Lewis County is the leader in wind energy in New York. Beginning with the 195-tower Maple Ridge Wind Farm commissioned in 2005, our community has been open for wind development. There are two new projects in process in Lewis County that would add 150 megawatts of renewable energy to New York state, enough to power an average of 50,000 homes. Our county, towns and school districts are active in the permitting process to make sure that tax agreements are in place to benefit the entire community.
The Maple Ridge Wind Farm has brought very significant economic benefits to Lewis County. The tax agreements have brought millions of dollars of revenue to four towns, three school districts and the county. The farm employs about 35 full-time staff and regularly brings contractors into the community. The initial construction period injected millions of dollars into local businesses for building supplies. And with hundreds of construction workers, thousands of additional dollars were spent at our local small businesses. The towns and school districts that are home to this project are economically healthy at a time when many small rural communities are not in that position. Wind power has helped our schools, our towns and our taxpayers.
Wind development didn’t come to Lewis County without state action. A statewide policy known as the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard, created in 2006, attracted wind companies by providing market demand for clean energy and enough certainty to get projects financed and built. This 10-year policy expires at the end of this year.
With new wind projects proposed for Lewis County, an effective RPS policy would continue to attract investment and create jobs in our county and state. Our county strongly supports these projects to create additional green energy. We welcome the opportunity to partner with well-sited wind projects in Lewis County. The beautiful Tug Hill Plateau is an area where agriculture is challenging and recreation and energy development have become the primary economic accelerators.
As the RPS comes to an end, so may these innovative, clean and profitable energy projects unless it is reauthorized. It is important to reinvest energy dollars into new, green energy projects. We believe Gov. Andrew Cuomo should strengthen and extend the RPS for New York because we know clean energy can be a solution that transforms our energy production and helps places like Lewis County.
Michael Tabolt
Lowville
The writer is chairman of the Lewis County Board of Legislators.
Dyson’s brand has considerable weight: there’s no shortage of Dyson-envy if you hear someone you know has one of their bagless vacuums.
And while brands can wane over time (hi Bose!), Dyson continue to plough money into R&D, creating not only things you might want, but things that are much better than the stuff you have.
Dyson changed the whole vacuum industry just a decade and a half ago by inventing the bagless vacuum, as well as the transparent dirt bin (which seemed like madness at the time), the cordless handstick vacuum, and much more.
We’re talking about Dyson’s fanless fans, hand-dryers that just dry faster, and today, battery-powered, rechargeable handheld vacuum cleaners.
The Dyson V6 Absolute is one of these.
The vaccum itself
The entire body you hold in one hand, carrying the motor, filter and dustbin. It lasts around 20 minutes while turned on, and there’s no cords – you squeeze a trigger and away it goes.
Dyson V6 Absolute body
Dyson V6 Absolute trigger
To get from your hands to the dirt in the carpet, you snap on an attractive red tube, to which you can attach a variety of heads. More on that later.
HEPA filters: why they matter
Dyson’s put in dual-HEPA filters for air that travels through the vacuum, with the brochure explaining that the filters mean the air is cleaner after it passes through the vacuum. The filters are easily cleaned or changed out.
Dyson V6 Absolute filter
So what are HEPA filters?
HEPA (high-efficiency particulate arrestance) filters are air filters that cut out 99.97 per cent of stuff in the air smaller than 0.3 micrometers. How big is that? Well, you’d need to stitch together around 100 of these to get close to the thickness of a human hair.
And where did HEPA filters come from? Ahem, well, the Manhattan Project, actually. To cut out radioactive particles. That’s how you know they work well.
Put to work: How it was to vacuum with
Well, vacuuming was about as fun as a chore can get. Pieces snap together intuitively. Being lightweight and manoeuvrable, it’s easy to use. It’s perfect for quickly moving from a full set of stairs, to cobwebs you haven’t considered getting for months, and back to the floor as usual.
You don’t have to move furniture. You don’t have to change powerpoints. You’re not pulling around a cumbersome wheeled vacuum.
The V6 easily delivers enough suction to rip through anything from heavier debris to fine dirt. The dirt-bin was simple (and just about hands-free) to empty.
Comparing to a Miele vacuum that was corded and bagged, it performed at a high level while it lasted and it’s far more easy to do odd jobs. You can pull it out just to vacuum a dirty corner – it’s not a chore to quickly use and put back.
That’s not to say it’s the perfect vacuum though.
You have around about a 20 minute cleaning time. And that’s it. The V6 Absolute doesn’t fade out – it just comes to a complete stop. There is a low-battery light, but you can’t see it while using the vacuum. Chances are you won’t charge it every time you use it, so there’s no real way of knowing how much longer it has.
Dyson V6 Absolute battery charging
It takes around three-and-a-half hours to charge fully before it’s ready to go again. Of course, that’s what you get with a battery-powered cord-free device. That’s what makes it portable.
One other mild complaint: the fact you have to squeeze the trigger to make it work makes sense, and the trigger offers little resistance, but when gripping the trigger and the body while vacuuming, the odd hold hurts your finger after a bit. Yes, it hurts the finger of a grown man at peak fitness who, just quietly, has the grip-strength of an orangutan.
For others not as lucky – think an arthritic 60-year-old lawn bowler – it might not be possible to use for too long.
A few people asked if this was just a high-powered dust buster. Well, it is, if you ignore that it’s about 1000 times the suction, isn’t just blowing out allergy-laden dusty air, and is truly fun to use.
One other thing – Dyson include a wall mount to help you click the vacuum in and store it out of the way. Perfect for small houses, right? Well, if you are in a small townhouse or apartment, there’s a very good chance you’re renting. And in that case, you can’t do your own home improvements and drill the mount into a spare surface. That means it’s wasted on a fair percentage of renters, who would probably love to use it but can’t!
Dyson V6 Absolute attachment
Where Dyson gets complicated
Dyson have a range of V6 handstick vacuums. And for people trying to figure out which one is for them, there are too many.
There’s the Fluffy (for hard floors), the Animal (for houses with pets) and the Motorhead (for carpets). There’s even just a straight V6.
Dyson V6 Absolute soft head
The only real difference between all of these is the cleaner heads. And the price tag.
The Absolute includes two heads – the Fluffy and the Motorhead, to target all debris. It’s the all-in-one, and it’s the most expensive, at RRP $899. (Shopping around, we can find it for $854 online.) The others are $100 or $200 cheaper.
Dyson V6 Absolute swivelhead
If you want to save money, it’s hard to know which one you should get, particularly if you have different floors, and a pet that sheds some hair but not a lot.
That $899 asking price for the Absolute makes it a significant investment. And while the knock-offs are unlikely to match Dyson across the board, it’s easy to justify saving a couple of hundred dollars for a tradeoff.
Dyson are firmly in the space that Apple play in. There are cheap knock-offs, but they aren’t Dysons.
Overall
So, what did we think, and should you get one?
The V6 Absolute is for a small house only. That’s partly down to the battery life you get, as well as the dirt-bin size. It is light enough that carrying it around isn’t a problem, and there’s a stack of different attachments for all your needs.
It has incredible suction and power for the tiny motor it packs. There’s a deeply satisfying feel when you first turn it on as the motor whistles into operating at 110,000 RPM.
We see three real problems with the vacuum, and none of them are related to performance.
1. You have to squeeze the trigger to keep it on, which for longer jobs will eventually hurt your finger. 2. It doesn’t run out of battery gracefully – just stops working all of a sudden. You get a low-battery warning light, but it’s not noticeable when in use. 3. There are so many attachments you have to have somewhere to keep them. And if you have a small house, you probably don’t have much storage room.
There’s also price. A Dyson is not a bargain; they’re premium, and come at a premium price. It’s up to you to decide if that’s worth it. Miele are the other real competitor at the high-end of the market.
However a Dyson does come with a five-year warranty, with a lifetime warranty on the filters. That makes it something you’ll own for as long as you need it.
The new Dyson V6 Absolute is available via Dyson.com.au for RRP $899.00 and cheaper if you shop around.
We give it 4/5. Longer battery life, and $150 cheaper across the Dyson range would make it almost perfect.
ZF wind turbine gearbox. Source: ZF Friedrichshafen AG. License: All rights reserved
May 14 (SeeNews) – German driveline and chassis technology firm ZF Friedrichshafen AG said on Wednesday it will acquire the industrial gears and wind turbine gearbox operations of Bosch Rexroth AG.
ZF announced in a statement it has inked the deal yesterday, but did not disclose its financial terms. The transaction involves the purchase of Bosch Rexroth’s two production locations in Witten, Germany and Beijing, China and the transfer of over 1,200 employees in total. Also, ZF will take over Bosch Rexroth’s service location in Lake Zurich, the US.
While the deal allows ZF to enter the industrial gears market, it also bolsters the company’s existing wind turbine gearbox activities. ZF noted that the factory being acquired in Beijing is focused exclusively on the production of wind turbine gearboxes.
“The acquisition of the industrial gears and wind turbine gearbox segments of Bosch Rexroth AG is an excellent supplement to our Industrial Technology portfolio and opens up new customer groups,” commented ZF CEO Stefan Sommer.
Bosch Rexroth’s large gearbox business generated about EUR 300 million (USD 340.9m) in sales last year. The company will retain its small gearbox production operations.
The takeover needs to be cleared by the antitrust authorities.
Ivan Shumkov is the mergers and acquisitions expert in SeeNews Renewables with a passion for big deals and ambitious capacity plans. He is a big fan of wave and tidal energy, too.
ZF to take over Bosch Rexroth’s wind turbine gearbox business
ZF wind turbine gearbox. Source: ZF Friedrichshafen AG. License: All rights reserved
May 14 (SeeNews) – German driveline and chassis technology firm ZF Friedrichshafen AG said on Wednesday it will acquire the industrial gears and wind turbine gearbox operations of Bosch Rexroth AG.
ZF announced in a statement it has inked the deal yesterday, but did not disclose its financial terms. The transaction involves the purchase of Bosch Rexroth’s two production locations in Witten, Germany and Beijing, China and the transfer of over 1,200 employees in total. Also, ZF will take over Bosch Rexroth’s service location in Lake Zurich, the US.
While the deal allows ZF to enter the industrial gears market, it also bolsters the company’s existing wind turbine gearbox activities. ZF noted that the factory being acquired in Beijing is focused exclusively on the production of wind turbine gearboxes.
“The acquisition of the industrial gears and wind turbine gearbox segments of Bosch Rexroth AG is an excellent supplement to our Industrial Technology portfolio and opens up new customer groups,” commented ZF CEO Stefan Sommer.
Bosch Rexroth’s large gearbox business generated about EUR 300 million (USD 340.9m) in sales last year. The company will retain its small gearbox production operations.
The takeover needs to be cleared by the antitrust authorities.
Ivan Shumkov is the mergers and acquisitions expert in SeeNews Renewables with a passion for big deals and ambitious capacity plans. He is a big fan of wave and tidal energy, too.
Apple’s upcoming Campus 2 is basically a big monument to its energy policy. Photo: Apple
A new report from environmental organization Greenpeace has given Apple top marks for its policies and movement toward renewable energy.
The 72-page document by senior policy analyst Gary Cook and media officer David Pomerantz serves as an evaluation of current corporate activities, a summary of the state of renewable tech and progress, and a roadmap for how to institute less wasteful programs moving forward.
Greenpeace also lauded Google and Facebook’s performances, but Apple was the only one to receive a perfect grade-point average in the four evaluated areas (Transparency, Policy, Efficiency, and Advocacy). According to the report card, “Apple’s commitment to renewable energy has helped set a new bar for the industry, illustrating in very concrete terms that a 100 percent renewable Internet is within its reach and providing several models of intervention for other companies that want to build a sustainable Internet.”
Lower scorers include auction site eBay (which “must look to move from ‘cleaner’ sources of electricity toward securing greater amounts of renewable electricity that are actually clean,” according to the report) and data-center manager Dupont Fabros Technology.
(Des Moines) — The move to more renewable sources of energy is proving to be a breeze locally, with a new study showing that Iowa leads the nation for wind power.
Mike Prior is executive director of Iowa Wind Energy Association, which issued the report. He says more than 28 percent of the energy produced in Iowa now comes from wind generation, the highest percentage of any state.
“And by the end of 2015, our expected megawatt total will be 6,300, which will be over about 30 percent of our entire generation for the state of Iowa that will come from wind energy,” he adds.
In addition to good wind resources, Prior credits the utilities in the state in helping to lead the way to more wind generation, along with supportive state lawmakers and policies.
Prior notes that wind energy is affordable energy, as electricity rates in Iowa have remained below the national average as the amount of wind generation has grown steadily over the past decade.
“For example, Iowa’s electricity rates are 30 percent lower than Wisconsin electric rates, and Wisconsin only gets about 2 percent of its energy from wind power, compared to our 28.5 percent,” he points out.
Prior also says wind energy is good for the local economy, with about 6,000 Iowans employed in the industry, and landowners receiving more than $16 million annually in wind turbine land lease payments.
Manhattan, NY- May 09, 2015 – (Techsonian) –Yingli Green Energy (NYSE:YGE), one of the world’s prominent solar panel manufacturers, known as “Yingli Solar,” proclaimed that it reached more than 13 gigawatts (GW) of cumulative global solar panel deliveries by the end of the first quarter of 2015.
Yingli Green Energy (NYSE:YGE) started its trading session with the price of $1.73 and closed at $1.70 by scoring +1.80%. YGE’s stocks traded with total volume of 2.50 million shares, while the average trading volume remained 1.78 million shares. The beta of YGE stands at 2.20. Day range of the stock was $1.59 -$1.73.
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Invesco Ltd (NYSE:IVZ) is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm provides its services to retail clients, institutional clients, high-net worth clients, public entities, corporations, unions, non-profit organizations, endowments, foundations, pension funds, financial institutions, and sovereign wealth funds. It manages separate client focused equity, balanced, and fixed income portfolios.
Invesco Ltd (NYSE:IVZ) finished last trade at $41.43, gaining +1.02%. Trading volume recorded for this company was about 2.50 million shares as compared to its average volume of 2.41 million shares. The company has the total of 430.71 million outstanding shares while its market capitalization is now about $17.66 billion.
Goodrich Petroleum (NYSE:GDP) publicized the Company’s management team will present at Iberia Capital Partner’s Oil & Gas Day at the Omni Berkshire Place Hotel located at 21 East 52nd Street at Madison Avenue in New York, New York on Tuesday, May 12, 2015 at 3:20 PM ET.
Goodrich Petroleum (NYSE:GDP) reported the gain of +5.56% and closed at $3.61 with the total traded volume of 2.49 million shares versus average trading volume of 2.67 million shares. Its market capitalization is $195.51 million. The stock has a 52-week high price of $30.52 and its 52-week low was recorded at $2.35.
AmerisourceBergen Corp (NYSE:ABC) sources and distributes pharmaceutical products to healthcare providers, pharmaceutical and biotech manufacturers, and specialty drug patients in the United States and internationally. Its Pharmaceutical Distribution segment distributes brand-name and generic pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter healthcare products, home healthcare supplies and equipment, and related services to various healthcare providers, counting acute care hospitals and health systems, independent and chain retail pharmacies, mail order pharmacies, medical clinics, long-term care and other alternate site pharmacies, and other consumers.
AmerisourceBergen Corp (NYSE:ABC) reported the increase of +1.08% to close at $115.30 with the overall traded volume of 2.49 million shares. Its market capitalization on last close reached to $25.05 billion. Its intraday-low price was $114.53 and its hit its day’s highest price at $116.00.
ZF wind turbine gearbox. Source: ZF Friedrichshafen AG. License: All rights reserved
