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Category: Energy

  • MIL-OSI USA: Biofuels and Batteries Gain From the System Dynamics Behind the Research

    Source: US National Renewable Energy Laboratory

    How Modeling Feedback Loops Informs Analysis and Decisions Across Decarbonization Technologies 

    NREL researchers Swaroop Atnoorkar (right), Shubhankar Upasani (center), and Guilherme Castelao look at data analysis. Photo by Agata Bogucka, NREL

    “When you look at renewable energy, not everything is linear,” said Swaroop Atnoorkar, an analyst at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). “Technologies often operate in complex systems with many moving parts in the background.”

    Atnoorkar relies on understanding the intricacies of clean energy systems in her research on biofuel economics and supply chains. Research like hers is a vital step in understanding how each decision made with any given technology could impact its evolution.

    But how do researchers examine the relationships between various factors within a given system, how they could change, and how those changes ultimately lead to different behaviors in the system over longer periods of time? And what exactly does this type of research inform?

    The answers to those questions may lie within a sophisticated modeling method known as system dynamics.

    Brief History of System Dynamics

    Since its creation in the 1950s by Jay W. Forrester, a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, system dynamics has become a tried-and-true method for understanding the behaviors of complex systems in terms of stocks, flows, and the feedback loops that connect them.

    A simplified and generic example of a system dynamics model illustrates the complex interactions that could occur within a biofuel supply and production chain, featuring a feedstock, conversion pathway, and biofuel supply module. Graphic by Liz Craig, NREL

    Think of this relationship like planting crops such as corn.  The growth of corn in the field—a flow—is controlled by feedback processes including watering and nutrient availability. When the stock of corn is harvested, other feedback loops control the decomposition of residues and the return of nutrients to the soil.

    At the time Forrester developed it, system dynamics research was applied to corporate managerial questions at General Electric’s plants. Studying corporate managerial problems remained its primary application through the 1960s, until researchers broadened its uses to examine other larger-scale societal questions. Initially, these simulations of stock-flow feedback structures were conducted with command-line programs, visualized with hand-drawn diagrams, and showed how internal management decisions impacted the dynamics of inventory and human resource systems. Now, its applications include examining everything from public health to renewable energy systems.

    “Many of the early users of system dynamics knew its potential was far greater than its original business management use,” said Bobby Jeffers, acting laboratory program manager in NREL’s Energy Systems Integration directorate. “We are always trying to answer the question: ‘What are the feedback loops that really take hold of the system and cause it to go on some trajectory?’ We’re trying to encourage virtuous cycles that build on themselves while finding dampening cycles that allow things to grow sustainably.”

    Jeffers specializes in system dynamics research. He and other researchers at NREL, like Atnoorkar, now use computer modeling to explore the complex relationships between various elements of system structures.

    NREL program manager Bobby Jeffers leads a session during a workshop put together by the Energy Security and Resilience Program Office. Photo by Joe DelNero, NREL

    Snapshot of System Dynamics at NREL

    Atnoorkar is among the newer members of the research team working to find new ways to approach biofuel development at NREL.

    For the last decade, much of the work being done to gain insights into the biofuel market has utilized NREL’s Bioenergy Scenario Model (BSM), which is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO). The System Dynamics Society Award-winning model tracks biofuel deployment and the effects of various influences on the biofuel market, such as changes in consumer demand, government policies, and land availability for feedstock. It dynamically models these elements as part of the U.S. domestic biofuels supply chain.

    “Factors like oil prices, biofuel demand, and the costs of resources are always fluctuating—sometimes unpredictably—and changes in each one creates different outcomes, especially at the national scale,” Atnoorkar said.

    NREL and BETO have historically used BSM to develop deployment strategies for advanced biofuels. Currently, it helps researchers like Atnoorkar develop insights into U.S. biofuels market growth and examine potential barriers to broader expansion of biofuel technologies. Among those technologies are those that create sustainable aviation fuels.

    System dynamics research at NREL helps inform development and policies surrounding sustainable aviation fuel that is used at airports across the United States. Photo from Getty Images

    “Many airports nowadays have sustainability goals, and they want to determine if those goals are feasible,” Atnoorkar said. “While the BSM does analysis for potential biofuels supply at the national scale, the analysis we do at the regional scale can also help ports and airports make decisions about their biofuel sourcing.”

    To that end, the system dynamics research being done at NREL has ultimately helped inform policy strategies surrounding low-carbon fuel standards. A major part of that research is the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Grand Challenge—a plan set forth by DOE, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Transportation, and other federal agencies that aims to spur the expansion of commercial SAF production technologies.

    Critically, the SAF Grand Challenge is targeting at least a 50% reduction in life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions and ramping up SAF supply to meet 100% of aviation fuel demand by 2050.

    “The BSM is now being used to investigate how we could reach those goals and what kinds of roadblocks may need to be overcome,” said Emily Newes, the NREL Strategic Energy Analysis Center’s Integrated Modeling and Economic Analysis Group manager.

    NREL Integrated Modeling and Economic Analysis Group Manager Emily Newes leads the teams studying supply chain and policy questions for aviation and maritime biofuels. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL

    Newes works extensively with the system dynamics models informing potential biofuel deployment, specifically the SAF Grand Challenge and biofuels for maritime applications. These models are answering questions about how changes in everything from the resources needed to build refineries to the different types of potential feedstocks ultimately affect the policies and decisions being made.

    “It helps inform us about what barriers there could be so that we can help find solutions—either through policy or the industry—to overcome them,” Newes said.

    System dynamics models are also informing NREL’s research in battery energy storage. A key modeling framework used in this space is the Lithium-Ion Battery Resource Assessment, or LIBRA, model. LIBRA is vital in NREL’s work in understanding the supply chain of lithium-ion batteries, which have become a key component to a future with more electric vehicles (EVs) on the road.

    “When we’re talking about the needs for manufacturing in this country and globally, you can’t just look at one technology at a time,” NREL’s supply chain analytics lead Maggie Mann said. “When we talk about batteries, we’re looking at how much cobalt, nickel, and lithium are needed to manufacture them, as well as the demand for those same materials for other technologies.”

    NREL’s system dynamics modeling examines supply chains for raw materials like the lithium used in electric vehicle batteries. Photo from Getty Images

    Mann was on the team that pioneered and developed the LIBRA model. It gives users the means to examine the long-term effects of changes in the battery supply chain for multiple EV battery types, consumer electronics, and utility-scale storage systems.

    Through examining elements such as the costs, raw materials, and changing policies at both the domestic and international scales, LIBRA is providing invaluable insights into the U.S. battery recycling supply chain. Those insights then inform manufacturing and industry practices as well as policy decisions in the clean energy sector.

    Along with the LIBRA model, supply chain researchers at NREL, like Mann, are also developing the Recursive Integrated Networks for Growth (RING) model, which supports NREL’s Mapping, Modeling, and Analysis Consortium (MMAC). This model, designed specifically for DOE’s Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC) office, calculates how each output can be cycled back into the supply chain itself. What does that mean?  

    “Say you want to look at how many batteries are manufactured, then go through their life, hit the end of their life, and you want to recycle them, so the raw materials and battery components go back into manufacturing,” Mann said. “System dynamics can allow for those types of recursive calculations and help us look out 10 to 12 years to see the total demand for manufactured batteries minus the raw materials that are recycled.”

    Both the RING and LIBRA models help researchers answer the critical question of “How much could recycling batteries affect the amount of new material we need to produce?” Each model helps inform the decisions behind battery production and policies through 2050 and quantify the impact that recycling can have on decreasing the United States’ dependence on foreign resources.

    NREL Decision Support Analysis Group Manager Maggie Mann presents about her research to a group at the Coordinating Research Council’s Sustainable Mobility Workshop. Photo by Werner Slocum, NREL

    How Is System Dynamics Evolving at NREL?

    Much of the research Atnoorkar, Jeffers, Mann, Newes, and others do in supply chains is centered around system dynamics. Because of their broad lenses, models like BSM, LIBRA, and RING are often used to develop strategies for new technology deployment.

    In the case of BSM, bioenergy’s large, comprehensive nature makes it tougher to focus on smaller-scale system dynamics. That is why the team is working to modify it for limited-case, regional scenarios, using a new BETO-funded model called the Regional Bio-Economy Model (RBEM).

    “The main structure is the same,” Atnoorkar said. “But with RBEM, we are able to focus on biorefinery investment decisions in specific regions, such as marine biofuel production in coastal areas or aviation biofuel production in the immediate area around a major airport.”

    RBEM will enable researchers to examine the logic behind the feedback loops in those smaller systems. The team aims to publicly release this model in the next year or two.

    And while Atnoorkar and Newes are helping with the development of RBEM, Jeffers says NREL could look to system dynamics as a unique lens to broaden the scope of NREL’s research into a low-carbon energy system future.

    “I think we lead the world in showing what a decarbonized energy system could look like,” Jeffers said. “But system dynamics can help us realize this future by giving us a means to think about all the complex elements of economic, social, and environmental systems that influence the pathway to affordable, resilient, and secure decarbonization.”

    Explore NREL’s bioenergy, energy analysis, and grid modernization research.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Final 2023 Annual Electric Sales and Revenue Data

    Source: US Energy Information Administration

    Form EIA-861, Annual Electric Power Industry Report, and Form EIA-861S (the shortform) collect data from distribution utilities and power marketers of electricity. This survey is a census of all United States electric utilities. The short form is intended for smaller bundled-service utilities and has less detailed responses. This survey collects more data than the monthly counterpart, Form EIA-861M. Data are the individual surveys responses and are included in the files described below.

    Our survey page contains the current survey form, instructions, respondent portal, and frequently asked questions. Data from these files can be found throughout our publications, usually in aggregated form in our Electric Power Annual (EPA) report; State Electricity Profiles (SEP); Electric Sales, Revenue, and Average Price (ESR) report; Electricity Data Browser; and in some Today in Energy articles.

    Please refer to our Guide to EIA Electric Power Data and send any questions to InfoElectric@eia.gov.

    In 2012, we created Form EIA-861S to reduce respondent burden and to increase our processing efficiency; that year, about 1,100 utilities initially reported on this form instead of Form EIA-861. In 2020, the number of utilities increased to about 1,700 utilities. We reformatted the files for the years 1990–2011, but we didn’t change or update any data files. We reformatted the files to make them easier to understand and to match the format and titles of the current files.

    • Frame
      • Surveys: Form EIA-861 and Form EIA-861S
      • Time frame: 2016 to present
      • Description: The data contain a complete list of all respondents from both forms and which files they have data in.
    • Advanced Metering
      • Surveys: Form EIA-861 and Form EIA-861S
      • Time frame: 2007 to present
      • Description: The data contain number of meters from automated meter readings (AMR) and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) by state, sector, and balancing authority. The energy served (in megawatthours) for AMI systems is provided. Form EIA-861 respondents also report the number of standard meters (non AMR/AMI) in their system.
      • Historical Changes: We started collecting the number of standard meters in 2013. The monthly survey collected these data from January 2011 to January 2017.
    • Balancing Authority
      • Surveys: Form EIA-861 and Form EIA-861
      • Time frame: 2012 to present
      • Description: The data contain the list of balancing authorities and the states they operate in.
    • Delivery Companies
      • Survey: Form EIA-861
      • Time frame: 2020 to present
      • Description: The data contain revenue, sales, and customer count by sector from utilities that deliver energy in Texas.
    • Demand Response
      • Survey: Form EIA-861
      • Time frame: 2013 to present
      • Description: The data contain energy demand response programs by state, sector, and balancing authority. We collect data for the number of customers enrolled, energy savings, potential and actual peak savings, and associated costs.
    • Distribution Systems
      • Survey: Form EIA-861
      • Time frame: 2013 to present
      • Description: The data contain the number of distribution circuits and circuits with voltage optimization by state.
    • Dynamic Pricing
      • Survey: Form EIA-861
      • Time frame: 2013 to present
      • Description: The data contain the number of customers enrolled in dynamic pricing programs by state, sector, and balancing authority. Respondents check if one or more customers are enrolled in time-of-use pricing, real time pricing, variable peak pricing, critical peak pricing, and critical peak rebates.
    • Energy Efficiency
      • Survey: Form EIA-861
      • Time frame: 2013 to present
      • Description: The data contain incremental energy savings, peak demand savings, weighted average life cycle, and associated costs for the reporting year and life cycle of energy efficiency programs.
    • Mergers
      • Survey: Form EIA-861
      • Time frame: 2007 to present
      • Description: The data contain information on mergers and acquisitions.
    • Net Metering
      • Survey: Form EIA-861
      • Time frame: 2001 to present
      • Description: The data contain cumulative installation count and capacity of generators that are net metered by technology, state, sector, and balancing authority. If available, the energy sold back to the grid is also reported. Technology types include photovoltaic (standard, virtual less than 1 megawatt, and virtual 1 megawatt or greater), wind, and other. Storage systems that are paired with net-metered photovoltaic (PV) are also captured. We make a state-level adjustment for missing PV capacity and to convert state total capacity to AC units for those respondents who report data in DC units; we use 0.8256 as a conversion factor to change DC to AC. For other energy sources, we have not established imputation procedures.
      • Historical Changes: Initially, data contained only the customer count. In 2007, energy displaced was added (later renamed to energy sold back). We added capacity of systems in 2010, and we divided this category by technology type: PV, wind, and other. In 2016, we added a question to the survey about whether the megawatts reported for the PV systems were in AC or DC units). Also in 2016, the survey divided PV to include virtual systems and storage systems paired with PV. Starting in 2020, Form EIA-861S respondents were imputed.
    • Non-Net Metering Distributed
      • Survey: Form EIA-861
      • Time frame: 2010 to present
      • Description: The data contain cumulative values of generators that are not net metered and are under 1 megawatt in size (and not reported on Form EIA-860). Installations, total capacity, capacity owned, and capacity backup are reported in aggregate by state, sector, and balancing authority. Capacity is also reported by technology, state, sector, and balancing authority. Technology types include combustion turbine, internal combustion engine, fuel cells, hydroelectric, photovoltaic (PV), steam turbine, storage, wind, and other. Form EIA-861S respondents do not provide non-net-metering distributed data. A state-level adjustment is made for missing PV capacity and to convert state total capacity to AC units for those respondents who report data in DC units; we use 0.8256 as a conversion factor to change DC to AC, which uses the responses from the net-metering schedule. For other energy sources, we have not established imputation procedures.
      • Historical Changes: This schedule was referred to as distributed generation, and we renamed it to prevent double counting from net-metered systems (2016). Data on dispersed systems (systems not connected to the grid) were collected up to 2015. In 2016, we added data on fuel cells. Starting in 2016, these data were broken out by sector, and an adjustment to convert state total capacity to AC units for those respondents who report data in DC units; we use 0.8256 as a conversion factor to change DC to AC. Starting in 2020, Form EIA-861S respondents were estimated.
    • Operational Data
      • Survey: Form EIA-861
      • Time frame: 1990 to present
      • Description: The data contain aggregate operational data for the source and disposition of energy and revenue information from each electric utility.
    • Reliability
      • Survey: Form EIA-861
      • Time frame: 2013 to present
      • Description:The data contain information on non-momentary electrical interruptions. If collected, utilities report the system average interruption duration index (SAIDI), the system average interruption frequency index (SAIFI), and the conditions under which these metrics are collected. We allow respondents to use IEEE standards or any other method. We created a short video to describe what is collected.
    • Sales to Ultimate Customers
      • Surveys: Form EIA-861 and Form EIA-861S
      • Time frame: 1990 to present
      • Description: The data contain revenue, sales (in megawatthours), and customer count of electricity delivered to end-use customers by state, sector, and balancing authority. A state, service type, and balancing authority-level adjustment is made for non-respondents and for customer-sited respondents.
      • Historical Changes: In 2003, we created the transportation sector and removed the other sector. We made this change to separate the transportation sales and reassign the other activities to the commercial and industrial sectors as appropriate. Non-transportation customers previously reported under other, including street and highway lighting, are now included in the commercial sector. Previously, we referred to this file as retail sales.
    • Sales to Ultimate Customers, Customer-Sited
      • Time frame: 2002 to present
      • Description: The data contain revenue, sales (in megawatthours), and customer count of electricity delivered to end-use customers by state, sector, and balancing authority. These data aren’t collected on Form EIA-861; however, they are included in the state adjustments totals in the sales to ultimate customers file.
    • Service Territory
      • Surveys: Form EIA-861 and Form EIA-861S
      • Time frame: 2001 to present
      • Description: The data contain names of counties and states in which the utility has equipment to distribute electricity to ultimate customers.
    • Short Form
      • Surveys: Form EIA-861 and Form EIA-861S
      • Time frame: 2001 to present
      • Description: The data contain revenue, sales (in megawatthours), and customer count of electricity delivered to end-use customers, by state and balancing authority. Respondents answer whether they have net metering, demand side management, and time-based programs.
    • Utility Data
      • Survey: Form EIA-861
      • Time frame: 1990 to present
      • Description:The data contain information on a utility’s North American Electric Reliability (NERC) regions of operation. The data also indicate a utility’s independent system operator (ISO) or regional transmission organization (RTO) and whether that utility is engaged in any of the following activities: generation, transmission, buying transmission, distribution, buying distribution, wholesale marketing, retail marketing, bundled service, or operating alternative-fueled vehicles.
      • Historical Changes: In 2010, we added the independent system operator (ISO) and regional transmission organization (RTO) regions.
    • Demand-Side Management (DSM)
      • Survey: Form EIA-861
      • Time frame: 2001 to 2012
      • Description: The data contain energy efficiency incremental data, energy efficiency annual data, load management incremental data, load management annual data, annual costs, and the customer counts of price response and time response programs by sector.
      • Historical Changes: In 2007, we added the customer counts of price response and time response programs.
    • Green Pricing
      • Survey: Form EIA-861
      • Time frame: 2001 to 2012
      • Description: The data contain revenue, sales, and customer count by sector and state.
      • Historical Changes: Initially, data contained only the customer count. In 2007, revenue and sales were added.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: 2023 Electric Sales, Revenue, and Average Price Data

    Source: US Energy Information Administration

    Summary Tables
    T1 Number of consumers (bundled and unbundled) by sector, Census Division, and State PDF XLS
    T2 Sales to bundled and unbundled consumers by sector, Census Division, and State PDF XLS
    T3 Revenues for sales to bundled and unbundled consumers (including delivery service revenue) by sector, Census Division, and State PDF XLS
    T4 Average retail price for bundled and unbundled consumers by sector, Census Division, and State PDF XLS
    T5.a Residential average monthly bill by Census Division, and State PDF XLS
    T5.b Commercial average monthly bill by Census Division, and State PDF XLS
    T5.c Industrial average monthly bill by Census Division, and State PDF XLS
    Class of ownership, number of consumers, sales, revenue, and average price by State and utility:
    T6 Residential sector PDF XLS
    T7 Commercial sector PDF XLS
    T8 Industrial sector PDF XLS
    T9 Transportation sector PDF XLS
    T10 All sectors PDF XLS
    T11.a Number of consumers by end use sector and State: non-utility power producers PDF XLS
    T11.b Sales by end use sector and State: non-utility power producers PDF XLS
    T11.c Revenue by end use sector and State: non-utility power producers PDF XLS
    Class of ownership, number of consumers, sales, revenue, and average price for power marketers and energy service providers by State:
    T12 Residential sector PDF XLS
    T13 Commercial sector PDF XLS
    T14 Industrial sector PDF XLS
    T15 Transportation sector PDF XLS
    T16 All sectors PDF XLS
    T17 Revenue for delivery services collected by traditional distribution utilities for customers who selected alternate energy providers by State PDF XLS

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: Kayne Anderson Energy Infrastructure Fund Announces Change to Monthly Distributions and Announces Distributions

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    HOUSTON, Oct. 10, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Kayne Anderson Energy Infrastructure Fund, Inc. (the “Company”) announced today its distribution payment frequency will change from quarterly to monthly payments beginning in November 2024.

    As outlined in the table below, the Company declared a monthly distribution of $0.08 per share payable in November 2024, December 2024 and January 2025. This monthly distribution amount is equivalent to the $0.24 per share quarterly distribution paid by KYN on October 7, 2024.

    The Board of Directors and management understand how important distributions are to the Company’s investors and believe this change to KYN’s distribution policy will make it an attractive choice for investors who desire more frequent distribution payments.

    Payment of future distributions is subject to the approval of the Company’s Board of Directors.  It is the Company’s intention to declare monthly payments each month beginning with the monthly distribution payment expected to be made in February 2025.

    Record Date / Ex-Date Payment Date Distribution Amount Return of Capital Estimate
    11/15/24 11/29/24 $0.08 0%(1)
    12/16/24 12/31/24 $0.08 75%(2)
    1/15/25 1/31/25 $0.08 75%(2)

    (1) This estimate is based on the Company’s anticipated earnings and profits. The final determination of the tax character of distributions will not be determinable until after the end of fiscal 2024 and may differ substantially from this preliminary information.
    (2) This estimate is based on the Company’s anticipated earnings and profits. The final determination of the tax character of distributions will not be determinable until after the end of fiscal 2025 and may differ substantially from this preliminary information.

    Kayne Anderson Energy Infrastructure Fund, Inc. (NYSE: KYN) is a non-diversified, closed-end management investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, whose common stock is traded on the NYSE. The Company’s investment objective is to provide a high after-tax total return with an emphasis on making cash distributions to stockholders. KYN intends to achieve this objective by investing at least 80% of its total assets in securities of Energy Infrastructure Companies. See Glossary of Key Terms in the Company’s most recent quarterly report for a description of these investment categories and the meaning of capitalized terms.

    The Company pays cash distributions to common stockholders at a rate that may be adjusted from time to time. Distribution amounts are not guaranteed and may vary depending on a number of factors, including changes in portfolio holdings and market conditions. 

    This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy, nor shall there be any sale of any securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer or sale is not permitted. Nothing contained in this press release is intended to recommend any investment policy or investment strategy or consider any investor’s specific objectives or circumstances. Before investing, please consult with your investment, tax, or legal adviser regarding your individual circumstances.

    CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This communication contains statements reflecting assumptions, expectations, projections, intentions, or beliefs about future events. These and other statements not relating strictly to historical or current facts constitute forward-looking statements as defined under the U.S. federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements involve a variety of risks and uncertainties. These risks include but are not limited to changes in economic and political conditions; regulatory and legal changes; energy industry risk; leverage risk; valuation risk; interest rate risk; tax risk; and other risks discussed in detail in the Company’s filings with the SEC, available at http://www.kaynefunds.com or http://www.sec.gov. Actual events could differ materially from these statements or our present expectations or projections. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Kayne Anderson undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements made herein. There is no assurance that the Company’s investment objectives will be attained.

    Contact investor relations at 877-657-3863 or cef@kayneanderson.com.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: SECU Foundation Awards $760,000 in Capacity Building Grants to 19 North Carolina Non-Profits

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    RALEIGH, N.C., Oct. 10, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The SECU Foundation Board of Directors recently approved $760,000 in Mission Development Grants (MDGs) to benefit 19 North Carolina non-profits, each receiving $40,000. Funding for this cohort focused on technology education, support against domestic violence, housing and homelessness, child advocacy and youth services, healthcare services, and crisis intervention.

    MDG funding began eight years ago and has since become an integral part of the Foundation’s annual grantmaking process. The award-winning program has laid the groundwork for the Foundation to expand its criteria for two additional capacity building programs – Rural Opportunity and Disaster Response grants. These small dollar high-value grants are helping to strengthen the infrastructure and sustainability of non-profits that provide vital services to their communities, particularly in underserved and rural areas.

    “The MDG program has added a layer of depth to our funding strategy that is helping organizations with strategic planning efforts to hopefully achieve more than they thought possible,” said SECU Foundation Executive Director Jama Campbell. “The success of this program speaks to the critical need for this type of funding among non-profits, and we couldn’t be more pleased to be part of their journey and future success.”

    Grantees representing 19 North Carolina counties include:

    Several grantees shared thoughts on how the SECU Foundation funding will help support their organizations and advance their work:

    • Henderson County Free Medical Clinic Director Pauline Carpenter said, “The Mission Development Grant of $40,000 will significantly enhance our organizational capacity. This grant empowers us to expand our reach, strengthen our strategic planning, and bolster our fundraising and marketing efforts, ensuring the sustainability of our vital services to the community.”
    • Home of Refuge Outreach Inc. Executive Director Melissa Galloway said, “We are honored to receive a Mission Development Grant from SECU Foundation. Our mission is to ‘bridge the gap between the community and homelessness,’ and this grant will be instrumental in our expansion efforts, significantly enhancing our ability to implement strategies and achieve our goals. As we continue to pursue meaningful change in our community, this support will help us grow and strengthen our impact in addressing homelessness. We are deeply grateful for this partnership and the confidence it represents in our work.”
    • Janice Faye’s Ranch Founder Joy Canady said, “Through equine-assisted learning activities shared with kids in crisis and their families, horses are helping humans heal. The Mission Development Grant will allow Janice Faye’s Ranch to further its cause in transforming lives and allow expansion for serving kids and their families. Thank you for allowing this much-needed service to help our organization thrive and continue moving forward in Sampson County and the surrounding areas.”
    • Able to Serve Founding Executive Director Carlton McDaniel Jr. said, “Able to Serve is so thankful to SECU Foundation and its commitment to recognizing that people of all abilities need a place to thrive in our community. Their support helps provide growth opportunities for adults with disabilities through community building, service projects, and life skill development. This grant expedites our process of strengthening our development efforts through wisdom, training, and additional resources to grow strategically. These efforts will equip our organization to match the growing demand for more programs for adults with disabilities in our community.”

    About SECU and SECU Foundation

    A not-for-profit financial cooperative owned by its members, and federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), SECU has been providing employees of the state of North Carolina and their families with consumer financial services for 87 years. SECU is the second largest credit union in the United States with $56 billion in assets. It serves more than 2.8 million members through 275 branch offices, over 1,100 ATMs, Member Services Support via phone, http://www.ncsecu.org, and the SECU Mobile App. The SECU Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization funded by the contributions of SECU members, promotes local community development in North Carolina primarily through high-impact projects in the areas of housing, education, healthcare, and human services. Since 2004, SECU Foundation has made a collective financial commitment of over $300 million for initiatives to benefit North Carolinians statewide.

    Contact: Jama Campbell, Executive Director, secufoundation@ncsecu.org

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Abraxas Power Corp and Exploits Valley Renewable Energy Corporation Announce Strategic Master Lease Option Agreement for the Port of Botwood

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    TORONTO, Oct. 10, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Abraxas Power Corp. (“Abraxas”), a leading energy transition developer, and its subsidiary Exploits Valley Renewable Energy Corporation (“EVREC”), are pleased to announce the signing of a Master Lease Option Agreement (the “Agreement”) with Exploits Marine and Logistics Inc. and Exploits Valley Port Corporation for use of the Port of Botwood in EVREC’s green hydrogen and ammonia project in central Newfoundland.

    The Agreement, which spans a term of thirty years, will facilitate EVREC’s green hydrogen and ammonia production and operations related to the transmission and loading of green ammonia onto marine transport vessels for shipment to Europe and other global markets. The Agreement includes extension terms that allow EVREC to extend the lease for additional five-year terms.

    “This Agreement marks another major milestone in the development of our project and is a pivotal step towards building out the key infrastructure as the project continues through the development phase,” said Dean Comand, President and COO of Abraxas Power. “We are excited to collaborate with Exploits Marine and the Port Corporation to create a state-of-the-art facility that will not only enhance our operational capacity but also contribute to global sustainable energy goals.”

    The parties have also signed a five-year Construction Lease Option Agreement to facilitate the necessary activities that will lead up to commercial operation of the project.

    Scott Sceviour, Chair of the Exploits Valley Port Corporation added “Our partnership with EVREC is a testament to our shared vision of fostering innovation in the renewable energy sector and re-energizing our community’s economic outlook by providing shared infrastructure for other developments expected within the region. We are dedicated to collaborating on the infrastructure necessary for their success and to promoting environmentally responsible practices in our community.”

    Botwood Mayor James Sceviour added “We are pleased to continue working with EVREC on such an important and significant project for central Newfoundland. Investments at the local level not only fuel the global transition to sustainable energy but also ignites economic growth for other developments, creates jobs, and fosters resilience in our communities.”

    About Abraxas Power:

    Abraxas Power is a pioneering energy transition developer focused on decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors and creating value by solving the current and future challenges of the energy transition. Abraxas Power’s broad mandate allows it to see opportunities across technologies and geographies to transform the global energy industry. Our team has extensive experience in leading, financing, and solving the challenges associated with energy transition, and a proven track record of delivering complex, large-scale development projects across various disciplines, including renewable power and storage, hydrogen and ammonia production, industrial and precious metals, large-scale project construction, and operations at scale. The team possesses strong project finance and capital markets experience and has a history of creating value for shareholders, stakeholders, and the communities they live in. Abraxas has signed strategic partnerships with various global strategics and technology providers.

    Abraxas has secured over US$9 billion in capital projects through competitive government awards over the past year in furtherance of the energy transition, including our marquis Exploits Valley Renewable Energy Corporation (“EVREC”) project.

    To learn more, visit http://www.abraxaspower.com 

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: AMD Launches 5th Gen AMD EPYC CPUs, Maintaining Leadership Performance and Features for the Modern Data Center

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    — New EPYC processors deliver record breaking performance and efficiency for a wide range of data center workloads —

    — AMD EPYC CPUs continue momentum, with more than 950 AMD EPYC-powered public instances available globally and more than 350 platforms from OxMs —

    SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 10, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) today announced the availability of the 5th Gen AMD EPYC™ processors, formerly codenamed “Turin,” the world’s best server CPU for enterprise, AI and cloud1.

    Using the “Zen 5” core architecture, compatible with the broadly deployed SP5 platform2 and offering a broad range of core counts spanning from 8 to 192, the AMD EPYC 9005 Series processors extend the record-breaking performance3 and energy efficiency of the previous generations with the top of stack 192 core CPU delivering up to 2.7X the performance4 compared to the competition.

    New to the AMD EPYC 9005 Series CPUs is the 64 core AMD EPYC 9575F, tailor made for GPU powered AI solutions that need the ultimate in host CPU capabilities. Boosting up to 5GHz5, compared to the 3.8GHz processor of the competition, it provides up to 28% faster processing needed to keep GPUs fed with data for demanding AI workloads.

    “From powering the world’s fastest supercomputers, to leading enterprises, to the largest Hyperscalers, AMD has earned the trust of customers who value demonstrated performance, innovation and energy efficiency,” said Dan McNamara, senior vice president and general manager, server business, AMD. “With five generations of on-time roadmap execution, AMD has proven it can meet the needs of the data center market and give customers the standard for data center performance, efficiency, solutions and capabilities for cloud, enterprise and AI workloads.”

    The World’s Best CPU for Enterprise, AI and Cloud Workloads

    Modern data centers run a variety of workloads, from supporting corporate AI-enablement initiatives, to powering large-scale cloud-based infrastructures to hosting the most demanding business-critical applications. The new 5th Gen AMD EPYC processors provide leading performance and capabilities for the broad spectrum of server workloads driving business IT today.

    The new “Zen 5” core architecture, provides up to 17% better instructions per clock (IPC) for enterprise and cloud workloads and up to 37% higher IPC in AI and high performance computing (HPC) compared to “Zen 4.”6

    With AMD EPYC 9965 processor-based servers, customers can expect significant impact in their real world applications and workloads compared to the Intel Xeon® 8592+ CPU-based servers, with:

    • Up to 4X faster time to results on business applications such as video transcoding.7
    • Up to 3.9X the time to insights for science and HPC applications that solve the world’s most challenging problems.8
    • Up to 1.6X the performance per core in virtualized infrastructure.9

    In addition to leadership performance and efficiency in general purpose workloads, 5th Gen AMD EPYC processors enable customers to drive fast time to insights and deployments for AI deployments, whether they are running a CPU or a CPU + GPU solution.

    Compared to the competition:

    • The 192 core EPYC 9965 CPU has up to 3.7X the performance on end-to-end AI workloads, like TPCx-AI (derivative), which are critical for driving an efficient approach to generative AI.10
    • In small and medium size enterprise-class generative AI models, like Meta’s Llama 3.1-8B, the EPYC 9965 provides 1.9X the throughput performance compared to the competition.11
    • Finally, the purpose built AI host node CPU, the EPYC 9575F, can use its 5GHz max frequency boost to help a 1,000 node AI cluster drive up to 700,000 more inference tokens per second. Accomplishing more, faster.12

    By modernizing to a data center powered by these new processors to achieve 391,000 units of SPECrate®2017_int_base general purpose computing performance, customers receive impressive performance for various workloads, while gaining the ability to use an estimated 71% less power and ~87% fewer servers13. This gives CIOs the flexibility to either benefit from the space and power savings or add performance for day-to-day IT tasks while delivering impressive AI performance.

    AMD EPYC CPUs – Driving Next Wave of Innovation
    The proven performance and deep ecosystem support across partners and customers have driven widespread adoption of EPYC CPUs to power the most demanding computing tasks. With leading performance, features and density, AMD EPYC CPUs help customers drive value in their data centers and IT environments quickly and efficiently.

    5thGen AMD EPYC Features
    The entire lineup of 5th Gen AMD EPYC processors is available today, with support from Cisco, Dell, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Lenovo and Supermicro as well as all major ODMs and cloud service providers providing a simple upgrade path for organizations seeking compute and AI leadership.

    High level features of the AMD EPYC 9005 series CPUs include:

    • Leadership core count options from 8 to 192, per CPU
    • “Zen 5” and “Zen 5c” core architectures
    • 12 channels of DDR5 memory per CPU
    • Support for up to DDR5-6400 MT/s14
    • Leadership boost frequencies up to 5GHz5
    • AVX-512 with the full 512b data path
    • Trusted I/O for Confidential Computing, and FIPS certification in process for every part in the series
    Model
    (AMD EPYC)    		 Cores CCD
    (Zen5/Zen5c)    		 Base/Boost5
    (up to GHz)    		 Default
    TDP (W)    		 L3 Cache
    (MB)    		 Price
    (1 KU, USD)
    9965 192 cores “Zen5c” 2.25 / 3.7 500W 384 $14,813
    9845 160 cores “Zen5c” 2.1 / 3.7 390W 320 $13,564
    9825 144 cores “Zen5c” 2.2 / 3.7 390W 384 $13,006
    9755
    9745    		 128 cores “Zen5”
    “Zen5c”    		 2.7 / 4.1
    2.4 / 3.7    		 500W
    400W    		 512
    256    		 $12,984
    $12,141
    9655
    9655P
    9645    		 96 cores “Zen5”
    “Zen5”
    “Zen5c”    		 2.6 / 4.5
    2.6 / 4.5
    2.3 / 3.7    		 400W
    400W
    320W    		 384
    384
    384    		 $11,852
    $10,811
    $11,048
    9565 72 cores “Zen5” 3.15 / 4.3 400W 384 $10,486
    9575F
    9555
    9555P
    9535    		 64 cores “Zen5”
    “Zen5”
    “Zen5”
    “Zen5”    		 3.3 / 5.0
    3.2 / 4.4
    3.2 / 4.4
    2.4 / 4.3    		 400W
    360W
    360W
    300W    		 256
    256
    256
    256    		 $11,791
    $9,826
    $7,983
    $8,992
    9475F
    9455
    9455P    		 48 cores “Zen5”
    “Zen5”
    “Zen5”    		 3.65 / 4.8
    3.15 / 4.4
    3.15 / 4.4    		 400W
    300W
    300W    		 256
    192
    192    		 $7,592
    $5,412
    $4,819
    9365 36 cores “Zen5” 3.4 / 4.3 300W 256 $4,341
    9375F
    9355
    9355P
    9335    		 32 cores “Zen5”
    “Zen5”
    “Zen5”
    “Zen5”    		 3.8 / 4.8
    3.55 / 4.4
    3.55 / 4.4
    3.0 / 4.4    		 320W
    280W
    280W
    210W    		 256
    256
    256
    256    		 $5,306
    $3,694
    $2,998
    $3,178
    9275F
    9255    		 24 cores “Zen5”
    “Zen5”    		 4.1 / 4.8
    3.25 / 4.3    		 320W
    200W    		 256
    128    		 $3,439
    $2,495
    9175F
    9135
    9115    		 16 cores “Zen5”
    “Zen5”
    “Zen5”    		 4.2 / 5.0
    3.65 / 4.3
    2.6 / 4.1    		 320W
    200W
    125W    		 512
    64
    64    		 $4,256
    $1,214
    $726
    9015 8 cores “Zen5” 3.6 / 4.1 125W 64 $527

    Supporting Resources

    About AMD
    For more than 50 years AMD has driven innovation in high-performance computing, graphics, and visualization technologies. Billions of people, leading Fortune 500 businesses, and cutting-edge scientific research institutions around the world rely on AMD technology daily to improve how they live, work, and play. AMD employees are focused on building leadership high-performance and adaptive products that push the boundaries of what is possible. For more information about how AMD is enabling today and inspiring tomorrow, visit the AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) website, blog, LinkedIn and X pages.

    Cautionary Statement
    This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) such as the features, functionality, performance, availability, timing and expected benefits of AMD products including AMD EPYC™ processors, which are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are commonly identified by words such as “would,” “may,” “expects,” “believes,” “plans,” “intends,” “projects” and other terms with similar meaning. Investors are cautioned that the forward-looking statements in this press release are based on current beliefs, assumptions and expectations, speak only as of the date of this press release and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations. Such statements are subject to certain known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond AMD’s control, that could cause actual results and other future events to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, the forward-looking information and statements. Material factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, without limitation, the following: Intel Corporation’s dominance of the microprocessor market and its aggressive business practices; Nvidia’s dominance in the graphics processing unit market and its aggressive business practices; the cyclical nature of the semiconductor industry; market conditions of the industries in which AMD products are sold; loss of a significant customer; competitive markets in which AMD’s products are sold; economic and market uncertainty; quarterly and seasonal sales patterns; AMD’s ability to adequately protect its technology or other intellectual property; unfavorable currency exchange rate fluctuations; ability of third party manufacturers to manufacture AMD’s products on a timely basis in sufficient quantities and using competitive technologies; availability of essential equipment, materials, substrates or manufacturing processes; ability to achieve expected manufacturing yields for AMD’s products; AMD’s ability to introduce products on a timely basis with expected features and performance levels; AMD’s ability to generate revenue from its semi-custom SoC products; potential security vulnerabilities; potential security incidents including IT outages, data loss, data breaches and cyberattacks; uncertainties involving the ordering and shipment of AMD’s products; AMD’s reliance on third-party intellectual property to design and introduce new products; AMD’s reliance on third-party companies for design, manufacture and supply of motherboards, software, memory and other computer platform components; AMD’s reliance on Microsoft and other software vendors’ support to design and develop software to run on AMD’s products; AMD’s reliance on third-party distributors and add-in-board partners; impact of modification or interruption of AMD’s internal business processes and information systems; compatibility of AMD’s products with some or all industry-standard software and hardware; costs related to defective products; efficiency of AMD’s supply chain; AMD’s ability to rely on third party supply-chain logistics functions; AMD’s ability to effectively control sales of its products on the gray market; long-term impact of climate change on AMD’s business; impact of government actions and regulations such as export regulations, tariffs and trade protection measures; AMD’s ability to realize its deferred tax assets; potential tax liabilities; current and future claims and litigation; impact of environmental laws, conflict minerals related provisions and other laws or regulations; evolving expectations from governments, investors, customers and other stakeholders regarding corporate responsibility matters; issues related to the responsible use of AI; restrictions imposed by agreements governing AMD’s notes, the guarantees of Xilinx’s notes and the revolving credit agreement; impact of acquisitions, joint ventures and/or investments on AMD’s business and AMD’s ability to integrate acquired businesses;  impact of any impairment of the combined company’s assets; political, legal and economic risks and natural disasters; future impairments of technology license purchases; AMD’s ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; and AMD’s stock price volatility. Investors are urged to review in detail the risks and uncertainties in AMD’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including but not limited to AMD’s most recent reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q.

    AMD, the AMD Arrow logo, EPYC and combinations thereof are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Other names are for informational purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.

    1 EPYC-029C: Comparison based on thread density, performance, features, process technology and built-in security features of currently shipping servers as of 10/10/2024. EPYC 9005 series CPUs offer the highest thread density [EPYC-025B], leads the industry with 500+ performance world records [EPYC-023F] with performance world record enterprise leadership Java® ops/sec performance [EPYCWR-20241010-260], top HPC leadership with floating-point throughput performance [EPYCWR-2024-1010-381], AI end-to-end performance with TPCx-AI performance [EPYCWR-2024-1010-525] and highest energy efficiency scores [EPYCWR-20241010-326]. The 5th Gen EPYC series also has 50% more DDR5 memory channels [EPYC-033C] with 70% more memory bandwidth [EPYC-032C] and supports 70% more PCIe® Gen5 lanes for I/O throughput [EPYC-035C], has up to 5x the L3 cache/core [EPYC-043C] for faster data access, uses advanced 3-4nm technology, and offers Secure Memory Encryption + Secure Encrypted Virtualization (SEV) + SEV Encrypted State + SEV-Secure Nested Paging security features. See the AMD EPYC Architecture White Paper (https://library.amd.com/l/3f4587d147382e2/) for more information.

    2 AMD EPYC™ 9005 processors utilize the SP5 socket. Many factors determine system compatibility. Check with your server manufacturer to determine if this processor is supported in systems configured with previously launched AMD EPYC 9004 family CPUs.

    3 EPYC-022F: For a complete list of world records see: http://amd.com/worldrecords.

    4 9xx5-002C: SPECrate®2017_int_base comparison based on published scores from http://www.spec.org as of 10/10/2024.

    2P AMD EPYC 9965 (3000 SPECrate®2017_int_base, 384 Total Cores, 500W TDP, $14,813 CPU $), 6.060 SPECrate®2017_int_base/CPU W, 0.205 SPECrate®2017_int_base/CPU $, https://www.spec.org/cpu2017/results/res2024q3/cpu2017-20240923-44833.html)

    2P AMD EPYC 9755 (2720 SPECrate®2017_int_base, 256 Total Cores, 500W TDP, $12,984 CPU $), 5.440 SPECrate®2017_int_base/CPU W, 0.209 SPECrate®2017_int_base/CPU $, https://www.spec.org/cpu2017/results/res2024q4/cpu2017-20240923-44837.pdf)

    2P AMD EPYC 9754 (1950 SPECrate®2017_int_base, 256 Total Cores, 360W TDP, $11,900 CPU $), 5.417 SPECrate®2017_int_base/CPU W, 0.164 SPECrate®2017_int_base/CPU $, https://www.spec.org/cpu2017/results/res2023q2/cpu2017-20230522-36617.html)

    2P AMD EPYC 9654 (1810 SPECrate®2017_int_base, 192 Total Cores, 360W TDP, $11,805 CPU $), 5.028 SPECrate®2017_int_base/CPU W, 0.153 SPECrate®2017_int_base/CPU $, https://www.spec.org/cpu2017/results/res2024q1/cpu2017-20240129-40896.html)

    2P Intel Xeon Platinum 8592+ (1130 SPECrate®2017_int_base, 128 Total Cores, 350W TDP, $11,600 CPU $) 3.229 SPECrate®2017_int_base/CPU W, 0.097 SPECrate®2017_int_base/CPU $, http://spec.org/cpu2017/results/res2023q4/cpu2017-20231127-40064.html)

    2P Intel Xeon 6780E (1410 SPECrate®2017_int_base, 288 Total Cores, 330W TDP, $11,350 CPU $) 4.273 SPECrate®2017_int_base/CPU W, 0.124 SPECrate®2017_int_base/CPU $, https://spec.org/cpu2017/results/res2024q3/cpu2017-20240811-44406.html)

    SPEC®, SPEC CPU®, and SPECrate® are registered trademarks of the Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation. See http://www.spec.org for more information. Intel CPU TDP at https://ark.intel.com/.

    5 GD-150: Boost Clock Frequency is the maximum frequency achievable on the CPU running a bursty workload. Boost clock achievability, frequency, and sustainability will vary based on several factors, including but not limited to: thermal conditions and variation in applications and workloads. GD-150.

    6 9xx5-001: Based on AMD internal testing as of 9/10/2024, geomean performance improvement (IPC) at fixed-frequency.

    – 5th Gen EPYC CPU Enterprise and Cloud Server Workloads generational IPC Uplift of 1.170x (geomean) using a select set of 36 workloads and is the geomean of estimated scores for total and all subsets of SPECrate®2017_int_base (geomean ), estimated scores for total and all subsets of SPECrate®2017_fp_base (geomean), scores for Server Side Java multi instance max ops/sec, representative Cloud Server workloads (geomean), and representative Enterprise server workloads (geomean).

    “Genoa” Config (all NPS1): EPYC 9654 BIOS TQZ1005D 12c12t (1c1t/CCD in 12+1), FF 3GHz, 12x DDR5-4800 (2Rx4 64GB), 32Gbps xGMI;

    “Turin” config (all NPS1): EPYC 9V45 BIOS RVOT1000F 12c12t (1c1t/CCD in 12+1), FF 3GHz, 12x DDR5-6000 (2Rx4 64GB), 32Gbps xGMI

    Utilizing Performance Determinism and the Performance governor on Ubuntu® 22.04 w/ 6.8.0-40-generic kernel OS for all workloads.

    – 5th Gen EPYC generational ML/HPC Server Workloads IPC Uplift of 1.369x (geomean) using a select set of 24 workloads and is the geomean of representative ML Server Workloads (geomean), and representative HPC Server Workloads (geomean).

    “Genoa” Config (all NPS1) “Genoa” config: EPYC 9654 BIOS TQZ1005D 12c12t (1c1t/CCD in 12+1), FF 3GHz, 12x DDR5-4800 (2Rx4 64GB), 32Gbps xGMI;

    “Turin” config (all NPS1): EPYC 9V45 BIOS RVOT1000F 12c12t (1c1t/CCD in 12+1), FF 3GHz, 12x DDR5-6000 (2Rx4 64GB), 32Gbps xGMI

    Utilizing Performance Determinism and the Performance governor on Ubuntu 22.04 w/ 6.8.0-40-generic kernel OS for all workloads except LAMMPS, HPCG, NAMD, OpenFOAM, Gromacs which utilize 24.04 w/ 6.8.0-40-generic kernel.

    SPEC® and SPECrate® are registered trademarks for Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation. Learn more at spec.org.

    7 9xx5-006: AMD internal testing as of 09/01/2024, on FFMPEG (Raw to VP9, 1080P, 302 Frames, 1 instance/thread, video source: https://media.xiph.org/video/derf/y4m/ducks_take_off_1080p50.y4m).

    System Configurations: 2P AMD EPYC™ 9965 reference system (2 x 192C) 1.5TB 24x64GB DDR5-6400 running at 6000MT/s, SAMSUNG MZWLO3T8HCLS-00A07, NPS=4, Ubuntu 22.04.3 LTS, Kernel Linux 5.15.0-119-generic, BIOS RVOT1000C (determinism enable=power), 10825484.25 Frames/Hour Median

    2P AMD EPYC™ 9654 production system (2 x 96C) 1.5TB 24x64GB DDR5-5600, , SAMSUNG MO003200KYDNC, NPS=4, Ubuntu 22.04.3 LTS, Kernel Linux 5.15.0-119-generic, BIOS 1.56 (determinism enable=power) , 5154133.333 Frames/Hour Median

    2P Intel Xeon Platinum 8592+ production system (2 x 64C) 1TB 16x64GB DDR5-5600, 3.2 TB NVME, Ubuntu 22.04.3 LTS, Kernel Linux 6.5.0-35-generic), BIOS ESE122V-3.10, 2712701.754 Frames/Hour Median

    For 3.99x the performance with the AMD EPYC 9965 vs Intel Xeon Platinum 8592+ systems

    For 1.90x the performance with the AMD EPYC 9654 vs Intel Xeon Platinum 8592+ systems

    Results may vary based on factors including but not limited to BIOS and OS settings and versions, software versions and data used.

    8 9xx5-022: Source: https://www.amd.com/content/dam/amd/en/documents/epyc-technical-docs/performance-briefs/amd-epyc-9005-pb-gromacs.pdf

    9 9xx5-071: VMmark® 4.0.1 host/node FC SAN comparison based on “independently published” results as of 10/10/2024.  
    Configurations:

    2 node, 2P AMD EPYC 9575F (128 total cores) powered server running VMware ESXi8.0 U3, 3.31 @ 4 tiles,
    https://www.infobellit.com/BlueBookSeries/VMmark4-FDR-1003

    2 node, 2P AMD EPYC 9554 (128 total cores) powered server running VMware ESXi 8.0 U3, 2.64 @ 3 tiles,
    https://www.infobellit.com/BlueBookSeries/VMmark4-FDR-1002

    2 node, 2P Intel Xeon Platinum 8592+ (128 total cores) powered server running VMware ESXi 8.0 U3, 2.06 @ 2.4 Tiles,
    https://www.infobellit.com/BlueBookSeries/VMmark4-FDR-1001

    VMmark is a registered trademark of VMware in the US or other countries.

    10 9xx5-012: TPCxAI @SF30 Multi-Instance 32C Instance Size throughput results based on AMD internal testing as of 09/05/2024 running multiple VM instances. The aggregate end-to-end AI throughput test is derived from the TPCx-AI benchmark and as such is not comparable to published TPCx-AI results, as the end-to-end AI throughput test results do not comply with the TPCx-AI Specification.

    2P AMD EPYC 9965 (384 Total Cores), 12 32C instances, NPS1, 1.5TB 24x64GB DDR5-6400 (at 6000 MT/s), 1DPC, 1.0 Gbps NetXtreme BCM5720 Gigabit Ethernet PCIe, 3.5 TB Samsung MZWLO3T8HCLS-00A07 NVMe®, Ubuntu® 22.04.4 LTS, 6.8.0-40-generic (tuned-adm profile throughput-performance, ulimit -l 198096812, ulimit -n 1024, ulimit -s 8192), BIOS RVOT1000C (SMT=off, Determinism=Power, Turbo Boost=Enabled)

    2P AMD EPYC 9755 (256 Total Cores), 8 32C instances, NPS1, 1.5TB 24x64GB DDR5-6400 (at 6000 MT/s), 1DPC, 1.0 Gbps NetXtreme BCM5720 Gigabit Ethernet PCIe, 3.5 TB Samsung MZWLO3T8HCLS-00A07 NVMe®, Ubuntu 22.04.4 LTS, 6.8.0-40-generic (tuned-adm profile throughput-performance, ulimit -l 198096812, ulimit -n 1024, ulimit -s 8192), BIOS RVOT0090F (SMT=off, Determinism=Power, Turbo Boost=Enabled)

    2P AMD EPYC 9654 (192 Total cores) 6 32C instances, NPS1, 1.5TB 24x64GB DDR5-4800, 1DPC, 2 x 1.92 TB Samsung MZQL21T9HCJR-00A07 NVMe, Ubuntu 22.04.3 LTS, BIOS 1006C (SMT=off, Determinism=Power)

    Versus 2P Xeon Platinum 8592+ (128 Total Cores), 4 32C instances, AMX On, 1TB 16x64GB DDR5-5600, 1DPC, 1.0 Gbps NetXtreme BCM5719 Gigabit Ethernet PCIe, 3.84 TB KIOXIA KCMYXRUG3T84 NVMe, , Ubuntu 22.04.4 LTS, 6.5.0-35 generic (tuned-adm profile throughput-performance, ulimit -l 132065548, ulimit -n 1024, ulimit -s 8192), BIOS ESE122V (SMT=off, Determinism=Power, Turbo Boost = Enabled)

    Results:

    CPU Median Relative Generational
    Turin 192C, 12 Inst 6067.531 3.775 2.278
    Turin 128C, 8 Inst 4091.85 2.546 1.536
    Genoa 96C, 6 Inst 2663.14 1.657 1
    EMR 64C, 4 Inst 1607.417 1 NA

    Results may vary due to factors including system configurations, software versions and BIOS settings. TPC, TPC Benchmark and TPC-C are trademarks of the Transaction Processing Performance Council.

    11 9xx5-009: Llama3.1-8B throughput results based on AMD internal testing as of 09/05/2024.

    Llama3-8B configurations: IPEX.LLM 2.4.0, NPS=2, BF16, batch size 4, Use Case Input/Output token configurations: [Summary = 1024/128, Chatbot = 128/128, Translate = 1024/1024, Essay = 128/1024, Caption = 16/16].

    2P AMD EPYC 9965 (384 Total Cores), 6 64C instances 1.5TB 24x64GB DDR5-6400 (at 6000 MT/s), 1 DPC, 1.0 Gbps NetXtreme BCM5720 Gigabit Ethernet PCIe, 3.5 TB Samsung MZWLO3T8HCLS-00A07 NVMe®, Ubuntu® 22.04.3 LTS, 6.8.0-40-generic (tuned-adm profile throughput-performance, ulimit -l 198096812, ulimit -n 1024, ulimit -s 8192) , BIOS RVOT1000C, (SMT=off, Determinism=Power, Turbo Boost=Enabled), NPS=2

    2P AMD EPYC 9755 (256 Total Cores), 4 64C instances , 1.5TB 24x64GB DDR5-6400 (at 6000 MT/s), 1DPC, 1.0 Gbps NetXtreme BCM5720 Gigabit Ethernet PCIe, 3.5 TB Samsung MZWLO3T8HCLS-00A07 NVMe®, Ubuntu 22.04.3 LTS, 6.8.0-40-generic (tuned-adm profile throughput-performance, ulimit -l 198096812, ulimit -n 1024, ulimit -s 8192), BIOS RVOT1000C (SMT=off, Determinism=Power, Turbo Boost=Enabled), NPS=2

    2P AMD EPYC 9654 (192 Total Cores) 4 48C instances , 1.5TB 24x64GB DDR5-4800, 1DPC, 1.0 Gbps NetXtreme BCM5720 Gigabit Ethernet PCIe, 3.5 TB Samsung MZWLO3T8HCLS-00A07 NVMe®, Ubuntu® 22.04.4 LTS, 5.15.85-051585-generic (tuned-adm profile throughput-performance, ulimit -l 1198117616, ulimit -n 500000, ulimit -s 8192), BIOS RVI1008C (SMT=off, Determinism=Power, Turbo Boost=Enabled), NPS=2

    Versus 2P Xeon Platinum 8592+ (128 Total Cores), 2 64C instances , AMX On, 1TB 16x64GB DDR5-5600, 1DPC, 1.0 Gbps NetXtreme BCM5719 Gigabit Ethernet PCIe, 3.84 TB KIOXIA KCMYXRUG3T84 NVMe®, Ubuntu 22.04.4 LTS 6.5.0-35-generic (tuned-adm profile throughput-performance, ulimit -l 132065548, ulimit -n 1024, ulimit -s 8192), BIOS ESE122V (SMT=off, Determinism=Power, Turbo Boost = Enabled).
    Results:

    CPU 2P EMR 64c 2P Turin 192c 2P Turin 128c 2P Genoa 96c
    Average Aggregate Median Total Throughput 99.474 193.267 182.595 138.978
    Competitive 1 1.943 1.836 1.397
    Generational NA 1.391 1.314 1

    Results may vary due to factors including system configurations, software versions and BIOS settings.

    12 9xx5-087: As of 10/10/2024; this scenario contains several assumptions and estimates and, while based on AMD internal research and best approximations, should be considered an example for information purposes only, and not used as a basis for decision making over actual testing.

    Referencing 9XX5-056A: “2P AMD EPYC 9575F powered server and 8x AMD Instinct MI300X GPUs running Llama3.1-70B select inference workloads at FP8 precision vs 2P Intel Xeon Platinum 8592+ powered server and 8x AMD Instinct MI300X GPUs has ~8% overall throughput increase across select inference use cases” and 8763.52 tokens/s (9575F) versus 8,048.48 tokens/s (8592+) at 128 input / 2048 output tokens, 500 prompts for 1.089x the tokens/s or 715.04 more tokens/s.

    1 Node = 2 CPUs and 8 GPUs.
    Assuming a 1000 node cluster, 1000 * 715.04 = 715,040 tokens/s

    For ~700,000 more tokens/s

    Results may vary due to factors including system configurations, software versions and BIOS settings.

    13 9xx5TCO-001a: This scenario contains many assumptions and estimates and, while based on AMD internal research and best approximations, should be considered an example for information purposes only, and not used as a basis for decision making over actual testing. The AMD Server & Greenhouse Gas Emissions TCO (total cost of ownership) Estimator Tool – version 1.12, compares the selected AMD EPYC™ and Intel® Xeon® CPU based server solutions required to deliver a TOTAL_PERFORMANCE of 39100 units of SPECrate2017_int_base performance as of October 10, 2024. This scenario compares a legacy 2P Intel Xeon 28 core Platinum_8280 based server with a score of 391 versus 2P EPYC 9965 (192C) powered server with an score of 3030 (https://spec.org/cpu2017/results/res2024q3/cpu2017-20240923-44833.pdf) along with a comparison upgrade to a 2P Intel Xeon Platinum 8592+ (64C) based server with a score of 1130 (https://spec.org/cpu2017/results/res2024q3/cpu2017-20240701-43948.pdf). Actual SPECrate®2017_int_base score for 2P EPYC 9965 will vary based on OEM publications.

    Environmental impact estimates made leveraging this data, using the Country / Region specific electricity factors from the 2024 International Country Specific Electricity Factors 10 – July 2024 , and the United States Environmental Protection Agency ‘Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator’.

    For additional details, see https://www.amd.com/en/claims/epyc5#9xx5TCO-001a

    14 9xx5-083: 5th Gen EPYC processors support DDR5-6400 MT/s for targeted customers and configurations. 5th Gen production SKUs support up to DDR5-6000 MT/s to enable a broad set of DIMMs across all OEM platforms and maintain SP5 platform compatibility

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3bb614ee-e307-43a7-a36b-f5bd02ed1335

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Capgemini’s World Energy Markets Observatory annual report 2024: The Paris Agreement’s goals are no longer achievable, but net zero is still in sight with accelerated efforts

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Press contact:
    Florence Lievre
    Tel.: +33 1 47 54 50 71
    Email: florence.lievre@capgemini.com

    Capgemini’s World Energy Markets Observatory annual report 2024:
    The Paris Agreement’s goals are no longer achievable, but net zero is still in sight with accelerated efforts

    • Despite impressive strides in 2023 and positive projections for 2024, the pace of renewable development isn’t fast enough
    • The critical role of nuclear energy to addressing increased clean energy demands is now recognized, but construction of new large power plants takes time and industrialization of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) is proving complex
    • Addressing the complexity of energy transition challenges will require new market mechanisms encouraging further innovation, choosing appropriate measures, and accelerated public and private investment in low carbon technologies and the power grid

    Paris, October 10, 2024 – Capgemini has published the 26thedition of its annual World Energy Markets Observatory (WEMO), created in partnership with Hogan Lovells, Vaasa ETT and Enerdata. The report takes stock of the current state of the energy transition. Despite progress being made, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are continuing to increase, reaching a new record high of 37.4 billion tonnes (Gt) in 20231, confirming that the path to the reach Paris Agreement’s objectives is not on track. The report provides insights on what the key focus areas would need to be, moving forward, to address the complex energy transition challenges, including a change in the measurement of clean energy progress, as well as accelerated investment in the power grid and clean technologies.

    James Forrest, Global Energy Transition & Utilities Industry Leader at Capgemini says: “Despite an historical spike in renewable penetration, the pace of development isn’t fast enough to close the gap. There is still much to do in the next decade to get closer to net zero by 2050 and achieve a successful energy transition: whether it be in the field of low carbon technologies, R&D efforts, nuclear or grid flexibility and storage. In addition, beyond the necessary adoption of new market mechanisms, a shift away from measuring energy based on primary consumption is needed. This measurement was relevant during past energy crises, but it is now time to adopt a more holistic approach. Moving to a final energy demand measurement would better assess clean energy progress and ensure more accurate projections.”

    Key observations from the 2024 report include:

    • There is a need to hasten the deployment of renewable energy globally, and to accelerate in developing countries, to deliver the 2030 and 2050 decarbonization goals. The total amount of final energy provided by renewable energy is likely to be limited to about 40% of global needs. In 2023, total renewable energy capacity increased by 14% year on year with a larger capacity expansion of solar (32%) than wind (13%). But, whilst 2024 is promising to hit another record, as this was the case for the 22nd previous years, this growth is far below what is needed to achieve net zero carbon in 2050. Moreover, while the renewable penetration rate increases, they are impacting grid stability and association with stationary batteries will become compulsory. According to the report, storable renewable energies development, such as biomass or geothermal energy, should be accelerated.
    • Hydrogen is now a strategic lever in the decarbonization path. The number of projects reaching final investment decision has quadrupled over the last two years. However, a refocus of applications has been observed due to the increasing costs of low-carbon hydrogen production, competition between uses, and regulations. Only certain uses in ‘Hard to Abate’ industries, such as heavy industry and maritime mobility, have strong potential.
    • Global nuclear capacity needs to triple to ensure stable, low-carbon power. COP28 has recognized the critical role of nuclear energy for reducing the effects of climate change. While there is some promising progress in nuclear renaissance, including Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), development of new nuclear power plants is still difficult. In 2023, 440 nuclear reactors (390 GW) provided 9% of the world’s electricity, 25% of the world’s low-carbon electricity. SMRs are in the planning or early construction stages with many years before they are deployed at scale as their industrialization can prove to be complex. According to the report, more focus needs to be placed on extending the life of existing nuclear plants.
    • The power grid plays a fundamental role to accelerate clean energy transitions. Grid investment is starting to pick up and is expected to reach USD 400 billion in 20242, with Europe, the United Sates, China and parts of Latin America leading the way. According to the report, better forecasting electricity consumption and finer optimization scenarios thanks to technologies such as AI will help to improve grid balancing.
    • Whilst AI has the potential to significantly accelerate decarbonization, a lack of skills and a focus on short-term proof of concepts is hampering adoption to date. However, AI coupled with GenAI in agentic LLM (Large Language Model) workflows3 has a clear role to play as a catalyst to improve grids efficiency, e-fuel discovery; new battery or wind turbine design; synthetic biology; and augmented insights from many data sources for better informed decision making.
      • Protectionist approaches to increasing energy sovereignty may have undesirable implications. Ongoing geopolitical uncertainties are affecting energy markets and systems. To ensure security of supply, the use of embargoes, tariffs and subsidies in almost all jurisdictions is distorting energy markets and threatens efficient allocation of capital. According to the report, embargoes are proving ineffective, and decreasing the transparency and traceability of energy supplies, which is essential to tracking decarbonization efforts. Denying access to the cheapest sources of energy equipment and energy supplies drives up prices for consumers and reduces funding available for the energy transition.
      • According to the report, ‘Primary Energy Demand’ is an outdated concept for energy transition. There is a need to move from primary to final energy consumption measurement (in kWh) to ensure accurate projections, and clean energy progress. Measuring energy based on primary consumption ignores that: for the same end-energy services, new electric services are generally more efficient; a lot of fossil fuels are wasted in the generation of electricity; energy is also wasted on finding and processing fossil fuels.

    The World Energy Markets Observatory (WEMO) is Capgemini’s annual thought leadership and research report created in partnership with Hogan Lovells, Vaasa ETT and Enerdata, that tracks the transformation of global energy markets, including Europe, North America, Australia, Southeast Asia, India, and China. Now in its 26th edition, the report has been prepared by a global team of over 100 experts, and includes 15 articles, all backed with rigorous analysis. The report begins with a global outlook, then covers the topics pivotal to the energy transition including geopolitical impacts, demand side energy transition, batteries, renewables, SMRs, Hydrogen, Industrial Heat, GenAI and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
    For more information and to get access to the report, click here

    About Capgemini
    Capgemini is a global business and technology transformation partner, helping organizations to accelerate their dual transition to a digital and sustainable world, while creating tangible impact for enterprises and society. It is a responsible and diverse group of 340,000 team members in more than 50 countries. With its strong over 55-year heritage, Capgemini is trusted by its clients to unlock the value of technology to address the entire breadth of their business needs. It delivers end-to-end services and solutions leveraging strengths from strategy and design to engineering, all fueled by its market leading capabilities in AI, cloud and data, combined with its deep industry expertise and partner ecosystem. The Group reported 2023 global revenues of €22.5 billion.
    Get The Future You Want | http://www.capgemini.com

    1 Source: IEA- CO2 Emissions in 2023
    2 Source IEA: Electricity Grids and Secure Energy Transitions

    3 GenAI in agentic LLM (Large Language Model): iterative and collaborative model that transforms the interaction with LLMs into a series of manageable, refinable steps.

    Attachments

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: DTE Energy schedules third quarter 2024 earnings release, conference call

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Detroit, Oct. 10, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — DTE Energy (NYSE:DTE) will announce its third quarter 2024 earnings before the market opens Thursday, October 24, 2024.

    The company will conduct a conference call to discuss earnings results at 9:00 a.m. ET the same day.

    Investors, the news media and the public may listen to a live internet broadcast of the call at dteenergy.com/investors. The telephone dial-in number in the U.S. and Canada toll free is: (888) 510-2008. The U.S. and international toll telephone dial-in number is: (646) 960-0306 and the Canada dial-in toll is: (289) 514-5035. The passcode is 4987588. The webcast will be archived on the DTE Energy website at dteenergy.com/investors.

    About DTE Energy 

    DTE Energy (NYSE:DTE) is a Detroit-based diversified energy company involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services nationwide. Its operating units include an electric company serving 2.3 million customers in Southeast Michigan and a natural gas company serving 1.3 million customers across Michigan. The DTE portfolio also includes energy businesses focused on custom energy solutions, renewable energy generation, and energy marketing and trading. DTE has continued to accelerate its carbon reduction goals to meet aggressive targets and is committed to serving with its energy through volunteerism, education and employment initiatives, philanthropy, emission reductions and economic progress. Information about DTE is available at dteenergy.com, empoweringmichigan.com, x.com/DTE_Energy and facebook.com/dteenergy. 

    For further information, analysts may call:
    Matt Krupinski, DTE Energy: 313.235.6649
    John Dermody, DTE Energy: 313.235.8750

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Ormat Technologies Inc. Secures Land Parcels in Nevada’s BLM Auction to Advance Future Geothermal Development

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    RENO, Nev., Oct. 10, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ormat Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ORA), a leading renewable energy company, today announced it has successfully secured multiple land parcels in Nevada’s Annual Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Auction. These lease acquisitions will significantly support Ormat’s ongoing exploration and expansion efforts in the state, further strengthening the company’s commitment to advancing renewable energy solutions and meeting Nevada’s increasing demand for sustainable energy.

    The newly leased parcels hold substantial potential for geothermal energy production including a new greenfield prospect, an expansion opportunity for an existing operational asset, and several additional parcels that will enhance Ormat’s land position on an existing greenfield prospect.

    “We believe the parcels we successfully won have a high success rate that will support our growth in the U.S.,” said Doron Blachar, CEO of Ormat Technologies Inc. “Our team is dedicated to exploring and developing these resources to their fullest potential, providing reliable and eco-friendly energy to the people of Nevada.”

    By leveraging nearly 60 years of advanced technologies and industry expertise, Ormat is an industry leader in geothermal energy production and environmental stewardship.

    ABOUT ORMAT TECHNOLOGIES

    With over five decades of experience, Ormat Technologies, Inc. is a leading geothermal company and the only vertically integrated company engaged in geothermal and recovered energy generation (“REG”), with robust plans to accelerate long-term growth in the energy storage market and to establish a leading position in the U.S. energy storage market. The Company owns, operates, designs, manufactures and sells geothermal and REG power plants primarily based on the Ormat Energy Converter – a power generation unit that converts low-, medium- and high-temperature heat into electricity. The Company has engineered, manufactured and constructed power plants, which it currently owns or has installed for utilities and developers worldwide, totaling approximately 3,400 MW of gross capacity. Ormat leveraged its core capabilities in the geothermal and REG industries and its global presence to expand the Company’s activity into energy storage services, solar Photovoltaic (PV) and energy storage plus Solar PV. Ormat’s current total generating portfolio is 1,420MW with a 1,230MW geothermal and solar generation portfolio that is spread globally in the U.S., Kenya, Guatemala, Indonesia, Honduras, and Guadeloupe, and a 190MW energy storage portfolio that is located in the U.S.

    ORMAT’S SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT

    Information provided in this press release may contain statements relating to current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about future events that are “forward-looking statements” as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that we expect or anticipate will or may occur in the future, including such matters as our projections of annual revenues, expenses and debt service coverage with respect to our debt securities, future capital expenditures, business strategy, competitive strengths, goals, development or operation of generation assets, market and industry developments and the growth of our business and operations, are forward-looking statements. When used in this press release, the words “may”, “will”, “could”, “should”, “expects”, “plans”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “estimates”, “predicts”, “projects”, “potential”, or “contemplate” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such words or expressions. These forward-looking statements generally relate to Ormat’s plans, objectives and expectations for future operations and are based upon its management’s current estimates and projections of future results or trends. Although we believe that our plans and objectives reflected in or suggested by these forward-looking statements are reasonable, we may not achieve these plans or objectives.  Actual future results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties and other risks described under “Risk Factors” as described in Ormat’s annual report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on February 23, 2024, and in Ormat’s subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q that are filed from time to time with the SEC.

    These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date hereof, and, except as legally required, we undertake no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

    Ormat Technologies Contact:
    Smadar Lavi
    VP Head of IR and ESG Planning & Reporting
    775-356-9029 (ext. 65726)
    slavi@ormat.com    		 Investor Relations Agency Contact:
    Alec Steinberg or Joseph Caminiti
    Alpha IR Group
    312-445-2870
    ORA@alpha-ir.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Press release: Tidalwave of clean energy investment worth billions unlocked ahead of Investment Summit

    Source: United Kingdom – Prime Minister’s Office 10 Downing Street

    Thousands of jobs in green industries announced as the UK Government welcomes more than £24 billion of private investment for pioneering energy projects ahead of the International Investment Summit on 14th October.

    • Thousands of jobs in energy sector to be created across the UK up to £24 billion worth of investment secured ahead of International Investment Summit.
    • Boost for clean energy industries demonstrates vote of confidence in UK and government’s growth mission.
    • Comes as Prime Minister puts investment and growth at heart of first Council of Nations and Regions meeting in Scotland today.

    Thousands of jobs in green industries announced as the UK Government welcomes more than £24 billion of private investment for pioneering energy projects ahead of the International Investment Summit on 14th October.        

    The investments confirmed by private investors today will deliver growth in the clean energy sector across our nations and regions, from Yorkshire to Suffolk and Aberdeen to Stow, representing a huge vote of confidence in the UK and long-term growth.       

    Driven by the government’s clear path to growth creating the conditions for businesses to thrive, the billions worth of investments from leading companies include Iberdrola – one of the biggest energy companies in Europe – doubling their investment in the UK, Orsted unlocking £8bn and GreenVolt £2.5bn of investment in offshore wind farms, and SeAh Wind UK announcing a £225 million expansion of their investment in the North East to build a state-of-the-art wind technology manufacturing facility in Teesside, solidifying the UK’s position as a world leader in the wind power industry.   

    In only 100 days, the government has overturned the nine-year onshore wind ban in 72 hours, consented more solar than ever before, secured the most successful renewable auction round in history, and launched Great British Energy.     

    Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:    

    Today’s investments are a huge vote of confidence in this government and our relentless focus to drive growth across the UK.

    Whether you’re in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland or England – we are creating the conditions for businesses to thrive, and our International Investment Summit will be a springboard for every part of the UK to be an engine of innovation and investment.

    Today I’m convening the first ever Council of Nations and Regions, because it is when we work together in the spirit of genuine partnership, that we can deliver the real change people want to see and improve opportunities for all.  

    Iberdrola Executive Chairman Ignacio Galán said:    

    After having invested more than £30bn in the last 15 years, the clear policy direction, stable regulatory frameworks and overall attractiveness of the UK are leading us to double our investments for 2024-28, reaching up to £24bn.

    This is a vote of confidence in the UK’s clear and stable policies and is a major boost to the economy and the path towards green energy security and Net Zero. The benefits of electrification in terms of energy security, industrial development, jobs and decarbonisation are shared ambitions of the UK and Iberdrola.

    The investments demonstrate further progress on the government’s clean energy mission and a major boost to the UK economy three days before the first International Investment Summit on 14 October, which will gather UK leaders, high-profile investors and businesses from across the world to deepen our partnership to drive investment and growth.    

    It also comes as the Prime Minister today convenes the first Council of the Nations and Regions, delivering on a manifesto promise to rewire the way UK Government operates. Focussed on investment and growth, the Council will see First Ministers and Deputy First Minister from the Devolved Governments come together with regional mayors to collaborate and seize opportunities to secure long-term investment and boost growth. The agenda, agreed with attendees, includes discussion on how to boost growth and inward investment across the UK, including through an industrial strategy and the Investment Summit.    

    The Prime Minister will also hold bilateral meetings and a joint meeting with the Devolved Government First Ministers and Deputy First Minister focussed on supporting intergovernmental relations as we continue to reset our relationship and work together to deliver for people across the UK.     

    Today’s investments include:    

    • Iberdrola doubling their investment in the UK, through Scottish Power, from £12bn to £24bn over the next 4 years, which includes £4bn for the East Anglia 2 wind farm off the Suffolk coast which was unlocked by this Government’s expanded allocation at the most recent wind auction round. Iberdrola Executive Chairman Ignacio Galan has also today confirmed that the UK has become their largest Investment destination.
    • Orsted and Greenvolt confirming that the Government’s recent expanded offshore wind auction means their projects will unlock £8bn (Orsted) and £2.5bn (Greenvolt) of investment respectively in their planned offshore wind farms. Orsted says its commitment will see thousands of jobs for local people, while Greenvolt says it will create up to 2800 construction jobs.
    • SeAH Wind has made an additional £225 million investment into wind technology manufacturing in Teesside, thanks to new backing from UK Export Finance, which expects to create 750 direct jobs by 2027. This brings their total investment into the site at Teesworks up to £900 million and will help them make their ongoing factory build – one of the biggest facilities of its kind worldwide – even bigger.
    • Macquarie supporting investment of £1.3bn into new green infrastructure including its Island Green Power solar farm in Stow, as a result of planning consents having been granted by the Government, and its Roadchef portfolio company installing electric car ultra-fast charging points across its sites along the UK motorway network.
    • BW Group proceeding with a £300m investment into a new battery energy storage project in Birmingham.
    • Holtec, a major US advanced nuclear engineering company, has confirmed a significant investment of £325 million in a new factory in South Yorkshire which will supply materials for Hinkley Point C and likely Sizewell C power stations. They say this will create up to 490 direct and 280 indirect jobs annually during the construction phase and 1,200 direct engineering jobs created over 20 years.     

    Mads Nipper, CEO of Ørsted A/S said:    

    The reason we are investing in the UK is that alongside the targets for clean energy, we also see the commitment to creating the policy frameworks required to deliver those targets and a government who wants to work with businesses to enable the investments required.

    Lord Nicol Stephen, Chief Executive of Flotation Energy said:  

    Green Volt is a trailblazing, multibillion pound floating offshore wind project which will kickstart jobs and investment by companies right across the UK offshore supply chain. The choice of our HQ in Aberdeen is clear evidence of our strong commitment to support local jobs and businesses wherever possible.

    Chris Sohn, Chief Executive of SeAH Wind, said:    

    With the proactive support of UKEF, our project is progressing smoothly. As we approach the completion of the factory construction, we are committed to ensuring its successful finalization. We aim to become the first monopile manufacturing company in the UK and make a significant contribution to the UK economy.

    Andreas Sohmen-Pao, Chairman of BW Group, said:     

    BW Group is delighted to announce that its subsidiary BW ESS intends to shortly begin construction on two large battery projects in the Midlands – Hams Hall and Berkswell – with a combined capacity of 600 MW. These projects represent a major step forward in enhancing the UK’s energy infrastructure and supporting the transition to renewables.

    I am encouraged by the UK government’s commitment to the clean energy transition and our announcement today highlights BW Group’s commitment to strengthening our presence in the UK and contributing to the growth of the clean energy sector.

    Shemara Wikramanayake, Chief Executive Officer of Macquarie Group, said:   

    We believe that infrastructure investment helps create strong foundations for economic growth, job creation, better services for the public and stronger communities. We are fully invested in the UK’s success and look forward to playing our part in delivering the investment the country needs.

    Dr Rick Springman, Holtec’s President of Global Clean Energy Opportunities, said:   

    Holtec has been part of the UK’s nuclear fabric for over 30 years. We recognise the UK’s long-term commitment to nuclear energy to drive forward government missions on clean energy and economic growth.

    Our planned advanced manufacturing factory in South Yorkshire will bring thousands of skilled, highly-paid engineering jobs to the region while supporting tens of thousands more in the UK’s wider manufacturing supply chains.

    The potential size of the prize of this investment is significant. Depending on future SMR order books it could open up a £30bn export market over ten years adding billions of pounds to the UK economy. Over the coming months Holtec will be finalising its full factory plans and designs based on its UK and international order book.

    This follows the announcement earlier this week that up to 500 UK manufacturing jobs are set to be supported as bus operator Go Ahead confirms a major £500 million investment to decarbonise its fleet including. This includes creating a new dedicated manufacturing line and partnership with Northern Ireland-based UK bus manufacturer Wrightbus.    

    Yesterday, the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero gave the green light for a new scheme to help unlock billions in investment in energy storage infrastructure. This could see the first significant long duration energy storage facilities in nearly 4 decades, helping to create back up renewable power and bolster the UK’s energy security.    

    And it also builds on the Government confirming funding to launch the UK’s first carbon capture sites in Teesside and Merseyside. Two new carbon capture and CCUS enabled hydrogen projects will create 4,000 new jobs, in a boost for the economy and British industry, helping remove over 8.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions each year – the equivalent of taking around 4 million cars off the road.

    Updates to this page

    Published 10 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Tidalwave of clean energy investment worth billions unlocked ahead of Investment Summit

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Thousands of jobs in green industries announced as the UK Government welcomes more than £24 billion of private investment for pioneering energy projects ahead of the International Investment Summit on 14th October.

    • Thousands of jobs in energy sector to be created across the UK up to £24 billion worth of investment secured ahead of International Investment Summit.
    • Boost for clean energy industries demonstrates vote of confidence in UK and government’s growth mission.
    • Comes as Prime Minister puts investment and growth at heart of first Council of Nations and Regions meeting in Scotland today.

    Thousands of jobs in green industries announced as the UK Government welcomes more than £24 billion of private investment for pioneering energy projects ahead of the International Investment Summit on 14th October.        

    The investments confirmed by private investors today will deliver growth in the clean energy sector across our nations and regions, from Yorkshire to Suffolk and Aberdeen to Stow, representing a huge vote of confidence in the UK and long-term growth.       

    Driven by the government’s clear path to growth creating the conditions for businesses to thrive, the billions worth of investments from leading companies include Iberdrola – one of the biggest energy companies in Europe – doubling their investment in the UK, Orsted unlocking £8bn and GreenVolt £2.5bn of investment in offshore wind farms, and SeAh Wind UK announcing a £225 million expansion of their investment in the North East to build a state-of-the-art wind technology manufacturing facility in Teesside, solidifying the UK’s position as a world leader in the wind power industry.   

    In only 100 days, the government has overturned the nine-year onshore wind ban in 72 hours, consented more solar than ever before, secured the most successful renewable auction round in history, and launched Great British Energy.     

    Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:    

    Today’s investments are a huge vote of confidence in this government and our relentless focus to drive growth across the UK.

    Whether you’re in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland or England – we are creating the conditions for businesses to thrive, and our International Investment Summit will be a springboard for every part of the UK to be an engine of innovation and investment.

    Today I’m convening the first ever Council of Nations and Regions, because it is when we work together in the spirit of genuine partnership, that we can deliver the real change people want to see and improve opportunities for all.  

    Iberdrola Executive Chairman Ignacio Galán said:    

    After having invested more than £30bn in the last 15 years, the clear policy direction, stable regulatory frameworks and overall attractiveness of the UK are leading us to double our investments for 2024-28, reaching up to £24bn.

    This is a vote of confidence in the UK’s clear and stable policies and is a major boost to the economy and the path towards green energy security and Net Zero. The benefits of electrification in terms of energy security, industrial development, jobs and decarbonisation are shared ambitions of the UK and Iberdrola.

    The investments demonstrate further progress on the government’s clean energy mission and a major boost to the UK economy three days before the first International Investment Summit on 14 October, which will gather UK leaders, high-profile investors and businesses from across the world to deepen our partnership to drive investment and growth.    

    It also comes as the Prime Minister today convenes the first Council of the Nations and Regions, delivering on a manifesto promise to rewire the way UK Government operates. Focussed on investment and growth, the Council will see First Ministers and Deputy First Minister from the Devolved Governments come together with regional mayors to collaborate and seize opportunities to secure long-term investment and boost growth. The agenda, agreed with attendees, includes discussion on how to boost growth and inward investment across the UK, including through an industrial strategy and the Investment Summit.    

    The Prime Minister will also hold bilateral meetings and a joint meeting with the Devolved Government First Ministers and Deputy First Minister focussed on supporting intergovernmental relations as we continue to reset our relationship and work together to deliver for people across the UK.     

    Today’s investments include:    

    • Iberdrola doubling their investment in the UK, through Scottish Power, from £12bn to £24bn over the next 4 years, which includes £4bn for the East Anglia 2 wind farm off the Suffolk coast which was unlocked by this Government’s expanded allocation at the most recent wind auction round. Iberdrola Executive Chairman Ignacio Galan has also today confirmed that the UK has become their largest Investment destination.
    • Orsted and Greenvolt confirming that the Government’s recent expanded offshore wind auction means their projects will unlock £8bn (Orsted) and £2.5bn (Greenvolt) of investment respectively in their planned offshore wind farms. Orsted says its commitment will see thousands of jobs for local people, while Greenvolt says it will create up to 2800 construction jobs.
    • SeAH Wind has made an additional £225 million investment into wind technology manufacturing in Teesside, thanks to new backing from UK Export Finance, which expects to create 750 direct jobs by 2027. This brings their total investment into the site at Teesworks up to £900 million and will help them make their ongoing factory build – one of the biggest facilities of its kind worldwide – even bigger.
    • Macquarie supporting investment of £1.3bn into new green infrastructure including its Island Green Power solar farm in Stow, as a result of planning consents having been granted by the Government, and its Roadchef portfolio company installing electric car ultra-fast charging points across its sites along the UK motorway network.
    • BW Group proceeding with a £300m investment into a new battery energy storage project in Birmingham.
    • Holtec, a major US advanced nuclear engineering company, has confirmed a significant investment of £325 million in a new factory in South Yorkshire which will supply materials for Hinkley Point C and likely Sizewell C power stations. They say this will create up to 490 direct and 280 indirect jobs annually during the construction phase and 1,200 direct engineering jobs created over 20 years.     

    Mads Nipper, CEO of Ørsted A/S said:    

    The reason we are investing in the UK is that alongside the targets for clean energy, we also see the commitment to creating the policy frameworks required to deliver those targets and a government who wants to work with businesses to enable the investments required.

    Lord Nicol Stephen, Chief Executive of Flotation Energy said:  

    Green Volt is a trailblazing, multibillion pound floating offshore wind project which will kickstart jobs and investment by companies right across the UK offshore supply chain. The choice of our HQ in Aberdeen is clear evidence of our strong commitment to support local jobs and businesses wherever possible.

    Chris Sohn, Chief Executive of SeAH Wind, said:    

    With the proactive support of UKEF, our project is progressing smoothly. As we approach the completion of the factory construction, we are committed to ensuring its successful finalization. We aim to become the first monopile manufacturing company in the UK and make a significant contribution to the UK economy.

    Andreas Sohmen-Pao, Chairman of BW Group, said:     

    BW Group is delighted to announce that its subsidiary BW ESS intends to shortly begin construction on two large battery projects in the Midlands – Hams Hall and Berkswell – with a combined capacity of 600 MW. These projects represent a major step forward in enhancing the UK’s energy infrastructure and supporting the transition to renewables.

    I am encouraged by the UK government’s commitment to the clean energy transition and our announcement today highlights BW Group’s commitment to strengthening our presence in the UK and contributing to the growth of the clean energy sector.

    Shemara Wikramanayake, Chief Executive Officer of Macquarie Group, said:   

    We believe that infrastructure investment helps create strong foundations for economic growth, job creation, better services for the public and stronger communities. We are fully invested in the UK’s success and look forward to playing our part in delivering the investment the country needs.

    Dr Rick Springman, Holtec’s President of Global Clean Energy Opportunities, said:   

    Holtec has been part of the UK’s nuclear fabric for over 30 years. We recognise the UK’s long-term commitment to nuclear energy to drive forward government missions on clean energy and economic growth.

    Our planned advanced manufacturing factory in South Yorkshire will bring thousands of skilled, highly-paid engineering jobs to the region while supporting tens of thousands more in the UK’s wider manufacturing supply chains.

    The potential size of the prize of this investment is significant. Depending on future SMR order books it could open up a £30bn export market over ten years adding billions of pounds to the UK economy. Over the coming months Holtec will be finalising its full factory plans and designs based on its UK and international order book.

    This follows the announcement earlier this week that up to 500 UK manufacturing jobs are set to be supported as bus operator Go Ahead confirms a major £500 million investment to decarbonise its fleet including. This includes creating a new dedicated manufacturing line and partnership with Northern Ireland-based UK bus manufacturer Wrightbus.    

    Yesterday, the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero gave the green light for a new scheme to help unlock billions in investment in energy storage infrastructure. This could see the first significant long duration energy storage facilities in nearly 4 decades, helping to create back up renewable power and bolster the UK’s energy security.    

    And it also builds on the Government confirming funding to launch the UK’s first carbon capture sites in Teesside and Merseyside. Two new carbon capture and CCUS enabled hydrogen projects will create 4,000 new jobs, in a boost for the economy and British industry, helping remove over 8.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions each year – the equivalent of taking around 4 million cars off the road.

    Updates to this page

    Published 10 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI: Pieridae to Hold Conference Call and Webcast to Discuss Third Quarter 2024 Results

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN UNITED STATES

    CALGARY, Alberta, Oct. 10, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Pieridae Energy Limited (“Pieridae” or the “Company”) (TSX: PEA) will release its financial and operating results for the third quarter 2024, on Wednesday, November 6, 2024, after markets close.

    President & Chief Executive Officer Darcy Reding and Chief Financial Officer Adam Gray will discuss the financial results and company developments on an investor conference call and webcast on Thursday, November 7, 2024, at 8:30 a.m. MST / 10:30 a.m. EST.

    To register to participate via webcast please follow this link:

    https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/x7jqdags

    Alternatively, to register to participate by telephone please follow this link:

    https://register.vevent.com/register/BI1c44d36dab364545b0c536614eb099d8

    A replay of the webcast will be available two hours after the conclusion of the event and may be accessed using the webcast link above.

    ABOUT PIERIDAE

    Pieridae is a Canadian energy company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. The Company is a significant upstream producer and midstream custom processor of natural gas, natural gas liquids, condensate, and sulphur from the Canadian Foothills and adjacent areas in Alberta and in northeast British Columbia. Pieridae’s vision is to provide responsible, affordable natural gas and derived products to meet society’s energy security needs. Pieridae’s Common Shares trade on the TSX under the symbol “PEA”.

    For further information, visit http://www.pieridaeenergy.com, or please contact:

    Darcy Reding, President and Chief Executive Officer
    Telephone: (403) 261-5900    		 Adam Gray, Chief Financial Officer
    Telephone: (403) 261-5900
       
    Investor Relations
    investors@pieridaeenergy.com    		  

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: IADC Nigeria Chapter Hosts HSE Awards & Technical Session

    Source: International Association of Drilling Contractors – IADC

    Headline: IADC Nigeria Chapter Hosts HSE Awards & Technical Session

    The 2024 IADC Nigeria Chapter HSE Awards and Technical Session was held on 13 September. Chapter Chairman Mr. Chuks Enwereji discussed workplace stress during the event’s safety moment. He then delivered an update on the state of the Nigeria Oil & Gas industry, providing valuable insights into the current landscape. 

    A special mention was given to the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI) IADC Student Chapter, the first of its kind in Nigeria. The chairman celebrated the presence of students from the PTI Student Chapter, recognizing the importance of nurturing future talent. Since its inception, the PTI IADC Student Chapter has organized several initiatives, including technical sessions and inter-level drilling quiz competitions, demonstrating their passion for industry excellence. The PTI Student Chapter extended its deepest gratitude to both IADC Headquarters and the IADC Nigeria Chapter for their continuous support.

    Guest speakers delivered thought-provoking presentations. Mrs. Ihuoma Okorie, CEO of Clintas Energy Resources Limited, addressed the critical topic “Competency Training in the Oil & Gas Industry.” Engr. Mercy Ntuk, HSSE Lead at Unitech Drilling Company Limited, followed with an engaging session on the topic “Developing and Sustain Competency in Critical Roles.” 

    The Chapter honored Member companies that actively participated in the 2023 Incident Statistics Program (ISP), with their reports meticulously analyzed by the HSE Committee. A total of ten companies submitted their 2023 reports, and after careful review, Shelf Drilling Offshore Services Limited emerged as the top performer for their exemplary safety practices. The following companies were recognized:

    • Aviam Offshore Engineering Company Limited
    • Charlvon Limited
    • Depthwize Nigeria Limited
    • Geoplex Drillteq Limited
    • Ocean Deep Drilling ESV Nigeria Limited
    • Pacific International Drilling West Africa Limited
    • Selective Marine Oil and Gas Limited
    • OES Energy Services
    • Unitech Drilling Company Limited
    • Shelf Drilling Nigeria Limited

    The 2024 HSE Awards & Technical Session was a resounding success, bringing together key industry stakeholders, government and regulatory agencies, and directors of  Member companies. It was a vibrant and interactive event filled with enriching presentations, valuable insights, and a strong sense of collaboration within the industry.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: IADC South Central Asia Chapter & ONGC Organize 8th Drilling Operations Incident Review Committee Meeting

    Source: International Association of Drilling Contractors – IADC

    Headline: IADC South Central Asia Chapter & ONGC Organize 8th Drilling Operations Incident Review Committee Meeting

    The IADC South Central Asia (SCA) Chapter and the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) hosted the 8th Drilling Operations Incident Review Committee (DOIRC) meeting on 24 August. This was the second event with an integrated Onshore and Offshore focus, and it was held at NBP Green Heights in Mumbai. 

    The event witnessed active participation from over 280 attendees of different companies, including 130 online participants from offshore and onshore E&P installations in the Indian subcontinent. Attendees included leaders and key executives from ONGC, drilling companies, and other organizations, demonstrating a shared commitment to safety in drilling operations across the region.

    The safety moment by the HSE Manager of Greatship emphasized the role of human factors in incidents and highlighted the importance of compliance with safety management systems and procedures in the workplace.

    DOIRC Chairman Shri VV Prasad expressed his gratitude to IADC SCAC Chairman & Director (T&FS) ONGC Shri OP Singh for his continuous guidance and support in establishing DOIRC as a structured platform for engagement and collaboration on safety issues in the Indian Drilling Industry. He emphasized that the goal of zero incidents is achievable when safety becomes a shared responsibility.

    In his inaugural address, Sh. O.P. Singh appreciated the continuous efforts made by IADC in collaboration with ONGC to create a safe culture and a safe work environment. A more efficient work environment can be achieved by integrating the guiding principles of the Five M’s – Men, Machine, Material, Method, and Management. He emphasized that digitalization plays a pivotal role in the transformation to latest technologies. The industry needs to support a digital safety culture, enhancing its safety protocols and being prepared for future challenges.    

    The Head of HSE ONGC Mumbai presented an action taken report on previous DOIRC recommendations, their compliance status along with initiatives taken, milestones achieved, and HSE statistics for Quarter-1 of FY 2024-25. Eight incidents from the last quarter were presented by respective rig managers, sharing their root cause analysis learnings from these incidents and corrective actions implemented.

    In his concluding address, Chief of HSE at ONGC advised that the learnings from the incidents discussed at DOIRC should be effectively communicated and implemented across all ONGC installations.

    Mr. Narendra Jindal, Vice chairman of IADC SCA Chapter & Country – Head of Operations at Shelf Drilling, offered the closing remarks and vote of thanks.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI: APA Corporation Provides Third-Quarter 2024 Supplemental Information and Schedules Results Conference Call for November 7 at 10 a.m. Central Time

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    HOUSTON, Oct. 09, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — APA Corporation (Nasdaq: APA) today provided supplemental information regarding certain third-quarter 2024 financial and operational results. This information is intended only to provide additional information regarding current estimates management believes will affect results for the third-quarter 2024. It is provided to assist investors, analysts and others in formulating their own estimates, and is not intended to be a comprehensive presentation of all factors that will affect third-quarter 2024 results. Actual results and the impact of factors identified here may vary depending on the impact of other factors not identified here and are subject to finalization of the financial reporting process for third-quarter 2024.

    Estimated Average Realized Prices – 3Q24
      Oil (bbl) NGL (bbl) Natural Gas (Mcf)
    United States $76.25 $20.75 $0.15
    International $80.00 $45.75 $3.30
    Egypt tax barrels: 35 MBoe/d
    Realized gain on commodity derivatives (before tax): $3 million
    Dry hole costs (before tax): $10-$15 million
    Net gain on oil and gas purchases and sales (before tax):
    Includes gain on natural gas purchased and sold to Cheniere.    		 $178 million
    General and Administrative Expense: $100 million

    Production update

    APA curtailed approximately 103 MMcf/d of U.S. natural gas production in the third quarter in response to weak or negative Waha hub prices. APA also curtailed an estimated 10,000 barrels per day of natural gas liquids during the quarter, which were mostly associated with the voluntary gas curtailments. Previous third quarter guidance issued in July contemplated curtailments of ~90 MMcf/d of natural gas and ~7,500 barrels per day of NGLs.

    Asset sales update

    In September, APA announced an agreement to divest non-core assets in the Permian Basin for $950 million, prior to customary closing adjustments. At the time of the announcement, these properties had an estimated net production of ~21 MBOE/D (57% oil). Fourth-quarter guidance issued with the divestiture announcement removed production from the pending divestiture for the entirety of the fourth quarter, though the transaction is not expected to close until later in the fourth quarter.

    Weighted-average shares outstanding

    The estimated weighted-average basic common shares for the third quarter is 370 million, compared with a weighted average of 371 million shares in the second-quarter 2024. APA repurchased 0.1 million shares at an average price of $29.32 per share during the third quarter.

    Third-quarter 2024 earnings call

    APA will host a conference call to discuss its third-quarter 2024 results at 10 a.m. Central time, Thursday, November 7. The conference call will be webcast from APA’s website at http://www.apacorp.com and investor.apacorp.com. Following the conference call, a replay will be available for one year on the “Investors” page of the company’s website.

    About APA

    APA Corporation owns consolidated subsidiaries that explore for and produce oil and natural gas in the United States, Egypt and the United Kingdom and that explore for oil and natural gas offshore Suriname and elsewhere. APA posts announcements, operational updates, investor information and press releases on its website, http://www.apacorp.com.

    Forward-Looking Statements

    This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “seeks,” “believes,” “continues,” “could,” “estimates,” “expects,” “goals,” “guidance,” “may,” “might,” “outlook,” “possibly,” “potential,” “projects,” “prospects,” “should,” “will,” “would,” and similar references to future periods, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements about future plans, expectations, and objectives for operations, including statements about our capital plans, drilling plans, production expectations, asset sales, and monetizations. While forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and analyses made by us that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, whether actual results and developments will meet our expectations and predictions depend on a number of risks and uncertainties which could cause our actual results, performance, and financial condition to differ materially from our expectations. See “Risk Factors” in APA’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, and in our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a discussion of risk factors that affect our business. Any forward-looking statement made in this news release speaks only as of the date on which it is made. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. APA and its subsidiaries undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future development or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

    Contacts

    Investor: (281) 302-2286 Gary Clark
    Media: (713) 296-7276 Alexandra Franceschi
    Website: http://www.apacorp.com  

    APA-F

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Unprecedented Response to Hurricane Helene Continues as State, Local and Federal Resources Work to Help those Impacted in Western North Carolina

    Source: US State of North Carolina

    Headline: Unprecedented Response to Hurricane Helene Continues as State, Local and Federal Resources Work to Help those Impacted in Western North Carolina

    Unprecedented Response to Hurricane Helene Continues as State, Local and Federal Resources Work to Help those Impacted in Western North Carolina
    mseets

    Today, Governor Roy Cooper held a briefing with FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell to provide updates on North Carolina’s unprecedented response to Hurricane Helene. They were joined by Adjutant General of the North Carolina National Guard Major General Todd Hunt, North Carolina Director of Emergency Management Will Ray, NCDOT Secretary Joey Hopkins, NCDHHS Secretary Kody Kinsley and NCDEQ Secretary Mary Penny Kelley to share an update as response and recovery operations continue in Western North Carolina. 

    “Hurricane Helene was a powerful reminder of nature’s might, but it also revealed the unbreakable spirit of our people,” said Governor Cooper. “In the face of adversity, we have seen neighbors helping neighbors, volunteers stepping up, and first responders risking their lives to ensure our safety. This has been a massive, unprecedented state, local and federal response and I am grateful to all of those working tirelessly. Your bravery and selflessness embody the very essence of our community.”

    Goods and services continue to flow into impacted communities through state, federal and local partners.  The North Carolina National Guard and the Joint Task Force- North Carolina have assisted thousands of people who needed rescue, evacuation and other assistance.

    North Carolina National Guard and Military Response

    More than 3,000 Soldiers and Airmen are now working in Western North Carolina. Joint Task Force- North Carolina, the task force led by the North Carolina National Guard is made up of Soldiers and Airmen from 12 different states, two different XVIII Airborne Corps units from Ft. Liberty, a unit from Ft. Campbell’s 101st Airborne Division, and numerous civilian entities are working side-by-side to get the much-needed help to the citizens in western North Carolina.

    National Guard and military personnel are operating more than 40 helicopters and more than 1,200 specialized vehicles in Western North Carolina to facilitate these missions. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is helping to assess water and wastewater plants and dams. Residents can track the status of the public water supply in their area through a website launched on Saturday.

    FEMA Assistance

    More than $60 million in FEMA Individual Assistance funds have been paid so far to Western NC disaster survivors and more than 134,000 people have registered for Individual Assistance. Approximately 2,600 people are now housed in hotels through FEMA’s Transitional Sheltering Assistance. Federal partners have delivered approximately 9.78 million liters of water and approximately 7.7 million meals in North Carolina to support both responders and people living in the affected communities.

    More than 900 FEMA staff are in the state to help with the western North Carolina relief effort. In addition to search and rescue and providing commodities, they are meeting with disaster survivors in shelters and neighborhoods to provide rapid access to relief resources. They can be identified by their FEMA logo apparel and federal government identification.

    The Major Disaster Declaration requested by Governor Cooper and granted by President Biden now includes 27 North Carolina counties (Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mecklenburg, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes and Yancey) and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

    North Carolinians can apply for Individual Assistance by calling 1-800-621-3362 from 7am to 11pm daily or by visiting www.disasterassistance.gov, or by downloading the FEMA app. FEMA may be able to help with serious needs, displacement, temporary lodging, basic home repair costs, personal property loss or other disaster-caused needs.

    Help from Other States

    More than 1,300 responders from 35 state and local agencies have performed 118 missions supporting the response and recovery efforts through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC). This includes public health nurses, emergency management teams supporting local governments, veterinarians, teams with search dogs and more.

    Beware of Misinformation

    North Carolina Emergency Management and local officials are cautioning the public about false Helene reports and misinformation being shared on social media. NCEM has launched a fact versus rumor response webpage to provide factual information in the wake of this storm. FEMA also has a rumor response webpage.

    Food, Water and Commodity Points of Distribution

    Efforts continue to provide food, water and basic necessities to residents in affected communities, using both ground resources and air drops from the NC National Guard. More than 20,000 hot meals a day are being prepared and served by mobile kitchens. Food, water and commodity points of distribution are open throughout western North Carolina. For information on these sites in your community, visit your local emergency management and local government social media and websites or visit ncdps.gov/Helene.

    Missing Persons

    To report a missing person or request non-emergency support, please call NC 211 or 1-888-892-1162 if calling from out-of-state. NC 211 also has a registry page for missing persons and welfare check requests.

    Shelters

    A total of 17 shelters are open in Western North Carolina serving 715 people and 102 pets.

    Storm Damage Cleanup

    If your home has damages and you need assistance with clean up, please call Crisis Cleanup for access to volunteer organizations that can assist you at 844-965-1386.

    Power Outages

    Across Western North Carolina, more than 86,000 customers remain without power as of Tuesday, down from a peak of more than 1 million. Overall power outage numbers will fluctuate up and down as power crews temporarily take circuits or substations offline to make repairs and restore additional customers.

    Road Closures

    Travel remains dangerous, with hundreds of roads closed. Many of these roads are primary routes connecting the region. As connectivity and reporting measures improve, these number may increase.

    NCDOT is asking people to avoid unnecessary travel to or in Western North Carolina. NCDOT has posted at ncdot.gov an interstate detour map for travelers to avoid western N.C. NCDOT currently has more than 2,100 employees and 1,100 pieces of equipment working on approximately 4,700 damaged road sites.

    Fatalities

    Eighty-nine storm-related deaths have been confirmed in North Carolina by the Office of Chief Medical Examiner. We expect that this number will continue to rise over the coming days. The North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will continue to confirm numbers twice daily. If you have an emergency or believe that someone is in danger, please call 911. To report that you have been unable to reach a person in Western North Carolina, please call 211.

    Volunteers and Donations

    Due to dangerous road conditions and the need to maintain open routes for emergency operations, travel to Western North Carolina is strongly discouraged. Instead, consider the following options for donations and volunteer opportunities:

    • If you would like to donate to the North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund, visit nc.gov/donate. Donations will help to support local nonprofits working on the ground.
    • For information on volunteer opportunities, please visit nc.gov/volunteernc

    Additional Assistance

    There is no right or wrong way to feel in response to the trauma of a hurricane. If you have been impacted by the storm and need someone to talk to, call or text the Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990. Help is also available to anyone, anytime in English or Spanish through a call, text or chat to 988. Learn more at 988Lifeline.org.

    If you are seeking a representative from the North Carolina Joint Information Center, please email ncempio@ncdps.gov or call 919-825-2599.

    For general information, access to resources, or answers to frequently asked questions, please visit ncdps.gov/helene.

    If you are seeking information on resources for recovery help for a resident impacted from the storm, please email IArecovery@ncdps.gov.

    ###

    Oct 9, 2024

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Hurricane Milton: Flooded industrial sites and toxic chemical releases are a silent, growing threat

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By James R. Elliott, Professor of Sociology, Rice University

    An industrial storage tank overturned by Hurricane Helene in Asheville, N.C., shows the power of fast-moving floodwater. Sean Rayford/Getty Images

    Hundreds of industrial facilities with toxic pollutants are in Hurricane Milton’s path as it heads toward Florida, less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene flooded communities across the Southeast.

    Milton, expected to make landfall as a major hurricane late on Oct. 9, is bearing down on boat and spa factories along Florida’s west-central coast, along with the rubber, plastics and fiberglass manufacturers that supply them. Many of these facilities use tens of thousands of registered contaminants each year, including toluene, styrene and other chemicals known to have adverse effects on the central nervous system with prolonged exposure.

    Farther inland, hundreds more manufacturers that use and house hazardous chemicals onsite lie along the Interstate 4 and Interstate 75 corridors and their feeder roads. And many are in the path of the storm’s intense winds and heavy rainfall.

    Black dots indicate facilities in EPA’s 2022 Toxic Release Inventory within Hurricane Milton’s projected impact zone.
    Rice University Center for Coastal Futures and Adaptive Resilience, CC BY-ND

    Helene’s heavy rainfall in late September 2024 flooded industrial sites across the Southeast. A retired nuclear power plant just south of Cedar Key, Florida, was flooded by Helene’s storm surge.

    In disasters like these, the industrial damage can unfold over days, and residents may not hear about releases of toxic chemicals into water or the air until days or weeks later, if they find out at all.

    Yet pollution releases are common.

    After Hurricane Ian broadsided Florida’s western coast in 2022, runoff that included hazardous materials from damaged storage tanks and local fertilizer mining facilities, in addition to millions of gallons of wastewater, was visible from space, spilling across the coastal wetlands into the Gulf of Mexico. A year earlier, Hurricane Ida triggered more than 2,000 reported chemical spills.

    During Hurricane Harvey in 2017, floodwater surrounded chemical facilities near Houston. Some caught fire as cooling systems failed, releasing huge volumes or pollutants into the air. Emergency responders and residents, who didn’t know what risks they might face, blamed the chemicals for causing respiratory illnesses.

    Many types of toxic material can spread, settle and change the long-term health and environmental safety of surrounding communities – often with little notice to residents. Our team of environmental sociologists and anthropologists has mapped hazardous industrial sites across the country and paired them with hurricanes’ projected impact maps to help communities hold nearby facilities accountable.

    Major polluters on Gulf Coast at high risk”

    The risks from industrial facilities are most obvious along the U.S. Gulf Coast, where many major petrochemical complexes are clustered in harm’s way. These refineries, factories and storage facilities are often built along rivers or bays for easy shipping access.

    But those rivers can also bring storm surge flooding that can raise the ocean by several feet during hurricanes. The storm surge from Helene was over 10 feet above ground level in Florida’s Big Bend and over 6 feet in Tampa Bay. With Milton, forecasters warning of a 10- to 15-foot storm surge at Tampa Bay.

    A boom surrounds flooded railcars to try to contain leaks at a chemical plant in Braithwaite, La., after Hurricane Isaac in 2012.
    AP Photo/David J. Phillip

    A recent study found evidence of two to three times more pollution releases during hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico than during normal weather from 2005 to 2020.

    The effects of these pollution releases fall disproportionately on low-income communities and people of color, further exacerbating environmental health risks.

    Why residents may not hear about toxic releases

    The statistics are disconcerting, yet they get little attention. That is because hazardous releases remain largely invisible due to limited disclosure requirements and scant public information. Even emergency responders often don’t know exactly which hazardous chemicals they are facing in emergency situations.

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requires major polluters to file only very general information about chemicals and on-site risks in their risk management plans. Some large-scale fuel storage facilities, such as those holding liquefied natural gas, are not even required to do that.

    These risk management plans outline “worst-case” scenarios and are supposed to be publicly accessible. But, in reality, we and others have found them difficult to access, heavily redacted and housed in federal reading rooms with limited access. The reason local officials and national scientific review panels often give for the secrecy is to protect the facilities from terrorist attack.

    Oil storage tanks and industrial facilities line the Houston Ship Channel, which is vulnerable to storm surge from Gulf of Mexico hurricanes.
    AP Photo/David J. Phillip

    Adding to this opacity is the fact that many states – including those along the Gulf – suspend restrictions on pollution releases during emergency declarations. Meanwhile, real-time incident notifications from the National Response Center – the federal government’s repository for all chemical discharges into the environment – typically lag by a week or more,

    We believe this limited public information on rising chemical threats from our changing climate should be front-page news every hurricane season. Communities should be aware of the risks of hosting vulnerable industrial infrastructure, particularly as rising global temperatures increase the risk of extreme downpours and powerful hurricanes.

    Mapping the risks nationwide to raise awareness

    To help communities understand their risks, our team at Rice University’s new Center for Coastal Futures and Adaptive Resilience investigates how industrial communities in flood-prone areas nationwide can better adapt to such threats, socially as well as technologically.

    Our interactive map shows where elevated future flood risks threaten to inundate major polluters that we identify using the EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory.

    The U.S. has several hot spots with clusters of flood-prone polluters. Houston’s Ship Channel, Chicago’s waterfront steel industries and the harbors at Los Angeles and New York/New Jersey are among the biggest.

    Three of the biggest hot spots, where large numbers of industrial facilities with toxic materials face elevated future flood risks, are in the Northeast, the northwestern Gulf Coast and the southern end of the Great Lakes.
    Rice University Center for Coastal Futures and Adaptive Resilience, CC BY-ND

    But, as Helene revealed, there can also be great concern in less obvious spots. Inland, particularly in the mountains, runoff can quickly turn normally tame rivers into fast-rising torrents. The French Broad River at Asheville, North Carolina, rose about 12 feet in 12 hours during Helene and set a new flood stage record.

    When hurricanes and tropical storms are headed for the U.S., our interactive maps show where major polluters are located in the storm’s projected cone of impact. The maps identify hazardous flood-prone facilities down to the address, anywhere in the country.

    Knowledge is the first step

    Knowing where these sites are located is only the first step. Often, it’s up to communities themselves, many of them already overexposed and historically underserved, to raise concerns and demand strategies for mitigating the health, economic and environmental risks that industrial sites at risk of flooding and other damage can pose.

    These discussions can’t wait until a disaster is on the way. By knowing where these risks may be, communities can take steps now to build a safer future.

    This article, originally published Sept. 30, has been updated with Hurricane Milton.

    James R. Elliott receives funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Renewable Energy Lab.

    Dominic Boyer receives funding from the National Science Foundation, NOAA and Texas Sea Grant.

    Phylicia Lee Brown has nothing to disclose.

    – ref. Hurricane Milton: Flooded industrial sites and toxic chemical releases are a silent, growing threat – https://theconversation.com/hurricane-milton-flooded-industrial-sites-and-toxic-chemical-releases-are-a-silent-growing-threat-239977

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: IADC Nigeria Chapter Hosts HSE Awards & Technical Session

    Source: International Association of Drilling Contractors – IADC

    Headline: IADC Nigeria Chapter Hosts HSE Awards & Technical Session

    The 2024 IADC Nigeria Chapter HSE Awards and Technical Session was held on 13 September. Chapter Chairman Mr. Chuks Enwereji discussed workplace stress during the event’s safety moment. He then delivered an update on the state of the Nigeria Oil & Gas industry, providing valuable insights into the current landscape. 

    A special mention was given to the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI) IADC Student Chapter, the first of its kind in Nigeria. The chairman celebrated the presence of students from the PTI Student Chapter, recognizing the importance of nurturing future talent. Since its inception, the PTI IADC Student Chapter has organized several initiatives, including technical sessions and inter-level drilling quiz competitions, demonstrating their passion for industry excellence. The PTI Student Chapter extended its deepest gratitude to both IADC Headquarters and the IADC Nigeria Chapter for their continuous support.

    Guest speakers delivered thought-provoking presentations. Mrs. Ihuoma Okorie, CEO of Clintas Energy Resources Limited, addressed the critical topic “Competency Training in the Oil & Gas Industry.” Engr. Mercy Ntuk, HSSE Lead at Unitech Drilling Company Limited, followed with an engaging session on the topic “Developing and Sustain Competency in Critical Roles.” 

    The Chapter honored Member companies that actively participated in the 2023 Incident Statistics Program (ISP), with their reports meticulously analyzed by the HSE Committee. A total of ten companies submitted their 2023 reports, and after careful review, Shelf Drilling Offshore Services Limited emerged as the top performer for their exemplary safety practices. The following companies were recognized:

    • Aviam Offshore Engineering Company Limited
    • Charlvon Limited
    • Depthwize Nigeria Limited
    • Geoplex Drillteq Limited
    • Ocean Deep Drilling ESV Nigeria Limited
    • Pacific International Drilling West Africa Limited
    • Selective Marine Oil and Gas Limited
    • OES Energy Services
    • Unitech Drilling Company Limited
    • Shelf Drilling Nigeria Limited

    The 2024 HSE Awards & Technical Session was a resounding success, bringing together key industry stakeholders, government and regulatory agencies, and directors of  Member companies. It was a vibrant and interactive event filled with enriching presentations, valuable insights, and a strong sense of collaboration within the industry.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: IADC South Central Asia Chapter & ONGC Organize 8th Drilling Operations Incident Review Committee Meeting

    Source: International Association of Drilling Contractors – IADC

    Headline: IADC South Central Asia Chapter & ONGC Organize 8th Drilling Operations Incident Review Committee Meeting

    The IADC South Central Asia (SCA) Chapter and the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) hosted the 8th Drilling Operations Incident Review Committee (DOIRC) meeting on 24 August. This was the second event with an integrated Onshore and Offshore focus, and it was held at NBP Green Heights in Mumbai. 

    The event witnessed active participation from over 280 attendees of different companies, including 130 online participants from offshore and onshore E&P installations in the Indian subcontinent. Attendees included leaders and key executives from ONGC, drilling companies, and other organizations, demonstrating a shared commitment to safety in drilling operations across the region.

    The safety moment by the HSE Manager of Greatship emphasized the role of human factors in incidents and highlighted the importance of compliance with safety management systems and procedures in the workplace.

    DOIRC Chairman Shri VV Prasad expressed his gratitude to IADC SCAC Chairman & Director (T&FS) ONGC Shri OP Singh for his continuous guidance and support in establishing DOIRC as a structured platform for engagement and collaboration on safety issues in the Indian Drilling Industry. He emphasized that the goal of zero incidents is achievable when safety becomes a shared responsibility.

    In his inaugural address, Sh. O.P. Singh appreciated the continuous efforts made by IADC in collaboration with ONGC to create a safe culture and a safe work environment. A more efficient work environment can be achieved by integrating the guiding principles of the Five M’s – Men, Machine, Material, Method, and Management. He emphasized that digitalization plays a pivotal role in the transformation to latest technologies. The industry needs to support a digital safety culture, enhancing its safety protocols and being prepared for future challenges.    

    The Head of HSE ONGC Mumbai presented an action taken report on previous DOIRC recommendations, their compliance status along with initiatives taken, milestones achieved, and HSE statistics for Quarter-1 of FY 2024-25. Eight incidents from the last quarter were presented by respective rig managers, sharing their root cause analysis learnings from these incidents and corrective actions implemented.

    In his concluding address, Chief of HSE at ONGC advised that the learnings from the incidents discussed at DOIRC should be effectively communicated and implemented across all ONGC installations.

    Mr. Narendra Jindal, Vice chairman of IADC SCA Chapter & Country – Head of Operations at Shelf Drilling, offered the closing remarks and vote of thanks.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Accreditation Updates for October 2024

    Source: International Association of Drilling Contractors – IADC

    Headline: Accreditation Updates for October 2024

    IADC welcomes these 7 newly-accredited training providers who have satisfactorily completed the approval process:

    Basin United

    • Standard Safety & Supply – Odessa, Texas, US
    • TechnipFMC – Odessa, Texas, US
    • Tiger Safety – Houston, Texas, US

    Competence Assurance

    • ChampionX Middle East Services LLC – Muscat, Oman

    RigPass

    • RigSafe Iraq Training Services – Basra, Basra, Iraq 
    • JC Energy Services – Benton, Texas, US

    WellSharp

    • Bro Well Control School – Suez, Egypt

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Washington, D.C., Updates for October 2024

    Source: International Association of Drilling Contractors – IADC

    Headline: Washington, D.C., Updates for October 2024

    U.S. House of Representatives Passes Key Legislation Before Campaign Season

    Congress overwhelmingly passed a funding bill last week to avert a government shutdown on September 30th, the end of the U.S. government’s fiscal year. The spending package, negotiated by the House and Senate, would fund the government at current levels through December 20, 2024, setting up another spending fight right before the holidays. The House and Senate have adjourned and will not return to the Capitol until after the elections in November.

    But before they headed back to their districts and states for the final campaign stretch, the House of Representatives approved a number of energy, environment and natural resources bills that will see Senate action when they return.

    The House advanced H.R. 7073, the “Next Generation Pipelines Research and Development Act,” by a vote of 373-41. The bill, out of the Science, Space and Technology Committee, would increase federal research and collaborations related to pipelines.

    During floor debate, bipartisan members heralded the importance of improving aging pipelines that are becoming more prone to malfunction and leaks. Sponsor Representative Randy Weber (R-Texas) said the bill would help the Department of Energy adopt a “new and more modern approach to pipeline research development.” Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), the Science Committee’s ranking member, called the bill “much-needed harm-reduction legislation.”

    The House also advanced H.R. 7370, the “Geothermal Energy Opportunity Act,” from Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah). The bill would establish a deadline for the Interior Department to process geothermal power project applications.

    The House even cleared firebrand Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s H.R. 7422, the “Geothermal Cost-Recovery Authority Act,” so the Interior Department can seek reimbursement from companies to offset the cost of permitting and hire third-party experts to review permits. “At a time when permitting is a contentious word in Washington, this bill shows that both parties can come together around common-sense approaches,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

    Also passed was H.R. 6474, from Rep. Michelle Steel (R-Calif.), which would expedite permitting for geothermal projects in regions with recent energy development or environmental impact studies.

    And a final bill was passed, H.R. 5509, the “Electronic Permitting Modernization Act,” from Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), which would require the Interior Department to modernize its electronic permitting system and expand online options for permits.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Government advances Made-in-Canada sustainable investment guidelines and mandatory climate disclosures to accelerate progress to net-zero emissions by 2050

    Source: Government of Canada News

    News release

    October 9, 2024 – Toronto, Ontario – Department of Finance Canada

    The federal government is leading the world with a bold climate plan to grow our economy and reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Achieving this goal will require between $125 billion and $140 billion in investment into Canada every year. As a cornerstone of Canada’s net-zero economic plan, the federal government’s $93 billion suite of major economic tax credits are already available to help attract this investment.

    Beyond incentives to attract investment to Canada, investors need robust and transparent guidelines to credibly classify their investments into the clean economy on the path to net-zero. That is why in the 2023 Fall Economic Statement and Budget 2024, the government committed to develop a sustainable finance taxonomy identifying “green” and “transition” investments and to expand the coverage of mandatory climate disclosure requirements to private companies. Moving forward with these commitments is essential for market certainty, for Canada to unlock net-zero investments, and to uphold the Paris climate target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

    Today in Toronto at the Principles for Responsible Investment conference, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, announced:

    • A plan to deliver Made-in-Canada sustainable investment guidelines; and,
    • Mandatory climate-related financial disclosures for large, federally incorporated private companies.

    The Made-in-Canada sustainable investment guidelines will become an important, voluntary tool for investors, lenders, and other stakeholders navigating the global race to net-zero by credibly identifying “green” and “transition” economic activities. These guidelines will provide the certainty needed to accelerate the flow of private capital into sustainable activities across the Canadian economy. From building electric vehicle batteries, to generating clean energy, to decarbonizing emissions-intensive heavy industries, these guidelines will identify job-creating activities in a way that is scientifically credible and aligned with limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. The Canadian taxonomy will be developed and governed by an external, third-party organization(s).

    To attract more private capital into Canada’s largest corporations and ensure Canadian businesses can continue to effectively compete as the world races towards net-zero, the government is also moving forward with mandating climate-related financial disclosures for large, federally incorporated private companies. These disclosures will help investors better understand how large businesses are thinking about and managing risks related to climate change, ensuring that capital allocation aligns with the realities of a net-zero economy. Specifically, the government intends to bring forward amendments to the Canada Business Corporations Act that will require these disclosures. The government will launch a regulatory process to determine the substance of these disclosure requirements and the size of private federal corporations that would be subject to them. As small- and medium-sized businesses will not be subject to the requirements, the government is considering ways to encourage those businesses to voluntarily release climate disclosures, if they wish.

    The federal government is ready to work with provincial and territorial partners to ensure broad disclosure coverage across the Canadian economy. The government will seek to harmonize its regulations with those that will be required from public companies by securities regulators. More details will be released in due course.

    These two sustainable finance initiatives will mobilize further private sector capital towards activities essential to building a net-zero economy. More private sector capital will enable businesses to grow the economy, create more good-paying jobs for Canadians, and boost their resiliency against the risks posed by climate change.

    In addition to these announcements, today, the federal government successfully issued an additional $2 billion in green bonds, through a re-opening of Canada’s second green bond issued in February.

    Together, today’s progress is about building a flourishing Canadian sustainable finance industry and sending a clear signal to corporate boards and shareholders, at home and around the world, that Canada is their trusted partner for putting private capital to work in the race to net-zero.

    Quotes

    “In the 21st century, a competitive economy is a net-zero economy. We are seizing Canada’s economic advantages to attract investment and ensure Canadian workers benefit their fair share in the global race to net-zero. Today’s release of a path for Made-in-Canada sustainable investment guidelines and climate disclosures from large companies will accelerate the flow of private capital into Canada, in turn growing our economy, creating good jobs, and advancing our progress to net-zero emissions by 2050.”

    The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance

    “Building a cleaner economy is not only an environmental imperative, it is a major economic opportunity. The development of a sustainable investment taxonomy, paired with heightened transparency on climate disclosures, amounts to an important stepping stone for Canada on the path towards that cleaner economy. These initiatives will help mobilize needed private sector financial flows to build a cleaner economy and give investors who are looking for the sustainable option the clear direction they seek.”

    The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change

    “Canadian workers and businesses are already attracting historic investment in areas such as clean energy, critical minerals, and electric vehicles, and seeing the associated benefits for job creation and economic growth. With changes announced today, investors will have more certainty that companies are taking real and serious action to address the climate crisis and drive down emissions, while building a strong economy.”

    The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources

    “Fighting climate change as well as protecting the economy and Canadians from the costs of climate inaction is a priority for our government. It’s important to send a clear signal to Canadian companies and organizations that climate risks and opportunities are critical to integrate into corporate culture and decision making, and that’s what we’re doing.”

    The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry

    “Creating a financial system that is sustainable and globally competitive is essential for Canada’s economic future. In order to compete both at home and abroad, we are moving forward with sustainable investment guidelines and mandatory climate disclosures to help provide credibility, accountability, and transparency in the marketplace. These are essential conditions for investors and companies to fill the investment gap necessary to meet the climate challenge while seizing generational opportunities for clean prosperity.”

    Ryan Turnbull, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry

    Quick facts

    • In Budget 2024, the federal government committed to provide an update by the end of 2024 on the development of Made-in-Canada sustainable investment guidelines, in recognition that promoting credible climate investment and combatting greenwashing are critical to fostering investor confidence and mobilizing the private investment Canada needs to achieve net-zero by 2050. 

    • In the 2023 Fall Economic Statement, the federal government committed to develop options for making climate disclosures mandatory, as part of expanding mandatory climate disclosures across the Canadian economy. It also first announced the government’s commitment to developing a Made-in-Canada taxonomy. 

    • The development of a Made-in-Canada sustainable finance taxonomy and regulations to require climate disclosures from large companies builds on the important work done by the Sustainable Finance Action Council.

    • The federal government is investing over $160 billion in its net-zero economic plan, including through a $93 billion suite of tax credits for major economic investments in:

      • Carbon capture, utilization, and storage;
      • Clean technology;
      • Clean hydrogen;
      • Clean technology manufacturing;
      • Clean electricity; and,
      • Electric vehicle (EV) supply chains.

    • In addition to tax credits for major economic investments, the federal government is attracting net-zero private sector investment by:

      • Catalyzing private investment in low-carbon projects, technologies, businesses, and supply chains through the $15 billion Canada Growth Fund, which has already invested over $2 billion across eight deals, including three novel Carbon Contracts for Difference;
      • Leveraging at least $20 billion from the Canada Infrastructure Bank to build major clean electricity and clean growth infrastructure projects;
      • Securing Canada’s advantage as the world’s supplier of choice for critical minerals and the clean technologies they enable, by further developing supply chains through a $3.8 billion Critical Minerals Strategy; and,
      • Building more clean, affordable, and reliable power, and supporting innovation in electricity grids, including offshore wind, through the $3 billion recapitalization of the Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program.

    • The third-party, arm’s-length organization(s) will further develop and implement the taxonomy.

    • The Department of Finance, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada will work together to make the required legislative and regulatory changes for mandatory climate disclosures.

    Related products

    Associated links

    Contacts

    Media may contact:

    Katherine Cuplinskas
    Deputy Director of Communications
    Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
    Katherine.Cuplinskas@fin.gc.ca

    Media Relations
    Department of Finance Canada
    mediare@fin.gc.ca
    613-369-4000

    General enquiries:

    Phone: 1-833-712-2292
    TTY: 613-369-3230
    E-mail: financepublic-financepublique@fin.gc.ca

    Stay Connected

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Government advances Made-in-Canada sustainable investment guidelines to accelerate progress to net-zero emissions by 2050

    Source: Government of Canada News

    Backgrounder

    October 9, 2024

    The Government of Canada supports the development of voluntary Made-in-Canada sustainable investment guidelines (otherwise known as a taxonomy) that would categorize investments based on scientifically determined eligibility criteria that are consistent with the goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 and limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

    This is a high standard that will be important for building and maintaining the credibility of a Canadian taxonomy, which will mobilize private capital for low- or non-emitting activities with a “green” category.

    Importantly, the Canadian taxonomy would also establish a “transition” category to identify, and boost funding for, scientifically credible pathways to rapidly decarbonize Canada’s emissions-intensive sectors. Canada’s leadership in the transition aspect of taxonomy will be a notable and valuable contribution to the international dialogue on transition finance.

    The development of the metrics-based Canadian taxonomy would first focus on the following sectors for the Canadian economy: electricity, transportation, buildings, agriculture and forestry, manufacturing, and extractives, including mineral extraction and processing, and natural gas. A taxonomy for two to three priority sectors will be released within 12 months of the arm’s-length, third-party organization(s) beginning its work.

    Once finalized, the Canadian taxonomy would be available for entities such as financial institutions, lenders, and companies to use on a voluntary basis. It would not be mandatory.

    Details of the Canadian Taxonomy

    This backgrounder outlines the government’s expectations for the development and implementation of the Canadian taxonomy, including:

    1. Guiding Principles
    2. Defining green and transition investments
    3. Priority Sectors
    4. Company-level expectations
    5. Governance and Funding

    Background on Taxonomy

    To close the climate financing gap, financial market participants, including banks, insurers, pension plans and asset managers, have indicated that they need clarity about what economic activities are considered “green” or “transition.” A taxonomy is a tool that can provide this clarity by promoting a shared understanding or classification system that defines or categorizes these activities.

    Like the proposed Canadian taxonomy, many international taxonomies also use detailed eligibility criteria, anchored in climate science, to support the taxonomy’s credibility among international investors. These eligibility criteria often involve the use of performance-based metrics and thresholds to demonstrate what economic activities are aligned with pathways to limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, in line with the Paris Agreement. These taxonomies likewise aim to preserve interoperability with other jurisdictions to reflect the global nature of financial and capital markets.

    A taxonomy supports a wide range of use cases. For example, taxonomies can be used to set standards for classifying climate-related financial instruments (e.g., bonds or loans), and/or to evaluate the green or transition credentials of financial instruments and issuers.
    The aim of the Canadian taxonomy would be to mobilize investment in support of Canada’s net-zero transition by enabling investors to understand and communicate which key activities and investments will deliver a Canadian net-zero economy.

    Over 40 jurisdictions worldwide are developing or have implemented taxonomies, which generally are calibrated to a particular country’s domestic economic reality and priorities. This is an opportunity to develop a Made-in-Canada taxonomy that aligns with Canada’s net-zero pathways and drives transformational investments within Canada’s economy that will also create good-paying, sustainable jobs.

    The Sustainable Finance Action Council (SFAC), which was composed of 25 of Canada’s leading deposit-taking institutions, insurance companies, and pension funds, was launched by the Government of Canada in May 2021 to help lead the Canadian financial sector towards integrating sustainable finance into standard industry practice. The SFAC’s recommendations on taxonomy, including its Taxonomy Roadmap Report, have been important inputs for informing the Government of Canada’s next steps on taxonomy. The Government of Canada thanks the SFAC for its advice on taxonomy and its valuable contribution to building a sustainable finance market in Canada throughout its mandate, which concluded on March 31, 2024.

    i. Guiding Principles

    The Canadian taxonomy would be developed and maintained in accordance with the following principles (Guiding Principles), which draw from the recommendations of the SFAC and international organizations, as well as from international taxonomy precedents.

    These Guiding Principles are intended to ensure that the Canadian taxonomy fulfills its objective of being a credible and usable tool for financial market participants and others to identify green and transition investments.

    Guiding Principles

    • Usable

      Mobilize capital toward the net-zero transition.

    • Credible

      Clear, rigorous, and credible science-based criteria that align with limiting global temperature rise to 1.‍5°C above pre-industrial levels, with no or low overshoot and all relevant emissions scopes considered.​ Any activity which receives the green or transition taxonomy label must be scientifically defensible as being aligned with this.

    • Comprehensive

      Cover transition and green activities that make a material positive contribution to climate change mitigation, addressing high-emitting sectors.

    • Interoperable

      Be interoperable and broadly compatible with other major science-based taxonomies and frameworks globally, while reflecting Canada’s own economic context.

    • Transparent

      A governance structure that is transparent, efficient, adaptive, and results-oriented; safeguards scientific integrity; and engages with key stakeholders, including provincial and territorial governments, civil society, financial market participants, industry, and Indigenous partners.

    • Dynamic

      A built-in review process to ensure the Canadian taxonomy is updated as the landscape evolves.

    • Holistic

      Do-No-Significant-Harm criteria addressing environmental, social, and Indigenous objectives.

    ii. Defining green and transition investments

    At a high level, the Canadian taxonomy would define which economic activities are green or transition in line with SFAC recommendations, as follows:

    • Green: low-or zero-emitting activities, such as green hydrogen, solar, and wind energy generation, or those that enable them, such as electricity transmission lines and hydrogen pipelines; and,
    • Transition: decarbonizing emission-intensive activities that are critical for sectoral transformation and consistent with a net-zero, 1.5°C transition pathway, such as installing lower-emitting (electric) furnaces to produce steel.

    Activities are expected to be classified according to a categorization framework to be confirmed and operationalized. The figure below shows an example of such a framework proposed by the SFAC.

    SFAC Taxonomy Roadmap Report Categorization Framework

    For clarity, in this framework:

    Green activities are expected to be those that:

    • Do not have material scope 1 and 2 emissions;
    • Have low or zero downstream scope 3 emissions; and,
    • Sell into or benefit from markets that are expected to grow in the global
      net-zero transition.

    Transition activities are expected to be those that:

    • Have material scope 1 and 2 emissions but make significant emission reductions;
    • Have low or zero scope 3 emissions; and,
    • Do not create carbon lock-in and path dependency.

    As well as activities that:

    • Have material scope 3 emissions but significantly reduce their scope 1 and
      2 emissions;
    • Do not face immediate demand-side risk (i.e., market contraction); and,
    • Have lifespans proportionate to when global demand for their products is expected to decline.

    iii. Priority Sectors

    The initial phase of taxonomy development would focus on developing eligibility criteria for the following priority sectors. A taxonomy for two to three priority sectors will be released within 12 months of the arm’s-length, third-party organization(s) beginning its work. The final determination of eligible activities would rest with the third-party organization(s) which will develop, implement, and maintain the Canadian taxonomy, and align with the guiding principles, including scientific credibility and alignment with limiting global warming to 1.5°C:

    Electricity, which could include activities related to low- and zero-emitting electricity generation, electricity storage, and grid infrastructure improvements.

    Transportation, which could include low- and zero-emitting passenger and freight transportation activities in a variety of transportation modes (e.g., road, rail, marine transport) as well as enabling infrastructure (e.g., electric vehicle charging).

    Buildings, which could include the construction and operation of high-performance buildings, the retrofitting of buildings to improve their performance, and the installation of equipment to reduce the emissions of buildings and their occupants.

    Agriculture and Forestry, which could include the sustainable production of crops and livestock, activities to decarbonize agricultural production, and the planting, sustainable management, and restoration of forests.

    Heavy Industry:

    These important sectors of the Canadian economy have been prioritized based on the following criteria:

    • Anticipated future levels of green and transition investment opportunity, including as assessed by market participants;
    • Importance of their decarbonization for decarbonizing the Canadian economy, based on current sectoral emissions and projections of future emission reductions; and
    • Economic significance to Canada, including current levels of investment and economic activity.

    Further below is a list of examples of activities within these sectors that may be eligible for a green or transition taxonomy label, subject to the development of activity-specific performance criteria and Do-No-Significant-Harm requirements.

    iv. Company-level expectations

    The Government of Canada supports the adoption of net-zero targets, credible transition plans, and robust climate disclosures by Canadian companies. These are key infrastructure elements of a robust sustainable finance market and are essential to achieving net-zero goals, fostering transparency, and enabling informed decision-making.

    The Government of Canada has committed to moving towards mandatory climate-related financial disclosures across a broad spectrum of the Canadian economy. Mandatory disclosure requirements are already in place for federal Crown corporations and federally regulated financial institutions. The Government of Canada intends to bring forward amendments to the Canada Business Corporations Act to enable climate-related financial disclosure requirements for large, federally incorporated private companies.

    The Government of Canada encourages the developers of the taxonomy to consider including these company-level requirements as part of the eligibility criteria for green and transition labelling in the Canadian taxonomy, in line with SFAC’s recommendations.

    Potential Company-Level Actions for Taxonomy Users

    • Net-Zero Targets

      A commitment to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 or earlier, usually with interim targets.​

    • Credible Transition Plans

      A strategy that lays out the company’s targets, actions, and/or resources for its transition toward a lower-carbon economy, including actions such as reducing its greenhouse gas emissions.​

    • Robust Climate Disclosure

      The provision of information about a company’s climate-related governance, risk management, strategy, and metrics and targets.​

    v. Governance and Funding

    Developing a taxonomy requires significant climate science and sectoral expertise and engagement with stakeholders, including financial market participants, industry, civil society, governments, regulators, and Indigenous partners. In addition, good governance practices are needed to oversee the development and implementation of a Canadian taxonomy that safeguards scientific integrity and meets market needs. The guiding principle of scientific credibility will ensure that the taxonomy’s green and transition labels are only applied to activities that are in line with the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C with no or limited overshoot.

    The Canadian taxonomy would be developed, implemented, and maintained at arm’s length to the Government of Canada by an organization or organizations external-to-government.

    The final determination of guiding principles, eligible activities, priority sectors and company-level expectations would rest with the external-to-government organization.

    The Government of Canada would contribute funding to support the technical work to develop the eligibility criteria for the taxonomy.

    Examples of Potential Taxonomy Eligible Activities

    Under the Canadian taxonomy, a range of economic activities that contribute to Canada’s net-zero transition will be eligible for a “green” or “transition” label, which, for example, could be used in the context of labelled bond issuances. Not all economic activities will be eligible.

    Through a survey of international taxonomies, the following examples of activities in priority sectors that may be eligible for a green and/or transition label were identified. These examples are in no way intended to direct the work of the arm’s length organization or organizations who will develop, implement, and maintain the Canadian taxonomy, who would make final determinations with respect to the inclusion of and criteria for these example activities, in line with the guiding principles, including alignment with limiting global warming to 1.5°C. As such, these examples should be considered indicative only, not prescriptive.

    It is expected that activity-specific performance criteria would be developed for each activity included in the Canadian taxonomy along, with Do-No-Significant-Harm requirements, to define the circumstances under which that activity would be eligible for green or transition labelling. That is, only some forms of a given activity might be eligible while other forms of the same activity might be ineligible. Some forms of an eligible activity may be green-eligible while other forms would be transition-eligible. As such, the examples below show activities that may  be eligible, subject to activity-specific criteria and Do-No-Significant-Harm requirements.

    These examples are not intended to be exhaustive. The international taxonomies surveyed to identify these examples reflect the economic and net-zero transition needs of other jurisdictions, which may be different from those of Canada, so it is to be expected that the Canadian taxonomy could break new ground and include sub-sectors or activities not covered in these examples. For example, it could include green and transition activities in the agricultural sector such as certain forms of crop and livestock agriculture.

    In consideration of Canada’s economic makeup, the taxonomy could potentially include activities that significantly reduce the emissions of existing natural gas production and/or the emissions associated with a limited buildout of existing production sites. The technical drafters may also consider a broad range of possible eligibility criteria for existing natural gas production, such as the displacement of more polluting fuels internationally, provided they are aligned with limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Based on the Guiding Principles, the Government does not anticipate new natural gas production to be eligible. The final determination of eligible activities across all sectors will be made by the arms length, external organization(s).

    In the electricity sector, examples of potentially eligible green or transition activities include:

    • Co-generation of heating or cooling and electricity from solar energy;
    • Electricity generation from bioenergy;
    • Electricity generation using concentrated solar power (CSP) technology;
    • Electricity generation from geothermal energy;
    • Electricity generation from hydropower;
    • Electricity generation from ocean energy technologies;
    • Electricity generation using solar photovoltaic technology;
    • Electricity generation from wind power;
    • Storage of electricity; and,
    • Transmission and distribution of electricity.

    In the transportation sector, examples of potentially eligible green or transition activities include:

    • Low carbon transport infrastructure, such as electric vehicle charging.
    • Zero-emission and low-emission operations of the following modes of transportation:
      • Air transport, including ground handling operations;
      • Freight transport by road;
      • Inland water transport;
      • Road passenger transport;
      • Sea and coastal water transport;
      • Railway transport; and,
      • Urban and suburban passenger land transport.

    In the buildings sector, examples of potentially eligible green or transition activities include:

    • Acquisition and ownership of low-emitting and energy-efficient buildings;
    • Construction of low-emitting and energy-efficient new buildings;
    • Installation of energy efficiency equipment;
    • Installation of renewable energy technologies; and,
    • Renovation of existing buildings to reduce emissions and/or improve energy efficiency.

    In the agriculture and forestry sectors, examples of potentially eligible green or transition activities include:Footnote 1

    • Afforestation;
    • Conservation, restoration, and maintenance of natural forests; and,
    • Sustainable forest management.

    In the heavy industry sector, examples of potentially eligible green or transition activities include:

    • The low-emission or energy-efficient manufacturing of:
      • Aluminum;
      • Basic chemicals, such as ammonia, aromatics BTX, carbon black, chlorine, nitric acid, and soda ash;
      • Cement;
      • Hydrogen;
      • Iron and steel; and,
      • Plastics in primary form.
    • The manufacturing of:
      • Batteries;
      • Energy efficiency equipment for buildings, such as energy-efficient appliances and light sources, energy-efficient HVAC systems, heat pumps, and energy-efficient building automation and control systems;
      • Equipment for the production of hydrogen through electrolysis;
      • Low-carbon technologies for household sector;
      • Low-carbon technologies for transport, such as low-carbon vehicles that meet transportation sector criteria; and,
      • Renewable energy technologies.
    • The mining of:Footnote 2
      • Copper;
      • Iron ore;
      • Lithium; and,
      • Nickel.

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: FACT SHEET: Hurricane Helene Recovery Continues as Biden-⁠ Harris Administration Prepares for Hurricane  Milton

    US Senate News:

    Source: The White House
    The Biden-Harris Administration continues to both make urgent and life-saving preparations for Hurricane Milton and carry out response and recovery efforts for communities impacted by Hurricane Helene.
    Today, President Biden and Vice President Harris received a briefing from members of their Administration about updates on the latest forecast for Hurricane Milton, expected impacts for the State of Florida, and the robust pre-landfall preparations underway. They also received an update on the ongoing response to the impacts of Hurricane Helene across the Southeast and Appalachia. President Biden will address the Nation tonight regarding Hurricane Milton.
    President Biden has spoken to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, Clearwater Mayor Bruce Rector, and Pinellas County Chairwoman Kathleen Peters to get firsthand reports on recovery efforts for Hurricane Helene and to discuss preparations for Hurricane Milton. The President told each of the officials to call him directly if they need additional assistance on response and recovery efforts.
    More than 8,000 Federal personnel are on the ground across the Southeast, including in Florida, to continue Hurricane Helene recovery efforts and respond to the impacts of Hurricane Milton.
    At the direction of President Biden, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell will travel to Florida tonight to join the personnel on the ground and ensure every Floridian gets the help they need when this storm passes.
    Additional updates on our efforts for Hurricanes Milton and Helene include:
    Hurricane Milton Pre-Landfall Preparations
    Pre-Landfall Outreach and Emergency Declarations
    President Biden granted pre-landfall emergency declarations for the State of Florida and the Seminole Tribe of Florida for Hurricane Milton, enabling FEMA to provide direct assistance to the state, local and Tribal response, preposition supplies and response assets and mobilize hundreds of personnel in the state, many of whom were already in place supporting the Hurricane Helene response.
    The White House has been in contact with more than 60 Florida officials from all 51 counties that fall under the pre-landfall Emergency Declaration approved by President Biden. We remain in close communication with officials in the 16 cities and counties that will likely be in the direct path of the storm.
    Surging Resources and Personnel to Florida
    FEMA has over 1,000 responders on the ground in Florida supporting Hurricane Milton preparations and recovery efforts from previous disasters. There are over 1,400 search and rescue personnel pre-staged to support Hurricane Milton response efforts.
    The U.S. Coast Guard has 1,300 personnel stationed in Florida ready to immediately assist with life-saving and life sustaining search and rescue operations throughout the State. The Coast Guard also has personnel ready who will work directly with the U.S. Army Corps of engineers to assess and open the critical lifeline of the Port of Tampa as quickly as possible to ensure necessary supplies and fuel can start to flow into the impacted areas again.
    The State of Florida has activated over 6,000 members of the National Guard and expects to bring on an additional 3,000 National Guard members from Florida and other States to support State response activities.
    The Federal government has pre-positioned resources to support local and state response efforts ahead of Hurricane Milton. FEMA pre-staged seven FEMA Incident Management Assistance Teams, eight federal Urban Search & Rescue and swift water rescue teams, three U.S. Coast Guard Swift Water Rescue teams, 10 HealthCare System Assessment Teams, two U.S Army Corps of Engineers temporary power teams, debris experts, Environmental Protection Agency wastewater experts, over 500 ambulances, 20 helicopters prepared to support media requirements following landfall, and 60 High Water Vehicles with ladders from the Department of Defense.
    Additionally, FEMA has five incident staging bases with commodities including food and water. Right now, FEMA has 20 million meals and 40 million liters of water ready to deploy to address ongoing Helene and Milton response efforts with capacity to expand as needed.
    The Department of Defense is ready to support air search-and-rescue efforts, support urban search-and-rescue teams, provide helicopters to move personnel and equipment, and provide high water vehicles. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is staged across the area of impact and is prepared to support debris management, assessments of infrastructure and water/wastewater facilities, temporary power installations, and flood/water mitigation efforts.
    Additional Efforts to Support Pre-Landfall Preparations and Protect Communities
    The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is leveraging state-of-the-art technology to keep communities safe throughout the southeast. NOAA’s fleet of “Hurricane Hunter” aircraft gather vital data to help improve track and intensity forecasts, supporting the 24-7 work of the National Weather Service (NWS). NWS provides the real-time, accurate information that assists local meteorologists and emergency operations leaders protect their communities and combat weather misinformation. Additionally, data from reconnaissance planes and drones used to survey damage following Hurricane Helene’s landfall will help us better prepare for post-Milton recovery operations.
    The Department of Energy’s Energy Response Organization remains activated to respond to storm impacts. Via the Electricity Sub-Sector Coordinating Council and Oil and Natural Gas Sub-Sector Coordinating Council, the Department has been coordinating continuously with energy sector partners on both the ongoing Hurricane Helene response and potential impacts from Hurricane Milton.
    The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has notified local public housing authorities and owners of its assisted multifamily and heath care properties within the State of Florida to immediately implement all appropriate safety protocols for residents and workers. HUD is committed to ensuring that residents of its assisted homes and properties receive critical information that can save lives during extreme weather events. HUD is also conducting outreach and communications on the programmatic flexibilities and waivers that can be utilized to assist communities and survivors. Additionally, HUD is working with communities, shelter operators and homelessness services providers to prepare and support them—in collaboration with FEMA and disaster assistance organizations such as the Red Cross—as they provide life-saving assistance before and after the storm.
    The Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) is assessing potential critical supply chain disruptions following Hurricane Helene’s impact on the IV solution supply chain. ASPR is coordinating with B Braun, an IV solution manufacturer with a facility in Daytona Beach, Florida, to move their product out of the path of the storm and facilitate other activities that will mitigate potential impacts on future distribution. ASPR and HHS partners are committed to continue working with public and private partners to support the supply chain as facilities address return to full operational capacity. ASPR is encouraging manufacturers, wholesalers, and distributors to evaluate product allocation and healthcare providers to implement product conservation strategies to maximize available supply. ASPR is in communication with stakeholders to reduce disruption and facilitate product allocation.
    Protecting Impacts to Power and Travel Infrastructure
    The Department of Transportation is deploying a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Air Traffic Field Incident Response team to Florida and pre-staging operations in Jacksonville to support any impacted towers and airports. The team will work with the State and local authorities and the Department of Defense within the established Emergency Operations Center. The Department of Transportation is also deploying the FAA Communication Support Team (CST), which plays a critical role in restoring communications at impacted air traffic management facilities. Specifically, the CST will set up Starlink and Mobile Phone Bonding kits, which increase signal stability and data throughout the region. The FAA Air Traffic Organization Technical Operations Team is on-site and leading the restoration efforts for communications at air traffic facilities. The FAA is placing aircraft on standby to transport personnel from various agencies, mobilize resources, and support damage assessments to infrastructure.
    The FAA granted permission to the utility Florida Power & Light to use large Teros drones to assist with damage assessments and power restoration after Milton passes. These 1,800-pound drones can fly in harsh conditions and operate in winds up to 70 mph before crewed aircraft are able to fly.
    The Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration is coordinating with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and is prepared to rapidly process Emergency Relief (ER) funding requests from FDOT. The ER program helps pay for long-term, permanent repairs, and other immediate emergency repairs, such as protecting remaining facilities and restoring essential traffic. It reimburses State, local, federal, Tribal, and territorial governments for eligible expenses associated with damage from natural disasters or other emergency situations based on their requests.
    Hurricane Helene Response and Recovery
    The Department of Defense continues to support search-and-rescue operations, route clearance, and commodities distribution across western North Carolina with 1,500 active-duty troops. The Department of Defense is also employing additional capabilities to assist with increasing situational awareness across the remote terrain of Western North Carolina. The Army Corps of Engineers continues missions supporting temporary emergency power installations, infrastructure assessments, and debris management oversight.
    Mobilizing Financial Assistance and Surging Additional Personnel and Resources
    Over $344 million in assistance has been provided to Hurricane Helene survivors. President Biden approved a 100 percent Federal cost-share for Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee to assist in those States’ response efforts. In North Carolina alone, FEMA has approved over $60 million in aid for more than 51,000 households.
    FEMA personnel and other Federal partners, including FEMA’s Surge Capacity Force, remain on the ground supporting impacted communities, with over 17.2 million meals and 13.9 million liters of water delivered and ensuring information is accessible, including resources in preferred languages and ASL.
    Over the course of the last two weeks, 1,000 Urban Search and Rescue personnel have assisted over 3,200 survivors. FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance Teams are on the ground in neighborhoods in all Helene-affected States helping survivors apply for assistance and connecting them with additional State, local, Federal and voluntary agency resources.
    Supporting Infrastructure Recovery
    The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration announced over $130 million in Quick Release Emergency Relief funding to support North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The funding represents a down payment to address the immediate needs to restore vital transportation systems in these states. Additional funding will flow to affected communities from the Emergency Relief program.
    The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) worked with partners to ensure the national airspace returned to steady state operations and all airports across impacted states reopened. The FAA’s Security and Hazardous Materials Safety Communication Support Team was deployed to restore communications to impacted airports, including delivering satellite communications kits to the Asheville Regional Airport in North Carolina and ongoing work at Valdosta Regional Airport in Georgia. The FAA Air Traffic Organization Technical Operations Team is on-site and leading communications restoration efforts at air traffic facilities. FAA also supported FEMA with two aircrafts to conduct flyover assessments and transport emergency personnel and gear, such as satellite communications kits.
    Additionally, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued Regional Emergency Declarations for Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. This Declaration affords emergency regulatory relief from Federal Motor Carrier Safety regulations, including maximum driving time for property- and passenger-carrying vehicles from the date of declaration. This allows truck drivers to get essential supplies to affected areas. The FMCSA Regional Declaration eliminates the need for each individual state to request a 14-day extension and allows FMCSA the ability to manage one declaration that includes all eight states and does not expire until October 27.
    NOAA continues to support post-disaster imagery flights following Hurricane Helene, already totaling over 68 flight hours during 20 flights, including over western North Carolina. NOAA is currently repositioning to support Florida and the impacts of Hurricane Milton. NOAA’s aerial imagery captures damage to coastal areas caused by a storm and aids safe navigation. Aerial imagery is a crucial tool to determine the extent of the damage from flooding, and to compare baseline coastal areas to assess the damage to major ports and waterways, coastlines, critical infrastructure, and coastal communities. This imagery not only supports FEMA and the broader response community, but the public at large.
    Supporting Students and Student Loan Borrowers
    The U.S. Department of Education is lifting up a series of resources for students, families, and borrowers impacted by these hurricanes. These resources include guidance, in person support, technical assistance, and peer-to-peer connections for state and local leaders; resources for recovery needs such as mental health support for students and educators; flexibilities to help institutions of higher education continue to manage the Federal financial aid programs; and automatically enrolling affected borrowers with missed payments into a natural disaster forbearance. Thanks to regulations issued by the Biden-Harris Administration, this forbearance will count toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) and income-driven repayment forgiveness.
    Providing Financial Flexibilities to Homeowners and Taxpayers
    The Department of Housing and Urban Development is providing a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures of mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) as well as foreclosures of mortgages to Native American borrowers guaranteed under the Section 184 Indian Home Loan Guarantee program. The moratorium and extension are effective as of the President’s disaster declaration date in each state. When homes are destroyed or damaged to an extent that reconstruction or complete replacement is necessary, HUD’s Section 203(h) program provides FHA insurance to disaster victims. Borrowers from participating FHA approved lenders are eligible for 100 percent financing including closing costs. HUD’s Section 203(k) loan program enables individuals to finance the purchase or refinance of a house, along with its repair, through a single mortgage. Homeowners can also finance the rehabilitation of their existing homes if damaged. FHA is coordinating and collaborating with the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Agriculture to ensure consistent messaging and policies for single family loans regarding foreclosure moratoriums and repayment/arrearage agreements. Additionally, affected homeowners that have mortgages through Government-Sponsored Enterprises – including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – and the FHA are eligible to suspend their mortgage payments through a forbearance plan for up to 12 months.
    The Internal Revenue Service announced disaster tax relief for all individuals and businesses affected by Hurricane Helene, including the entire states of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina and parts of Florida, Tennessee and Virginia. Taxpayers in these areas now have until May 1, 2025, to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments. In addition, the Internal Revenue Service is providing more than 1,000 employees to help with FEMA disaster relief call lines and intake initial information to help disaster victims get federal relief. IRS Criminal Investigation agents are also on the ground in devastated areas to help with search and rescue efforts and other relief work – including assisting with door-to-door search efforts.
    Protecting Public Health
    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services activated the Emergency Prescription Assistance Program for North Carolina to aid uninsured residents in replacing prescription medicines or certain medical equipment lost or damaged in Hurricane Helene.
    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is working closely with state and local officials to restore drinking water service in North Carolina and across the Southeast as well as provide assistance in debris and hazardous waste clean-up efforts.
    Supporting Workers and Worker Safety
    The U.S. Department of Labor announced initial emergency grant funding to Florida to support disaster-relief jobs and training services to help respond to Hurricane Helene. Additional grant funding for North Carolina is forthcoming. The National Dislocated Worker Grant – supported by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 – allows the Florida Department of Commerce to provide people with temporary disaster-relief jobs and the delivery of humanitarian assistance to address immediate, basic needs for those displaced by Hurricane Helene. The funding also enables the state to provide training and services to individuals in the affected communities.
    Working alongside the Department of Labor, the States of Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee have all announced that eligible workers can receive federal Disaster Unemployment Assistance to compensate for income lost directly resulting from Hurricane Helene. And, through the Department of Labor’s innovative partnership with the U.S. Postal Service, displaced workers from North Carolina and South Carolina can now go to the post office in any other state and verify their ID for purposes of getting their benefits quickly.
    The Department of Labor is also working alongside on-the-ground personnel providing disaster relief, recovery, and rebuilding to prevent additional workplace disasters. This includes producing a worker safety training resource for resilience workers in Florida who are continuing to clear debris, rebuild infrastructure, and prepare for Hurricane Milton. This also includes activating the Wage and Hours Division Natural Disaster outreach, education and strategic enforcement program to provide employers and workers with the information they need to ensure everyone is paid correctly under the law.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: New scheme to attract investment in renewable energy storage

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    Long Duration Electricity Storage investment support scheme will boost investor confidence and unlock billions in funding for vital projects

    • Government will unlock investment opportunities in vital renewable energy storage technologies to strengthen energy independence, create jobs and help make Britain a clean energy superpower. 

    • New scheme will remove barriers which have prevented the building of new storage capacity for nearly 40 years, helping to create back up renewable energy. 

    • Increasing long duration storage capacity could lead to billions in system savings, helping reduce bills.

    The UK is a step closer to energy independence as the government launches a new scheme to help build energy storage infrastructure. 

    This could see the first significant long duration energy storage (LDES) facilities in nearly four decades, helping to create back up renewable power and bolster the UK’s energy security. 

    These technologies work like giant batteries by storing renewable energy and releasing it onto the grid and into homes when needed. This includes pumped storage hydro, which stores electricity by pumping water up a reservoir, to be released later. 

    By having a steady supply of clean, home-grown energy, these projects would strengthen the UK’s energy independence, and protect consumers from volatile global gas markets. 

    However, barriers including high upfront costs – despite low operating costs – have held back investment in this critical infrastructure.  

    The investment support scheme announced today will boost investor confidence and unlock billions in funding for vital projects which will help create thousands of jobs and deliver clean power as the country accelerates to net zero.   

    This comes days before the government’s set-piece International Investment Summit which is poised to put the UK back at the global table – kickstarting a decade of economic renewal and giving business confidence and opportunity to invest in the United Kingdom. 

    Energy Minister, Michael Shanks, said: 

    We are wasting no time in unlocking Britain’s vast renewable potential by expanding wind and solar power. But we also need to increase our ability to store this energy for when the sun isn’t shining, or the wind isn’t blowing. 

    We’re reversing a legacy that has seen no new long duration storage built for 40 years – and taking steps to unleash private investment in both established and new technologies.  

    With these projects storing the surplus clean, homegrown energy produced from renewable sources, we can boost our energy security by relying less on fossil fuels, protect household bills, and help deliver our key mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower. 

    The announcement follows a consultation held earlier this year which proposed a ‘cap and floor’ scheme to encourage LDES investment. A cap and floor model would provide a guaranteed minimum income for developers, in return for a limit on revenues. Ofgem has agreed to act as regulator and delivery body and the scheme’s first round is expected to be open to applicants next year. 

    Great Britain currently has 2.8GW of LDES across four existing pumped storage hydro schemes in Scotland and Wales, which already play a significant role in powering the country. 

    Other technologies include liquid air energy storage, compressed air energy storage and flow batteries, which are currently in development and would benefit from investor support. 

    Analysis has found that deploying 20GW of LDES could save the electricity system £24 billion between 2025 and 2050, reducing household energy bills as additional cheaper renewable energy would be available to meet demand at peak times, which would cut reliance on expensive natural gas. 

    Meanwhile, the National Electricity System Operator has estimated that a total of 11.5 to 15.3 GW of LDES will be required by 2050 to achieve net zero. 

    Several projects are currently under development and with some expected to be operational by 2030, and the introduction of an investment support scheme will help deliver them.   

    A similar cap and floor scheme is used for electricity interconnectors which connect Great Britain’s grid with other countries. Introduced in 2014, no floor payments have been made but developers have shared revenues with consumers.   

    Ofgem will design the investment support scheme and under these proposals, it will be split into two application routes, with one focusing on mature technologies, while another will be dedicated to new innovation. 

    This is the latest step in the government’s mission for clean power and energy security, building on the confirmation last week of major funding for two carbon capture sites in Merseyside and Teesside, to create thousands of jobs and attract £8 billion of private investment.  

    It also follows the launch of Great British Energy, lifting the ban on onshore wind and delivering a record number of clean energy projects through its renewables auction – all part of the plan to protect billpayers from volatile energy price spikes driven by fossil fuels.   

    Beatrice Filkin, Director of Major Projects at Ofgem said:  

    We are pleased to see the government’s publication today on its plans for long duration electricity storage. Unlocking investment in this important technology is another significant step towards decarbonisation of the  the power system.  

    We are looking forward to continuing to work closely with government as we take on the role of regulator and investment support scheme delivery body for the sector. 

    Notes to editors 

    • a cap and floor scheme provides revenue support to developers should their gross annual margin (the difference between the revenues from selling electricity back to the grid, and the cost of charging) fall below a set threshold known as the “floor”

    • floor levels are set low to minimise the likelihood of their use, while still providing comfort to investors that operators can meet debt payments in the unlikely scenario that revenues are much lower than forecast. They are not high enough for the asset owners to make a profit (when considering the cost of debt), so there is no incentive for them to seek floor payments – they are merely a form of insurance    

    • in return for consumers underwriting this risk, a revenue cap ensures that LDES asset owners must share some or all profits above a certain level 

    • this announcement follows a consultation on proposals to enable investment in LDES which closed in March 2024. The full response will be published on GOV.UK 

    • the analysis on LDES savings is published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/long-duration-electricity-storage-scenario-deployment-analysis

    Updates to this page

    Published 10 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Security: IAEA Director General in Slovenia Before Key Nuclear Power Referendum

    Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

    The JEK2 project would provide up to 2400 MWe capacity with a pressurised water technology of either GEN III or GEN III+ design, further strengthening Slovenia’s capacity to reduce emissions and meet its climate and development goals.

    The Director General spoke to a number of Slovenian media outlets on the topic. “I have seen much interest here in detailed nuclear topics related to price, waste and safety. I am happy to answer any questions and appreciate these informed exchanges.

    “I think the important thing is that the Slovenian society is well-informed, and that there is a good public debate about it. My impression is that there is widespread consensus on the reasonability of moving forward with nuclear in the country. But, of course, it will be up to the Slovenes to decide what you want to do.”

    Mr Grossi spoke of nuclear power’s key role supporting the clean energy transition. “An integrated intelligent energy mix is what is needed. You cannot have full reliance on one single source of energy. We believe that renewable energy is indispensable, and it should be scaled up. The issue here is that you also need base load energy. You cannot power a full economy simply on renewable energies.

    “So, countries are choosing what kind of base load capacity they can use. Many important economies are looking into nuclear simply because they need useful instruments that will allow them to have this base load energy,” he added.

    Following the political gathering this morning and a meeting with Bojan Kumer, Minister of the Environment, Climate and Energy, Mr Grossi spoke with student groups on the topic.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Government unveils most significant reforms to employment rights

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Ministers have unveiled the Employment Rights Bill to help deliver economic security and growth to businesses, workers and communities across the UK.

    • Legislation introduced in Parliament to upgrade workers’ rights across the UK, tackle poor working conditions and benefit businesses and workers alike 
    • Ahead of International Investment Summit, government reveals landmark reforms in under 100 days to boost pay and productivity, showing the benefits of a ‘pro-business, pro-worker’ approach 
    • New balance for early months of a job at heart of pragmatic reforms to help drive growth in the economy and support more people into secure work 
    • Employment Rights Bill will end exploitative zero-hour contracts and unscrupulous fire and rehire practices, while establishing rights to bereavement and parental leave from day one 

    Today (10 October) ministers have unveiled the Employment Rights Bill, introduced within 100 days of the new government coming to office, to help deliver economic security and growth to businesses, workers and communities across the UK.  

    Getting the labour market moving again is essential to economic growth with one in five UK businesses with more than 10 employees reporting staff shortages. Flexibility, for workers and businesses alike, is key to answering this challenge and is at the heart of the legislation to upgrade the law to ensure it is fit for modern life and a modern economy. 

    The existing two-year qualifying period for protections from unfair dismissal will be removed, delivering on the manifesto commitment to ensure that all workers have a right to these protections from day one on the job. 

    The government will also consult on a new statutory probation period for companies’ new hires. This will allow for a proper assessment of an employee’s suitability to a role as well as reassuring employees that they have rights from day one, enabling businesses to take chances on hires while giving more people confidence to re-enter the job market or change careers, improving their living standards.  

    The bill will bring forward 28 individual employment reforms, from ending exploitative zero hours contracts and fire and rehire practices to establishing day one rights for paternity, parental and bereavement leave for millions of workers. Statutory sick pay will also be strengthened, removing the lower earnings limit for all workers and cutting out the waiting period before sick pay kicks in. 

    Accompanying this will be measures to help make the workplace more compatible with people’s lives, with flexible working made the default where practical. Large employers will also be required to create action plans on addressing gender pay gaps and supporting employees through the menopause, and protections against dismissal will be strengthened for pregnant women and new mothers. This is all with the intention of keeping people in work for longer, reducing recruitment costs for employers by increasing staff retention and helping the economy grow. 

    A new Fair Work Agency bringing together existing enforcement bodies will also be established to enforce rights such as holiday pay and support employers looking for guidance on how to comply with the law. 

    Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said:

    This government is delivering the biggest upgrade to rights at work for a generation, boosting pay and productivity with employment laws fit for a modern economy. We’re turning the page on an economy riven with insecurity, ravaged by dire productivity and blighted by low pay. 

    The UK’s out-of-date employment laws are holding our country back and failing business and workers alike. Our plans to make work pay will deliver security in work as the foundation for boosting productivity and growing our economy to make working people better off and realise our potential. 

    Too many people are drawn into a race to the bottom, denied the security they need to raise a family while businesses are unable to retain the workers they need to grow. We’re raising the floor on rights at work to deliver a stronger, fairer and brighter future of work for Britain.

    Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said:

    It is our mission to get the economy moving and create the long term, sustainable growth that people and businesses across the country need. Our plan will give the world of work a much needed upgrade, boosting pay and productivity.    

    The best employers know that employees are more productive when they are happy at work.  That is why it’s vital to give employers the flexibility they need to grow whilst ending unscrupulous and unfair practices.  

    This upgrade to our laws will ensure they are fit for modern life, raise living standards and provide opportunity and security for businesses, workers and communities across the country.

    Alongside the legislation, a ‘Next Steps’ document for the Make Work Pay Plan has been published [available here – link to when available] outlining the government’s vision and long-term plans and setting out our ambitions for the plan to grow the economy, raise living standards across the country and create opportunities for all. 

    Ending one-sided flexibility

    The legislation will level the playing field where all parties understand what is required of them and good employers aren’t undercut by bad ones.  

    The bill will end exploitative zero hours contracts, following research that shows 84% of zero hours workers would rather have guaranteed hours. They, along with those on low hours contracts, will now have the right to a guaranteed hours contract if they work regular hours over a defined period, giving them security of earnings whilst allowing people to remain on zero hours contracts where they prefer to. According to TUC research nearly two thirds of managers (64%) believe ending zero hours contracts would have a positive impact on their business.  

    Ending unscrupulous employment practices is a priority for this government and none more so than shutting down the loopholes that allow bullying fire and rehire and fire and replace to continue. The government is closing these loopholes and putting in place measures to give greater protections against unfair dismissal from day one, ensuring that the feeling of security at work is no longer a luxury for the privileged few. 

    This bill turns the page on the previously ineffective, costly and conflicting approach to dealing with industrial relations that has brought so much disruption to businesses and livelihoods. lt repeals the anti-union legislation put in place by the previous administration, including the Minimum Service Levels (Strikes) Act legislation that failed to prevent a single day of industrial action while in force. 

    Employment Rights Minister Justin Madders said:

    We know that most employers proudly treat their staff well. However, for decades as the world of work has changed, employment rights have failed to keep pace, with an increase in one-sided flexibility slowing the potential for growth in the economy.

    The steps we’re taking today will finally right these wrongs, working in partnership with business and unions to kickstart economic growth that will benefit them, their workers and local communities.  

    From tackling fire and rehire to ending exploitative zero hours contracts, we are delivering a modern economy that drives up living standards for families across the UK.

    Supporting working families

    Too many people find that the current system isn’t compatible with the realities of everyday life, whether that’s raising children or supporting a loved one with a health condition. The government wants to make sure that everyone can get on in work and not be held back because work isn’t compatible with important family responsibilities. 

    That is why the government will:

    • Change the law to make flexible working the default for all, unless the employer can prove it’s unreasonable.   
    • Set a clear standard for employers by establishing a new right to bereavement leave, with the entitlement sculpted with the needs of employees and the concerns of employers at the forefront.  
    • Deliver stronger protections for pregnant women and new mothers returning to work including protection from dismissal whilst pregnant, on maternity leave and within six months of returning to work.   
    • Tackle low pay by accounting for cost of living when setting the Minimum Wage and remove discriminatory age bands.  
    • Establish a new Fair Work Agency that will bring together different government enforcement bodies, enforce holiday pay for the first time and strengthen statutory sick pay. It will create a stronger, recognisable single organisation that people know where to go for help – with better support for employers who want to comply with the law and tough action on the minority who deliberately flout it.   

    Beyond the bill

    The Make Work Pay Plan doesn’t stop with this bill. Continuing to reform employment rights in line with changes to the economy and labour market is critical to maintaining growth, prosperity and opportunity. As an outlook to the future, the government has also today published a Next Steps document that outlines reforms it will look to implement in the future.  

    Subject to consultations, this includes:

    • A Right to Switch Off, preventing employees from being contacted out of hours, except in exceptional circumstances, to allow them the rest and get the recuperation they need to give 100% during their shift. 
    • A strong commitment to end pay discrimination by expanding the Equality (Race and Disparity) Bill to make it mandatory for large employers to report their ethnicity and disability pay gap.  
    • A move towards a single status of worker and transition towards a simpler two-part framework for employment status.  
    • Reviews into the parental leave and carers leave systems to ensure they are delivering for employers, workers and their loved ones.

    Responding to the government’s initiative, these businesses and employee groups have said:

    Shirine Khoury-Haq, CEO of the Co-op, said: 

    We support the Government’s ambitions to strengthen rights for workers and value the co-operative approach to involve employers in the reforms. As the UK’s largest consumer co-operative, Co-op has long supported colleagues to have good working lives, with policies like our leading bereavement leave, day one right to request flexible working arrangements, and menopause support already in place. The positive impact of these policies is clear to see. 

    Being able to support colleagues when they need it, and in particular women, parents and carers, helps retain valuable talent and makes good business sense. We look forward to continuing to work with Government to make work pay and to deliver economic growth.” 

    Paul Nowak, TUC General Secretary, said: 

    After 14 years of stagnating living standards, working people desperately need secure jobs they can build a decent life on.    

    Whether it’s tackling the scourge of zero-hours contracts and fire and rehire, improving access to sick pay and parental leave, or clamping down on exploitation – this Bill highlights the Government’s commitment to upgrade rights and protections for millions.    

    Driving up employment standards is good for workers, good for business and good for growth. While there is still detail to be worked through, it is time to write a positive new chapter for working people in this country.”    

    Jane van Zyl, CEO at Working Families, said: 

    As campaigners for better rights for working parents and carers, we’re pleased there is hope on the horizon for the millions who stand to benefit from the transformational changes in the proposed Employment Bill.  

    Establishing workplace rights from day one and making flexible working the default could be the key to unlocking labour market mobility, with the promise of getting the economy moving and ensuring parents and carers are not held back in their careers. In addition, we welcome any strengthening of legislation that helps protect pregnant women and new mothers against losing their jobs unfairly at a vulnerable time in their lives.  

    The proposals in the Plan to Make Work Pay have the potential to remove barriers in the workplace, give a better start for new parents and reduce gendered roles in caring. The message it sends that worker’s rights matter, and the willingness to address inequalities, is very promising.”  

    Simon Roberts, Chief Executive of Sainsbury’s, said:

    As one of the UK’s largest employers we put our colleagues at the heart of everything we do. We see the clear link between engaged, motivated colleagues and business performance and that is why we have increased colleague pay by over 50% in the last 5 years. 

    We share the Government’s vision of making work pay, enabling growth and driving productivity. We welcome today’s announcement and Government engagement with business to date and look forward to seeing progress on business rates reform, which would deliver real benefits for our colleagues, customers and communities.” 

    Peter Cheese, Chief Executive of CIPD, the professional body for HR and Learning & Development professionals, said:

    We share the Government’s ambition to raise employment standards and job quality through the Employment Rights Bill as part of the wider Make Work Pay agenda.  

    The changes being proposed represent the greatest update in employment legislation in decades. We’re pleased to see the ongoing commitment from Government to engage with the business community to work through the important details to ensure they have a positive impact for both employers and workers.” 

    Jemima Olchawski, CEO of Fawcett Society, said:

    Today’s draft employment bill is a win for women. Fawcett and our members have campaigned long and hard to see government chart a new course for inclusive economic growth and to improve women’s working lives. We share this government’s ambition to ensure all women can thrive at work and fully contribute to the economy.”   

    Mark Reynolds, Mace Group Chair and Chief Executive, said:### 

    Ensuring British workers are supported with strong employment rights benefits everyone – employers as well as employees. This package of reforms is a welcome insight into the Government’s plans and show that they have engaged extensively with businesses and taken a pragmatic approach. We’re pleased to support it; both on behalf of Mace and the wider construction industry. We look forward to working closely with the Government as they take these plans forward.”  

    Brian McNamara, CEO of Haleon, said:

    It is crucial that the Government continues to engage with the business community on such an important piece of legislation and we welcome the dialogue to date. Haleon is committed to creating an inclusive culture that provides all employees with equal opportunities.  This is central to our company strategy and will be core to our future success.” 

    Greg Jackson, CEO of Octopus Energy, said:

    In formulating these proposals it’s clear that the government has listened to both workers and employers to create protections against bad practices while enabling good businesses to invest in growth and training. For example, the probation period will allow progressive employers to give a chance to people without typical experience or educational backgrounds, opening up new opportunities for them in great careers.” 

    Chris O’Shea, CEO of Centrica, said:

    As the largest Unionised workforce in the energy sector, we are pleased to see the Government publish their landmark legislation providing more rights and flexibility to employees. 

    At Centrica, we offer a range of policies to support our 21,000 colleagues including flexible working and health and wellbeing support from day one, a leading 10 days paid carers policy, our Pathway to Parenthood which offers comprehensive financial support towards fertility treatment alongside paid leave to for any fertility, adoption or surrogacy appointments, and additional support for neurodivergent colleagues. It’s the right thing to do and we want to help our employees and share best practices with others. Our experience shows that there is a clear business case for doing this with savings from increased retention and ensuring colleagues don’t have to take unplanned absences.” 

    Helen Dickinson OBE, CEO of the British Retail Consortium, said:

    As the country’s largest private sector employer, employing three million people, the industry stands ready to work with government to ensure these reforms are a win:win for employers and colleagues, and maximise employment opportunities, investment, and growth. Many of the expected provisions, including stopping exploitative contracts and offering flexibility in employment, are things that responsible retailers already do. Introducing these standards for everyone means good employers should be competing on a level playing field. We look forward to engaging the government on the details, including around seasonal hiring and the use of probation periods.” 

    Kate Nicholls, CEO of UKHospitality, said: 

    I’m pleased the Government has recognised the importance of flexibility to both workers and businesses. This is crucial for hospitality, which employs 3.5m people and provides countless flexible roles for working parents, students, carers and many more. 

    We look forward to continuing our engagement and consultation with the Government on its plans, which are not without cost, to get the details right for all parties.” 

    BT Group spokesperson, said:

    BT Group believes that a strong economy is one that works for everyone, and has already adopted many of the measures that will be covered by this legislation.  It will be crucial to get the details right, to avoid unintended consequences and keep the UK competitive, and we welcome the constructive, consultative approach that the Government is taking.

    Updates to this page

    Published 10 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Yes, nature is complex. But saving our precious environment means finding ways to measure it

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendan Wintle, Professor in Conservation Science, School of Ecosystem and Forest Science, The University of Melbourne

    Shutterstock

    Nature loss directly threatens half the global economy. The rapid destruction of biodiversity should alarm the many Australian businesses dependent on nature, such as those in agriculture, tourism, construction and food manufacturing. Yet nature considerations are often ignored in business decision-making.

    At the Global Nature Positive Summit in Sydney this week, scientists, politicians, conservationists and business leaders have gathered to discuss ways to help nature in Australia – not just by protecting it from damage, but improving it. Getting more businesses interested in – and taking positive action on – nature conservation is key to the talks.

    Reducing the environmental impact of a business first requires measuring that impact. It might seem an impossibly difficult task. After all, nature is a diverse and intricate web of connections. How can we capture that in a number?

    After all, nature is complex – but measuring how a business intersects with it need not be.

    Uncovering impacts on nature

    The fishing industry depends directly on stocks of wild fish. And a housing developer has a direct impact on nature if they clear natural vegetation to build a new suburb.

    Businesses interactions with nature can be indirect, too – for example, a margarine producer who uses canola oil from a grower who depends on bees for pollination. Builders might indirectly harm rainforests in Indonesia by buying timber grown there. A superannuation company investing in that developer is also having an indirect negative impact.

    From next year, Australian companies will be required to measure and report their climate impacts. While businesses are not yet required to disclose their impacts on nature more broadly, many are moving in that direction – both in Australia and globally.

    For example in 2022, more than 400 of the world’s largest corporations called for mandatory disclosure of nature impacts. They included Nestlé, Rio Tinto, L’Oréal, Sony and Volvo. And many early-adopter businesses have begun voluntary disclosures.

    Guidelines are available to help businesses understand and measure their impacts, however progress is slow. This is partly due to a perception from business that the task is too complex.

    Nature assessment is challenging. Unlike identifying a company’s contributions to climate change – by measuring tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions – there is no agreed single measure of impacts on nature.

    What’s more, different people ascribe different values to aspects of nature. Rightly or wrongly, for instance, most people would probably value a koala over a mosquito.

    What do you value more – a koala or a mosquito?
    Shutterstock

    Drawing on the expertise of ecologists

    Despite the difficulties, gauging the extent to which a business affects the environment can be done. Essentially, it involves three steps:

    1. understanding how a business broadly intersects with nature

    2. evaluating how specific business activities intersect with and put pressure on nature

    3. measuring and reporting the degree to which specific activities are impacting on the condition of nature. In other words, is the state of animals, plants and ecosystems improving or worsening?

    Online tools such as ENCORE can get businesses started on the first step – understanding a business’ broad impacts and dependency on nature.

    Many businesses are moving to the second stage – evaluating the specific business activities that put pressure on the environment, and determining the extent to which businesses depend on particular services ecosystems provide.

    The pressure a business places on nature can be measured via specific metrics, such as the amount of water consumed, air pollutants emitted, waste generated or area of land changed. Again, a suite of online tools and metrics can help with this.

    The next step is more complicated, yet essential. It requires businesses directly measuring their impacts on specific animals, plants and ecosystems. For this, we can turn to the expertise of ecologists.

    Individuals of a species can be hard to count, and extinction risk can be hard to measure. So ecologists often describe and monitor a species’ habitat – the environments in which a species can survive and reproduce – as a proxy for the fate of the species itself.

    Ecosystems – such as a rainforest, wetland or desert – can be described as being in good or poor condition. The rating depends on whether all the ecosystem’s plants, animals and other components are present, or whether unwanted components, such as weeds or invasive species, are found there.

    A graphic showing how ecologists measure the state of nature.
    TNFD

    In addition, maps, showing ecosystem condition and extent are available for much of Australia.

    Habitat mapping is also available for most threatened animals and plants, and thousands of other species. And mapping exists for World Heritage areas, important wetlands, national parks, Indigenous Protected Areas and other environment types.

    These resources are not difficult or expensive to access, and people and organisations with the skills to interpret and use such data are becoming more common.

    Some businesses are attempting these measurements. For example, plantation forestry company Forico last year prepared a natural capital report on a range of nature metrics, including the extent of species habitats, and assessment of vegetation condition.

    But many businesses are not yet grappling with this deeper nature analysis.

    This map, from ecosystem research organisation TERN, is one of many freely available to businesses seeking nature data.
    TERN

    Looking ahead

    We have the information and metrics to help businesses measure their impact on nature.

    Collaboration is urgently needed between business and nature experts, so the data available can be tailored to the needs of businesses, and presented in a form they can use.

    Governments can support this – for example by establishing accessible and practical online data platforms, and funding training for more nature experts who understand business.

    A new federal government agency, Environment Information Australia, will also hopefully become an important hub for data and information.

    By measuring what might seem immeasurable, businesses can become part of the solution to the nature crisis. There is cause for optimism – but no time to waste.

    Brendan Wintle has received funding from The Australian Research Council, the Victorian government, the NSW government, the Queensland government, the Commonwealth National Environmental Science Program, the Ian Potter Foundation, the Hermon Slade Foundation and the Australian Conservation Foundation. Wintle is a Board Director of Zoos Victoria and a lead councillor of the Biodiversity Council.

    Sarah Bekessy receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Ian Potter Foundation and the European Commission. She is a Lead Councillor with The Biodiversity Council, a board member of Bush Heritage Australia, a member of the WWF Eminent Scientists Group and an advisor to ELM Responsible Investment, the Living Building Challenge and Wood for Good.

    Simon O’Connor is affiliated with the Australian government as a member of the Minister for Environment and Water’s Nature Finance Council, and previously oversaw the national consultation group for the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures

    William Geary receives funding from the Victorian government and is associated with the Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action.

    – ref. Yes, nature is complex. But saving our precious environment means finding ways to measure it – https://theconversation.com/yes-nature-is-complex-but-saving-our-precious-environment-means-finding-ways-to-measure-it-240583

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Huge waves in the atmosphere dump extreme rain on northern Australia

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Fadhlil Rizki Muhammad, Graduate Researcher, The University of Melbourne

    Bureau of Meteorology via AAP

    In 2023, almost a year’s worth of rain fell over ten days in parts of northwestern Australia, leading to catastrophic flooding in the town of Fitzroy Crossing and surrounds. The rainfall was linked to a tropical cyclone, but there were also lesser-known forces at work: huge, planet-scale oscillations called atmospheric waves which bring heavy rain to northern Australia.

    While climate drivers such as El Niño and La Niña are becoming more familiar to many Australians, fewer understand the significant role played by atmospheric waves, which are like vast musical notes resonating around the globe. These waves can greatly influence rainfall and extreme weather events in Australia – and we don’t know yet whether they could grow more intense as the world warms.

    In our latest research, we discovered how these waves affect Australia’s rainfall, and how they can help us make better weather forecasts. The research is published in the Journal of Climate.

    What are atmospheric waves?

    You can think of atmospheric waves as huge musical notes that travel through the atmosphere around the equator. Just like a musical note, an atmospheric wave has a frequency (a pitch, or how often it oscillates) and an amplitude (a volume or intensity).

    Atmospheric waves can interact with each other to create complex melodies and harmonies in the atmosphere. They affect many aspects of the atmosphere, such as wind, humidity and pressure.

    In the same way musical harmony can evoke emotions, certain combinations of atmospheric waves can lead to complex clusters of clouds that evoke extreme rain events.

    Equatorial atmospheric waves were first discovered mathematically in 1966 by Japanese researcher Taroh Matsuno. By solving equations that describe the behaviour of the atmosphere near the equator, he found waves that could be categorised by frequency, structure, speed and direction of movement.

    Later research found these waves exist in the real world – and they have been studied ever since.

    Some of the most important waves are called Kelvin waves and equatorial Rossby waves. Kelvin waves are centred around the equator, propagate to the east, and take between 2.5 and 17 days to complete one oscillation.

    On the other hand, equatorial Rossby waves are structured as a pair of swirls, one north of the equator and one to the south, which propagate to the west. They are also slower than Kelvin waves, taking between 9 and 72 days to complete an oscillation.

    There are also two other kinds of equatorial fluctuations, discovered after Matsuno’s original work. These are the Madden–Julian Oscillation, which propagates eastward, and tropical depression-type waves, which propagate to the west. Both of these have their own frequencies and influences on the Australian atmosphere.

    Impacts on Australian weather

    We studied the relationship between these waves and rainfall in northern Australia from 1981 to 2018. We found the waves had a significant impact on rainfall during the southern summer (December–February) and autumn (March–May).

    Equatorial Rossby waves that cross Australia may make heavy rainfall around 1.5 times as likely as normal, while tropical depression-type waves make it 1.3 times more likely.

    When waves combine in certain ways, heavy rain events become even more likely.

    Atmospheric waves travelling around the equator can increase the chances of heavy rain – and combinations of waves can have an even greater impact.
    Fadhlil Rizki Muhammad

    For example, a combination of an equatorial Rossby wave and the Madden–Julian Oscillation can make heavy rain in northern Australia two to three times more likely. Similarly, if a tropical depression-type wave and an equatorial Rossby wave cross Australia at the same time, heavy rainfall could be twice as likely as usual.

    Due to Australia’s vast landmass and local geography, the impacts of these waves are quite different across the continent. Regions such as the Kimberley, Cape York and the Top End experience the largest impact from these waves, increasing the chance of heavy rain by up to 3.3 times.

    Meanwhile, the impacts of these waves on the eastern coast of Queensland and inland Queensland are not as great as in the other regions. However, the change in likelihood is still quite high: the waves can make heavy rain 1.4–2.2 times more likely than it would otherwise be.

    What does the future look like?

    We have shown that the activity of these “atmospheric melodies” is important and potentially provides room for improvement in weather models.

    Currently, a good representation of these waves in weather models can improve forecasts up to two weeks ahead.

    A better representation of these waves may improve future weather prediction in the tropics.

    In addition, the impact of these waves in a warmer world is still a mystery. Recent research suggests some atmospheric waves, such as Kelvin and the Madden-Julian Oscillation, could become more intense, potentially with more organised cloud clusters and significant impacts on heavy rain events.

    Fadhlil Rizki Muhammad receives funding from The University of Melbourne and ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes.

    Andrew King receives funding from the ARC Centre of Excellence for 21st Century Weather and the National Environmental Science Program.

    Claire Vincent receives funding from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes and the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Weather of the 21st Century

    Sandro W. Lubis receives funding from U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science Biological and Environmental Research as part of Global and Regional Model Analysis program area. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is operated by Battelle for the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract DE-AC05-76RLO1830.

    – ref. Huge waves in the atmosphere dump extreme rain on northern Australia – https://theconversation.com/huge-waves-in-the-atmosphere-dump-extreme-rain-on-northern-australia-240788

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –