” about these supposed “ghost particles.” Neutrinos are very real, and huge quantities of them pass through the Earth in a constant stream. A surface the size of a thumbnail, for example, is permeated by several billion neutrinos per second. And now that two Nobel Prize laureates have finally made it clear to a doubtful scientific community that neutrinos possess mass, researchers are starting to comprehend the true potential of these limitless subatomic particles as a power source. Exploring the possibilities and finding ways to develop this potential are the two main goals of the Neutrino Energy Group.
NEUTRINO Deutschland GmbH is a German-American research and development company under the direction of the mathematician Holger Thorsten Schubart. The main office is located in Berlin. NEUTRINO Germany GmbH stands in close cooperation with an international team of scientists and research institutes that specialize in developing applications for the utilization of the nonvisible spectrum of the sun’s rays, the all-pervasive cosmic particles known as “neutrinos” among other things, by converting them into electricity.
Special emphasis is placed upon building and maintaining a close working relationship with universities and other institutions of higher learning in the area of pure research as well as upon establishing an international network of researchers who are active in the field of alternative energy technology.
The economic goal of the NEUTRINO ENERGY Group is to develop and market technological applications for the end user using the latest findings of modern science.
The American holding company NEUTRINO INC. was founded in 2008 and is presently planning an initial public offering at the New York Stock Exchange shortly. The motto of the company is: “NEUTRINO ENERGY, THE ENERGY OF THE FUTURE.”
The Futurist Institute helps analysts, economists, and professionals become futurists and recognizes individuals who have completed its program to become Certified Futurists™.
Five existing courses from The Futurist Institute have previously been approved for continuing education by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, including:
The Future of Work
The Future of Data
The Future of Transportation
The Future of Finance
Futurist Fundamentals
The Futurist Institute online courses present best practices to craft futurist strategies, analyze data, and conduct scenario planning for businesses with a focus on the impacts of new and emerging technologies.
Jason Schenker, the Chairman of The Futurist institute and the world’s leading financial futurist, said, “We are very excited to expand our course offerings to include the critical topics of leadership, energy, and healthcare.”
Schenker founded The Futurist Institute in 2016, and he was recently a mentor at SXSW, where he shared his views on the future of work and the need for futurist training. Schenker is also the editor of The Robot and Automation Almanac – 2018, which was created by The Futurist Institute.
“The future of energy, healthcare, and leadership are critical futurist topics,” Schenker noted. “We are excited to expand the content of The Futurist Institute.”
Appleton, Wisconsin, November 29, 2017 (Newswire.com)
– U.S. Gain, a division of U.S. Venture, Inc., has announced the promotion of Bryan Nudelbacher and Hardy Sawall as directors of business development within the renewable natural gas (RNG) sector of the business.
In their new positions, Nudelbacher and Sawall will pursue partnerships with RNG project developers, seek out projects that U.S. Gain can invest in, and negotiate RNG supply contracts from project developers to service U.S. Gain’s growing compressed natural gas (CNG) dispensing capacity.
Moving Bryan and Hardy into these roles is indicative of the growth of our RNG business and increased focus on sustainability. They are highly invested in meeting with proper agencies to discuss changes in the RFS program as it relates to D3 RINS. We’re excited to have them executing our business strategy, as well as to support them in the next step of their careers.
Mike Koel, U.S. Gain President
Both serve the company as subject matter experts on renewable identification numbers (RINS), and the renewable fuel standard (RFS) and low carbon fuel standard (LCFS) programs.
“Moving Bryan and Hardy into these roles is indicative of the growth of our RNG business and increased focus on sustainability,” said U.S. Gain President Mike Koel. “They are highly invested in meeting with proper agencies to discuss changes in the RFS program as it relates to D3 RINS. We’re excited to have them executing our business strategy, as well as to support them in the next step of their careers.”
Nudelbacher has worked for U.S. Gain since 2011 and was a part of the team that started U.S. Gain. He worked previously as the business development manager, leading significant growth in U.S. Gain’s CNG business throughout the Midwest in addition to implementing the company’s natural gas pricing and supply strategy for U.S. Gain’s nationwide network of CNG stations. He successfully negotiated contracts with fleets and shippers, resulting in more than $25 million of margin and 50 million gallons under contract. He also implemented the company’s first-ever virtual pipeline project to transport CNG via tube trailers to a mobile asphalt plant. Nudelbacher earned his bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
Sawall has been working in the renewable fuels industry for the last 12 years, including bio-diesel, ethanol, renewable diesel and renewable natural gas. Prior to joining U.S. Gain in 2012, Sawall served as the president of Fusion Renewables and grew sales from $3 million in 2010 to $67 million in 2011. He has a background in managing terminal operations and bio-diesel distribution in the Midwest. Sawall earned his master’s degree in geological engineering and a bachelor’s degree in geoenvironmental engineering from Michigan Tech.
APPLETON, Wisc., November 3, 2017 (Newswire.com)
– U.S. Gain, a division of U.S. Venture, Inc., hashired Mike Bolin as a business development manager to oversee current and future opportunities on the west coast in a continuing effort to grow the GAIN Clean Fuel compressed natural gas (CNG) network.
In this position, Bolin will be responsible for continued education to fleets on the benefits of natural gas as a transportation fuel and the various options to access it using Gain’s current network, as well as building out customized solutions throughout the western region of the United States.
Mike brings more than four decades of fleet knowledge, strategic foresight and customer contacts to our business. He’s a true thought leader, and we’re excited for him to join our team.
Mike Koel, U.S. Gain President
“Mike brings more than four decades of fleet knowledge, strategic foresight and customer contacts to our business,” said U.S. Gain President Mike Koel. “He’s a true thought leader, and we’re excited for him to join our team.”
Prior to working at U.S. Gain, Bolin worked as the senior account executive with the Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas). He rose through the ranks and became a lead at the age of 26. Under his leadership, his maintenance facility had the lowest cost per vehicle mile for the entire company, which was held for 10 straight quarters until his promotion into management.
He went on to support several large CNG fleets including the City of Los Angeles, Orange County Transit Association, Metro Transit Authority (the largest CNG fleet in the nation), Hearst Castle, the Disneyland Resort, Waste Management, and many other cities and schools. Bolin was also a recent recipient of the Energy Solutions Center award for his work with the MTA. During his tenure with the NGV team, there was sustained growth to 145 million therms a year.
“I’m thrilled for the opportunity to work with U.S. Gain, a forward-thinking company and market leader,” Bolin said. “With a focus on sustainability and pursuing a long-term commitment to RNG, I’m excited to have a role in helping customers achieve their goals and expanding Gain’s network.”
Bolin holds a bachelor’s degree from Biola University in Organizational Leadership, as well as associate degrees in marketing, automotive and diesel. He has also spent time teaching automotive classes at the college level. At Rio Hondo College, he helped start the Alternate Fuel Center and was an instructor for the first ASE F1 Alternate Fuel Training facility in the nation. He is also an ASE master in both the automotive and diesel segments.
About U.S. Gain
U.S. Gain, a division of U.S. Venture, Inc. is a leading Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) provider offering fleet operators access to GAIN®Clean Fuel, an environmentally friendly and cost-effective alternative to traditional fuel options. GAIN® Clean Fuel stations are strategically located for carriers along major shipping corridors and provide easy-access, fast-fill capabilities.
About U.S. Venture
For over 60 years, U.S. Venture, Inc. has been recognized as an innovative leader in the distribution of petroleum and renewable energy products, lubricants, and tires and parts for the automotive aftermarket. Guided by its company vision, “To be the very best value-adding distributor of products that vehicles consume in North America,” they deliver unconventional, creative solutions that give their customers a competitive edge. Headquartered in Appleton, Wisconsin, the company’s business divisions are U.S. Oil, U.S. AutoForce®, U.S. Lubricants and U.S. Gain.
Media Contacts: Alison Mayer Corporate Communications Specialist 920-243-2505 amayer@usventure.com
Renowned Energy Futurist Jack Uldrich will address Wabash Valley Power in Indianapolis, IN.
Press Release –
updated: Aug 7, 2017
Indianapolis, IN, August 7, 2017 (Newswire.com)
– Global Futurist Jack Uldrich says, “The future often has a funny way of turning out differently than most people expect.”
The difference between expectations about the future and reality have been the cause of significant disruption in numerous industries.
The Utilities Industry is poised for an extraordinary change in the years ahead–what has served the industry well in the past won’t be sufficient for remaining competitive in the future.
JACK ULDRICH, FUTURIST & FOUNDER OF THE SCHOOL OF UNLEARNING
Regarding “expecting the unexpected” in the utility industry, back in 2009 Uldrich said, “It is conventional wisdom that the world’s energy needs will grow significantly in the years ahead and the only way to meet this growing need is to build more coal and nuclear power plants. This future may come to pass but what if Smart Grid technology, LED lights, real-time pricing, and home networks dramatically reduce energy usage?”
Fast forward to 2017, the trends he mentioned in 2009 are dramatically reducing energy usage.
Uldrich is now asking, “What if the abundance of electrical power—and not its scarcity—is the greatest problem facing the industry in the future?
Is the Utility Industry is prepared for such a future? He says, “The time to begin thinking about these accelerating changes is not in a few years. The time is now.”
Today, he will deliver a keynote on the future of the industry for the Wabash Valley Power Association in Indianapolis, IN. They bill themselves as “a deliberately different kind of electric company.”
Uldrich will discuss with them how emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Wearable Devices, the Internet of Things, and new Blockchain Technology could impact utilities in some unexpected ways.
As a leading energy futurist, Uldrich has addressed dozens of service associations. He has delivered customized keynote presentations to the American Public Power Association, the Northwest Public Power Association, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Wisconsin Public Power, San Diego Gas & Electric, Southern Company, Northwestern Energy, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, Idaho Power, Northwestern Energy, and the Western Energy Institute.
Parties interested in learning more about Jack Uldrich, his books, his daily blog or his speaking availability are encouraged to visit his website.
New York, New York, May 10, 2017 (Newswire.com)
– If you have noticed an influx of cyclists hitting the streets of New York this month, it’s credited to National Bike Month. Established in 1956, National Bike Month celebrates the many benefits of cycling and encourages everyone to get involved. In honor of National Bike Month, Transportation Alternatives is hosting a wide array of events, meant to engage new and seasoned cyclists alike. This year, Kiwi Energy is teaming up with Transportation Alternatives to become a sponsor of Bike month and promote the importance of bicycling in the city.
Each year, Transportation Alternatives celebrates Bike Month by curating a series of activities that highlight the benefits and importance of bicycling. This year, that includes a Bike Commuter Challenge encouraging colleagues to band together in a healthy competition of tracking their monthly miles. “The Challenge is the perfect way to introduce people to the joy of commuting on two wheels, and it also helps employers build a positive, healthy workplace culture that starts with employees having fun getting to work,” said Paul Steely White, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives. “As workers compete for the title of ‘Bikingest Office,’ they also get a new perspective on New York City streets and what needs to happen to make them safer for cycling.”
Transportation Alternatives has paved the way for some of the most remarkable changes to New York City’s transportation infrastructure, from the exceptional growth of bicycling to the outstanding innovations made to New York City streets, it has led the fight in improving infrastructure citywide. Kiwi Energy is proud to be a sponsor in this year’s Transportation Alternatives Bike Month and bring awareness to a more sustainable city.
Richard Booth, President of Retail Operations
Transportation Alternatives Bike Month events also include a Bike to Work Day and the Bike Home from Work Party, with the latter celebrating everything there is to love about cycling. Vendors also come from all over the country to offer a wide array of products and activities that both engage and interact with cyclists, young and old. Kiwi Energy will also offer exclusive giveaways at the event to promote energy efficiency and present their environmentally conscious products.
“Transportation Alternatives has paved the way for some of the most remarkable changes to New York City’s transportation infrastructure, from the exceptional growth of bicycling to the outstanding innovations made to New York City streets, it has led the fight in improving infrastructure citywide. Kiwi Energy is proud to be a sponsor in this year’s Bike Month and bring awareness to a more sustainable city,” said Richard Booth, President of Retail Operations, Kiwi Energy.
Whether you bike to work or school, pump those pedals to preserve your health or the environment, National Bike Month is an opportunity to celebrate the unique power of the bicycle and the many reasons we ride.
About Kiwi Energy
Kiwi Energy is an energy retailer dedicated to providing innovative energy solutions for electricity and natural gas supply. We focus on environmentally conscious products backed by friendly and efficient customer service. As a company, we pride ourselves on transparency and our team is always happy to help with any questions about the energy industry or our services.
About Transportation Alternatives
With 140,000 active supporters and committees of activists working locally in every borough, Transportation Alternatives works to reclaim New York City streets for biking, walking and public transit. Since its founding in 1973, TransAlt has paved the way for remarkable changes in New York City’s transportation infrastructure and culture, including the extraordinary growth of commuting by bicycle and the launch of Citi Bike. Through consistent and focused advocacy, TransAlt has advanced “complete street” redesigns with protected bike lanes, dedicated bus lanes and public plazas, and has also worked for more equitable Vision Zero traffic enforcement across the five boroughs, including speed safety cameras to protect children at every school.
Media Contact: Nikki Clark Email: nikkiclark@rrhenergy.us
Beaumont, Texas, September 27, 2016 (Newswire.com)
– Velocity Training is pleased to announce they are bringing their successful online course to in-person training classes. This course is taught by an API 1169 Certified inspector in an easy to follow and proven learning method. The class will combine in-person discussions on code reviews, federal regulations, and Body of Knowledge lessons covering the four main categories of the API 1169 Exam. The VTES™ API 1169 Exam Prep courses have the industry’s highest passing percentage and offer a 100% guarantee that if, in the unlikely circumstance that an applicant does not pass, they will be provided access to a 90 day course for free.
When asked why they provide such a comprehensive policy for their students, Matt Wearsch said, “Velocity Training believes in their training program and are not afraid to stand behind it. Many training companies will tend to shy away from going that far because they think it is the student’s fault for not performing well on the exams. While it may be true that the student didn’t apply themselves properly, sometimes it can be a reflection of course product. Constantly improving their training program to capture various learning styles is a process Velocity Training excels at and the instructors take seriously.” Mr. Wearsch is a consultant and lead developer for VTES and other training companies that service the oil and gas industry. He holds multiple industry certifications, including the API 1169 Pipeline Inspector.
Velocity Training believes in their training program and are not afraid to stand behind it. Many training companies will tend to shy away from going that far because they think it is the student’s fault for not performing well on the exams. While it may be true that the student didn’t apply themselves properly, sometimes it can be a reflection of course product. Constantly improving their training program to capture various learning styles is a process Velocity Training excels at and the instructors take seriously.
Matthew Wearsch, Consultant/Lead Developer
According to the class lesson topics, this course looks to be solid. Plus, Velocity Training states the course is qualified to be accepted by AWS for the CWI recertification professional development hours requirements and is worth 40 hours.
Classroom, assigned homework, and computer-based practice exams will cover the following topics to help better prepare inspectors for the API 1169 exam:
QUALITY & INSPECTION REFERENCES 1. API 1169 Recommended Practice Document, Basic Inspection Requirements (entire document) 2. API 1110, Pressure Testing of Steel Pipelines (areas of exam focus) 3. API Q1, Specification for Quality Programs (sections listed below)
Section 3 – Terms, Definitions and Abbreviations
Section 4 – Quality Management System Requirements
Section 5 – Product Realization
4. CGA (Common Ground Alliance) Best Practices (areas of exam focus) 5. INGAA, Construction Safety Guidelines
Natural Gas Pipeline Crossing Guidelines – Definitions
6. ISO 9000 Quality Management Systems – Fundamentals and Vocabulary 7. ANSI Z49.1, Safety in Welding, Cutting, and Allied Processes (areas of exam focus)
CONSTRUCTION INSPECTION REFERENCES 1. API 1104, Welding of Pipeline and Related Facilities (areas of exam focus) 2. ASME B31.4, Pipeline Transportation Systems for Liquids and Slurries (areas of exam focus) 3. ASME B31.8, Gas Transmission and Distribution Piping Systems (areas of exam focus) 4. Title 49 CFR 192, Transportation of Natural and Other Gas by Pipeline (areas of exam focus) 5. Title 49 CFR 195, Transportation of Hazardous Liquids by Pipeline (areas of exam focus)
Plus topics including:
Clearing and Grading, Ditching, Stringing, Pipe Bending
Coating Basics, Lowering In, Back-fill, Cathodic Protection
SAFETY REFERENCES 1. Title 29 CFR 1910, Occupational Safety and Health Standards (areas of exam focus) 2. Title 29 CFR 1926, Safety and Health Regulations for Construction (areas of exam focus) 3. Title 49 CFR 172 (brief overview)
Soil classification, One call, Atmospheric testing requirements, OQ requirements, Permit definitions
Specialized inspectors, locating requirements, line sweep, uniform color code, daylighting requirements
ENVIRONMENTAL REFERENCES 1. Title 33 CFR 321, Permits for Dams and Dikes in Navigable Waters (areas of exam focus) 2. Title 40 CFR 300, National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (areas of exam focus) 3. Migratory Bird Permits 4. Endangered Species Act of 1973 5. Wetland and Water-body Construction and Mitigation Procedures 6. Upland Erosion Control, Re-vegetation, and Maintenance Plan
Plus topics including:
Environmental protection plans , project specific drawings, specifications
Groundwater handling, Storm-water handling, Water intake, use and discharge requirements
Erosion controls, Waste handling, Top soil segregation, Upland and wetland requirements
Frac out, drilling mud, containment and disposal, Notification requirements, Bank stabilization techniques
When is the class being held? November 6th – 10th in Beaumont, Texas
How much is the class? $950 per person before discount (If this article is referenced, individuals can receive $200 their enrollment)
How long has Velocity Training been involved in the offering of API 1169 exam preparation courses? Their senior instructors and subject matter expert (all former inspectors with extensive backgrounds) spent nearly a year developing the course material before becoming the world’s first on-line training platform for the API 1169 in early 2015. Since that time, they have released many updates and revisions to adapt to changes in the API 1169 requirements.
Answering the industry’s need for better exam training has also led the Velocity Training team to begin offering API 1169 instructor-led classroom training combined with their on-line supplemental training; creating a blended learning tool capable of extending the depth of retention for inspectors. Either option inspectors choose, will significantly improve their chances of successfully passing the API 1169 Pipeline Inspector certification exam.
Major organizations, in the United States, Canada, and Australia, that offer inspection resources to the oil & gas pipeline transportation companies, have teamed up with Velocity Training to assist their inspection staff and ensure they have the resources to prepare themselves for the exam. The ultimate goal is that they have the certified staff ready for when the industry will implement the API 1169 requirement across all projects.
