A rolling green roof atop an elegant all-glass facade, with both a white-table-cloth restaurant and a spot for a laid-back picnic on the grass 70 feet above the harbor, with a view of Manhattan through the center of a tremendous observation wheel.
That's the latest vision for the New York Wheel and it's terminal building, shown in updated renderings provided by Wheel CEO Rich Marin. "This design is not final-final but it's at least one final," Marin joked.
The design includes many modifications made as a result of consulting with different city agencies in pursuit of Uniformed Land Use Review Process certification, and of repeated meetings with the city's Design Commission.
"We've made a lot of changes to the design to meet their suggestions and hopefully we're down to the sort of the short strokes," Marin said.
While plenty of people have a pretty good idea of what the giant observation wheel will look like, the new renderings show a sleek glass terminal building that will allow people have a view from the harbor both inside and out, and the building is designed to flow as such.
"The stairway down is both indoors and outdoors -- it's on both sides," Marin said. "It's intended to be that way, it's intended to mimic the indoor outdoor success." On the outside, the steps run along a sloping, terraced hillside.
"People can actually walk over to the side and enjoy a seat on the beach, and it's almost sort of stadium-like seating," Marin said. "That becomes a very nice, contemplative place to sit and ponder the Memorial and the waterfront and our plaza."
Atop the terminal building will be the much-touted green roof, which will be fully accessible to the public as a lawn for walking, picnicking and watching over the harbor. Marin described the flow of the green roof as "ribbons," taking the same curve and shape as the wheel that will tower in front of it.
The front of the terminal building has a tremendous, sloping glass wall -- with some glass pleats that makes Marin liken the structure to a skirt. Those structural glass columns will be there instead of steel, keeping the space open.
"The reason you see that sloping glass wall in the front is because we want people, as they're coming down the stairs, as they're standing in the main area of the terminal, to be able to look up and see the wheel and look out and see the harbor all at once," Marin said.
If guests enter at the lower level, from Bank Street, they'll come into the "Great Wheel Hall," where there will be ticketing, coat rooms, and the wheel's large sustainability exhibition there.
The restaurant will include a terrace out onto the green roof -- which will also be accessible to anyone who would like to check out the view by walking up the sloping roof from Richmond Terrace. Those walking on the green roof can even pop in to the terrace for a drink.
Almost all of the building's green roof -- which extends toward Jersey Street, atop a parking lot hidden beneath it -- will be accessible to the public. The only off-limits area is where solar and wind turbines will be located. Glass railings will block off the steep edge above the harbor, Marin said.
2013年3月31日 星期日
2013年3月27日 星期三
Northwestern CT Community College manufacturing new workers
The program has been in place for a couple of years, but its funding has changed and more local manufacturers have gotten involved in an effort to promote the idea that manufacturing careers can be rewarding and lucrative.
The pay for a manufacturing job tends to be about 9 percent higher than the average pay of workers overall, and in Connecticut such jobs pay an average of $52,000 a year, according to state labor data.
Northwestern is one of six state community colleges sharing in a $2.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment & Training Administration. The grant funds the CT-MET program, which offers training in manufacturing, energy and transportation, said Kevin Canady, Northwestern's CT-MET coordinator.
In addition to Northwestern, the community colleges sharing the grant are Gateway in New Haven, which provides training in transportation-related jobs; Norwalk, which provides training in energy-related careers; and Manchester, Quinebaug Valley in Danielson and Three Rivers in Norwich, which also offer manufacturing training.
Other schools offering a pre-manufacturing certificate program include Naugatuck Valley Community College in Waterbury and Asnuntuck Community College in Enfield.
"This program is unbelievable," Menard said Thursday while standing amid manufacturing machines at Oliver Wolcott Technical High School, where the class was completing individual testing to show competency on a computer numeric controlled milling machine. Wolcott Tech allows Northwestern to use its machinery for the program.
Menard had previously worked in manufacturing, like several people in this class, but didn't have many of the skills he picked up at Northwestern -- such as manufacturing math, blueprint reading, computer literacy and lean manufacturing.
"The old saying is 'you can't teach an old dog new tricks,' but this program proved that wrong," he said.
Like Menard, Craig Suttmeier of Wolcott also has worked in manufacturing before. He was laid off in 2011 from I2S LLC, a manufacturer of rolling mills in Wallingford.
"I never had a GED or a high school diploma," Suttmeier said. "So they tied in my GED with this program, and I got my GED at Northwestern."
That, combined with his certification, makes him much more optimistic about finding a job, he said.
"We used to fix CNC machines in the shop" in Wallingford, he said. "But I didn't have the ability to run them. Now I have a little more depth into how to do that."
The school is working to tailor its curriculum to better meet the needs of local manufacturers, with help from the Northwest Connecticut Manufacturing Coalition and the Northwest Connecticut Chamber of Commerce, Canady said.
"Some of the manufacturers in the coalition, some of their actual work engineers, are teaching some of our courses," he said.
Lewis Chappel, director of operations at Becton, Dickinson and Co. in Canaan, chairs the coalition's steering committee. He said more of the region's 400-plus manufacturers now realize they have to be proactive to find replacements for their aging workforce -- the average age of a machinist in Connecticut is about 55.
The pay for a manufacturing job tends to be about 9 percent higher than the average pay of workers overall, and in Connecticut such jobs pay an average of $52,000 a year, according to state labor data.
Northwestern is one of six state community colleges sharing in a $2.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment & Training Administration. The grant funds the CT-MET program, which offers training in manufacturing, energy and transportation, said Kevin Canady, Northwestern's CT-MET coordinator.
In addition to Northwestern, the community colleges sharing the grant are Gateway in New Haven, which provides training in transportation-related jobs; Norwalk, which provides training in energy-related careers; and Manchester, Quinebaug Valley in Danielson and Three Rivers in Norwich, which also offer manufacturing training.
Other schools offering a pre-manufacturing certificate program include Naugatuck Valley Community College in Waterbury and Asnuntuck Community College in Enfield.
"This program is unbelievable," Menard said Thursday while standing amid manufacturing machines at Oliver Wolcott Technical High School, where the class was completing individual testing to show competency on a computer numeric controlled milling machine. Wolcott Tech allows Northwestern to use its machinery for the program.
Menard had previously worked in manufacturing, like several people in this class, but didn't have many of the skills he picked up at Northwestern -- such as manufacturing math, blueprint reading, computer literacy and lean manufacturing.
"The old saying is 'you can't teach an old dog new tricks,' but this program proved that wrong," he said.
Like Menard, Craig Suttmeier of Wolcott also has worked in manufacturing before. He was laid off in 2011 from I2S LLC, a manufacturer of rolling mills in Wallingford.
"I never had a GED or a high school diploma," Suttmeier said. "So they tied in my GED with this program, and I got my GED at Northwestern."
That, combined with his certification, makes him much more optimistic about finding a job, he said.
"We used to fix CNC machines in the shop" in Wallingford, he said. "But I didn't have the ability to run them. Now I have a little more depth into how to do that."
The school is working to tailor its curriculum to better meet the needs of local manufacturers, with help from the Northwest Connecticut Manufacturing Coalition and the Northwest Connecticut Chamber of Commerce, Canady said.
"Some of the manufacturers in the coalition, some of their actual work engineers, are teaching some of our courses," he said.
Lewis Chappel, director of operations at Becton, Dickinson and Co. in Canaan, chairs the coalition's steering committee. He said more of the region's 400-plus manufacturers now realize they have to be proactive to find replacements for their aging workforce -- the average age of a machinist in Connecticut is about 55.
2013年3月17日 星期日
Group comes up with big ideas for city's future
When others wander the streets of Columbus and unleash their imaginations, they see trolleys, trains and monorails; a towering, solar-powered parking lot with robotic arms to lift vehicles; Goodale Park extending south to the river; and more public art, parks, community gardens and farmers markets.
All of these ideas, and scores more, are part of the CBUS Ideabook Project, in which about 250 local architects, designers and others wrote, sketched and collaged their ideas into small, orange-covered books. They are on display at the Center for Architecture and Design through April 30.
“We wanted to create a conversation about design,” said Michael Bongiorno, one of the organizers of the project and an architect with DesignGroup.
And once people start talking about all the different ideas, he said, “The hope is, it will cause people to look around at the city with love and want to make it a little better place to live in.”Everything begins with an idea.
“Even if some of the ideas aren’t doable, they may generate the idea for something that is doable,” said Coleman, whose Ideabook is part of the exhibit. His goal is for Columbus to become known for its design.
“Design impacts people’s lives,” he said. “And cities with great designs have a better quality of life.”A livable, walkable city, filled with amenities and attractions, also makes good economic sense, according to Kenny McDonald, chief economic officer of Columbus 2020, the area’s economic-development organization.
“The more that we can do to embrace new ideas, to challenge ourselves to think differently about the use of our developed areas, and to nurture those areas that remain undeveloped, the better that environment will be,” he said. “It is a critical factor in attracting and retaining talented people to our community.”The ideas range from the practical to the whimsical.
Graphic designer Charmaine Sutton wants to “widen the Scioto River by Berliner Park and create a large lake with a beach.”
Architect George Acock’s book includes several small, beautiful watercolor paintings of his vision for a new and improved Franklinton. Trees line a wide walkway along the river, and new housing and commercial projects line the nearby streets.
The architects at Moody Nolan envision a parking-garage tower with “a robotic system” for hoisting the cars up and down the skyscraper.
This “allows for more vehicle storage in less building footprint,” they wrote. “The tower combines wind-turbine and solar-panel technology to recharge the electric cars of the future, while also feeding electricity back into the city grid.” Members of the Wexner Center’s youth group combined their ideas into one book.
They want to see a trolley on High Street, more interesting buildings, more festivals and community art, as well as “all the buildings to have hair” and “all of Columbus to be indoors and underwater like Atlantis.” Natalee Brown wants to see Columbus covered in art.
This “would beautify the buildings and neighborhoods that need a little love,” the designer wrote. And “establish c’bus as the art capital of the Midwest — take that chi-town!”“People put so much care into the books; I was touched,” the project’s Bongiorno said.
He’d like Columbus to host an annual comic-book convention that would draw thousands of visitors and millions in economic impact. Local companies would be sponsors and affix large-scale superheroes atop their headquarter buildings.
All of these ideas, and scores more, are part of the CBUS Ideabook Project, in which about 250 local architects, designers and others wrote, sketched and collaged their ideas into small, orange-covered books. They are on display at the Center for Architecture and Design through April 30.
“We wanted to create a conversation about design,” said Michael Bongiorno, one of the organizers of the project and an architect with DesignGroup.
And once people start talking about all the different ideas, he said, “The hope is, it will cause people to look around at the city with love and want to make it a little better place to live in.”Everything begins with an idea.
“Even if some of the ideas aren’t doable, they may generate the idea for something that is doable,” said Coleman, whose Ideabook is part of the exhibit. His goal is for Columbus to become known for its design.
“Design impacts people’s lives,” he said. “And cities with great designs have a better quality of life.”A livable, walkable city, filled with amenities and attractions, also makes good economic sense, according to Kenny McDonald, chief economic officer of Columbus 2020, the area’s economic-development organization.
“The more that we can do to embrace new ideas, to challenge ourselves to think differently about the use of our developed areas, and to nurture those areas that remain undeveloped, the better that environment will be,” he said. “It is a critical factor in attracting and retaining talented people to our community.”The ideas range from the practical to the whimsical.
Graphic designer Charmaine Sutton wants to “widen the Scioto River by Berliner Park and create a large lake with a beach.”
Architect George Acock’s book includes several small, beautiful watercolor paintings of his vision for a new and improved Franklinton. Trees line a wide walkway along the river, and new housing and commercial projects line the nearby streets.
The architects at Moody Nolan envision a parking-garage tower with “a robotic system” for hoisting the cars up and down the skyscraper.
This “allows for more vehicle storage in less building footprint,” they wrote. “The tower combines wind-turbine and solar-panel technology to recharge the electric cars of the future, while also feeding electricity back into the city grid.” Members of the Wexner Center’s youth group combined their ideas into one book.
They want to see a trolley on High Street, more interesting buildings, more festivals and community art, as well as “all the buildings to have hair” and “all of Columbus to be indoors and underwater like Atlantis.” Natalee Brown wants to see Columbus covered in art.
This “would beautify the buildings and neighborhoods that need a little love,” the designer wrote. And “establish c’bus as the art capital of the Midwest — take that chi-town!”“People put so much care into the books; I was touched,” the project’s Bongiorno said.
He’d like Columbus to host an annual comic-book convention that would draw thousands of visitors and millions in economic impact. Local companies would be sponsors and affix large-scale superheroes atop their headquarter buildings.
2013年3月14日 星期四
U.S. Government Loans $28.6 Million to Wind Farm
The federally chartered Export-Import Bank of the United States has approved a $28.6 million direct loan to a high-tech wind power company in the Central American country of Honduras.
The loan will enable 200 workers in six U.S. states to assemble 12 high-tech wind turbines for export. The cost of those jobs works out to $143,000 per job created.
According to the Ex-Im Bank, the transaction will help to expand a project first supported by the bank in 2010, when its long-term financing of 51 U.S.-built turbine generators established the Cerro de Hula Wind Farm in Santa Ana, Honduras.
Gamesa Wind US, LLC, a technology firm based in Trevose, Pa., will supply and export six each of its high-efficiency model G-87 and G-97, 2.0 MegaWatt turbines to generate electric power in rural Honduras. Gamesa is the U.S. subsidiary of Gamesa Tecnologicos SA, a company based in Spain.
The bank said the loan “is demonstrating the importance of its role to fill gaps in financing for creditworthy borrowers.”
“With this project, we've achieved an impressive win all around: for exporters, for U.S. workers, and for energy consumers in Honduras, because the wind-driven generators cost less to operate than their equivalent in fossil-fueled equipment,” Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg said in a statement.
The Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal agency a federally chartered agency of the U.S. government, which “helps to create and maintain U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private export financing at no cost to American taxpayers,” according to bank promotional materials.
“In the past five years (from Fiscal Year 2008), Ex-Im Bank has earned for U.S. taxpayers nearly $1.6 billion above the cost of operations,” according to the bank.
The Bank provides a variety of financing mechanisms, including working capital guarantees, export-credit insurance and financing to help foreign buyers purchase U.S. goods and services.
However, critics point to the fact that U.S. taxpayers do indeed back the loans made or guaranteed by the bank – and U.S. taxpayers would be called on to cover loans in the case of default.
Conservative groups also say the Ex-Im Bank is an unwarranted government intrusion into the free-market system and unaccountable in how it dispenses U.S. money.
Efforts led by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) to abolish the bank fell short last May, when the Senate voted 78-20 to renew its charter for three years and to raise the bank’s lending cap from the current $100 billion to $140 billion.
Legislation offered at the Capitol would allow local governments to restrict wind developments. Proponents claim the measure would protect property owners, while opponents says the bill would cripple the wind energy industry in Wisconsin.
The bill’s author, Republican Senator Frank Lasee, injected a partisan note as he testified before a Senate committee on Wednesday. “It’s unfortunate that the Democrats don’t care about people and their health<’ Lasee said. “If this was an oil issue and there was any suspicion of people getting sick from oil, they’d be all over this and complaining vehemently.”
Last year, the legislature reinstated a controversial rule, which allows the state Public Service Commission to uniformly regulate wind energy operations. PSC 128 regulates the placement of turbines, and factors such as size and allowable setbacks from roadways and buildings.
The loan will enable 200 workers in six U.S. states to assemble 12 high-tech wind turbines for export. The cost of those jobs works out to $143,000 per job created.
According to the Ex-Im Bank, the transaction will help to expand a project first supported by the bank in 2010, when its long-term financing of 51 U.S.-built turbine generators established the Cerro de Hula Wind Farm in Santa Ana, Honduras.
Gamesa Wind US, LLC, a technology firm based in Trevose, Pa., will supply and export six each of its high-efficiency model G-87 and G-97, 2.0 MegaWatt turbines to generate electric power in rural Honduras. Gamesa is the U.S. subsidiary of Gamesa Tecnologicos SA, a company based in Spain.
The bank said the loan “is demonstrating the importance of its role to fill gaps in financing for creditworthy borrowers.”
“With this project, we've achieved an impressive win all around: for exporters, for U.S. workers, and for energy consumers in Honduras, because the wind-driven generators cost less to operate than their equivalent in fossil-fueled equipment,” Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg said in a statement.
The Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal agency a federally chartered agency of the U.S. government, which “helps to create and maintain U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private export financing at no cost to American taxpayers,” according to bank promotional materials.
“In the past five years (from Fiscal Year 2008), Ex-Im Bank has earned for U.S. taxpayers nearly $1.6 billion above the cost of operations,” according to the bank.
The Bank provides a variety of financing mechanisms, including working capital guarantees, export-credit insurance and financing to help foreign buyers purchase U.S. goods and services.
However, critics point to the fact that U.S. taxpayers do indeed back the loans made or guaranteed by the bank – and U.S. taxpayers would be called on to cover loans in the case of default.
Conservative groups also say the Ex-Im Bank is an unwarranted government intrusion into the free-market system and unaccountable in how it dispenses U.S. money.
Efforts led by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) to abolish the bank fell short last May, when the Senate voted 78-20 to renew its charter for three years and to raise the bank’s lending cap from the current $100 billion to $140 billion.
Legislation offered at the Capitol would allow local governments to restrict wind developments. Proponents claim the measure would protect property owners, while opponents says the bill would cripple the wind energy industry in Wisconsin.
The bill’s author, Republican Senator Frank Lasee, injected a partisan note as he testified before a Senate committee on Wednesday. “It’s unfortunate that the Democrats don’t care about people and their health<’ Lasee said. “If this was an oil issue and there was any suspicion of people getting sick from oil, they’d be all over this and complaining vehemently.”
Last year, the legislature reinstated a controversial rule, which allows the state Public Service Commission to uniformly regulate wind energy operations. PSC 128 regulates the placement of turbines, and factors such as size and allowable setbacks from roadways and buildings.
2013年3月13日 星期三
3D Printing Doesn't Live Up To The Hype Yet
Say you lose the back of your TV remote. You have turned your house upside-down looking for the piece that holds the batteries in, but without any other choice, you surrender and secure a piece of duct tape to the back of the remote. What if you had the option to log onto your TV manufacturer’s website, download the 3D CAD file for the replacement part, send the CAD file to your local FedEx Office, they upload your 3D CAD file to a 3D printer, and you swing by to pick up the part within an hour. This is the possibility that 3D printing brings.
There is a lot of buzz around 3D printing and it is easy to get excited about the potential impact it could have on how things can be made. While the technology is still in the very early stages, 3D printing is nearing becoming a real world application. 3D printing is a tool that can be used to validate a design, ensure pieces fit together properly and even make a product mock-up for marketing. But it is with rare exception that 3D printed parts are the actual products we buy.
The name 3D printing is a misnomer — it is more accurately called additive manufacturing. In traditional manufacturing processes, such as machining, material is removed from a piece of raw material to produce a part, also known as subtractive manufacturing. In additive manufacturing, material is added in small layers, cross section by cross section, to build a part. Think of an inkjet printer with a print head that rises and continually prints on top of the last image it printed. Additive manufacturing can also be achieved by a number of other methods, such as selective laser sintering (SLS).
What are the challenges additive manufacturing must overcome to be a useful industrial tool? Materials and speed. The material choices for additive manufacturing are very limited, and for the most part, the materials are not strong or durable enough to be used in an actual product. The only time this is an exception is when you combine specific types of polymers and metals with specific additive manufacturing processes.
Not only are you limited by the materials that can be used, additive manufacturing is much slower than subtractive manufacturing. While this type of technology is dreamed about by every engineering and design team in manufacturing, you won’t find it on the production floor…yet. For now, the only time producing a part by additive manufacturing makes sense is if it cannot be made by subtractive manufacturing.
I am bullish on additive manufacturing and I think it is going to change the way we make things—our supply chains will work differently and we will greatly expand our capability to customize products on an individual basis.
One real world example of the impact additive manufacturing is capable of, is the production of hearing aids that are customized for each patient. Here, a patients’ ears are scanned and a digital 3D image is created. The digital 3D image is then sent to the additive manufacturing machine where a 3D part is produced that will fit patients’ ear perfectly. While this may cost more than a generic, mass produced hearing aid, a customized fit with both comfort and functionality is now possible.
Slowly but surely, additive manufacturing will find its way to more and more real world applications. Advancements in materials and speed will be made simultaneously and additive manufacturing will become a brilliantly useful industrial tool.
There is a lot of buzz around 3D printing and it is easy to get excited about the potential impact it could have on how things can be made. While the technology is still in the very early stages, 3D printing is nearing becoming a real world application. 3D printing is a tool that can be used to validate a design, ensure pieces fit together properly and even make a product mock-up for marketing. But it is with rare exception that 3D printed parts are the actual products we buy.
The name 3D printing is a misnomer — it is more accurately called additive manufacturing. In traditional manufacturing processes, such as machining, material is removed from a piece of raw material to produce a part, also known as subtractive manufacturing. In additive manufacturing, material is added in small layers, cross section by cross section, to build a part. Think of an inkjet printer with a print head that rises and continually prints on top of the last image it printed. Additive manufacturing can also be achieved by a number of other methods, such as selective laser sintering (SLS).
What are the challenges additive manufacturing must overcome to be a useful industrial tool? Materials and speed. The material choices for additive manufacturing are very limited, and for the most part, the materials are not strong or durable enough to be used in an actual product. The only time this is an exception is when you combine specific types of polymers and metals with specific additive manufacturing processes.
Not only are you limited by the materials that can be used, additive manufacturing is much slower than subtractive manufacturing. While this type of technology is dreamed about by every engineering and design team in manufacturing, you won’t find it on the production floor…yet. For now, the only time producing a part by additive manufacturing makes sense is if it cannot be made by subtractive manufacturing.
I am bullish on additive manufacturing and I think it is going to change the way we make things—our supply chains will work differently and we will greatly expand our capability to customize products on an individual basis.
One real world example of the impact additive manufacturing is capable of, is the production of hearing aids that are customized for each patient. Here, a patients’ ears are scanned and a digital 3D image is created. The digital 3D image is then sent to the additive manufacturing machine where a 3D part is produced that will fit patients’ ear perfectly. While this may cost more than a generic, mass produced hearing aid, a customized fit with both comfort and functionality is now possible.
Slowly but surely, additive manufacturing will find its way to more and more real world applications. Advancements in materials and speed will be made simultaneously and additive manufacturing will become a brilliantly useful industrial tool.
2013年3月12日 星期二
Zoning board hearing on wind farm appeals continued
The zoning board hearing of the Jericho Power wind farm appeals was continued until March 27 to allow the full board to be present.
Four members of the board were in attendance at last Wednesday's meeting but the fifth member, Henry Bouchard, was absent. The petitioner, Allen Bouthillier of Lancaster, exercised his right to have his appeals heard by the full board. Bouthillier could have opted to go forward with a majority of the board present but Bouthillier said he wanted to wait.
This January the planning board amended its original site plan approval for the project to allow Jericho Power to install three 500-foot turbines. The original site plan approval, back in 2009, was for four wind towers no higher than 400 feet.
The zoning board in January also amended its variance to allow for the three turbines. The zoning board had originally approved four turbines at up to 400 feet and a fifth turbine at 500 feet. In January, the zoning board approved three 500-foot turbines.
Bouthillier is asking the zoning board to reverse the Jan. 8 planning board decision as well as reconsider its own Jan. 9 decision. He owns 850 acres abutting the 135-acre site where Jericho Power wants to locate its wind turbines and told the board he has plans to develop his own wind farm.
Before the meeting, members of the zoning board met in non-public session with City Attorney Chris Boldt. Bouthillier was represented by Sandra Cabrera and Jonathan Frizzell of Waystack and Frizzell.
Boldt advised the zoning board it should appoint some alternate members who can serve when a regular member is absent or has a conflict of interest. An international renewable energy company is laying off 40 workers at its wind turbine plant in eastern Iowa.
Acciona announced Monday that a reduction at its West Branch facility was necessary because of a sharp decline in U.S. wind development over the past year.
The Iowa City Press-Citizen says the company laid off nearly 60 employees at the same facility about four years ago. Officials at the time called it a short-term issue.
The newspaper reports Iowa has about 6,000 jobs in the wind energy industry. But some experts say a spar last year between federal lawmakers over whether to extend a wind energy tax credit hurt the industry. The tax break was later extended.
Objectors have warned the wind farm development will damage local people's lives and the ecology and tourism of the area.
Developer RWE Npower expects the project to have the capacity to generate up to 84 megawatts, enough to power the equivalent of 39,700 homes.
The firm said the wind farm would inject up to 19m into the economy of south and south west Wales and support up to 224 jobs in the region during each year of construction.
Bethan Edwards, RWE Npower's project developer, said: "These important economic benefits continue through to the operation of the wind farm, with spending in the south and west Wales economy, the creation of jobs and local investment through the significant community benefit and economic development funds which we will develop in consultation with local people.
"Local community benefits will amount to around 560,000 per year over the life of the wind farm, depending upon the final installed capacity."
A Department of Energy and Climate Change spokesman said: "Onshore wind has an important role to play as part of a balanced energy mix.
"This development will enhance our energy security, help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create up to 150 construction jobs."
Carmarthen East and Dinefwr MP Jonathan Edwards claimed local opinion and genuine concerns about the project had been "dismissed".
Four members of the board were in attendance at last Wednesday's meeting but the fifth member, Henry Bouchard, was absent. The petitioner, Allen Bouthillier of Lancaster, exercised his right to have his appeals heard by the full board. Bouthillier could have opted to go forward with a majority of the board present but Bouthillier said he wanted to wait.
This January the planning board amended its original site plan approval for the project to allow Jericho Power to install three 500-foot turbines. The original site plan approval, back in 2009, was for four wind towers no higher than 400 feet.
The zoning board in January also amended its variance to allow for the three turbines. The zoning board had originally approved four turbines at up to 400 feet and a fifth turbine at 500 feet. In January, the zoning board approved three 500-foot turbines.
Bouthillier is asking the zoning board to reverse the Jan. 8 planning board decision as well as reconsider its own Jan. 9 decision. He owns 850 acres abutting the 135-acre site where Jericho Power wants to locate its wind turbines and told the board he has plans to develop his own wind farm.
Before the meeting, members of the zoning board met in non-public session with City Attorney Chris Boldt. Bouthillier was represented by Sandra Cabrera and Jonathan Frizzell of Waystack and Frizzell.
Boldt advised the zoning board it should appoint some alternate members who can serve when a regular member is absent or has a conflict of interest. An international renewable energy company is laying off 40 workers at its wind turbine plant in eastern Iowa.
Acciona announced Monday that a reduction at its West Branch facility was necessary because of a sharp decline in U.S. wind development over the past year.
The Iowa City Press-Citizen says the company laid off nearly 60 employees at the same facility about four years ago. Officials at the time called it a short-term issue.
The newspaper reports Iowa has about 6,000 jobs in the wind energy industry. But some experts say a spar last year between federal lawmakers over whether to extend a wind energy tax credit hurt the industry. The tax break was later extended.
Objectors have warned the wind farm development will damage local people's lives and the ecology and tourism of the area.
Developer RWE Npower expects the project to have the capacity to generate up to 84 megawatts, enough to power the equivalent of 39,700 homes.
The firm said the wind farm would inject up to 19m into the economy of south and south west Wales and support up to 224 jobs in the region during each year of construction.
Bethan Edwards, RWE Npower's project developer, said: "These important economic benefits continue through to the operation of the wind farm, with spending in the south and west Wales economy, the creation of jobs and local investment through the significant community benefit and economic development funds which we will develop in consultation with local people.
"Local community benefits will amount to around 560,000 per year over the life of the wind farm, depending upon the final installed capacity."
A Department of Energy and Climate Change spokesman said: "Onshore wind has an important role to play as part of a balanced energy mix.
"This development will enhance our energy security, help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create up to 150 construction jobs."
Carmarthen East and Dinefwr MP Jonathan Edwards claimed local opinion and genuine concerns about the project had been "dismissed".
2013年3月11日 星期一
Cajero expedites PCD-tipped machine tool production by 35 percent
The installation of a Walter Helitronic Power Diamond two-in-one CNC tool grinder/erosion machine is enabling machine tool manufacturer Cajero Ltd. to reduce the time previously taken to produce PCD-tipped tooling by up to 35 percent. The machine's robotic loader is also producing savings in machine operator costs by enabling the company to produce the complex tooling in a lights-out mode.
Supplied by Walter Machines UK of Honiley, near Kenilworth, U.K., the Helitronic Power Diamond uses a combination of grinding wheels and electrodes in the production of HSS, solid-carbide and/or PCD/CBN-tipped tools in a single set-up. The machinery is capable of processing tools up to 320-mm diameter and 350-mm long (12.6 inches by 13.8 inches), and has a 12 kW direct-drive spindle.
The machine incorporates the easy-to-use Tool Studio software, which enables operators to quickly and easily create tool machining and movement sequences by, for example, harnessing Wizard functionality to add all appropriate machining parameters then to utilize 3D-simulation to check and, if necessary, optimize grinding operations. Tool Studio also seamlessly integrates the robot load/unload facility: A Fanuc Robotics' (Rochester Hills, Mich.) six-axis LR Mate 200iC/5L robot loader that works in conjunction with a three-pallet storage system that can hold up to 1,500 workpieces, dependent on diameter.
"Compared with our former route of using separate machines and set-ups to machine the tools' carbide bodies/flutes, etc., then PCD tips, the Power Diamond is key to enabling the end-to-end manufacture of special tool designs to be reduced by up to three weeks," says Cajero's operations manager Alex Harding.
"The continued growth in the use of composites and carbon fibers," he continues, "has been matched by our pioneering development of groundbreaking bespoke tooling."
"Our thorough investigation of the machine included trips to Walter's HQ in Germany for cutting trials of a number of 'special' (rather than run of the mill) tools to really test the machine. We push the boundaries in terms of tool design, so it was essential we invested in a machine that would not only meet our current needs but also any potential future demands," says Harding. "It was clear that in addition to impressive savings in tool manufacturing lead times, the Power Diamond would also provide our PCD tooling team with a greater degree of control and process security, as well as production autonomy without impacting existing tool manufacturing routines." He adds that machine stability, and high precision positioning and repeatability, were other key factors in the choice of the machine, along with the record of service and support that WALTER Machines UK has provided over the long-term.
The new machine joined an impressive range of manufacturing technology used by at Cajero's 40 employees at its Isle of Sheppey (Kent) site, including an Ewag AG (Etziken, Switzerland) Ewamatic insert/tool grinder and a trio of Walter Helitronic Power tool grinders — one fitted with a Disc Loader pallet system that can accept up to 90 tools for processing in a fully automatic cycle — plus a Walter Helicheck four-axis, noncontact measuring center. This checks tool rake and helix angles, lead and relief angle, and automatically scans the tool profile.
Supplied by Walter Machines UK of Honiley, near Kenilworth, U.K., the Helitronic Power Diamond uses a combination of grinding wheels and electrodes in the production of HSS, solid-carbide and/or PCD/CBN-tipped tools in a single set-up. The machinery is capable of processing tools up to 320-mm diameter and 350-mm long (12.6 inches by 13.8 inches), and has a 12 kW direct-drive spindle.
The machine incorporates the easy-to-use Tool Studio software, which enables operators to quickly and easily create tool machining and movement sequences by, for example, harnessing Wizard functionality to add all appropriate machining parameters then to utilize 3D-simulation to check and, if necessary, optimize grinding operations. Tool Studio also seamlessly integrates the robot load/unload facility: A Fanuc Robotics' (Rochester Hills, Mich.) six-axis LR Mate 200iC/5L robot loader that works in conjunction with a three-pallet storage system that can hold up to 1,500 workpieces, dependent on diameter.
"Compared with our former route of using separate machines and set-ups to machine the tools' carbide bodies/flutes, etc., then PCD tips, the Power Diamond is key to enabling the end-to-end manufacture of special tool designs to be reduced by up to three weeks," says Cajero's operations manager Alex Harding.
"The continued growth in the use of composites and carbon fibers," he continues, "has been matched by our pioneering development of groundbreaking bespoke tooling."
"Our thorough investigation of the machine included trips to Walter's HQ in Germany for cutting trials of a number of 'special' (rather than run of the mill) tools to really test the machine. We push the boundaries in terms of tool design, so it was essential we invested in a machine that would not only meet our current needs but also any potential future demands," says Harding. "It was clear that in addition to impressive savings in tool manufacturing lead times, the Power Diamond would also provide our PCD tooling team with a greater degree of control and process security, as well as production autonomy without impacting existing tool manufacturing routines." He adds that machine stability, and high precision positioning and repeatability, were other key factors in the choice of the machine, along with the record of service and support that WALTER Machines UK has provided over the long-term.
The new machine joined an impressive range of manufacturing technology used by at Cajero's 40 employees at its Isle of Sheppey (Kent) site, including an Ewag AG (Etziken, Switzerland) Ewamatic insert/tool grinder and a trio of Walter Helitronic Power tool grinders — one fitted with a Disc Loader pallet system that can accept up to 90 tools for processing in a fully automatic cycle — plus a Walter Helicheck four-axis, noncontact measuring center. This checks tool rake and helix angles, lead and relief angle, and automatically scans the tool profile.
2013年3月10日 星期日
1,000 sign petition for inquiry into Trump project
A PETITION calling for a public inquiry into the handling of Donald Trump’s controversial golf project on the North Sea coast has attracted more than 11,000 signatures, exceeding its organisers’ expectations.
David Milne, an opponent of the scheme at Menie, north of Aberdeen, said he had hoped for 2,000 signatures. The petition is being lodged at the Scottish Parliament today, two weeks earlier than planned.
Mr Milne said: “There’s clearly a growing appetite to get to the bottom of this fiasco, and to make sure no other community anywhere in Scotland ever has to face down the combination of a bullying developer and officials determined to see them get their way.
“This is not a party political matter – it’s a systematic failure. At Holyrood and locally we have seen successive administrations of various colours cosy up to Mr Trump.
“It is now up to the MSPs who sit on the Public Petitions Committee to choose: do they want to find out what went wrong and ensure it never does again, or do they want to guarantee the whole story is never even told.
“I am confident that they will listen to the public and do the right thing, and I look forward to having an opportunity to discuss these issues with them in person.”
Mr Milne, a 48-year-old independent health and safety consultant who lives near Trump’s golf complex, claims that some bodies, including Aberdeenshire Council and the Scottish Government, were involved in breaches of planning regulations before Mr Trump was given the green light to construct his links course.
If Mr Milne’s petition is successful, it would see a comprehensive inquiry established into local and national government involvement with the Trump organisation. The timescale would cover former first minister Jack McConnell’s Labour-led Scottish Executive, Alex Salmond’s SNP government and Aberdeenshire Council, which was controlled at the time by Liberal Democrats.
Earlier he said: “We have had to be patient to get to this stage, but we are calling for a full public inquiry into what happened and we want the full facts to emerge. Now, we are hoping that many other Scots will share our concerns over the background to how Trump was allowed to build this course.”
The planning application for the golf complex was initially rejected by a local authority committee, causing turmoil among councillors, and was controversially called in by the Scottish Government.
The First Minister became MSP for the area in 2007. The plan was subsequently rubber-stamped by the council, then approved by Finance Secretary John Swinney in November 2008.
No-one from the Trump organisation responded to phone calls last night. However, last month Sarah Malone, the executive vice-president of Trump International, spoke about the petition.
She said: “The project has already gone through years of scrutiny and debate during a lengthy planning process, including a public inquiry in the full media spotlight. Mr Milne needs to move on. He attempted this before and it failed, because there is no basis for it.
“The championship course is now established and drawing thousands of golfers from around the world and creating business opportunities and much-needed jobs.”
Trump is now locked in a heated battle to stop an offshore wind farm being built within sight of his golf course.
A planning application for the wind farm was submitted to Marine Scotland – which manages Scotland’s seas – in August 2011 for the development just over a mile away from Trump’s golf resort at Menie.
Trump said 100 million hotel development is on hold until the decision on whether the nearby 11-turbine offshore wind farm proposal is approved is made.
David Milne, an opponent of the scheme at Menie, north of Aberdeen, said he had hoped for 2,000 signatures. The petition is being lodged at the Scottish Parliament today, two weeks earlier than planned.
Mr Milne said: “There’s clearly a growing appetite to get to the bottom of this fiasco, and to make sure no other community anywhere in Scotland ever has to face down the combination of a bullying developer and officials determined to see them get their way.
“This is not a party political matter – it’s a systematic failure. At Holyrood and locally we have seen successive administrations of various colours cosy up to Mr Trump.
“It is now up to the MSPs who sit on the Public Petitions Committee to choose: do they want to find out what went wrong and ensure it never does again, or do they want to guarantee the whole story is never even told.
“I am confident that they will listen to the public and do the right thing, and I look forward to having an opportunity to discuss these issues with them in person.”
Mr Milne, a 48-year-old independent health and safety consultant who lives near Trump’s golf complex, claims that some bodies, including Aberdeenshire Council and the Scottish Government, were involved in breaches of planning regulations before Mr Trump was given the green light to construct his links course.
If Mr Milne’s petition is successful, it would see a comprehensive inquiry established into local and national government involvement with the Trump organisation. The timescale would cover former first minister Jack McConnell’s Labour-led Scottish Executive, Alex Salmond’s SNP government and Aberdeenshire Council, which was controlled at the time by Liberal Democrats.
Earlier he said: “We have had to be patient to get to this stage, but we are calling for a full public inquiry into what happened and we want the full facts to emerge. Now, we are hoping that many other Scots will share our concerns over the background to how Trump was allowed to build this course.”
The planning application for the golf complex was initially rejected by a local authority committee, causing turmoil among councillors, and was controversially called in by the Scottish Government.
The First Minister became MSP for the area in 2007. The plan was subsequently rubber-stamped by the council, then approved by Finance Secretary John Swinney in November 2008.
No-one from the Trump organisation responded to phone calls last night. However, last month Sarah Malone, the executive vice-president of Trump International, spoke about the petition.
She said: “The project has already gone through years of scrutiny and debate during a lengthy planning process, including a public inquiry in the full media spotlight. Mr Milne needs to move on. He attempted this before and it failed, because there is no basis for it.
“The championship course is now established and drawing thousands of golfers from around the world and creating business opportunities and much-needed jobs.”
Trump is now locked in a heated battle to stop an offshore wind farm being built within sight of his golf course.
A planning application for the wind farm was submitted to Marine Scotland – which manages Scotland’s seas – in August 2011 for the development just over a mile away from Trump’s golf resort at Menie.
Trump said 100 million hotel development is on hold until the decision on whether the nearby 11-turbine offshore wind farm proposal is approved is made.
2013年3月7日 星期四
Lorry breakdown en route to wind farm causes chaos
A LORRY carrying part of a 400ft wind turbine tower caused chaos on the roads when it broke down outside Maldon.
The vehicle with its "abnormal load" was on its way to a new wind farm development in Bradwell on Tuesday afternoon when a hydraulic pipe stopped working and the lorry was forced to stop in Fambridge Road, near the Roundbush pub.
Under police escort, the lorry was one of three huge transporters carrying parts of the turbines to Hockley Farm in Bradwell-on-Sea, where a 10-turbine wind farm is under construction.
A police spokesman said: "The lorry was broken down from 2pm to 4pm and it was finally escorted away in a convoy with accompanying vehicles.
"Officers travelling with the lorry were able to organise diversions and control traffic effectively." The development has not been without controversy.
Plans for the 26 turbines angered residents when they got the go-ahead upon appeal to the government Planning Inspectorate in 2010.
The disruption this week has fuelled fears that further big deliveries, that are planned over the next few weeks, will lead to further problems on the roads.
Twitter user @Dengie100 commented: "First of many serious traffic delays due to wind farm installation at Bradwell – Shame the Govt planning inspectors didn't get stuck."
However, Michael Williams, project manager at the site, has assured residents this will not be the case.
"Our thanks go to the police who quickly and safely diverted traffic but we sincerely apologise for any inconvenience the delay caused to road users.
"Future deliveries are expected to run as normal, with a further one taking place on Friday between 10am and 3pm.
"This is an exciting stage for us and marks the culmination of all the hard work carried out so far."
Police have added that they will be working closely with the contractors to ensure traffic disruption is kept to a minimum.
The wind farm is scheduled to become fully operational by this summer and will have a total generating capacity of 20.5 megawatts, enough green electricity to meet the average annual demands of up to 12,000 homes.
Wind farm developers have been accused of "offering bribes" to planning authorities across Lincolnshire.
Conservative county councillor Stephen Williams made the attack on turbine applicants at a meeting of the overview and scrutiny committee at Lincolnshire County Council.
The allegations came weeks after the council published the results of a survey into its stance against more wind farms. The results claimed 89 per cent of people supported the county council's policy.
The council pledged to stop the "unrestrained invasion" of wind turbines across the country in June last year when the executive, led by Martin Hill, moved to resist new wind farm developments.
The vehicle with its "abnormal load" was on its way to a new wind farm development in Bradwell on Tuesday afternoon when a hydraulic pipe stopped working and the lorry was forced to stop in Fambridge Road, near the Roundbush pub.
Under police escort, the lorry was one of three huge transporters carrying parts of the turbines to Hockley Farm in Bradwell-on-Sea, where a 10-turbine wind farm is under construction.
A police spokesman said: "The lorry was broken down from 2pm to 4pm and it was finally escorted away in a convoy with accompanying vehicles.
"Officers travelling with the lorry were able to organise diversions and control traffic effectively." The development has not been without controversy.
Plans for the 26 turbines angered residents when they got the go-ahead upon appeal to the government Planning Inspectorate in 2010.
The disruption this week has fuelled fears that further big deliveries, that are planned over the next few weeks, will lead to further problems on the roads.
Twitter user @Dengie100 commented: "First of many serious traffic delays due to wind farm installation at Bradwell – Shame the Govt planning inspectors didn't get stuck."
However, Michael Williams, project manager at the site, has assured residents this will not be the case.
"Our thanks go to the police who quickly and safely diverted traffic but we sincerely apologise for any inconvenience the delay caused to road users.
"Future deliveries are expected to run as normal, with a further one taking place on Friday between 10am and 3pm.
"This is an exciting stage for us and marks the culmination of all the hard work carried out so far."
Police have added that they will be working closely with the contractors to ensure traffic disruption is kept to a minimum.
The wind farm is scheduled to become fully operational by this summer and will have a total generating capacity of 20.5 megawatts, enough green electricity to meet the average annual demands of up to 12,000 homes.
Wind farm developers have been accused of "offering bribes" to planning authorities across Lincolnshire.
Conservative county councillor Stephen Williams made the attack on turbine applicants at a meeting of the overview and scrutiny committee at Lincolnshire County Council.
The allegations came weeks after the council published the results of a survey into its stance against more wind farms. The results claimed 89 per cent of people supported the county council's policy.
The council pledged to stop the "unrestrained invasion" of wind turbines across the country in June last year when the executive, led by Martin Hill, moved to resist new wind farm developments.
2013年3月6日 星期三
Celebrating sci-fi cinema's memorable robot butlers
It's telling that the word 'robot' - coined by Josef Capek and first appearing in print in his brother Karel's play Rossum's Universal Robots in 1920 - is derived from the Czech word for 'labour'. Stories of artificial people and automata have appeared in stories for centuries, and it's often the case that these inhuman constructs are given tasks that their human masters wouldn't want to do themselves. From the factory-produced workers of Capek's RUR mentioned above to the eerily blank David in Prometheus, the notion of the robotic servant is a familiar one in science fiction.
It's a theme touched on in this year's Robot & Frank, a moving sci-fi drama about an old man's growing friendship with his artificial carer. Although the titular retired thief Frank (played by Frank Langella) is initially suspicious of the thing, its prowess as a robber's assistant convinces the old man to attempt one last jewellery heist. With this film in mind, here's a look at a few of cinema's other butlers and servants - some of them far more helpful to their masters than others...
The archetypal movie robot, Robby was the most expensive aspect of MGM's lavish Forbidden Planet; the creation of Arnold Gillespie, Mentor Huebner and Robert Kinoshita, the lovably cumbersome mecha cost a then-pricey $125,000 to build. The effort was worth it - not only was Robby the focus of the film's beautifully-designed poster (nominal leading man Leslie Nielsen being conspicuous by his absence), but he also enjoyed a considerable film career after Forbidden Planet. Appearances in TV shows and his own film followed, and Joe Dante even managed to find a cameo for him in 1984's Gremlins.
As Walter Pidgeon's Dr Morbius so carefully explains, Robby is not only a great cook, but can even use his complicated internal systems to synthesise food from scratch. Raw materials are shoved into a slot in his belly, where they're analysed and replicated by a tiny internal laboratory. This particular function is later exploited by a boozy ship's cook, who has Robby rustle up 60 gallons of synthesised bourbon. Clearly, this doesn't conflict with Robby's compliance to the Three Laws or Robotics...
For our money, the cutest robots in American cinema, these diminutive machines are one of Silent Running's highlights - alongside Bruce Dern, who stars as a mildly unhinged space hippy determined to save the last remnants of Earth's plantlife at any cost. With Dern's character drifting alone through space with his domed greenhouses, Huey, Dewey and Louie become his friends, as they play cards and tend their enclosed gardens together.
Although they're ungainly and don't even have the power of speech, the robots are utterly beguiling - and the moment where one of them is suddenly destroyed is enough to make even the most stoic grown adult weep.
Spurred on by Inventables' "Desktop Factory Competition," which seeks to "drive down the cost of filament by creating a new filament extruder" the octogenarian designed a machine that turn plastics pellets into printer ready filament.
After his initial entry into the competition was disqualified because it exceeded the $250 price limit, Lyman recreated his machine. "It's my first machine with a few little parts changed," Lyman said, "I resubmitted it, and it worked. It worked great."
As a reward, Lyman received $40,000, a laser cutter, 3D printer and CNC machine. What are his plans for his cash prize? According to Lyman, "I'm going to give half of it to the wife, and tinker with the other half."
It's a theme touched on in this year's Robot & Frank, a moving sci-fi drama about an old man's growing friendship with his artificial carer. Although the titular retired thief Frank (played by Frank Langella) is initially suspicious of the thing, its prowess as a robber's assistant convinces the old man to attempt one last jewellery heist. With this film in mind, here's a look at a few of cinema's other butlers and servants - some of them far more helpful to their masters than others...
The archetypal movie robot, Robby was the most expensive aspect of MGM's lavish Forbidden Planet; the creation of Arnold Gillespie, Mentor Huebner and Robert Kinoshita, the lovably cumbersome mecha cost a then-pricey $125,000 to build. The effort was worth it - not only was Robby the focus of the film's beautifully-designed poster (nominal leading man Leslie Nielsen being conspicuous by his absence), but he also enjoyed a considerable film career after Forbidden Planet. Appearances in TV shows and his own film followed, and Joe Dante even managed to find a cameo for him in 1984's Gremlins.
As Walter Pidgeon's Dr Morbius so carefully explains, Robby is not only a great cook, but can even use his complicated internal systems to synthesise food from scratch. Raw materials are shoved into a slot in his belly, where they're analysed and replicated by a tiny internal laboratory. This particular function is later exploited by a boozy ship's cook, who has Robby rustle up 60 gallons of synthesised bourbon. Clearly, this doesn't conflict with Robby's compliance to the Three Laws or Robotics...
For our money, the cutest robots in American cinema, these diminutive machines are one of Silent Running's highlights - alongside Bruce Dern, who stars as a mildly unhinged space hippy determined to save the last remnants of Earth's plantlife at any cost. With Dern's character drifting alone through space with his domed greenhouses, Huey, Dewey and Louie become his friends, as they play cards and tend their enclosed gardens together.
Although they're ungainly and don't even have the power of speech, the robots are utterly beguiling - and the moment where one of them is suddenly destroyed is enough to make even the most stoic grown adult weep.
Spurred on by Inventables' "Desktop Factory Competition," which seeks to "drive down the cost of filament by creating a new filament extruder" the octogenarian designed a machine that turn plastics pellets into printer ready filament.
After his initial entry into the competition was disqualified because it exceeded the $250 price limit, Lyman recreated his machine. "It's my first machine with a few little parts changed," Lyman said, "I resubmitted it, and it worked. It worked great."
As a reward, Lyman received $40,000, a laser cutter, 3D printer and CNC machine. What are his plans for his cash prize? According to Lyman, "I'm going to give half of it to the wife, and tinker with the other half."
2013年3月5日 星期二
Wind turbine repair techs use iPod Touches
For instance, about 1,700 NextEra Energy wind turbine technicians recently began using Apple's iPod Touch handheld devices to help them service the gargantuan machines.
The iPods are loaded with technical information and repair diagrams that a technician can access while working some 300 feet above the ground inside and outside the clean energy company's turbines.
Having the information close at hand means the technician won't have to climb back down a ladder and then drive a truck back to an office to search for the data on a PC, said NextEra CIO Lakshman Charanjiva.
Charanjiva said NextEra, which he described as the nation's largest wind and solar energy provider, came up with the idea to provide the iPods to the wind turbine techs after making a site visit to a wind energy farm in west Texas. During the visit, he climbed with the techs up the ladder in the dark enclosure in 110 degree heat.
"It's not something you want to do if you have a fear of heights or closed spaces," Charanjiva told an audience at the Premier 100 conference here this week. "We needed to do something for those guys to save them time going back and forth without having to come down" for information.
Charanjiva afterward estimated that iPod usage has cut six to eight hours of work per technician every week since the program was implemented about a year ago. The iPods are also inexpensive, up to 10 times less expensive than alternative rugged handhelds, Charanjiva said.
Recently, NextEra began putting Wi-Fi hotspots inside the technicians' trucks, so that they can access the Internet and the home office from a perch atop a wind turbine.
NextEra is considering the use of video cameras on the hardhats of technicians so they can stream video of a repair problems to experts working in the company's home offices. The only consideration is whether the Wi-Fi will have sufficient bandwidth to support the video, he said.
Charanjiva noted that the company's iPod program is "not rocket science, but has been a huge benefit" to NextEra. Meanwhile, NextEra subsidiary Florida Power and Light has replaced rugged tablets used by power outage technicians with 500 iPads.
The iPads, which cost less than $500 apiece, are replacing $5,000 ruggedized tablets. While rugged devices often last five or more years, and iPads for two years or less, "the difference in price is worth it," he said.
Technicians can use the devices to track the locations of homes without power, since many homes are equipped with two-way smart meters.
During a major hurricane, having outage locations delivered to a tablet in a truck means the technician can notice patterns in outages quickly, and thus better track where a major switch might be out.
NextEra can also overlay weather satellite information about the path of a storm on top of the outage data to to decide where to send repair crews.
Having that data has helped NextEra come closer to its goal of restoring power from storms within 24 hours, Charanjiva said.
The iPods are loaded with technical information and repair diagrams that a technician can access while working some 300 feet above the ground inside and outside the clean energy company's turbines.
Having the information close at hand means the technician won't have to climb back down a ladder and then drive a truck back to an office to search for the data on a PC, said NextEra CIO Lakshman Charanjiva.
Charanjiva said NextEra, which he described as the nation's largest wind and solar energy provider, came up with the idea to provide the iPods to the wind turbine techs after making a site visit to a wind energy farm in west Texas. During the visit, he climbed with the techs up the ladder in the dark enclosure in 110 degree heat.
"It's not something you want to do if you have a fear of heights or closed spaces," Charanjiva told an audience at the Premier 100 conference here this week. "We needed to do something for those guys to save them time going back and forth without having to come down" for information.
Charanjiva afterward estimated that iPod usage has cut six to eight hours of work per technician every week since the program was implemented about a year ago. The iPods are also inexpensive, up to 10 times less expensive than alternative rugged handhelds, Charanjiva said.
Recently, NextEra began putting Wi-Fi hotspots inside the technicians' trucks, so that they can access the Internet and the home office from a perch atop a wind turbine.
NextEra is considering the use of video cameras on the hardhats of technicians so they can stream video of a repair problems to experts working in the company's home offices. The only consideration is whether the Wi-Fi will have sufficient bandwidth to support the video, he said.
Charanjiva noted that the company's iPod program is "not rocket science, but has been a huge benefit" to NextEra. Meanwhile, NextEra subsidiary Florida Power and Light has replaced rugged tablets used by power outage technicians with 500 iPads.
The iPads, which cost less than $500 apiece, are replacing $5,000 ruggedized tablets. While rugged devices often last five or more years, and iPads for two years or less, "the difference in price is worth it," he said.
Technicians can use the devices to track the locations of homes without power, since many homes are equipped with two-way smart meters.
During a major hurricane, having outage locations delivered to a tablet in a truck means the technician can notice patterns in outages quickly, and thus better track where a major switch might be out.
NextEra can also overlay weather satellite information about the path of a storm on top of the outage data to to decide where to send repair crews.
Having that data has helped NextEra come closer to its goal of restoring power from storms within 24 hours, Charanjiva said.
2013年3月4日 星期一
Men find value in fat freezing
I've learned more about fat freezing during the past week than I ever imagined possible.
I wrote about the cosmetic fat removal process, with the brand name Cool Sculpting, in a column Friday, then chewed the fat with Jennifer Sanneman, who owns the Essence Skin Clinic in downtown Rochester. Jennifer's shop has been offering Cool Sculpting since December.
In fact, Jennifer's undergone the non-invasive procedure herself, as have her daughters, ages 27, 21 and 18, "along with my staff," she says. "I can show you before and after photos and you won't believe it."
A laser-like machine supercools the fat in your "love handles" or wherever else you want to dissolve some lard. "When we take the machine off, it's solidly frozen, almost like an ice cube," Jennifer says. A salon employee then massages the area for 2-3 minutes to break it down further, and then your body absorbs the disintegrated fat after that.
"You might see some results in three weeks, but by nine weeks you should definitely see results, and in 12 weeks, you're just overwhelmed," she said.
Jennifer, who's 48, has been in this line of work for 25 years and recently opened a second Essence clinic downtown.
The machines aren't cheap. They cost about $140,000. And in case you thought fat sculpting was primarily for women, she has a lot of male customers as well. "A lot of men have their breasts done," she says. "Any part of your body where you want excess fat taken off, we can do it."
My beat takes me to local city council or county board meetings where I'm one of the few reporters there. They are usually laid-back, friendly affairs. Or I go down into caves to count bats where there is no mob of reporters or fish on a trout stream that I also have to myself.
With P-B Capitol reporter Heather Carlson ill, on Feb. 19 I was told to go to St. Paul, where several busloads of people protesting the rapid growth of the silica-sand industry in Minnesota and those who back it appeared before a joint Senate-House committee. Before that, protesters held a press conference.
When they say "press," it can also mean the press of media bodies crowding into rooms, getting in each other's way and mobbing legislators who give out their gems of wisdom with smiles.
By the time the hearing was over, I was tired, frazzled and miffed. I wanted to get out of the building, out of the Twin Cities, out of the thundering herd of people. Wouldn't it be better to be out alone on a Mississippi River backwater or snowshoeing solo in the moonlight in the Whitewater Valley?
And last Tuesday, I was part of a crowded hearing on the silica-sand bill where I sat for 2 1/2 more hours, hearing many of the same people saying the same thing.
I left both meetings with more admiration for Heather. I called her a few days after the first round of chaos, inquired about her health and wished her a speedy recovery — for her sake and mine.
I wrote about the cosmetic fat removal process, with the brand name Cool Sculpting, in a column Friday, then chewed the fat with Jennifer Sanneman, who owns the Essence Skin Clinic in downtown Rochester. Jennifer's shop has been offering Cool Sculpting since December.
In fact, Jennifer's undergone the non-invasive procedure herself, as have her daughters, ages 27, 21 and 18, "along with my staff," she says. "I can show you before and after photos and you won't believe it."
A laser-like machine supercools the fat in your "love handles" or wherever else you want to dissolve some lard. "When we take the machine off, it's solidly frozen, almost like an ice cube," Jennifer says. A salon employee then massages the area for 2-3 minutes to break it down further, and then your body absorbs the disintegrated fat after that.
"You might see some results in three weeks, but by nine weeks you should definitely see results, and in 12 weeks, you're just overwhelmed," she said.
Jennifer, who's 48, has been in this line of work for 25 years and recently opened a second Essence clinic downtown.
The machines aren't cheap. They cost about $140,000. And in case you thought fat sculpting was primarily for women, she has a lot of male customers as well. "A lot of men have their breasts done," she says. "Any part of your body where you want excess fat taken off, we can do it."
My beat takes me to local city council or county board meetings where I'm one of the few reporters there. They are usually laid-back, friendly affairs. Or I go down into caves to count bats where there is no mob of reporters or fish on a trout stream that I also have to myself.
With P-B Capitol reporter Heather Carlson ill, on Feb. 19 I was told to go to St. Paul, where several busloads of people protesting the rapid growth of the silica-sand industry in Minnesota and those who back it appeared before a joint Senate-House committee. Before that, protesters held a press conference.
When they say "press," it can also mean the press of media bodies crowding into rooms, getting in each other's way and mobbing legislators who give out their gems of wisdom with smiles.
By the time the hearing was over, I was tired, frazzled and miffed. I wanted to get out of the building, out of the Twin Cities, out of the thundering herd of people. Wouldn't it be better to be out alone on a Mississippi River backwater or snowshoeing solo in the moonlight in the Whitewater Valley?
And last Tuesday, I was part of a crowded hearing on the silica-sand bill where I sat for 2 1/2 more hours, hearing many of the same people saying the same thing.
I left both meetings with more admiration for Heather. I called her a few days after the first round of chaos, inquired about her health and wished her a speedy recovery — for her sake and mine.
2013年3月3日 星期日
Township places moratorium on wind projects
With a packed council chambers backing The Alliance for the Protection of Northumberland Hills's presentation against two industrial wind turbine farms near Grafton and Centreton on the Oak Ridges Moraine, Alnwick/Haldimand Township councillors concurred during last week's meeting.
In addition, councillors agreed to recommendations from the group that would halt further wind developments until health and safety issues are adequately addressed through study and regulation and will forward the resolution about a moratorium to all the municipalities in the Oak Ridges Moraine area, as well as to the government ministries involved in Green Energy Act approvals, plus a few other ministries.
"Council passed the resolution as presented," said Deputy Mayor Ray Benns who chaired the meeting.
In part, it stated: "To place an immediate moratorium on approvals of industrial wind farms until such time as low frequency noise and infrasound from industrial wind turbines is reviewed and mitigated through the REA approval process and based on conclusive and independent clinical health studies that eliminate the potential of adverse impacts to health, safety and well being of the public."
Mayor Dalton Mcdonald previously declared he had a conflict of interest due to the fact that he rents land near one of the wind projects and lives close to the other end of the project. The remaining five councillors supported the resolution and Benns, as chair, did not vote.
"I have to stay neutral," he said.
With the mayor's conflict of interest, Benns said he anticipated chairing more meetings in the future.
"The key issue here is the well being of people, the aesthetic beauty of the Moraine and Northumberland County," Alliance presenter Tyne Bonebakker said in a subsequent interview.
"I see a rapid shift in public opinion," he added.
People generally have supported green energy but as health issues related to industrial wind turbines are brought to light there has been a turnaround, he said.
Among the health concerns Bonebakker outlined in the presentation to Alnwick / Haldimand councillors was the emission of inaudible ultra-low frequency sound of one to 44 Hz which are not required to be measured under current regulations in determining the setback of wind turbines from residences, yet some produce 90dB at low frequencies of one to five Hz which have resulted in health complaints so serious some people have abandoned their homes. (The current Green Energy Act requirements are that sound volume must be less than 40 dB at 550 metres from the nearest turbine.)
Bonebakker also outlined possible future costs taxpayers would be left paying including emergency response to structure fires, plus decommission and rehabilitating the land after the 20-year energy-production contracts expire.
And as it relates to Centreton, the group's concerns range from part being a provincially designated significant wetland, turtle wintering area and bat maternity colony, to containing a "vulnerable high aquifer" and headwater of Baltimore Creek.
As it relates to the Oak Ridges Moraine, the Alliance's presentation cited regulations of the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act 2011 which states that industrial development is not permitted and there has been no demonstration that there is not an alternative location.
In addition, councillors agreed to recommendations from the group that would halt further wind developments until health and safety issues are adequately addressed through study and regulation and will forward the resolution about a moratorium to all the municipalities in the Oak Ridges Moraine area, as well as to the government ministries involved in Green Energy Act approvals, plus a few other ministries.
"Council passed the resolution as presented," said Deputy Mayor Ray Benns who chaired the meeting.
In part, it stated: "To place an immediate moratorium on approvals of industrial wind farms until such time as low frequency noise and infrasound from industrial wind turbines is reviewed and mitigated through the REA approval process and based on conclusive and independent clinical health studies that eliminate the potential of adverse impacts to health, safety and well being of the public."
Mayor Dalton Mcdonald previously declared he had a conflict of interest due to the fact that he rents land near one of the wind projects and lives close to the other end of the project. The remaining five councillors supported the resolution and Benns, as chair, did not vote.
"I have to stay neutral," he said.
With the mayor's conflict of interest, Benns said he anticipated chairing more meetings in the future.
"The key issue here is the well being of people, the aesthetic beauty of the Moraine and Northumberland County," Alliance presenter Tyne Bonebakker said in a subsequent interview.
"I see a rapid shift in public opinion," he added.
People generally have supported green energy but as health issues related to industrial wind turbines are brought to light there has been a turnaround, he said.
Among the health concerns Bonebakker outlined in the presentation to Alnwick / Haldimand councillors was the emission of inaudible ultra-low frequency sound of one to 44 Hz which are not required to be measured under current regulations in determining the setback of wind turbines from residences, yet some produce 90dB at low frequencies of one to five Hz which have resulted in health complaints so serious some people have abandoned their homes. (The current Green Energy Act requirements are that sound volume must be less than 40 dB at 550 metres from the nearest turbine.)
Bonebakker also outlined possible future costs taxpayers would be left paying including emergency response to structure fires, plus decommission and rehabilitating the land after the 20-year energy-production contracts expire.
And as it relates to Centreton, the group's concerns range from part being a provincially designated significant wetland, turtle wintering area and bat maternity colony, to containing a "vulnerable high aquifer" and headwater of Baltimore Creek.
As it relates to the Oak Ridges Moraine, the Alliance's presentation cited regulations of the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act 2011 which states that industrial development is not permitted and there has been no demonstration that there is not an alternative location.
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