As Tesla races to deliver its grid and wind farm-connected 129MWh lithium-ion battery in time for South Australia’s coming summer, a much smaller-scale version of some of the same technology is set to be switched on at a salt manufacturing facility across the Tasman, on New Zealand’s South Island.
NZ utility business Vector Energy Solutions said on Monday that a 250kW/570kWh Tesla Powerpack would soon be switched on at Dominion Salt’s Lake Grassmere works, to store and smooth energy from the already installed 660kW wind turbine.
Integration of the wind turbine and Tesla battery storage system – believed to be an Australasian first – is expected to meet around 75 per cent of the site’s energy needs, minimising its use of the grid, and maximising security of supply in a region susceptible to earthquakes.
“We contacted Vector because we decided that battery storage was critical to our energy needs,” said Dominion Salt CEO Shane Dufaur.
“It’s incredibly important to have security of supply for the overall sustainability of the business. Given out location and the recent seismic events, we need to make sure that we’re not reliant 100 per cent on the grid.
“Vector produced a design that incorporates our renewable energy sources, the lake system and the plants, to optimise our uses of energy. Very importantly, it includes our 660kW wind turbine,” Dufaur said.
Vector Energy Solutions connects Tesla Powerpack to wind turbine from Vector Ltd on Vimeo.
“The solution Vector has created for Dominion Salt provides sustainability and resilience benefits to the salt producer,” said Vector’s group general manager for development, Brian Ryan.
“The Tesla Powerpack will help with peak shaving and load management while ‘firming or smoothing’ the often-intermittent energy generated by wind turbines.
“The addition of a 250kW battery storage system, storing up to 570kW-hours of energy, will allow Dominion Salt to maximise the use of its wind turbine and store any excess generation for use at other times,” he said.
“The control system, built specifically for Dominion Salt, will be remotely monitored, 24/7, to ensure it’s running optimally.”
Ryan said the new wind and battery system – at the intersection of technology and sustainability – offered viable alternatives to businesses with both green and commercial benefits.
He said Vector was pursuing other opportunities in New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands to deploy both on-grid and off-grid battery storage systems.
| A OneStepofTheGrid release || August 7, 2017 |||
By Alex Tarrant
New Zealand’s manufacturers have issued a series of challenges to politicians on both sides of the aisle, saying leadership is needed on tertiary training to close skills shortage gaps, on research and development (R&D) incentives, and on readying the economy for the growth of automation.
In a Double Shot Interview with Interest.co.nz, New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association (NZMEA) CEO Dieter Adam told Alex Tarrant that his organisation’s members were crying out to be heard on issues central to the future of the sector.
The NZMEA on Monday was set to host Finance Minister Steven Joyce, Labour’s finance spokesman Grant Robertson and Green Party co-leader James Shaw for a panel on how the various parties would help sustain and grow New Zealand’s manufacturing base.
From 26% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) 40 years ago, the manufacturing sector’s contribution to the overall economy has fallen to 10% of GDP today. Even over the past four years, the trend is evident, falling steadily each year from 10.5% of GDP in 2012 to 10% now despite the sector itself continuing to grow.
It may not seem much but we’re talking in the hundreds of millions of dollars as domestic consumption and the services sector, including services exports like tourism, jump up the list. While that’s all well and good for those industries, Adam argues government needs to focus on policies to allow his sector to flourish. “I’m not aware of any reasonably wealthy country that doesn’t have a strong manufacturing sector.”
Continue to read the complete article here || August 7, 2017 |||
It could be the largest sketch in history – Boeing has used one of its B787-8 Dreamliners to draw a huge image of the plane over the entire continental United States, etched by its own flight path.
The extraordinary journey, designed as a creative way for the plane to make an endurance test flight, happened last week. The shape was so huge that the only way of discerning it was by looking on air traffic sites like FlightAware and FlightRadar24.
Boeing said the B787-8 Dreamliner crossed 22 states to form the giant outline. It took off from Boeing Field International Airport in Seattle and landed back there more than 18 hours later. The “wingspan” of the giant image extends from the Great Lakes almost to the Mexican border.
“Rather than fly in random patterns, the test team got creative,” Boeing explained.
The stunt drew a bit of criticism, with Quartz.com pointing out that the trip produced more than 300,000 kg of carbon dioxide. Endurance tests are necessary, however, and flying in the shape of a plane is no worse than flying in straight lines – and more fun for the pilot. It wasn’t a joy ride.
Earlier this year, a Boeing 737 MAX traced “MAX” in the sky to prove it could fly nine hours straight.
| A n eGlobal Ttravel item written by Peter Needham || August 7, 2017 |||
New Zealand is not alone in attracting and retaining women in tech, a leading tech specialist says.
Andrea Hancox, NZTech’s national director of government relations, says the whole world faces the issue of attracting and retaining women in tech and introducing tech to young women as a choice of career.
The Ministry of Women has released a guide Decoding Diversity targeted at attracting and retaining girls and women in tech education. The guide is for secondary school teachers, university lecturers, code club volunteers and other community group leaders, potential employers, career advisors, industry professionals, recruitment personnel, students and parents.
Hancox says she is passionate about attracting more Kiwi females into tech careers. NZTech along with NZRise, the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment and Ministry for Women are about to release a campaign focused on encouraging women into tech careers.
“Studies show more diverse organisations deliver better revenue and profitability, a clear sign tech is a great career for women. Tech companies often don’t reflect the customers they are trying to sell to and therefore under-represent their reach and capabilities.
“The business case for greater gender balance is strong. Tech firms that have equal number of women and men are up to 40 percent more profitable. Women make up 51 percent of the population.
“I appeal to all families, schools, organisations and companies to encourage females into tech. It will make a huge positive economic difference for New Zealand.
“Feedback from a lot of young women I have spoken to, say there are often only a few other females in their tech class. They are often assigned the less technical tasks by their male students making them feel less valued. This must change. If tech is what young women want to study then go it. It will be a fantastic and highly-paid career.
“We need to look at parents, teachers, principals, career guidance counsellors and caregivers what advice are they giving young women today on their career choices when they leave school. What do they know about the technology sector and why it’s so important to encourage students to consider a career in tech,” Hancox says.
NZTech chief executive Graeme Muller says it’s vital for New Zealand’s economic future that more women participate fully in technology.
“The first challenge is to inspire and excite more students, parents, teachers and principals about digital technology and the opportunities it creates for fulfilling careers,” he says.
| A makeLemonade release || August 3, 2017 |||
National Party Paralysed by non-productive but media-friendly anti water exports pressure groups
From MSCNewsWire's European Correspondent August 7 2017 - Fresh water is New Zealand’s most promising new primary export yet the more extravagant become the prospects for development, the more intense the pressure to vapourise the business from powerfully placed ideological pressure groups.
In recent months attempts to staunch the packaged water business has U-turned away from a generalised argument against the plastic (i.e petroleum-derived) containers to a much broader-gauge argument to the effect that pumping out drinking water is undermining the very geological base on which the nation itself rests.
This notion is quite literally allowed to float un-contradicted.
A reason is that the relevant lobby New Zealand Water association is reluctant to buy into the issue.
Privately, officials will talk about the scaremongering centred on the emptying out of the subterranean aquifers.
They point out simply enough that the supply of water remains constant and that water merely changes its form on its way to finding its own level again .
Steam, rain, snow, ice being just some of them.
However, the New Zealand Water association is mainly comprised of municipal water treatment officials and their suppliers.
So there is an understandable reluctance to buy into the ideological and thus frenzied fresh water exports debate.
This is correctly viewed by New Zealand Water industry group, which is a top-tier lobby, as a lose-lose proposition from its point of view.
There are now strong indications internationally that fresh water exports offer the same economic opportunities to New Zealand now as did the wine sector a generation or so ago.
Sales of bottled water in Europe have now substantially overtaken sales of bottled flavoured sodas, of the type now so actively despised by New Zealand educationalists, among others.
The other trend is the way in which the bottled water sector has imitated the wine sector in that provincial and family-owned bottled water marques have begun to bite deeply into the established brands.
This means that Nestle and Danone, the two dominant bottlers, have had to reconfigure their marketing around the threat of these niche, and personalised premium brands.
All this is much more than abstract state of affairs for New Zealand.
It means that all the French multinationals involved in packaged potable water are intent on diving headlong into Asia.
As these companies seek scale and market share in Asia they are much assisted by France’s merchant marine which is customising its freight capacity to take advantage of this new highly absorbent market.
This will be a big export setback in the region.for New Zealand.
Much greater than is widely understood.
The reason is that the European potable water will be bundled into much wider primary offerings just because firms such as Danone and Nestle are also the world leaders in, for example, dairy products.
Dairy products move in and out of various categories of surplus.
Fresh water in clear contrast enjoys a much more constant level of demand.
| From This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. || Monday 7 August, 2017 |||
Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Paul Goldsmith has today released the Future Demand for Construction Workers Report 2017, the updated forecast of New Zealand’s need for workers in building and construction through to 2022.
“Demand for skills across the board is at fever pitch, but nowhere more so than in construction, which in the year to June employed over 18,200 more people across New Zealand, the second largest contributor to annual employment growth,” Mr Goldsmith says.
The number of people expected to be employed in construction occupations is projected to increase by 10 per cent by 2022, adding around 56,000 employees, increasing the total construction workforce to 571,300.
“The total value of building and construction work forecast over the next six years is expected to top $244 billion, and all of that investment needs skilled construction workers to bring it to reality,” Mr Goldsmith says.
“Our intention is not just to provide accurate forecasts of the value of this work. We want to support planning for this important part of our national workforce.”
The new report and its web application allows anyone to check forecasts for 62 construction occupations across New Zealand. That information will enable construction firms to better plan their workforces, and encourage expanded training by education providers.
“The Government is actively supporting the training of more skilled workers to meet the demand for new housing and construction. Through initiatives such as Trades Academies, Vocational Pathways, the Dual Pathways Pilot, Maori and Pasifika Trades Training, and industry training through the ITOs, we have a significant pipeline for delivering skilled workers,” Mr Goldsmith says.
“We have the funding to take on anyone willing to take up an apprenticeship, and have funded 7,500 new apprentices over the past year. The Government is willing to put the resources in, but we also need the support of parents, teachers, careers advisors, and businesses if we are to get more young Kiwis into the trades.”
“In 2016 the number of new starts for apprenticeships like carpentry, plumbing and electrical engineering were at the highest levels in nearly a decade. We now have over 43,000 apprentices in training, and are on the way to our goal of 50,000 by 2020,” Mr Goldsmith says.
The Future Demand for Construction Workers Report 2017 and web application are located at constructionprojections.mbie.govt.nz.
| A beehive release || August 7, 2017 |||
Palace of the Alhambra, Spain
By: Charles Nathaniel Worsley (1862-1923)
From the collection of Sir Heaton Rhodes
Oil on canvas - 118cm x 162cm
Valued $12,000 - $18,000
Offers invited over $9,000
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
Mount Egmont with Lake
By: John Philemon Backhouse (1845-1908)
Oil on Sea Shell - 13cm x 14cm
Valued $2,000-$3,000
Offers invited over $1,500
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242