A company that develops wind turbine installations for commercial and agricultural landowners has secured more than ￡16m in new funding to help finance its next 10 projects.
Infinite Energy was set up three years ago and used an initial ￡6.9m funding round from venture capital trust Albion Ventures VCT to finance its first four projects.Changes in financial legislation mean venture capital trusts can no longer invest in projects designed to take advantage of feed-in tariffs, so Albion Ventures has formed a plc called Albion Community Power.
The new company has agreed to provide ￡15m in finance to support Infinite Energy’s next 10 projects.Infinite Energy, which has offices in Cardiff and Bridgend, has also signed a ￡1.6m funding deal with Finance Wales.The company has so far brought four turbine installation projects into operation, two near Milford Haven, one at Ebbw Vale and one near Bridgend.
The Bridgend one is the smallest at only 80kw (kilowatts), built to help a local farm generate electricity to help with the farm’s running costs. The other three sites each have a capacity of 500kw from a single turbine.Of the 10 new sites, which are in various stages of planning, seven are in Wales, two in the Midlands and one in Devon.The company says it hopes to reach “financial close” on the projects by December and to carry out construction during 2014.
All of the projects are for the installation of 500kw turbines except for one, at Shawell in Leicestershire, which is for a 1.5MW (megawatt) turbine.
Infinite Energy manages the planning, installation and system management of the turbine projects on behalf of its landowner or commercial clients. Its first installation, at Rassau industrial estate, was for roof tile manufacturer Redland Monier.The turbine has been operating since February 2012 and can produce enough electricity to power the equivalent of 307 homes, potentially saving up to 289 tonnes of CO 2 per year.
Following the success of the Rassau installation Infinite Energy was asked to complete two further installations for China Porcelain tile, including the one at Shawell.Albion Community Power is hoping to raise up to ￡24.4m in a share offer, and says it will consider raising a further ￡100m in funding if it believes further suitable renewable energy projects are available.It intends to invest in proven power generation methods across a range of renewable energy technologies, including solar, biomass heat, hydroelectricity and anaerobic digestion as well as wind.
With regard to wind, it says it plans to invest in turbines on brownfield sites near existing developments such as industrial estates rather than greenfield developments in remote areas.
This sits well with the Infinite Energy model, which is to site turbines by preference on industrial brownfield land, or on farms.Infinite Energy was established by directors Will David, a chartered surveyor, and Andrew Crossman, who has significant experience in energy use analysis and renewable energy. A third director, energy engineer Iestyn Morgan, joined the board later.
Following the installation at Rassau Nick Payne, factory manager at Monier Redland, said: “Monier Redland is committed to reducing its impact on the environment and has a medium-term plan to source 20% of its production energy from renewable sources. Our successful partnership with Infinite Renewables is a major step towards achieving this.”
Daniel Rees, Investment executive, Finance Wales said: "Infinite Energy has established itself as a leading Welsh renewable energy company and has a proven track record in the installation and management of wind turbine projects. Finance Wales is pleased to back the business as a funding partner.’
Not many people know the shallow area off the public access at Riverside Park in New Ulm can be a hot spot for walleye fishing, Schwartz said. What he didn't know: The reason he wasn't constantly snagging his lure on old tires, rusty barrels and other junk had something to do with the thumping music coming from a stage above the grassy river bank.
Schwartz figured the Riverblast festival was just about old people getting together to listen to bands, eat some food and enjoy each other's company while sipping some locally brewed Schell's beer. Scott Sparlin, one of the event's organizers, would have told Schwartz Riverblast is about fun, but it also supports a cause that has improved the river, and helped its walleye flourish, during the past two decades.
The event started as the River Rally in 1992 and evolved into Riverblast in 2000. It's always used camping, music and refreshments to make people aware of the river and to raise a little money for the Coalition for a Clean Minnesota River.
The coalition's most significant accomplishment, Sparlin said, has been changing people's attitudes about the river. Instead of thinking of the river as a dump, which was the case for many years, people now see it as an asset that can draw tourists to its river towns.
"The river is why New Ulm is here," he said. "It's why Mankato is where it is. It's why St. Peter is where it is."We're changing the way people view the Minnesota River and getting people to want to change it. There's lots of work to do, but the good news is the river is getting better."
Phosphorus and sediment levels have dropped by 25 percent since the coalition's work started, Sparlin said. They're still working on Nitrogen levels. They are making progress with that, in part, by working with farmers to change the way they tile their fields.
Greg Asmus and his two sons, 10-year-old Anthony and 2-year-old Jonathan, wandered down by the river to toss some rocks and watch Schwartz and his buddies cast their lines. Asmus, who grew up in New Ulm, pointed to a big rock he used to sit on when he fished as a kid. He remembered snagging his line regularly.
Read the full products at http://www.tilees.com/!
2013年9月2日星期一
Arwana’s New Plant to Raise Tile Output
Arwana Citramulia, a ceramic tile producer, is looking to add 8 million square meters to its existing 41 million square-meter annual production capacity, once its fourth plant — located in Palembang, South Sumatra — becomes operational this year, the company’s founder and chief executive said.
Tandean Rustandi was upbeat on the industry’s outlook, giving that as the main reason for the business expansion.“Our population is 240 million [people] and yet ceramic consumption is only 1 square meter per capita. It is very low, even when compared with Vietnam which has 4 square meters of ceramic consumption per capita,” said Tandean, who founded Arwana in 1993 and made it one of the top 20 tile manufacturers in the world.
Currently, the firm operates three plants in Tangerang, Serang and Gresik. Its Palembang plant is scheduled to begin commercial operation in October.Since its inception, Arwana has consistently targeted the lower- and middle-class segments. In 2011, it introduced a new product for the well-heeled segment of society but remains confident that the lower and Ceramic tile, traditionally its bread-and-butter, remains its major market.
The biggest hurdle for the business, however, as Tandean explained, was the lack of a reliable gas supply. The ceramics business is energy-intensive, making securing energy sources a top priority.Energy is the largest cost component in the ceramic industry, accounting for 35 percent of total costs.“Even with a low level of consumption we find trouble securing natural gas supplies,” said Tandean, who believes there is a need to make the domestic gas market more competitive.
Tandean, who entered the business with little knowledge, now has partnerships with 14,000 distributors selling only Arwana ceramics. He says the company commands a 20 percent domestic market share.The company reported net income of Rp 133.9 billion in the first half of the year, more than double from the same period a year earlier, even as sales increased by just 30 percent.
Tandean is no longer the majority shareholder in Arwana. Major financial institutions like Credit Suisse, UBS and HSBC own substantial interests in the company which, according to Tandean, is a show of confidence in the company’s growth plans.
“They include Arwana in their investment portfolio because we are not being forced to expand, but are consistently expanding,” noted Tandean. For his business success, his alma mater gave him the University of Chicago Entrepreneurial Alumni Award for 2011.
Several years ago I was introduced to European Tilt and Turn windows while traveling in Germany. My fascination with these windows ultimately lead to me attending a European Door & Window workshop in Ouray, CO recently.
Organized by Greg Godbout of Rangate, under the direction of master craftsman Joe Calhoun of Cascade Woodwork, we spent four intense days building window and door units. Besides myself, in attendance were Jeff Casagrande of Casagrande Woodworks, and Yaraslov Soukup, an engineer and owner of Soukup Machinery from the Czech Republic. Five of us, brought together by our love for the craft, spent our time together sharing year’s of experience.
In 2011, the US imported $94 million in windows, with a significant share of that coming from Europe. Why? Those windows could/should be produced here in the U.S. There is no better time to take advantage of the benefits these windows offer and at the same time increase our domestic manufacturing capabilities.
With windows responsible for 25% to 30% of the heat loss in a typical building, well-designed and installed windows are critical to reducing energy consumption while increasing thermal comfort and air quality in a controlled environment.
Wood is a sustainable and a renewable resource, and an operable Tilt and Turn window provides excellent air-tightness when closed and controlled ventilation when opened. Together, wooden Tilt and Turn windows and doors are an essential component to enable the overall higher building energy standards.
Danny Johnson, lead designer on the iOS version of Runner2 and a level designer on the console version of the game, told us that he was going through each level, making things work better for the touchscreen controls. “Touchscreens aren’t as responsive as buttons,” he said, “so we needed to go back and rethink the whole game, level by level, to make it work for iOS.”
Things like stairs are tricky using touchscreen controls, he continued, so the team decided to make some stair areas auto-running, so that players won’t get frustrated by the intensity of tapping that must happen for these vertical features.
In addition to the same five worlds, Runner2 for iOS will have all the familiar characters that you can unlock or purchase to play through the levels with. You’ll also have the same chance to unlock challenge and retro levels in the iOS Runner2 game, using gold collected throughout each level, including levels that use the same tile-set as the first Bit.Trip Runner, which originally released in 2010. The new Runner2 game marks the first time the team is using HD graphics, so the retro style is much more marked than previously.
Read the full products at http://www.tilees.com/!
Tandean Rustandi was upbeat on the industry’s outlook, giving that as the main reason for the business expansion.“Our population is 240 million [people] and yet ceramic consumption is only 1 square meter per capita. It is very low, even when compared with Vietnam which has 4 square meters of ceramic consumption per capita,” said Tandean, who founded Arwana in 1993 and made it one of the top 20 tile manufacturers in the world.
Currently, the firm operates three plants in Tangerang, Serang and Gresik. Its Palembang plant is scheduled to begin commercial operation in October.Since its inception, Arwana has consistently targeted the lower- and middle-class segments. In 2011, it introduced a new product for the well-heeled segment of society but remains confident that the lower and Ceramic tile, traditionally its bread-and-butter, remains its major market.
The biggest hurdle for the business, however, as Tandean explained, was the lack of a reliable gas supply. The ceramics business is energy-intensive, making securing energy sources a top priority.Energy is the largest cost component in the ceramic industry, accounting for 35 percent of total costs.“Even with a low level of consumption we find trouble securing natural gas supplies,” said Tandean, who believes there is a need to make the domestic gas market more competitive.
Tandean, who entered the business with little knowledge, now has partnerships with 14,000 distributors selling only Arwana ceramics. He says the company commands a 20 percent domestic market share.The company reported net income of Rp 133.9 billion in the first half of the year, more than double from the same period a year earlier, even as sales increased by just 30 percent.
Tandean is no longer the majority shareholder in Arwana. Major financial institutions like Credit Suisse, UBS and HSBC own substantial interests in the company which, according to Tandean, is a show of confidence in the company’s growth plans.
“They include Arwana in their investment portfolio because we are not being forced to expand, but are consistently expanding,” noted Tandean. For his business success, his alma mater gave him the University of Chicago Entrepreneurial Alumni Award for 2011.
Several years ago I was introduced to European Tilt and Turn windows while traveling in Germany. My fascination with these windows ultimately lead to me attending a European Door & Window workshop in Ouray, CO recently.
Organized by Greg Godbout of Rangate, under the direction of master craftsman Joe Calhoun of Cascade Woodwork, we spent four intense days building window and door units. Besides myself, in attendance were Jeff Casagrande of Casagrande Woodworks, and Yaraslov Soukup, an engineer and owner of Soukup Machinery from the Czech Republic. Five of us, brought together by our love for the craft, spent our time together sharing year’s of experience.
In 2011, the US imported $94 million in windows, with a significant share of that coming from Europe. Why? Those windows could/should be produced here in the U.S. There is no better time to take advantage of the benefits these windows offer and at the same time increase our domestic manufacturing capabilities.
With windows responsible for 25% to 30% of the heat loss in a typical building, well-designed and installed windows are critical to reducing energy consumption while increasing thermal comfort and air quality in a controlled environment.
Wood is a sustainable and a renewable resource, and an operable Tilt and Turn window provides excellent air-tightness when closed and controlled ventilation when opened. Together, wooden Tilt and Turn windows and doors are an essential component to enable the overall higher building energy standards.
Danny Johnson, lead designer on the iOS version of Runner2 and a level designer on the console version of the game, told us that he was going through each level, making things work better for the touchscreen controls. “Touchscreens aren’t as responsive as buttons,” he said, “so we needed to go back and rethink the whole game, level by level, to make it work for iOS.”
Things like stairs are tricky using touchscreen controls, he continued, so the team decided to make some stair areas auto-running, so that players won’t get frustrated by the intensity of tapping that must happen for these vertical features.
In addition to the same five worlds, Runner2 for iOS will have all the familiar characters that you can unlock or purchase to play through the levels with. You’ll also have the same chance to unlock challenge and retro levels in the iOS Runner2 game, using gold collected throughout each level, including levels that use the same tile-set as the first Bit.Trip Runner, which originally released in 2010. The new Runner2 game marks the first time the team is using HD graphics, so the retro style is much more marked than previously.
Read the full products at http://www.tilees.com/!
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