Taiwan's Singtex develops fabric with coffee grounds

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-12-29

Models display clothing made with Singtex's S.Cafe technology.
(Photo/Hung Hsi-lung)

Taiwanese textile company Singtex Industrial has struck gold by using recycled coffee grounds to create an environmental friendly fabric that offers great functionality, the Global Entrepreneur magazine reported.

Set up in 1989, Singtex started out as a bedding manufacturer, but has been transformed following company chairman Jason Chen's decision to focus on the development of chemical fiber, in order to build a niche amid growing competition from China and Southeast Asia, where labor costs are much lower, the magazine said.

Apart from lingerie maker Victoria's Secret, Singtex's list of clients includes Nike, The North Face and Puma, and over 100 other sports or outdoor wear brands.

Singtex caught global attention after showcasing its S.Cafe fabric — made from coffee grounds and recycled plastic bottles — in late 2008 at a fair in Germany.

The use of coffee grounds was inspired by Chen's wife, who noticed that the coffee waste was being used as a deodorizer in the Starbucks kitchen in 2005. She jokingly said to her husband that people who become smelly and sweaty after exercise might apply coffee grounds to their body as a deodorant.

"In Taiwan, 40 tons of coffee grounds are produced every day. It can be a good business, if the stuff can be used effectively," Chen stated.

It took four years and cost the company US$2 million to finally create the fabric made with coffee grounds that can reduce the smell of perspiration, but S.Cafe generated revenue of NT$100 million (US$3.15 million) for Singtex during its first year in 2009, the magazine said.

Revenue generated by the unique fabric rose to NT$342.5 million (US$10.77 million) in 2013, accounting for a quarter of the overall sales at Singtex, while the company saw gross margin improve from 2010's 20.44% to 2012's 23.52%.

Although it costs 20 to 30% more to produce S.Cafe than traditional fabrics, overall costs for producing a garment have not risen that much because it requires only 35% of the new fabric in a piece of clothing to instill its odor-reducing and insulating abilities, said Chris Chiang, director of overseas business development at Singtex.

Singtex has also made an effort to reduce carbon emissions by stopping the use of chemicals, such as acetone, and replacing coal with the more expensive natural gas in its production.

As a result, the company's S.Cafe fabric has received a Bluesign environmental certification, which represents that each process is in line with environmental sustainability standards.

Singtex has also used coffee grounds to develop the S.Cafe Airnest sponge, which reduces the use of petrochemical products in foam. This product is the main component in orders placed by Victoria's Secret, the magazine said.

To expand the scale of industry surrounding coffee ground fabrics, Singtex established a business alliance in Shanghai called SPIIN in 2013, and plans to join forces with Chinese textile suppliers to further explore opportunities in Western markets, and later establish its own brand in China, Chen said.

Pope Francis’s edict on climate change will anger deniers and US churches

Pontiff hopes to inspire action at next year’s UN meeting in Paris in December after visits to Philippines and New York

The Guardian, The Observer, John Vidal, Saturday 27 December 2014

Pope Francis was a key player in thawing relations between the US
and Cuba. Photograph: Franco Origlia/Getty Images

He has been called the “superman pope”, and it would be hard to deny that Pope Francis has had a good December. Cited by President Barack Obama as a key player in the thawing relations between the US and Cuba, the Argentinian pontiff followed that by lecturing his cardinals on the need to clean up Vatican politics. But can Francis achieve a feat that has so far eluded secular powers and inspire decisive action on climate change?

It looks as if he will give it a go. In 2015, the pope will issue a lengthy message on the subject to the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics, give an address to the UN general assembly and call a summit of the world’s main religions.

The reason for such frenetic activity, says Bishop Marcelo Sorondo, chancellor of the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of Sciences, is the pope’s wish to directly influence next year’s crucial UN climate meeting in Paris, when countries will try to conclude 20 years of fraught negotiations with a universal commitment to reduce emissions.

“Our academics supported the pope’s initiative to influence next year’s crucial decisions,” Sorondo told Cafod, the Catholic development agency, at a meeting in London. “The idea is to convene a meeting with leaders of the main religions to make all people aware of the state of our climate and the tragedy of social exclusion.”

Following a visit in March to Tacloban, the Philippine city devastated in 2012 by typhoon Haiyan, the pope will publish a rare encyclical on climate change and human ecology. Urging all Catholics to take action on moral and scientific grounds, the document will be sent to the world’s 5,000 Catholic bishops and 400,000 priests, who will distribute it to parishioners.

According to Vatican insiders, Francis will meet other faith leaders and lobby politicians at the general assembly in New York in September, when countries will sign up to new anti-poverty and environmental goals.

In recent months, the pope has argued for a radical new financial and economic system to avoid human inequality and ecological devastation. In October he told a meeting of Latin American and Asian landless peasants and other social movements: “An economic system centred on the god of money needs to plunder nature to sustain the frenetic rhythm of consumption that is inherent to it.

“The system continues unchanged, since what dominates are the dynamics of an economy and a finance that are lacking in ethics. It is no longer man who commands, but money. Cash commands.

“The monopolising of lands, deforestation, the appropriation of water, inadequate agro-toxics are some of the evils that tear man from the land of his birth. Climate change, the loss of biodiversity and deforestation are already showing their devastating effects in the great cataclysms we witness,” he said.

In Lima last month, bishops from every continent expressed their frustration with the stalled climate talks and, for the first time, urged rich countries to act.

Sorondo, a fellow Argentinian who is known to be close to Pope Francis, said: “Just as humanity confronted revolutionary change in the 19th century at the time of industrialisation, today we have changed the natural environment so much. If current trends continue, the century will witness unprecedented climate change and destruction of the ecosystem with tragic consequences.”

According to Neil Thorns, head of advocacy at Cafod, said: “The anticipation around Pope Francis’s forthcoming encyclical is unprecedented. We have seen thousands of our supporters commit to making sure their MPs know climate change is affecting the poorest communities.”

However, Francis’s environmental radicalism is likely to attract resistance from Vatican conservatives and in rightwing church circles, particularly in the US – where Catholic climate sceptics also include John Boehner, Republican leader of the House of Representatives and Rick Santorum, the former Republican presidential candidate.

Cardinal George Pell, a former archbishop of Sydney who has been placed in charge of the Vatican’s budget, is a climate change sceptic who has been criticised for claiming that global warming has ceased and that if carbon dioxide in the atmosphere were doubled, then “plants would love it”.

Former Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell,
 arrives at the Vatican to exchange Christmas greetings
with Pope Francis on 22 December, 2014. Photograph:
Franco Origlia/Getty Images

Dan Misleh, director of the Catholic climate covenant, said: “There will always be 5-10% of people who will take offence. They are very vocal and have political clout. This encyclical will threaten some people and bring joy to others. The arguments are around economics and science rather than morality.

“A papal encyclical is rare. It is among the highest levels of a pope’s authority. It will be 50 to 60 pages long; it’s a big deal. But there is a contingent of Catholics here who say he should not be getting involved in political issues, that he is outside his expertise.”

Francis will also be opposed by the powerful US evangelical movement, said Calvin Beisner, spokesman for the conservative Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation, which has declared the US environmental movement to be “un-biblical” and a false religion.

“The pope should back off,” he said. “The Catholic church is correct on the ethical principles but has been misled on the science. It follows that the policies the Vatican is promoting are incorrect. Our position reflects the views of millions of evangelical Christians in the US.”

Related Articles:

Pope Francis deplores Vatican 'ills' in speech to Curia

"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“ … Spirituality (Religions)

Number one: Spirituality. The systems of spiritual design on your planet are starting to change. This is not telling you that certain ones are going to go away. They're simply going to change. Some of the largest spiritual systems, which you would call organized religion on the planet, are shifting. They're going to shift away from that which is authority on the outside to authority on the inside. It will eventually be a different way of worship, slowly changing the rules while keeping the basic doctrine the same.

The doctrine of the Christ has always been to find the God inside. The teachings were clear. The examples of the miracles were given as an example of what humans could do, not to set a man up for worship as a God. So when that has been absorbed, the teaching of the Christ can remain the teaching of the Christ. It simply changes the interpretation. 

The teachings of the great prophets of the Middle East (all related to each other) are about unity and love. So once the holy words are redefined with new wisdom, the Human changes, not the words of the prophets. In fact, the prophets become even more divinely inspired and their wisdom becomes even more profound.

You're going to lose a pope soon. I have no clock. Soon to us can mean anything to you. The one who replaces him may surprise you, for his particular organization will be in survival mode at that point in time. That is to say that fewer and fewer are interested in starting the priesthood. Fewer and fewer young people are interested in the organization, and the new pope must make changes to keep his church alive. That means that his organization will remain, but with a more modern look at what truly is before all of you in a new energy. It is not the fall of the church. It is instead the recalibration of the divinity inside that would match the worship that goes on. It's a win-win situation. The new pope will have a difficult time, since the old guard will still be there. There could even be an assassination attempt, such is the way the old energy dies hard. That is number one. Watch for it. It's a change in the way spiritual systems work. It's a realignment of spiritual systems that resound to a stronger truth that is Human driven, rather than prophet driven.…”

"Current" Events –  Apr 10, 2005 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

“… The Last and Next Pope

[Note that this was channelled right after the death of John Paul II, and before the conclave of Catholic Cardinals had selected the next pope.]

"Kryon, we just lost what appears to be a great religious leader, Pope John Paul II. What are the ramifications of this?" My partner eluded earlier to the man called Karol who became the pope [spoken of earlier within the seminar]. He discussed what his goals were and what he did on this planet that really had nothing to do with his religion. Oh, perhaps the hat he wore did, and the places he walked did, and the ceremony around him did. But this was only given to facilitate what he could do.

But you see, like you, we knew Karol. He leaned into the wind of birth, too - just as you did. He was no different. And Spirit said to him, "You're going to have a chance to change the earth because the energy of this planet has the potential of being very different. There are potentials when you get to be a certain age where there'll be something called the Harmonic Convergence on the planet, and things will begin to change. You can fit into this as a world leader. Are you ready for that?" And he said yes.

No angel asked Karol if he wanted to be a Catholic, as he leaned into the wind of birth. That was simply the vehicle that got him into the position where he could change the planet the way he did. You couldn't have had the absence of the Armageddon that you've experienced without Karol. Did you know that [speaking of his direct involvement in the influence of the fall of communism]? So his belief system not only served him well, but it propelled him to a special place that was his alone to be in, and one that allowed him to touch billions all at once. And so it was that this great religious leader, who also knew intuitively what he was doing, had a love of humanity. His favorite thing was to be among common people - and he was, every time he could be. When he got to the position where he could make a difference, he did.

Now, there's something you don't know about Karol. The last decade of his life, he was very frustrated. Go look at the pictures. Go look at the pictures of the first 16 years. Then look at those from the last ten. The last ten, he was suffering - not just with his health - he was anguishing over a situation that none of you truly know about. For in his last ten years this man wanted to make some more changes while the time was ripe, but he knew he was too old.

Karol didn't have the energy to make the changes he really wanted to make, and those around him fought him to keep things the way they were. It was all very political, and someday this information may come out into the open, and you'll hear about those who influenced him in the last ten years and helped to keep things on an even keel. He was too old to make a difference and he knew it.

Karol was not of a consciousness to make some of the changes that many cried out for - about poverty and the role of women in his organization (that will come later). But Karol cried out in his heart for the children that were abused by the priests, and he wanted to do something about this and make a difference. He believed that his Savior wanted him to make a difference, but he couldn't do it. So what might look to you like inaction was instead the pope suffering, for he was not allowed to do what he wanted - due to his lack of energy and those around him who made certain he didn't.

"Kryon, here we sit with conclave of cardinals about to meet and select a new pope. What's the potential based upon the energy right now of the selection? What's going to happen?" I'll give you two potentials of what might take place in the next few days, because your future is always about free choice. There is no entity who can tell you about the future, since it's totally in the hands of the free-choice of humanity. However, based on the energy of the moment, here's what we see: (1) You're either going to have an interim, temporary pope for only a short amount of time (relative to the last one), who will lead to a radical pope; or (2) You're going to go right to the radical pope. Either way, you're going to eventually end up with a man who's going to do things to shake up the establishment.

Let me give you some of the potentials of what the radical pope may be involved in: This religion he leads on earth has doctrines that no longer "square up" with what humanity is seeing around itself. He absolutely has to address this issue, for the sophisticated Humans will leave the church otherwise. There will be those who may even call him "the evil pope" because he's going to go against tradition when he slowly starts a process that honors the Virgin Mary more than any pope ever has - therefore honoring women within the church, elevating them to higher positions... even to priests.

He will speak about family planning, and start processes that will slowly justify it in the eyes of God [this will take awhile], but it must come from the man who "sits in the chair" [ex cathedra] to change the doctrine of the whole organization. Because of this, he will also be in danger and will have to have constant protection.

Then he'll talk about what to do with priests who abuse children. Watch for this. Even if you receive the interim pope, he'll set the stage for the radical pope in this area. For this is in the energy aura of what we would call the potential future around this grand event. The earth is filled with free choice and it can go any direction, but I've just given you the potentials of what is here and now. ..."

As world honours the dead, Indonesia begins tsunami memorials

Yahoo – AFP, Nurdin Hasan, 26 Dec 2014

Women attend a prayer service at Baiturrahman Mosque in Banda Aceh, in

 the northern Sumatra island, on December 25, 2014, prior to the 10th anniversary

 of the tsunami that hit the west coast of Aceh province (AFP Photo/

Chaideer Mahyuddin)

Thousands of people held a memorial Thursday in Indonesia's Aceh province, the epicentre of the Indian Ocean tsunami, as the world prepared to mark a decade since a disaster that took 220,00 lives and laid waste to coastal areas in 14 countries.

On December 26, 2004 a 9.3-magnitude earthquake off Indonesia's western coast sparked a series of towering waves that wrought destruction across countries as far apart as Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Somalia.

Among the victims were thousands of foreign holidaymakers enjoying Christmas on the region's sun-kissed beaches, striking tragedy into homes around the world.

A tourist rides a bicycle past a poster

 ahead of the tenth anniversary of the 2004

 tsunami at Patong beach in Phuket

 province on December 25, 2014 (AFP\

 Photo/Pornchai Kittiwongsakul)

Muslim clerics, tsunami survivors and rescue workers led around 7,000 mourners gathered at Banda Aceh's black-domed Baiturrahman Grand Mosque for memorial prayers late Thursday.

Malaysian cleric Syeikh Ismail Kassim said he and several hundred compatriots attended to show support for Aceh.

"We hope Aceh people will not waver as a result of the calamity that has befallen them," he told AFP.

Aceh governor Zaini Abdullah thanked Indonesians and the international community in his address at the mosque, one of the few buildings which withstood the wrath of the massive earthquake and ensuing waves which left 170,000 people in the country dead or missing.

"The tsunami had caused deep sorrow to Aceh residents from having lost their loved ones," he said.

"Sympathy from Indonesians and the international community has helped (Aceh) to recover," he added.

He also called on residents not to "dwell in our grief, so that we could rise from adversity and achieve a better Aceh".

Kamaruddin, a fisherman who like many Indonesians goes by one name, said he attended the prayers to remember his wife and three children who died in the tsunami.

"I hope there will be no more disasters in Aceh," the 50-year-old said.

In Meulaboh, a fishing town considered to be the ground zero of the tsunami -- where 35 metre-high waves flattened almost everything -- Indonesian flags were flown at half-mast as small groups of residents held night prayers at mosques.

The main memorials were planned for Friday morning, starting in Aceh which was hit first by the waves, then moving to Thailand where candlelit ceremonies are expected in the resort hubs of Phuket and Khao Lak.

There will also be events in Sri Lanka, including at the site where a train carrying 1,500 people was washed away, as well as in several European capitals to remember foreign nationals who perished.

'Like being in a washing machine'

Many of the tsunami's victims died in dark, churning waters laden with uprooted trees, boats, cars and eviscerated beach bungalows, as the waves surged miles inland and then retreated, sucking many more into the sea.

Thailand saw 5,395 people killed by the disaster -- half of them foreign holidaymakers.

British survivor Andy Chaggar was in a bungalow on Thailand's Khao Lak when the tsunami waves struck, taking his girlfriend's life and sweeping him inland.

This picture taken on December 4, 2014 shows people visiting the Ban Nam

Khem tsunami memorial park wall in Khao Lak (AFP Photo/Nicolas Asfouri)

"I came to in the water... there was glass, metal, there were pieces of wood, bricks, it was like being in a washing machine full of nails," he told AFP on Thursday, on the same beach where he lost his girlfriend.

As the scale of the tragedy emerged, disaster-stricken nations struggled to mobilise a relief effort, leaving bloated bodies to pile up under the tropical sun or in makeshift morgues.

The world poured money and expertise into the relief and reconstruction, with more than $13.5 billion collected in the months after the disaster.

Almost $7 billion in aid went into rebuilding more than 140,000 houses across Aceh, thousands of kilometres of roads, and new schools and hospitals.

The vast majority of Indonesia's 170,000 victims perished in the province, among them tens of thousands of children.

But the disaster also ended a decades-long separatist conflict, with a peace deal between rebels and Jakarta struck less than a year later.

It also prompted the establishment of a pan-ocean tsunami warning system, made up of sea gauges and buoys, while individual countries have invested heavily in disaster preparedness.

But experts have cautioned against the perils of "disaster amnesia" creeping into communities vulnerable to natural disasters.

Related Articles:

Tsunami devastation remembered in Asia, 10 years on (+Video)

"Current" Events –  Apr 10, 2005 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

“… Mass Human Death

The final one, dear Human, is the hardest one for my partner and the one we wish to leave you with in this channeling tonight. This is the one that my partner doesn't want to even have me talk about. It's the appropriateness of mass death. For you, built in to your very essence is the honor for life, and the sorrow when it passes. It's correct and appropriate that this is there, and never let it be tempered. But the wisdom of understanding is also needed to help you get past some challenges of the Human heart.

"Dear Kryon, was the tsunami really necessary?" Yes it was. Almost 200,000 Human Beings passed over. It's an event that for you is filled with horror, sorrow, emotion, and challenge. Back in 1989, we told you of those that might have to leave the earth en masse, and here it is. Yet even my partner [Lee] asks the questions, "Why the children? Why the poorest parts of the earth? Why the seeming inappropriateness of all this death?"

And I say to you the same thing I said with respect to Terri: Do you understand yet that death is often as precious as life on this planet of many energies and lessons? They are not gone! They're all here [speaking from Kryon's perspective]. They're having a great time! They're joyful! It seems like a moment ago they leaned into the wind of birth with us beside them. We said, "How would you like to participate in an event that will change the compassion factor of the planet so that energies can move forward and provide faster acceleration of vibratory shift? How would you like to help create peace on earth through a consciousness shift within Gaia itself? And they said, "Show us the way!"

Do you understand why we are in love with humanity... that you would love the earth and the Universe so much that you would go through these things? So much of what you see is horrible tragedy, yet you're looking at the heroes of humanity as they deliver a gift that will change the very fabric of Gaia through the compassion created as a wave of humanity responds to their plight.

They knew the potentials and they went through with it. Even the children knew, for they're old souls within their divinity. There was so much compassion created at that time, in that one week, the earth has never seen anything like it in your lifetime. Billions of Humans were involved with a compassion that instantly went to the core of the planet. It went into the earth and it's still there. It changed the actual energy of where you walk and it planted a seeds that will grow that will indeed emerge later in Israel, and those surrounding Israel.

And that's what it's about. Yet some of you didn't want to hear that, did you? But they're here, with me now... and with you as well. How could you fit them all in this room, you might ask? They can fit on the head of a pin! That's interdimensional talk. They can go home in your purse or your pocket! That's interdimensional talk, too. And they've got a message for you that we've given before, but you can't hear it enough: "We did our part - now you do yours, Lighthouse! For the ones who remain are the only ones who can manipulate the tools we have helped create."

When you go home tonight, you're not going to be in a survival situation - in a tent in a tribe with no lights or clean water, with no food. You're not going to be in sorrow or despair. Instead, you go home to a warm place with plenty of food and friendship and the love of family. That's why you're the Lighthouses, because you have time for it. You've got the intellect for it. You're not in survival mode, as is so much of humanity on the earth. You have the education for it and the intuition for it. Now, do you understand why there are so many Lighthworkers in the western world? It's because your culture has created a situation where there's abundance of these things, and it allows you to lead the way in changing the energy of earth, instead of having all your time spent just trying to survive. Does this help you understand the responsibility of what you have before you?

Strike the light and send it to the Sudanese. Strike light and send it to those dark places with governments where there's corruption. Strike the light and send it to the scientists and researchers who already have the cures for the more virulent diseases on the planet, but can't begin their work due to the barriers of certain leadership and their old ways. Strike the light and send it to Israel and Palestine and get on with this solution! This is why you're here, and this is the agreement you made when you arrived and selected the culture you live in.

Achievable in your lifetime, it is. Peace and compassion will prevail. You shall see. You shall see.

And so it is.

Kryon

'Smart agriculture' changing lives of China's farmers

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-12-25

A rice field in Huzhou, Zhejiang province, Dec. 21. (File photo/Xinhua)

The internet is changing China's agriculture sector through the use of sensors, the Internet of Things, cloud computing and big data, which are helping create semi-industrialized production methods, Guangzhou's 21st Century Business Review reports.

"The use of big data and the maturing of the Internet of Things will compensate the shortcomings of traditional agriculture, making the industry more scientific," said Fang Fahe, chief technology officer at Beijing-based iSoftStone.

The company has begun building its model for smart agriculture, setting up sensors with cameras in farms in northern China's Hebei province to collect data about crops, temperatures, precipitation and humidity. The data, along with that recorded by farmers through mobile devices given by the company are then uploaded to the cloud and analyzed to help better manage the farms, according to the magazine.

The process also allows regulators to easily trace sources of food when there are safety concerns and allows better management of production, inventory and logistics, the magazine added.

"We now offer clients comprehensive solutions. The environment was quite restricting in the past because of lagging development, but the conditions have matured," Fang said.

Fang also told the magazine that growing demand for equipment used for the Internet of Things has pushed the development of new technology and microelectronics.

Market researcher Gartner has forecast that the new equipment to be deployed for the Internet of Things will grow by 30 percent from 3.8 billion to 4.9 billion next year, and to 25 billion in 2020.

The use of the internet will lead the industry's efforts to push production by order, since the use of technology can help reduce water needs in agricultural production and keep farmers in touch with market demand, Fang said.

Several e-commerce companies including market leader Alibaba have expanded into agriculture, which Fang described as a positive development for a sector that relies on the use of big data, since Alibaba itself is competing with the edge of being the owner of a sizeable amount of data.

Green light for world’s largest planned tidal energy project in Scotland

MeyGen project could power nearly 175,000 homes through network of turbines on seabed at Ness of Quoys off Caithness

The Guardian, Press Association, Friday 19 December 2014

The coast of Caithness, Scotland, near where the tidal project will
be based. Photograph: Albaimages/Alamy

Construction of the largest planned tidal energy project in the world is expected to begin off the Scottish coast next month, developers have announced.

Atlantis, majority owner of the MeyGen project, said it had finalised all of the conditions required to initiate its first drawdown from financiers The Crown Estate and Scottish Enterprise.

The project has the potential to power nearly 175,000 homes through a network of 269 turbines on the seabed at Ness of Quoys in Caithness, north-east Scotland.

The company’s share price dipped on Friday but Atlantis said it “knows of no trading or operational reason to warrant this change”, particularly given the good progress it is making on MeyGen.

In an announcement to investors, Atlantis said: “The major construction and supply contractors to this iconic project have commenced design, engineering and procurement works in readiness for commencement of onshore construction at the project site in Caithness in January 2015.

“The equity investments in the project by Scottish Enterprise (through the Renewable Energy Investment Fund) and Atlantis value the MeyGen project on a post-money equity basis at over £70m.

“Onshore construction at the Ness of Quoys project site is expected to commence in January 2015, with ABB due to start construction of the onshore infrastructure for connection to the electricity transmission grid for power export.

“We believe MeyGen is the largest planned tidal energy project in the world with a capacity of almost 400MW.”

The first power to the national grid is expected to be delivered in 2016.

Each of MeyGen's AR1000 turbines stands 22.5m (73ft) tall and
weighs 1,500 tonnes

Related Articles:

Pentland Firth tidal turbine project given consent

Giant tidal turbine 'performing well' in tests off Orkney

"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“…  4 - Energy (again)

The natural resources of the planet are finite and will not support the continuation of what you've been doing. We've been saying this for a decade. Watch for increased science and increased funding for alternate ways of creating electricity (finally). Watch for the very companies who have the most to lose being the ones who fund it. It is the beginning of a full realization that a change of thinking is at hand. You can take things from Gaia that are energy, instead of physical resources. We speak yet again about geothermal, about tidal, about wind. Again, we plead with you not to over-engineer this. For one of the things that Human Beings do in a technological age is to over-engineer simple things. Look at nuclear - the most over-engineered and expensive steam engine in existence!

Your current ideas of capturing energy from tidal and wave motion don't have to be technical marvels. Think paddle wheel on a pier with waves, which will create energy in both directions [waves coming and going] tied to a generator that can power dozens of neighborhoods, not full cities. Think simple and decentralize the idea of utilities. The same goes for wind and geothermal. Think of utilities for groups of homes in a cluster. You won't have a grid failure if there is no grid. This is the way of the future, and you'll be more inclined to have it sooner than later if you do this, and it won't cost as much….”

"A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) - (Text version)

“... Japan

Let us talk for a moment about Japan, and then I'll close the day of messages. There are thousands of souls on my side of the veil and they're just fine, more than fine. We have spoken so often of what happens at the Wind of Birth. I told you, before they even came in, they saw the potential. I looked in their eyes. "You may not last long. You know that, don't you? You're coming into this planet and you may not be here very long. And the passing that you will have with your family will not be pleasant, if any ever are. Why would you come in anyway?" I want to tell you what they said. When a soul has the mind of God, it understands fully what generates peace and what generates energy shift. You can clearly see what generates what the planet needs the most when you are about to arrive. So they said, "We're going to be part of one of the biggest compassion events the planet has ever seen." One earthquake, one tsunami. All of those who left that day will change the earth forever. And it already has. It was the same for the last tsunami as well.

Every single one of them on my side of the veil is getting ready to come back. Many old souls were involved, and just for a moment, if they could give you any information, if they could talk to you right now, if they could speak your language and look into your eyes, they would thank you for your compassion for them and those who are left. And they would say, "Be with those family members who are still alive. Enter their hearts every day and give them peace and keep them from crying, because we're OK."

Nuclear Power Revealed

So let me tell you what else they did. They just showed you what's wrong with nuclear power. "Safe to the maximum," they said. "Our devices are strong and cannot fail." But they did. They are no match for Gaia.

It seems that for more than 20 years, every single time we sit in the chair and speak of electric power, we tell you that hundreds of thousands of tons of push/pull energy on a regular schedule is available to you. It is moon-driven, forever. It can make all of the electricity for all of the cities on your planet, no matter how much you use. There's no environmental impact at all. Use the power of the tides, the oceans, the waves in clever ways. Use them in a bigger way than any designer has ever put together yet, to power your cities. The largest cities on your planet are on the coasts, and that's where the power source is. Hydro is the answer. It's not dangerous. You've ignored it because it seems harder to engineer and it's not in a controlled environment. Yet, you've chosen to build one of the most complex and dangerous steam engines on Earth - nuclear power.

We also have indicated that all you have to do is dig down deep enough and the planet will give you heat. It's right below the surface, not too far away all the time. You'll have a Gaia steam engine that way, too. There's no danger at all and you don't have to dig that far. All you have to do is heat fluid, and there are some fluids that boil far faster than water. So we say it again and again. Maybe this will show you what's wrong with what you've been doing, and this will turn the attitudes of your science to create something so beautiful and so powerful for your grandchildren. Why do you think you were given the moon? Now you know.

This benevolent Universe gave you an astral body that allows the waters in your ocean to push and pull and push on the most regular schedule of anything you know of. Yet there you sit enjoying just looking at it instead of using it. It could be enormous, free energy forever, ready to be converted when you design the methods of capturing it. It's time.

So in closing, do you understand what you're seeing? You're seeing intelligent design, quantum energy and high consciousness. You are seeing changes in Human nature. You're seeing countries putting things together instead of separating. You are seeing those who don't want war and instead want peace, good schools for their children, safety in their streets and a say in their government. We told you it was going to happen this way. I want my partner to teach these things that I have said in his 3D lectures for awhile. Many won't be able to know these things otherwise.  …”

UN climate conferences agrees on draft deal in marathon session

Negotiators at UN climate talks in Lima, Peru, have approved a draft laying out the key points for a global climate pact set to be agreed in Paris next year. The agreement came in a marathon overtime session.

Deutsche Welle, 14 Dec 2014

Delegates to a United Nations climate summit in the Peruvian capital, Lima, on Sunday approved the building blocks of a global climate agreement at talks that ran into the early hours of the morning.

The deal, called the "Lima Call for Climate Action," sets out the format for national pledges to cut carbon emissions that will be at the heart of the global pact, which is due to be adopted in Paris in December 2015.

The delegates at the two-week conference also agreed on the broad outlines for negotiations leading up to the deal.

The agreement came after delegates rejected a previous draft deal that developing countries said would take too much responsibility for global warming away from rich nations. The approved paper represents a major compromise that attempts to bridge the rift between rich and poor countries.

Developed countries want the pledges to center on measures to cut emissions, while developing nations want richer countries to take on more financial responsibility for damage caused by climate change, for example in small island states at risk of being flooded by rising seas.

Ineffective compromise

Climate campaigners say the watered-down nature of the deal could have a negative impact on the effectiveness of the prospective Paris agreement, which is envisioned as the most ambitious accord in environmental history. The pact would be the first to bring all the countries of the world together in coordinated efforts to combat climate change by curbing greenhouse gases.

The aim of the pact is to limit global warming to no more than two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-industrial levels in a bid to slow or stop a process that could lead to catastrophic climate change by the turn of the century.

In the past, Western nations have been responsible for most greenhouse-gas emissions, but they have been since overtaken by developing nations growing their economies.

Scientists have pointed to rising sea levels, intensifying heat waves and a higher incidence of floods and droughts as indicators that global warming is already having an impact on the global environment.

Last week, the UN weather agency said that 2014 could become the hottest year on record.

tj/es (AP, AFP)

Sumitomo Wins Contract for Pertamina Geothermal Project

Jakarta Globe, Bloomberg, Dec 12, 2014

Trucks at Patuha Geothermal plant in Bandung, West Java. Indonesia holds
40 percent of world's geothermal potential. (JG Photo/Reza Estily)

Sumitomo, a Japanese trading company, won a contract to construct two geothermal generation units at a station in Indonesia for Pertamina Geothermal Energy.

The Tokyo-based company and Rekayasa Industri will work together to add the two units at Lahendong station, Sumitomo said in a statement today. Each unit will have 20 megawatts in capacity.

Fuji Electric will supply steam turbines and power generators, according to the statement.

Construction is expected to be completed by March 2017 and loans will be provided by the World Bank, Sumitomo said. The company has constructed and delivered three other units at Lahendong.

Bloomberg

Related Article:

"A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) - (Text version)

“... Japan

Let us talk for a moment about Japan, and then I'll close the day of messages. There are thousands of souls on my side of the veil and they're just fine, more than fine. We have spoken so often of what happens at the Wind of Birth. I told you, before they even came in, they saw the potential. I looked in their eyes. "You may not last long. You know that, don't you? You're coming into this planet and you may not be here very long. And the passing that you will have with your family will not be pleasant, if any ever are. Why would you come in anyway?" I want to tell you what they said. When a soul has the mind of God, it understands fully what generates peace and what generates energy shift. You can clearly see what generates what the planet needs the most when you are about to arrive. So they said, "We're going to be part of one of the biggest compassion events the planet has ever seen." One earthquake, one tsunami. All of those who left that day will change the earth forever. And it already has. It was the same for the last tsunami as well.

Every single one of them on my side of the veil is getting ready to come back. Many old souls were involved, and just for a moment, if they could give you any information, if they could talk to you right now, if they could speak your language and look into your eyes, they would thank you for your compassion for them and those who are left. And they would say, "Be with those family members who are still alive. Enter their hearts every day and give them peace and keep them from crying, because we're OK."

Nuclear Power Revealed

So let me tell you what else they did. They just showed you what's wrong with nuclear power. "Safe to the maximum," they said. "Our devices are strong and cannot fail." But they did. They are no match for Gaia.

It seems that for more than 20 years, every single time we sit in the chair and speak of electric power, we tell you that hundreds of thousands of tons of push/pull energy on a regular schedule is available to you. It is moon-driven, forever. It can make all of the electricity for all of the cities on your planet, no matter how much you use. There's no environmental impact at all. Use the power of the tides, the oceans, the waves in clever ways. Use them in a bigger way than any designer has ever put together yet, to power your cities. The largest cities on your planet are on the coasts, and that's where the power source is. Hydro is the answer. It's not dangerous. You've ignored it because it seems harder to engineer and it's not in a controlled environment. Yet, you've chosen to build one of the most complex and dangerous steam engines on Earth - nuclear power.

We also have indicated that all you have to do is dig down deep enough and the planet will give you heat. It's right below the surface, not too far away all the time. You'll have a Gaia steam engine that way, too. There's no danger at all and you don't have to dig that far. All you have to do is heat fluid, and there are some fluids that boil far faster than water. So we say it again and again. Maybe this will show you what's wrong with what you've been doing, and this will turn the attitudes of your science to create something so beautiful and so powerful for your grandchildren. Why do you think you were given the moon? Now you know.

This benevolent Universe gave you an astral body that allows the waters in your ocean to push and pull and push on the most regular schedule of anything you know of. Yet there you sit enjoying just looking at it instead of using it. It could be enormous, free energy forever, ready to be converted when you design the methods of capturing it. It's time.

So in closing, do you understand what you're seeing? You're seeing intelligent design, quantum energy and high consciousness. You are seeing changes in Human nature. You're seeing countries putting things together instead of separating. You are seeing those who don't want war and instead want peace, good schools for their children, safety in their streets and a say in their government. We told you it was going to happen this way. I want my partner to teach these things that I have said in his 3D lectures for awhile. Many won't be able to know these things otherwise.  …”

For E. Java Village, a Solution in Bioethanol

Self-Sufficient: Farmers from Sumbermanjing Wetan village in Malang find freedom from higher subsidized fuel prices

Jakarta Globe, Dyah Ayu Pitaloka, Dec 09, 2014

Farmers from Sumbermanjing Wetan village in Malang, East Java, have
 devised their own method of producing bioethanol using corn and a secret
enzyme. (JG Photo/ Dyah Ayu Pitaloka)

Malang. Residents of Sumbermanjing Wetan village in Malang, East Java, seem unfazed by the recent price hike of subsidized fuel — unlike the rest of the country.

Their secret lies in an unassuming shed of no more than 15 square meters in size, with walls made of woven bamboo.

It is easy to see why people often mistaken the humble structure as a chicken coop, with the exception of a three-meter chimney sticking out of its roof. Surrounding the dilapidated structure are discarded corn cobs, stalks and silks, all of which completely carpet the ground.

For the last two years, people in the village have been experimenting in turning maize into ethanol. The scale of the production is small but substantial enough to make residents self-sufficient.

“Of the 80 members of the Giri Makmur farmers’ cooperative, everyone has been using bioethanol for free,” says Didik Prasetyanto, a co-founder of the effort, as he points to two drums used to distill a batch of fermented maize.

“We use maize to produce ethanol because there are more corn farmers [in the village] than sugarcane farmers,” Didik says. “In the beginning, we [experimented] using cassavas and sugarcane.”

The farmers once struggled to buy fuel for their motorcycles and to light their stoves because their village was so remote. Middlemen would inflate the price of gasoline and kerosene to far above their retail prices, Didik explains.

When the group realized they had been growing the ingredients for biofuel literally in their back yards, they gathered together Rp 20 million ($1,620) to use as startup capital and were soon building their makeshift distillery, experimenting with various techniques and enzymes needed to produce their own fuel.

Didik and the others meticulously recorded their findings, at times consulting on their production techniques and products with local universities.

Didik explains that the corn is first slurried with water and a teaspoon of a dark-colored enzyme, the contents of which the villagers closely guard as they are still in the process of patenting their technique.

It takes six hours for the secret enzyme to dissolve the corn, Didik explains.

The brew is fermented for seven days, after which it is cooked for six hours at a temperature of 87 degrees Celsius, producing a colorless and odorless ethanol vapor that is then placed into water bottles.

The farmers can produce up to 20 liters of ethanol at a time from about 40 kilograms of corn, with 92 percent purity.

“The [product] can be used as a substitute for LPG [liquefied petroleum gas] as fuel for a stove,” Didik says. “Just a quarter of a liter can be used for about four hours of cooking, non-stop.”

The group has spent the past 18 months experimenting with methods to produce a concoction that is 99 percent ethanol, which, with some adjustments to a vehicle’s engine, can be used as a direct substitute for gasoline.

This technical-grade ethanol is produced by distilling the corn brew twice in a gas-powered furnace.

Didik says the output would be equivalent to high-octane gasoline.

“The production costs can reach up to Rp 30,000 [per liter]. With 40 kilograms of corn and the special enzyme we can only produce up to 14 liters [of technical-grade ethanol],” he says.

The high production cost and low output, which makes the concoction twice the price of its high-octane gasoline equivalent, makes the fuel available only to the group’s members. However, the waste product can still be worth a lot of money, Didik says.

“The dissolved corn [...] is dried so the acidity [level] is reduced. [The corn waste] is high in protein and is good for chicken feed,” he says.

Meanwhile, the liquid waste is mixed with other organic ingredients and sold as mulch. Like the fuel, these products are available for the villagers only, while the profit goes toward more research.

“We dream of increasing our production and selling it to the public,” Didik says, adding that they need to first get their technique patented and find a way to reduce production costs.

The Malang district agriculture agency has begun to monitor the farmers’ success in producing their own biofuel and hopes to introduce the program to neighboring villages.

“We have [proposed] a budget to map out the agricultural potential [of the bioethanol program] in the district of Malang for 2015,” agency chief Tomi Herawanto says. “We need to determine the most ideal type of crop so the process can be sustainable without disrupting the food supply.”

Sumbermanjing Wetan village’s success has attracted Hariyono from Krajan Lor village, located on the southern coast of Malang, to learn more about the promising technique.

Hariyono says he has been successful at setting up his own distillery which at the moment can only produce the 92 percent ethanol for cooking.

“I want the farmers [in Krajan Lor] to be able to make their own fuel. This way we won’t have to complain about the fuel prices going up,” he says.