Here are a few reasons we do not want to use auto oil in our Rotax 912. Our engine speeds (RPM) are much higher as is compression (10.5:1 for the 912ULS), The horse power ratio is much higher, and as also engine temperatures. The one really big difference between the auto and the Rotax 912 is that the Rotax shares its engine oil with the gearbox, where an auto engine has separate fluids for these functions. This item is a big concern when choosing motorcycle oil over auto oil, as the properties need to be very different. We do not use our aircraft as often as our cars so those extended down times cause problems such as rusting and acidity. The attached article delves more deeply into these subjects.
Viscosity is a measure of an oils thickness and it helps protect the engine as oil is non compressible. If your oil is too thin it can be pressed out of the way where the metal surfaces come into contact. Some oils do not keep their viscosity rating under high work loads and shear and you could lose some of the viscosity protection. An oil that is too thick causes excessive work and temperatures for the engine and could cause some problems on a cold morning start up.
Shear protection is a measure of an oils capacity to thin out or reduce its load-carrying capacity. The Rotax 912 operates at higher rpm temperatures than an auto and the gearbox shares the engine oil. This high mechanical rpm, higher engine temperatures and close tolerance operation can cause some oils to thin out and not protect your engine as well as some other oils with higher shear properties.
ZDDP (ZincDialkyl-Dithio-Phosphate) WOW that's a big word. This is a zinc phosphorus compound. This is a very important additive for us compared to an auto.This additive was very important in older autos as a protection against metal surfaces coming into contact. You see, for most of the last century, the almost universal method to open and close engine valves was via flat tappets (solid or hydraulic lifters if you will) (like the Rotax 912), and the ZDDP additive was there to prevent or reduce wear between the lifters and the camshaft. The ZDDP in the minute amounts of oil that will get burned and exit through the exhaust system which will shorten the life of catalytic converters. Thus the EPA mandate to eliminate ZDDP from engine oil. The auto makers have responded by designing engines that utilize roller lifters or overhead camshafts, and have no need for the protection offered by ZDDP. The older auto owners can still purchase this additive from automotive stores. This additive was reduced to around 800 ppm. It coats the metal surfaces and when they come into contact acts like a sacrificial surface. Zinc is not the most important additive here, but the zinc phosphorus combination is.
The 4 ball wear test. This is test to see if the oil can protect parts from metal to metal contact and is spelled out very well in the attached article. Zinc levels in this test seem to play a big part in an oils ability to prevent metal to metal contact.
Gear performance test is a measure of an oil's viscosity and how additives contribute to gear protection under extreme pressure, shock, sliding and shearing forces. This is very important to the Rotax 912 gearbox. If you have ever taken a gearbox apart for an inspection you can see the gear wear from the use of certain oils and the absence of wear with good oil.
Oxidation test is a test to see how well oil holds up under heat. If the oil starts to break down from heat it will cause oxidation to occur which shortens the life of the oil and causes more carbon accumulation. Increased levels of ZDDP help prevent oxidation.
Volatility: a.k.a. Evaporation of some of the oil components causes higher oil consumption and higher viscosity. High temperature is the main cause of this problem.
Oil Acidity: Oil base stocks, but mainly their detergent additives are designed to help reduce the amount of acid build up.
Rust Protection: Many of us live in humid climates and moisture in our oil and on internal parts is inevitable. This of course is one reason Rotax wants you to obtain at least 212F oil temperature to boil off any moisture. Oil does not protect or prevent rust, and inhibitors to the oil must be added. Letting an engine set for extended down times allows rust to cause pitting on metal surfaces and in our bearings. If you are unable to fly for extended periods it is better to at least start the engine and let it run at operating temperatures for a while on the ground.
To add to your reading it should be noted that the base stock oil is just as important as any additive. Without a good base stock then the additives may not help much. You should be using a full synthetic or a semi synthetic oil and not using a straight mineral based oil. The straight mineral based oil will not provide the protection from all the items we have talked about above. It lacks tenacity and robustness against everything that wants to damage the metal parts in our high performance engine. If you use auto fuel then you can use the full or semi synthetic oil and if you use 100LL use only the semi synthetic. The full synthetic with 100LL can't suspend the lead and it tends to fall out of solution and settle in places we don't want it to.
Here are a few oil stand outs and this of course is not all inclusive because not all oils around the world can be tested for our purposes. You need to make up your own mind in choosing an oil that is right for you and this is just the opinion of this writer and IRMT mechanic. These listed oils have shown good characteristics in lab test and field use. These are all motorcycle oils.
Full Synthetic: (not in any order) Use with auto fuel only.
From all the research I have done, these oils contain good, high quality base stock oils and sufficient additives to support the engine.
Side note: I wanted to mention something I have heard and researched. AeroShell Sport Plus 4 was designed and is mfg. in England. Some oils are mfg. in different geographic locations and sometimes that changes their properties. So a one location mfg is a good thing. I understand that Aero Shell according to the Aero Shell Sport Plus 4 MSDS sheet has 1%-2% of ZDDP which translates to 1000ppm - 2000ppm.
I hope after reading these two articles that you will look at your Rotax 912 oil a bit more critically and evaluate whether you have a good oil or maybe make a change. But either way you now have more information to make that important decision.


text:
My Life As A Refugee [App]
By Jon Lechliter	• 9 years ago
Image by T. Irwin via UNHCR
This month, Conscious is celebrating Freedom. But it is too often that Americans forget or overlook the momentous occasion that took place in 1776 that allowed us to enjoy such simple freedoms. With other nations currently fighting for what we have enjoyed for over 200 years, I want to encourage you to take a moment this month to recognize, contemplate, and appreciate the freedoms you currently enjoy.
"My God! How little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of, and which no other people on earth enjoy!" – Thomas Jefferson
With technology today, we have been given an opportunity by the UN Refugee Agency and ACW to virtually experience the difficult and time sensitive questions and scenarios that a refugee faces each and every day. They have developed an app called My Life As A Refugee (available for iOS and Android OS). Download the app and look through the eyes of Merita, Paulo, or Amika – characters in the story facing difficult questions guided by you with the corresponding result appearing on your mobile device. These decisions can result in life or death for these refugees, and 8 people every minutes are faced with these decisions regarding war, terror, and persecution.
As I select from the choices available in each difficult scenario (some with timed decisions), it was truly humbling and heartbreaking to see the resulting situations of my decisions. It made me appreciate the freedom that I have in America, and it makes me want to continue to fight to make a difference for those who do not enjoy freedom and are forced to face these decisions in their everyday lives.
L E A R N + C O N N E C T
UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, protects and assists those who have fled violence, persecution or terror. Established in 1951, it has helped tens of millions of displaced people to rebuild their lives and twice won the Nobel Peace Prize. With a staff of more than 7,000 in over 125 countries, it is working to safeguard the rights and needs of 35.4 million people worldwide. (Source)
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F R O M T H E E D I T O R
At Conscious, we set out to tell stories that highlight real human interactions and human dignity. You can read more stories like this when you pick up your copy of Conscious Magazine. Subscribe today via our Conscious Shop and sign-up for Conscious Updates

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Converting a string to dictionary in Python Value Error I have tried different options to convert a string to dictionary.
My string looks like this:
{'severity_label': 'Major', 'ne_reported_time': 1475424546, 'node_id': 54357, 'prob_cause_string': None}

When i use
 a_dict = dict([x.strip('{}').split(":"),])

it gives me an error:
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<pyshell#168>", line 1, in <module>
    a_dict = dict([x.strip('{}').split(":"),])
ValueError: dictionary update sequence element #0 has length 121; 2 is required

I am running this on Python3. Also tried various other options things not working. Any help appreciated.

A: Actually this is not JSON. This is a representation of a python object (like using the repr function).
The most safe way to convert this back to a python object is to use the ast.literal_eval function.

A: Why not to use Python 3's inbuilt ast library's function literal_eval. It is better to use literal_eval instead of eval
import ast
str_of_dict = "{'key1': 'key1value', 'key2': 'key2value'}"
ast.literal_eval(str_of_dict)

will give output as actual Dictionary
{'key1': 'key1value', 'key2': 'key2value'}

This is easy as you like.

A: You should use json.loads
import json
a = '{"severity_label": "Major", "ne_reported_time": 1475424546, "node_id": 54357, "prob_cause_string": null}'
d = json.loads(a)

Note I replaced ' by " and None by null

A: That string really is valid JSON, I think. Just use the json.loads functionality to get a dictionary.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Author: Smart Power India
Green mini-grids support disaster relief during Bihar floods
Decentralised solar mini-grids ensured that relief and rescue operations were not hampered during the Bihar floods, in addition to providing a regular and reliable source of electricity to power-starved villages
Ashish Mishra recalled how a renewable energy-based mini-grid proved to be boon while managing relief and rescue operations last month when the devastating floods in northern Bihar were at their peak.
"When there was no power supply from the grid, uninterrupted power supply from mini-grid of Tara Urja helped us to operate smoothly to manage flood relief work and ensure our connection to officials of district headquarters of Siwan and state disaster management department in Patna," said Mishra, Block Development Officer of Lakri Nabiganj block in Siwan district.
The top government official of the block said relief coordination during flood could have been badly affected without electricity. "We had lost hope to coordinate flood relief and rescue operations without power after the electricity grid was damaged by the flood," he told indiaclimatedialogue.net. "But thanks to power supply from mini grid, our computers, fax machine, internet and mobile phones operated as usual, which helped us to work for flood relief without any interruption."
If there had been no power supply from the mini-grid, Mishra would have been forced to use highly polluting diesel or kerosene generators.
Decentralised electricity
Decentralised power generation has a role to play in increasing resilience to disasters in all countries, not just those with energy access challenges. Decentralisation means that the entire network is not interrupted when one weak point fails. A grid-linked mini-grid, for example, can disconnect and continue to operate uninterrupted. A solar home system or solar lantern can help a household weather a crisis.
Resilience to disaster includes the speed of recovery. Decentralised generation means that rebuilding efforts can focus on the highest priorities, for example, quickly rebuilding a hospital's mini-grid. In contrast, a centralised grid requires resurrecting the entire network in order to power essential services.
Harihar Mandal, a marginal farmer living in a village under Jokihat block in Araria district,remembered that when they were without power during the flood,power supply from the mini-grid helped them to charge their mobile phones and light their houses at night. Araria was one of the worst affected by the flood this year.
"Power supply from the solar plant helped us to charge our mobile phones and enabled us keep in touch with others," Mandal told indiaclimatedialogue.net. "It was something not possible earlier."
Devastating floods
Bihar faced its worst floods in recent decades this year,with 514 deaths reported by the Bihar Disaster Management Department (BDMD). The floods affected more than 17 million people living in 187 administrative blocks in 19 districts, official data show.
Tara Urja, a private energy service partner of Smart Power India, is operating a 30 KW solar power plant in Lakri Nabiganj. Smart Power India implements the Smart Power for Rural Development (SPRD) programme, which is designed to deliver viable electricity solutions through decentralised renewable energy mini-grids.
Tara Urja, which offers a reliable source of electricity, has hundreds of customers, including the block development office, other government offices, shopkeepers and private houses. The consumers particularly benefit in the evenings, which is the peak hour and when power outages from the grid is common. "We provide power to the local community, including the block development office, which uses mini-grid power during the hours when they receive no grid-connected power," Mukesh Khandelwal, Chief Operating Officer of Tara Urja, told indiaclimatedialogue.net.
Mandal, a resident of Baharbari village, praised Decentralised Energy Systems India(DESI Power), another energy service company, for providing free mobile charging facility and domestic lightning during the floods. "We were without power for over a week as power supply from grid was disrupted due to flood but Desi Power's mini-grid supply made it possible for us not to go back to the lantern age."
"We have been operating 49 solar plants in 15 villages in Jokihat," Kunal Amitabh, Chief Operating Officer DESI Power in Araria, told indiaclimatedialogue.net. "DESI Power's mini-grid with capacities of 0.5 Kw to 75 Kw are operating in the villages."
Amitabh said DESI Power managed to provide electricity to people in villages during the floods, as mini plants are portable and easy to shift from one place to another. "After the flood hit, we have shifted our portable mini plant either to the rooftops or to the first floors of buildings and continued to provide power supply to households."
"Soon we are planning to add some smaller decentralised, or one or two big centralised RO drinking water facility in some of our other plant sites. One centralised drinking water facility is already under planning stage in Chakai village near our plant."
Dharamraj Singh, head of Tara Urja in Bihar, said BDO Mishra had sought help for uninterrupted power supply from their mini-grid to ensure that electricity supply to the office coordinating flood relief efforts was not affected.It was in third week of August when dozens of villages in Hardiya, Nabiganj andDumarsan received severe flood alerts due to rising water levels of the Gandak river. Soon, floodwater entered villages and forced the state government to set up relief camps for displaced residents.Tara Urja has eight plants in Gopalganj, Saran and Siwan districts of Bihar.
"When nine of the 11 panchayats comprising of dozens of villages in our block were severely affected by the floods, we sought the help of Tara Urja's mini-grid to assist us with flood relief work," Mishra told indiaclimatedialogue.net. "We relied on their electricity for over 50 hours during the floods."
How Off-Grid Renewable Energy Came To The Rescue In India's Flood Zones
People stand on the roof of a submerged house as they wait to be rescued in Patna, in the eastern Indian state of Bihar. (Photo credit Getty Images)
Recently, deadly floods in India and South Asia and powerful storms in United States knocked out power to millions. But when people's lives are thrown into chaos by devastating natural disaster, using alternative energy source may not seem like an obvious response. However, since energy grids are often the first to fail when a disaster hits, and outages hamper recovery efforts, energy entrepreneurs believe that off-grid renewable energy could provide an instant source of power to those who need it most.
"After a natural disaster hits, it can take weeks or longer for power to be restored and the expense of repairing transmission lines can be very high. Solar and battery mini-grids are a more resilient solution, as it allows local and remote communities to regain access to power, clean drinking water, medical facilities and communications immediately," says William Brent, director of Power For All, a coalition of 200 public and private organizations campaigning to deliver universal energy access by 2030.
"Also, in the case of renewable mini-grids, the fuel — the Sun — is local, unlike diesel generators, which are subject to disruption in fuel supply because of a disaster," adds Brent
In August, Bihar, one of the poorest states in India, faced its worst flooding in decades, affecting 13 million people. With uncertainty about the availability of grid power, renewable energy mini-grids — Tara Urja and Desi Power — stepped up to provide back-up power and assist with relief operations in eight villages, including Nabiganj, Siwan and Araria. ?Tara Urja and Desi Power are private energy service companies working with the Smart Power India, an initiative funded by Rockefeller Foundation to help scale mini-grids in India.
"In Bihar, mini-grids and battery energy ensured relief operation was not hampered due to power outages, and the affected villages were not plunged into darkness by night," says Mukesh Khandelwal, COO of Tara Urja, "Our electricians maintained a round-the-clock watch during the peak days of flooding to make sure that the village-level office received electricity through a feeder line to coordinate relief operations," adds Khandelwal.
In Araria, a village in Bihar that was under three feet of water, Desi Power provided over 16,000 people to power a range of standard appliances. "Even when villages were submerged and grid connectivity was off, we also had to shut down the grid, but the plant was kept open to help people access essential services such as charging mobile phones and solar lantern from our battery backup," says Kunal Amitav, COO for Desi Power. "The plant area was also opened up to provide shelter to people, as it was on a slightly higher ground."
Apart from the mini-grids, Desi Power operates around 40 pico-grids, a small portable system, which users can plug their phones into to charge, to light up homes, and purify drinking water. "In Aamgachi, a village that was under five feet under flood water, each pico-grid plant supported about 25 households," says Amitav.
Since water contamination is a concern after flood, Desi Power, with Smart Power India, has set up a water treatment plant to provide clean drinking water to the villages for six months. Apart from Bihar, local mini-grids also provided uninterrupted power in flood-affected villages in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand.
But off-grid power is not only needed in times of natural disasters. The most poverty-stricken regions of India lack access to continuous power. ?"Electricity supply to rural parts of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand are erratic at best. Over the years, micro-enterprises in villages have been relying on mini-grids for power supply," says Khandelwal.
Renewable energy resources are still in its nascent stage in India. The Indian government has set a target of 10,000 mini-grids by 2021, as over 300 million people live in total blackout in the country. So far, private energy service companies and Smart Power India have built 111 projects.
According to Khandelwal, decentralized renewable energy is the only way to bring electricity to India's poorest and most vulnerable regions. "In Bihar, solar-powered mini-grids are used across several villages. Currently, these mini-grids are off-grid but have the potential to be integrated with the grid to offer seamless power during outages."
Communities take a punch when the lights go out. And the growing intensity of floods and storms on account of climate change is making things even worse. Is frequent natural disasters then driving home the value of off-grid energy systems? Resilience, Brent says, is increasingly becoming important to the security and reliability of energy systems amid the rise of extreme weather events. "Mini and micro-grids can create a strong infrastructure for universities, hospitals, industrial parks, and communities. Individual mini-grids can join up to form a single utility grid or can also isolate from the grid and operate independently in case of disaster. This also allows easier integration of distributed and renewable generation," adds Brent.
I am interested in ideas and enterprises — in all shapes, sizes and guises, whether well-cooked or medium-rare. After working for most of my career in Dubai in different newspapers, including Gulf News, I relocated to India and worked for The Times Group in Pune. During my …
India can light the way
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with US President Donald Trump last week was a display of what the two leaders called "true friendship" reaffirming India-US relations. Against the backdrop of recent tensions and strong differences in position, not least on climate change, the visit demonstrated Prime Minister Modi's diplomatic skills and his stature as a global leader. Modi must now use this goodwill to assert his vision in driving the international community toward a low-carbon world.
Indeed, with the US' retreat from the Paris Climate Agreement, it may be Modi -with his bold renewable energy agenda, `power for all' commitment, and push for widespread adoption of LED (light-emitting diode) light bulbs -who steps up to the plate. His leadership in energy will be even more critical as India flexes its economic muscles.
Energy access will be the cornerstone of India's economic development.It is an often-repeated fact that nearly 230 million Indians have little to no access to electricity , hampering their ability to join the modern economy .
The World Bank estimates that globally , delivering electricity to the energy poor could create 1.5 trillion additional productive hours, save $38 billion in energy expenditures, and enable nearly 300 million school-age children to study longer under better conditions. India can only truly rise if these 230 million rise as well. And it starts with reliable energy access.
Modi's government in New Delhi understands this well. Under its steward ship, India is growing into a laboratory not only for the development of clean technology but also for new models of power distribution, particularly of decentralised renewable energy . Today, India's largest cluster of renewable energy mini-grids, developed under the Rockefeller Foundation's innovative Smart Power for Rural Development programme, has powered more than 110 villages and illuminated the lives of 40,000 people.
These results are significant not only in scale but also in human impact. With tools and machines powered by reliable electricity, carpenters, tailors and small entrepreneurs have more than doubled their productivity . Cold storage facilities are being built, keeping fresh farm produce from spoiling, so farmers can sell more and at better market prices. Entrepreneurs have opened car washes, water purification and delivery systems, and computer training centres. Essential health services are now within reach.
Looking at the transformation of these villages, it's clear that access to suf ficient and reliable energy is the missing link that can unleash their people's potential, empowering rural Indians to lift themselves out of poverty.
In villages touched by the Smart Power for Rural Development programme, energy access has enabled enterprising Indians to raise their local economy by $18.50 per capita -accounting for an increase in economic productivity and the value of benefits to health, environment and social well-being.
Micro-enterprises have reported a 13% average increase in monthly revenues, and there is evidence that business is growing: 11% of businesses reported some form of expansion, and 7% of them are entirely new, established as a result of gaining access to energy . Other countries can benefit from what India has achieved so far. Many emerging economies hunger for power that can help their citizens lift themselves out of poverty and reach their full potential. Because they know what India's government knows: if you provide reliable and sufficient electricity, social and economic development will follow.
This is where India can truly lead.Modi should leverage India's achievements to rally the world around a renewable energy revolution that uplifts people from poverty while driving forward the Paris agreement commitments.
It's already clear that large-scale programmes on solar, wind and hydropower will redefine India's emerging role as a leader in clean energy and climate change, and our work together on behalf of the poorest Indian families will change the lives of tens of millions of people.
If Modi stays committed to energy access for all Indians, India's renewable energy leadership will be an incredible legacy for the world.
The writer is president, Rockefeller Foundation, New York City
How India can rally the world around a renewable energy revolution
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with US President Donald Trump last week was a display of what the two leaders called "true friendship" reaffirming India-US relations. Against the backdrop of recent tensions and strong differences in position, not least on climate change, the visit demonstrated Prime Minister Modi's diplomatic skills and his stature as a global leader. Modi must now use this goodwill to assert his vision in driving the international community toward alow-carbon world.
Indeed, with the US' retreat from the Paris Climate Agreement, it may be Modi — with his bold renewable energyagenda, 'power for all' commitment, and push for widespread adoption of LED (light-emitting diode) light bulbs —who steps up to the plate. His leadership in energy will be even more critical as India flexes its economic muscles. Energy access will be the cornerstone of India's economic development.
It is an often-repeated fact that nearly 230 million Indians have little to no access to electricity, hampering their ability to join the modern economy.
The World Bank estimates that globally, delivering electricity to the energy poor could create 1.5 trillion additional productive hours, save $38 billion in energy expenditures, and enable nearly 300 million school-age children to study longer under better conditions. India can only truly rise if these 230 million rise as well. And it starts with reliable energy access.
Modi's government in New Delhi understands this well. Under its stewardship, India is growing into a laboratory not only for the development of clean technology but also for new models of power distribution, particularly of decentralised renewable energy. Today, India's largest cluster of renewable energy mini-grids, developed under the Rockefeller Foundation's innovative Smart Power for Rural Development programme, has powered more than 110 villages and illuminated the lives of 40,000 people.
These results are significant not only in scale but also in human impact. With tools and machines powered by reliable electricity, carpenters, tailors and small entrepreneurs have more than doubled their productivity. Cold storage facilities are being built, keeping fresh farm produce from spoiling, so farmers can sell more and at better market prices. Entrepreneurs have opened car washes, water purification and delivery systems, and computer training centres. Essential health services are now within reach.
Looking at the transformation of these villages, it's clear that access to sufficient and reliable energy is the missing link that can unleash their people's potential, empowering rural Indians to lift themselves out of poverty.
In villages touched by the Smart Power for Rural Development programme, energy access has enabled enterprising Indians to raise their local economy by $18.50 per capita — accounting for an increase in economic productivity and the value of benefits to health, environment and social well-being.
Micro-enterprises have reported a 13% average increase in monthly revenues, and there is evidence that business is growing: 11% of businesses reported some form of expansion, and 7% of them are entirely new, established as a result of gaining access to energy.
Other countries can benefit from what India has achieved so far. Many emerging economies hunger for power that can help their citizens lift themselves out of poverty and reach their full potential. Because they know what India's government knows: if you provide reliable and sufficient electricity, social and economic development will follow.
This is where India can truly lead. Modi should leverage India's achievements to rally the world around a renewable energy revolution that uplifts people from poverty while driving forward the Paris agreement commitments.
Multi-billion dollar Africa-India partnership aims to eradicate energy poverty
* Any views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
The area most ripe for immediate collaboration is solar irrigation, which is already scaling rapidly in India Pieces are falling into place for an important collaboration between India and Africa to end energy poverty. The stakes are high, as sub-Saharan Africa and India account for over 80 percent of the world's 1.1 billion unelectrified.
On the heels of the first annual meeting of the African Development Bank (AfDB) ever held in India last month, this cross-continental partnership is evolving quickly, both in the public and private sectors.
Of note, it is taking place at a time when India's long-time rival China is investing tens of billions of dollars in African infrastructure to secure resources for its future development, adding an element of geopolitics that will be worth following despite India's position that it is not engaging in Africa with "strategic intent" but to end poverty and promote social justice.
India already pledged in 2015 a concessional credit line of $10 billion to Africa over five years, earmarking at least 15-20 percent (or up to $2 billion) for solar energy projects, largely off-grid, to be implemented through the India-hosted International Solar Alliance (ISA).
The area most ripe for immediate collaboration is solar irrigation, which is already scaling rapidly in India and will be a major help to the AfDB in its goals of achieving universal electricity access and ending hunger and malnutrition by 2025. India too has major ambitions, including 100 percent household electrification by 2019.
The intent to ramp up collaboration was clear at the AfDB meeting, where India's government said it had received interest from Indian companies to install 664,000 solar pumps, install 56 megawatts of mini-grids and train 5,400 solar mechanics in Africa.
"We would love to share our experiences, to work together with the African continent and all the countries of Africa to take the benefits of modern technology, to take the benefits of low-cost deployment of these technologies on a larger scale to the remotest corners of Africa, to the poorest of poor of Africa," said Piyush Goyal, India's minister of state for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines, during the AfDB meeting.
"We should look at scaling up this engagement, being it skill development, being it expanding your micro-grids, or even utility-scale renewable energy programs, be it introducing the most modern technologies in Africa, being it helping you assemble in the initial stage and finally manufacturing solar and wind generating equipment," he added in comments during the AfDB meeting.
Goyal said the ISA would launch a new program to scale up deployment of mini-grids in Africa, which would focus on design, adoption of common standards, aggregating demand, helping establish global credit enhancement and de-risking mechanisms, assessing demand and costs requirements, identifying and developing attractive payment models for consumers, and persuading member ISA countries with overseas assistance budgets to earmark a portion of their soft loan money.
Astrid Manroth, director of Energy Transformative Partnerships at the AfDB, added: "There's so much experience here [in India]… and I think we're very well equipped to take this back to Africa and also see how we can partner on a longer-term horizon."
Aside from mini-grids, the opportunity for solar irrigation is immense. Sub-Saharan Africa has 60 percent of the world's uncultivated land and the lowest yield of any region globally. Less than 6% of farmland in sub-Saharan Africa is under irrigation, compared to 20 percent in the rest of the world.
Solar-powered irrigation enables farmers to switch from expensive, heavy and polluting diesel-powered water pumps to sustainable, renewable power. This provides a consistent supply of water to support productivity throughout dry seasons, with knock-on benefits to nutrition and household income. Not only does decentralized renewable energy deliver electricity for improving rural, farming communities, it makes those communities more resilient to climate change and saves governments money (versus grid extension).
According to Indian private sector companies, the ISA line of credit is initially targeting deployment of 100,000 solar irrigation pumps in Africa. Because the credit has a local content requirement, they expect it to lead to increased business partnerships between Indian and African companies.
COMMERCIAL BRIDGES
Already, a growing number of Indian and African companies and social enterprises are building commercial bridges between the two regions.
Husk Power Systems was one of the first Indian companies to be actively involved in developing the energy access market in Africa, focused on Tanzania, Uganda and Nigeria. It develops biomass and solar mini-grids (and hybrids of the two), and is currently converting 5 mini-grids in Tanzania into solar/biomass hybrids, which can provide 24/7 power to homes and businesses. Husk is also committed to doing 5 mini-grids in Nigeria.
Husk has prioritized skill training to go hand-in-hand with technology transfer in order to scale deployment, and established a cross-cultural skill development program that has trained Tanzanians and Ugandans on mini-grid operations. In addition, Husk has worked extensively with regulators of multiple countries, and in 2015 hosted the Uganda Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development for two weeks for a training program on mini-grid technology and development.
Another leading Indian mini-grid developer OMC Power is also developing its strategy to enter the Africa market, starting in Kenya. Both OMC Power and Husk are part of the Rockefeller Foundation's $75 million Smart Power India program, which has been working to commercially scale mini-grids over the past two years with a goal of eventually electrifying 1,000 villages in India, and which is now looking to expand its experience and learning into Africa.
On the solar irrigation front FuturePump – a solar irrigation company based in Kenya with manufacturing facilities in India, has installed 2,000 systems in Africa, and is now turning its sights toward India. Claro Energy, a leading Indian solar irrigation company which has 6,500 solar pumping systems in about 15 Indian states, is exploring how to enter the Africa market.
The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), a non-profit research institute in India, through its Lighting a Billion Lives program, has reached 20,000 homes in Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Mozambique, Rep. of Congo and Nigeria. Several educational institutions, including TERI University and Gujarat Energy Research & Management Institute, have also started programs to educate African officials, utility executives and entrepreneurs.
Interesting initiatives are also under way that originated in Africa and are finding their way into India. For example, Greenlight Planet is piloting its pay-as-you-go solar service in India based on its innovative business model in Africa that has reached over 5 million homes. D.light, another company that has established a strong foothold in Africa, is also looking at bringing the "paygo" model to India.
Civil society is engaging more deeply as well. Barefoot College, an India-based NGO, has trained solar entrepreneurs, with vocational training centers in Senegal, Burkino Faso, Liberia, South Sudan and Zanzibar that serve the Sub-Saharan region. The SELCO Foundation is also looking to establish its off-grid ecosystem model in Tanzania to help build the enabling environment needed to scale the sector.
Rockefeller Foundation to boost Uganda's electricity access
Rockefeller Foundation President, Dr. Rajiv Shah (2nd L) and his delegation with President Yoweri Museveni (in a white shirt) at State House, Entebbe on May 23.
The Foundation plans to replicate the Smart Power India initiative in Africa starting with Uganda and Kenya The Rockefeller Foundation plans to create a Smart Power Africa initiative on the continent starting with Uganda and Kenya, according to its President Rajiv J. Shah.
Shah, who was in Uganda on May 23, revealed this after discussions with President Yoweri Museveni at State-House, Entebbe, Their meeting was attended by business leaders, and Foundation grantees to understand how the charity organisation can best contribute to fostering economic opportunity, and human rights and dignity.
The Smart Power Africa initiative will be modeled along the lines of 'Smart Power for Rural Development' initiative that the Foundation unveiled in India In April 2015 to extend electricity to 1,000 villages in three years to one million people in the states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Details of the Smart Power Africa initiative have not been revealed.
In India, Rockefeller invested US$75 million and created a new organisation—Smart Power India—to expand the Smart Power model which uses mini-grid technology for both lighting and productive use.
The Rockefeller initiative is based on data showing that round the world, 1.3 billion people lack access to electricity. In Uganda, only 20 % of the country's households have access to electricity, according to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, the lowest in East Africa outside of Burundi.
The Rockefeller Foundation, which has a net worth of about US$3.5 billion, has since 1913 worked "to promote the well-being of humanity throughout the world" by advancing health, revaluing ecosystems, securing livelihoods, and transforming. Rockefeller believes that while livelihoods of people around the world are threatened by demographic shifts and economic stresses, Africa's faces a growing youth bulge.
In the meeting with Shah, President Museveni said Rockefeller could also support Uganda's agriculture sector, solar power, research centres, and infrastructure. In Agriculture which supports 80% of the population, Museveni pointed out the fight against vectors like ticks in livestock.
"Our target is to have vaccines against tick-borne diseases developed. We shall be pleased if you could support us in this effort. If we can vaccinate, we shall have the capacity to protect the livestock without using acaricides," Museveni told Shah.
Museveni said the Foundation could also support the country in the development of solar powered pumps for irrigation to enable year round food production by farmers. He said the government is committed to promoting use of solar water pumps and rural lighting and that promotion of the private sector led-growth requires availability of low cost infrastructure.
The Rockefeller Foundation's involvement in Uganda dates back to the 1930s with investments in health and education. An early partnership was the establishment of the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI).
This was followed up with the discovery of what would later be known as Zika virus in the 1940's at the Institute by Ugandan scientists.
Similarly, the Foundation helped found the world-renowned Makerere University and offered aid towards the development of agriculture, public health, medicine, and social science departments in universities across Africa.
In the agriculture sector, the Foundation's investments in agriculture in the country goes back many years, with the more recent being the support for the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).
Co-launched with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the organisation has resulted in AGRA directing more than US $30 million investments across key areas, including markets, better seeds, and improving soil fertility and health on the continent.
This has allowed AGRA to develop an array of networks from farmers through to private sector actors along the value chains up until the highest levels of government.
More than 175,000 farmers have received trainings in post-harvest management, reducing their losses by 15% and supported 18 doctoral students in seed breeding. In addition, more than 700 agro dealers have received certification to sell crop-enhancements to farmers.
Minigrids can power rural economic activity, says Smart Power's Mukherji
Mini grids can spur economic activity in rural areas and accelerate the process of expanding mobile phone network across the country due to their large capacities and the ability to connect to the national grid, according to Smart Power India.
A mini grid, as defined by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, is an off-grid power system with a generation capacity of between 10 KW and 500 KW. There are a number of other solutions of smaller capacities that rural areas can use such as a solar lantern, a solar home solution, or even a community solution like a micro grid. But a mini grid is the only alternativethat provides the kind of electricity that can be used for business activities, Jaideep Mukherji , Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Smart Power India told The Hindu.
"One of the deficiencies of the other off-grid power solution models is that while these solutions are good in moving households away from kerosene and providing them with reliable and clean energy, they do not provide the energy required to fuel enterprise or commercial activity. You will not be able to power equipment, motors, etc," Mr. Mukherji said.
"A mini grid is a larger system that converts direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC) and it provides safety as per REC and CEA standards," he explained. "Usually, the power coming from the smaller off-grid solutions is DC energy. While it is good for lighting, it does not satisfy the community's requirement to run any sort of business," he said.
The power generated from a mini grid can be seamlessly transferred to the national grid since it is already going through a a charge controller which manages the flow of energy and an inverter which converts the electricity from DC to AC. It also has a storage facility to meet night demand as well.
No fluctuations
"The power that comes out is regular and standard with no fluctuations," Mr Mukherji said.
Apart from commercial enterprises, rural banks or schools, Mr. Mukherji said that a large part of the demand for mini grids came from telecom service providers for powering mobile towers.
"They (mobile towers) have a presence across rural India and all of them suffer from inadequate power and so have to use diesel," Mr. Mukherji said. "There is a national mandate to green 50–60 per cent of the telecom towers and also the cost of using diesel is very high and it (the risk) includes diesel theft and all the other nefarious activities that go along with it not to mention the pollution. The power demand of a telecom tower is 24/7."
Even from his company's point of view, one of the important criteria in selecting a village to install a mini grid is to see whether there is at least one customer in the area – like a telecom tower, petrol pump, school or bank – that could make up a significant portion of the energy demand from the mini grid.
Business potential
"The selection of the village is very important. We look at the number of households and the potential of existing commercial activity and the future potential demand. There should be a threshold amount of economic activity. And the other important criterion is the presence of an anchor-load customer, a single customer who can guarantee at least 25-30 per cent of the demand" he said.
A combination of flexible regulation by the government and erratic power supply from the national grid has meant that mini grids can complement the national grid and, according to Mr. Mukherji, often the mini grids are installed in places already covered by the national grid.
"Where the grid has reached, the power is inadequate, erratic and not able to meet the energy requirements of the village," he said.
Flexible rules
Government regulations also provide complete flexibility to the investor, allowing them to compete with the grid, if they choose, sell their excess power to the grid or even exit by selling their assets to the distribution companies.
"Tariff flexibility is also given such that the tariff for the power coming from a mini grid is decided between the provider and the community served," Mr. Mukherji said.
"At the moment, the government has not set the upper limit on the tariffs and has left it to the market. It's not as if people will buy power at any price. At the lowest tariff level, they would pay 5–6 rupees a day to light up their home or shop using a mini grid. That is a big saving over diesel or kerosene and the power comes with the benefit of being regular and standard," he said.
Rockefeller Foundation's mini-grids operational in 106 villages in India
US-based Rockefeller Foundation's (RF) subsidiary Smart Power India today said its mini-grids are now operational in as many as 106 villages in India.
The grids are operational across three states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. In the long-term, Mukherji said these grids have the ability to integrate with the discoms' grids and would help accelerate the realisation of the government's 'power for all' vision.(Representative image Reuters)
US-based Rockefeller Foundation's (RF) subsidiary Smart Power India today said its mini-grids are now operational in as many as 106 villages in India. Smart Power India is setting up these mini-grids under the Foundation's Smart Power for Rural Development programme.
"The mini-grids are now operational in 106 villages in India. We are already in the process of building 125 new mini-grids with our partners … It is the largest privately operated mini-grids cluster globally," Smart Power India CEO Jaideep Mukherji said in a statement.
The grids are operational across three states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. In the long-term, Mukherji said these grids have the ability to integrate with the discoms' grids and would help accelerate the realisation of the government's 'power for all' vision.
He also said that the increasing affordability of solar equipment is a positive development for the mini-grid sector as it would help reduce the cost. "Our mini-grids are helping bridge energy access gap by supplying power not only to homes, but also for commercial and productive activities in the village," he added.
Deepali Khanna, Director of Rockefeller Foundation said that they are aiming at powering 1,000 villages in the country. "Currently we are working with our partners to expand our work to Jharkhand," she said.
The foundation has launched an initiative to use renewable power-based mini-grids to light up villages. It is working with the government to develop central and state policies that support growth of the mini-grid sector in India.
Rockefeller has invested USD 1.5 million to resolve the battery storage challenge.
RF's mini-grids operational in 106 villages
Working with govt to support mini-grid sector: Rockefeller
New Delhi, Dec 25 (PTI) The Rockefeller Foundation, which has launched an initiative to use renewable power-based mini grids to light up villages, today said it is working with the government to develop central and state policies that support growth of the mini-grid sector in India.
Through its initiative, the US-based foundation currently has 94 fully operational plants that are serving about 30,000 people.
"Beyond our goal of electrifying 1,000 villages, we are working with government to develop central and state policies that support the growth of the mini-grid sector, providing financing and engaging other investors to encourage their participation," the Rockefeller Foundation (Asia) MD Ashvin Dayal said. He said these mini-grids can be built in 2-3 months, which can rely on renewable power and provide enough consistent energy to light up multiple homes and businesses within a village. Currently, over 3,500 small businesses, 150 telecom towers and over 31,000 people are powered by mini grids under the Foundation?s Smart Power for Rural Development initiative. He also said there has been a rapid change in the policy and regulatory environment in India to support the deployment of renewable energy based mini grids. The drafting of a dedicated National Mini-grid Policy, state-level policy by UP along with keenness by Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha to introduce measures for such deployment reflects Indias intent to bridge the current policy gaps and create an enabling environment for entrepreneurs and investors, Dayal said. The Foundation has initially focused on states with the least access to electricity that includes Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha. PTI RR ARD
New Delhi, May 18 (PTI) US-based Rockefeller Foundations (RF) subsidiary Smart Power India today said its mini-grids are now operational in as many as 106 villages in India. Smart Power India is setting up these mini-grids under the Foundations Smart Power for Rural Development programme. "The mini-grids are now operational in 106 villages in India. We are already in the process of building 125 new mini-grids with our partners … It is the largest privately operated mini-grids cluster globally," Smart Power India CEO Jaideep Mukherji said in a statement. The grids are operational across three states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand.
In the long-term, Mukherji said these grids have the ability to integrate with the discoms grids and would help accelerate the realisation of the governments power for all vision.
He also said that the increasing affordability of solar equipment is a positive development for the mini-grid sector as it would help reduce the cost. "Our mini-grids are helping bridge energy access gap by supplying power not only to homes, but also for commercial and productive activities in the village," he added. Deepali Khanna, Director of Rockefeller Foundation said that they are aiming at powering 1,000 villages in the country. "Currently we are working with our partners to expand our work to Jharkhand," she said. The foundation has launched an initiative to use renewable power-based mini-grids to light up villages. It is working with the government to develop central and state policies that support growth of the mini-grid sector in India.
Rockefeller has invested USD 1.5 million to resolve the battery storage challenge. PTI RR MR
Smart Power India is setting up these mini-grids under the Foundation's Smart Power for Rural Development programme.
The grids are operational across three states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand.
In the long-term, Mukherji said these grids have the ability to integrate with the discoms' grids and would help accelerate the realisation of the government's 'power for all' vision.
He also said that the increasing affordability of solar equipment is a positive development for the mini-grid sector as it would help reduce the cost.
"Our mini-grids are helping bridge energy access gap by supplying power not only to homes, but also for commercial and productive activities in the village," he added.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Mines, Clean Energy and Investment: India's Triple Bottom Line
he Kamuthi Project, one of the world's largest solar parks, spread over 2,500 acres in southern India, was commissioned by Adani Power and completed in 2016.
By Joseph Kirschke
India is the world's fastest-growing energy consumer and a global leader in clean energy — third only to China and the U.S.
And by 2035, when non-fossil fuel capacity surges from 22 to 54 percent, India will have reached critical mass as the planet's most populous nation.
India's 1.3 billion people also offer investors an unprecedented opportunity to scale climate resilient communities, commerce, and industry in one of the world's most dynamic emerging market economies where up to 460 million must survive without electricity.
And with prolific metals, minerals, and fuels including iron, steel, coal, lignite, aluminum and bauxite, one of the world's largest mining industries offers a fast-evolving solution.
India's government, with international help, is pushing hard for renewables: In fact, new coal-fired power plants are on hold until 2022 – the year 175 gigawatt of solar and wind power are projected to come online. Meanwhile, energy needs for India's power-hungry mines remain at a premium.
Last month, state-owned National Aluminium Company Ltd. announced plans for 150 megawatts in solar and wind power. London-listed multinational Vedanta Resources had already entered the country's solar sector by bidding for 500 MW in projects; then, in December, subsidiary Hindustan Zinc pledged solar deployments of 115 MW in addition to currently installed 474 MW of thermal power and 274 MW of wind.
Indian mining companies aren't alone: Since 2011, mines worldwide are economizing through alternative energy. This subsector, expanding in Chile, Canada, Australia and Africa, is poised to save billions as installations are forecast to quadruple to $3.9 billion within five years.
Fossil fuels were the backbone of India's commodity-driven supercycle of the 2000s which, together with China's, was the greatest in modern history. Amid mounting smog, heat waves and droughts – and collapsing prices for clean technology – Indian coal and oil firms are now unlikely allies with solar.
Coal India Ltd., the world's largest state-owned coal miner, is planning more than 600 MW of solar in four states, while NLC India Ltd. has tendered for 260 MW of grid-connected solar in two. Oil giants Indian Oil Corp. and Oil India Ltd. have similarly permitted a 1 GW solar farm.
But the true potential lies in integrating these deployments with existing clean-energy distribution in regions home to at least a third of the world's population living without electricity. A prime example is India's high-voltage Green Energy Corridor underwritten by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) which, despite some success, has officials concerned over uneven penetration in the poor states it aims to benefit.
Madhya Pradesh, where Coal India has signed for 200 MW of solar, is one. Rajasthan, home to India's largest single deposit of lead, zinc and silver – and where Hindustan Zinc commissioned 15 MW of solar late last year – is another. Elsewhere, in Andhra Pradesh, Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd. operates a 100 MW wind farm.
In Gujarat, Gujarat Mineral Development Corp. installed a 5 MW solar farm at a reclaimed mine. And in Maharashtra, under the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Chang (UNFCCC), the renewable energy division of iron ore producer Essel Mining and Industries Ltd. installed 75 MW of wind in exchange for carbon credits.
The industrial-scale infrastructure associated with India's mechanized mines — including extensive transportation systems — hold promise, too. In particular, efforts are underway to green segments of India's railway network – one of the world's largest – which consumes more diesel and electricity than any other part of the economy.
Indeed, as climate change is being recognized as an existential threat, India has seldom held more appeal for international asset managers – even among some of the biggest, normally risk-averse institutional investors like pension funds, banks and insurance firms. Yet amid green bonds, climate funds and other inventive mechanisms, large financiers still grapple with cohesive approaches.
Perhaps most onerous is India's lack of development coupled with erratic policies and regulations. But a flexible and burgeoning impact investment market can stimulate matching finance from development agencies, lenders and large institutions. Take the Rockefeller Foundation's Smart Power India initiative, the country's largest "anchor-based" network encompassing telecommunications towers, which seeks to spread clean energy to 1,000 rural Indian villages this year.
Acumen is also India-focused and invests millions in off-grid clean energy for homes and businesses; Frontier Markets, a Rajasthan-based for-profit, seeks to provide clean energy access to 1 million Indian households by 2020. Last week, reports emerged private equity fund Actis will invest $500 million into a successful bidder for a World Bank-financed 750 MW solar park.
One nonprofit is advancing this narrative, if quietly, through a unique human capital approach.
Barefoot College is a pioneer which trains women from across the global south to become solar engineers and educators. After sponsoring their travel, the NGO — also Rajasthan-based — enabled participants from 77 countries to bring newfound technical skills back to their local communities.
One returned home to Ollagüe, Chile, where Italy's Enel Green Power installed a solar plant with more than 1,600 photovoltaic panels through a partnership with Phoenix-based mining giant Freeport McMoRan Inc. Now the 150 families of the indigenous Quechua community are enjoying their first ongoing supply of electric power.
For all the challenges inherent in its extreme poverty, India is blessed with mineral resources, clean energy and an entrepreneurial spirit which may make it the planet's ideal ecosystem in the fight against industrial carbon emissions.
And for investors striving to enact change through COP21 and its $13.5 trillion commitments, it cannot be overlooked.
Image courtesy of the author
Joseph Kirschke is a consultant who advises mining companies on sustainability and clean energy, is a former editor at Mining Media International, a Jacksonville-based publishing house
Viable solution through DRE mini-grids
The Smart Power for Rural Development's mission is to develop 1000 Decentralised Renewable Energy (DRE) mini-grids impacting a million lives, says Jaideep Mukherji, CEO, Smart Power India, in a conversation with Surbhi Mehtani. [READ MORE]
Energy Access Builds Inclusive Economies and Resilient Communities
More girls in rural Bihar, India are going to school after mini-grid-powered household lights give mothers and children two extra hours of evening work and study time. Credit: Manipadma Jena/IPS
NEW DELHI, Feb 16 2017 (IPS) – Jaipal Hembrum runs three one-man home enterprises – a bicycle repair shop, a tiny food stall and a tailoring unit in Kautuka, a remote village in eastern India. Sewing recycled clothes into mattresses late into the evening, the 38-year-old father of three girls says two light bulbs fed by a solar power system have changed his life.
Given the trajectory of development India is currently pursuing, energy access for its rural population could bring dramatic economic improvement. Yet 237 million people — a fifth of its 1.3 billion people, many of them in remote villages with few livelihood options — do not have any access to it.
The Delhi-based research organisation Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) stipulates that if even half of households deemed electrified through the national power grid are not receiving the guaranteed six hours uninterrupted supply, the number of people who are electricity-poor in India totals 650 million.
In this scenario, renewable energy-based mini-grids, particularly in remote villages, are considered the best option to manage local household and commercial energy demand efficiently by generating power at the source of consumption.
This is being proven true by the Rockefeller Foundation's Smart Power for Rural Development (SPRD) initiative in two of India's poorest states, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, where 16 and 36 percent of households respectively are electrified. In India, 55 percent rural households have energy access, often of unreliable quality.
The challenge India faces is how to meet its energy requirements while also meeting its emission reduction commitment to the global climate deal.
Started in 2014, the SPRD project has helped set up close to 100 mini-grid plants, covering the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and lately, in Jharkhand too. According to Rockefeller Foundation sources, these plants are serving a customer base of around 38,000 people. Over 6,500 households are benefitting, along with 3,800 shops and businesses, and over 120 institutions, telecom towers and micro-enterprises.
Over 2014 – 2017, the Rockefeller Foundation aims to make a difference to 1,000 energy-poor villages in India, benefitting around a million rural people. For this effort, the Foundation has committed 75 million dollars, partnering and funding Smart Power India (SPI) a new entity designed to work closely with a wide range of stakeholders who help scale-up the market for off-grid energy.
Jaipal Hembrum stitches old clothes mattresses in the evening by the light of a solar-powered bulb. The 50 dollars a day he earns is kept aside for schooling and marriages of his three daughters. Credit: Manipadma Jena/IPS
What can mini-grids can do? Plenty
A recent evaluation of the mini-grids' impact on communities they serve in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh already show a broad range of economic, social and environmental benefits.
Entrepreneurship and new businesses have grown, with 70 percent existing micro-businesses reporting increased number of costumers after connecting to the mini-grids and 80 percent planned to expand.
Nine in 10 household users said their children's daily study time has increased by two hours since they got the lights. Women said they had increased mobility after dark and theft cases had fallen. Use of kerosene and diesel has fallen dramatically — to virtually zero, according to Khanna.
Micro-businesses like cyber cafes, fuel stations, mobile and fan repair shops, banks, schools and hospitals are the fastest growing commercial customer section of mini-grids constructed under Smart Power India.
In Shivpura village of Uttar Pradesh, where TARA Urja, a small energy service company (ESCO), started providing reliable electricity from a 30-KW solar plant, Sandeep Jaiswal set up a water purification processor in 2015. In just over a month he was rushing 1,200 litres of water on his new mini-truck to 40 customers. TARA, also a social business incubator, has financially supported Jaiswal with 530 dollars, in return for a one-year contract to source electricity from TARA.
Smart Power India supports the development of rural micro-enterprises through loans, community engagement and partnerships with larger companies with rural value chains, for instance, city malls that source vegetables from rural farms.
India confronts a demographic youth 'bulge' with 64 percent in the working age group in 2020, requiring 10 million new jobs every year in the coming decade. Using green mini-grids to create rural livelihoods can also reduce urban migration.
Innovating a business model that propels construction of mini-grids
Mini-grids are a decentralized system providing a renewable energy-based electricity generator with a capacity of 10 kilowatts or more, with a target consumer group it supplies through a stand-alone distribution network.
The sustainability of private companies in the rural power supply sector depends on generating sufficient revenue long-term. To make it profitable for smaller-scale ESCOs to bring electricity to rural parts of the developing world, the Smart Power model ensures fast-growing sectors with significant energy needs such as telecom towers in rural areas, to provide steady revenue. In return, the ESCOs provide contractual guarantee of reliable power supply to the towers.
"There is an opportunity to catalyze the telecommunication and off-grid energy sectors. Currently cell phone towers in rural areas are often powered by expensive diesel generators and companies are looking for cheaper alternatives, thereby creating the possibility for a strong anchor," says Ashvin Dayal, Managing Director, Asia, of the Rockefeller Foundation.
Telecom towers — by becoming the 'anchor' customers – help make ESCOs bankable. They then can expand supply into rural household lighting and local enterprises.
Government figures say 2 billion litres of diesel is annually consumed by the 350,000 existing telecom towers in India, including those in remote rural regions. The challenge India faces is how to meet its energy requirements without compromising environmental sustainability, while meeting its emission reduction commitment to the global climate deal.
Solar power cost per unit has fallen in India to 0.045 cents, which makes it increasingly feasible to shift to renewable powered mini-grids, saving substantial subsidies spent on fossil fuels. The government in 2016 decided to construct 10,000 mini-grids in the next five years of 500 megawatt (MW) capacity, but this is clearly not enough, say experts.
India has a potential for 748,990 MW of solar power. Fourteen states, including Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, receive irradiance above the annual global average of 5 kilowatt-hours per square meter per day.
Around the world, approximately 1.3 billion people lack access to reliable and affordable means of electricity without which, growing their incomes, improving food security and health, educating children, accessing key information services becomes a major challenge. Energy access is critical to achieving several UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
Mini grids can power rural economic activity
A mini grid, as defined by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, is an off-grid power system with a generation capacity of between 10 KW and 500 KW. There are a number of other solutions of smaller capacities that rural areas can use such as a solar lantern, a solar home solution, or even a community solution like a micro grid.
But a mini grid is the only alternativethat provides the kind of electricity that can be used for business activities, Jaideep Mukherjee, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Smart Power India told The Hindu .
"One of the deficiencies of the other off-grid power solution models is that while these solutions are good in moving households away from kerosene and providing them with reliable and clean energy, they do not provide the energy required to fuel enterprise or commercial activity. You will not be able to power equipment, motors, etc," Mr. Mukherjee said.
"The power that comes out is regular and standard with no fluctuations," Mr Mukherjee said.
Apart from commercial enterprises, rural banks or schools, Mr. Mukherjee said that a large part of the demand for mini grids came from telecom service providers for powering mobile towers.
"They (mobile towers) have a presence across rural India and all of them suffer from inadequate power and so have to use diesel," Mr. Mukherjee said. "There is a national mandate to green 50–60 per cent of the telecom towers and also the cost of using diesel is very high and it (the risk) includes diesel theft and all the other nefarious activities that go along with it not to mention the pollution. The power demand of a telecom tower is 24/7."
A combination of flexible regulation by the government and erratic power supply from the national grid has meant that mini grids can compete directly with the national grid and, according to Mr. Mukherjee, often the mini grids are installed in places already covered by the national grid.
"Where the grid has reached, the power is inadequate, erratic and not able to meet the energy requirements of the village," he said. "In fact, of the 95 mini grids operational today, technically, almost 80-90 per cent of the villages are electrified as per government standards!"
The Rockefeller Foundation, which has launched an initiative to use renewable power-based mini grids to light up villages, today said it is working with the government to develop central and state policies that support growth of the mini-grid sector in India.
"Beyond our goal of electrifying 1,000 villages, we are working with government to develop central and state policies that support the growth of the mini-grid sector, providing financing and engaging other investors to encourage their participation," the Rockefeller Foundation (Asia) MD Ashvin Dayal said.
He said these mini-grids can be built in 2-3 months, which can rely on renewable power and provide enough consistent energy to light up multiple homes and businesses within a village.
Currently, over 3,500 small businesses, 150 telecom towers and over 31,000 people are powered by mini grids under the Foundation's Smart Power for Rural Development initiative.
He also said there has been a rapid change in the policy and regulatory environment in India to support the deployment of renewable energy based mini grids.
The drafting of a dedicated National Mini-grid Policy, state-level policy by UP along with keenness by Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha to introduce measures for such deployment reflects India's intent to bridge the current policy gaps and create an enabling environment for entrepreneurs and investors, Dayal said.
The Foundation has initially focused on states with the least access to electricity that includes Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha.
How Clean Energy Mini-Grids Can Empower Rural India
Far from the national power grid and without access to a reliable source of electricity, Sunil Kumar, the owner of a carpentry shop in Siwan, a district in Bihar, used to take three to four days to build a table. But when a solar-powered mini-grid was installed in his village, Sunil's livelihood changed. Today his shop is buzzing with the sound of power saws and electric drills. He's able do more work in less time and take on more customers. Business is booming.
Mr. Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General, has described energy as the "golden thread that connects economic growth, social equity, and environmental sustainability." These words—meant to spur action for the 1.2 billion people globally without access to power—couldn't resonate more deeply from village to village in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, two of the poorest states in India, and where less than 10% of rural households are connected to the national grid. It's also where the Rockefeller Foundation has been spearheading an innovative, market-based initiative since 2014 to bring electricity to the rural poor at a scale capable of stimulating economic growth across the region.
"Mini grids are small enough to construct quickly, rely on renewable power such as solar, [and] provide enough consistent energy to light multiple homes and businesses within a village.
In just two short years, the Smart Power for Rural Development (SPRD) initiative has helped install 93 mini-grids in India. Mini grids, unlike the national grid or small home systems, are small enough to construct quickly, rely on renewable power such as solar, but provide enough consistent energy to light multiple homes and businesses within a village. This influx of reliable energy has given local entrepreneurs the means and confidence to start their own businesses—from cyber-cafes and convenience stores to manufacturing and water purifying plants. Shopkeepers once limited by diesel generators now keep their doors open longer. Today more than 3500 small businesses, 150 telecom towers and 31,000 people are powered by mini-grids.
Mini-grids are not a new phenomenon in India. A handful of villages have used them for years, albeit on a modest scale. But the SPRD initiative is the first to pursue the creation of a mini-grid sector big and robust enough to fuel commercial enterprises and drive economic development beyond one village to many villages.
To achieve this catalyst effect, to build a new sector at scale, the Foundation and its partners are working to support an enabling ecosystem where mini-grids can thrive. We've worked with government to promote policy and regulatory frameworks so energy companies and their investors feel confident making long-term investment decisions—such as the mini-grid policy in Uttar Pradesh. We have supported entrepreneurial energy companies to build mini-grids by providing low interest loans to support start up costs. We have also established a non-profit company, Smart Power India (SPI), which supports energy service companies to be successful, works with villages to ensure micro-enterprises can grow, and secures agreement from telecom and other growing sectors to be anchor customers – ensuring a steady flow of revenue to the mini-grid operators. On the policy front, SPI informs government about policies that will create a pathway for mini-grids to expand in tandem with and be mutually reinforcing for the national grid.
Each partner in this system plays a crucial role in supporting the growth of this new sector, and the Foundation's ultimate goal is to impact more than one million lives and establish self-sustaining momentum in the energy market for a new rural electrification model.
A recent evaluation of the mini-grids' impact in the communities they serve uncovered a broad range of benefits:
• 70% of micro-businesses report increased numbers of customers
• 80% say they plan to expand their business
• Entrepreneurship and the number of new businesses has grown, particularly among women who are having to spend less time on household work, freeing them to start new ventures.
Social and Environmental Impact
• 87% of household users say their children use light to study after dark, increasing their average daily study time by two hours
• 86% of women surveyed reported increased mobility and a reduction in theft
• 50% of household users reported reduced eye problems
• A dramatic decline in the use of fossil fuels: kerosene use dropped from 21% to 0%; diesel from 52% to 0%.
Supplying rural areas with strong and reliable electricity is never a simple proposition. But as these initial outcomes show, it can be done if there's an enabling ecosystem that allows renewable solutions like mini-grids to take hold and scale.
"Today more than 3500 small businesses, 150 telecom towers and 31,000 people are powered by mini-grids.
India's rise as a global economic power—and its goal of delivering power to 237 million "energy poor" people by 2022—will depend on large-scale solutions to its energy infrastructure. On 2 October, India ratified the Paris climate agreement. Greater reliance on renewable energy will also reduce the country's use of coal and other fossil fuels that contribute to climate change.
The experience in the lives of rural villagers in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh illustrates the power and potential of that golden thread of energy that the UN Secretary-General so profoundly envisions. We are committed to doing our part to spur renewable energy access and economic development in India by working with our grantees and partners to guide that thread through the needle.
UP becomes lab for green energy firms looking to tap rural market
Companies, non-profits are testing the viability of supplying power from mini-grids and solar-powered systems
New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh, home to about 16% of India's 1.2 billion population, many of whom have poor or no access to power, is emerging as the preferred testing ground for non-profits and companies trying out new business models as they seek to tap rising demand for electricity in rural India.
Across the state, these organizations are testing the viability of supplying electricity from mini-grids and solar-powered lighting systems specially designed for villages and small enterprises.
The first customers are telcos whose telecom towers in remote parts of the country have, until now, been powered by diesel generators; and shops, even individual households, in villages that were hitherto illuminated by kerosene lanterns.
According to Zia Khan, vice-president, initiatives and strategy at the Rockefeller Foundation, which has committed $75 million of debt financing and early investment capital to energy services companies in India, the market for mini-grids in Uttar Pradesh is promising.
"More consumers are signing up, no one has dropped out of the mini-grid ecosystem and more energy service companies are coming up," said Khan.
The foundation provides finance for setting up micro-grids, helps these utilities in finding anchor customers (mostly telcos), and in marketing power to households and small commercial establishments.
About seven utilities that the foundation has financed have so far set up close to 100 grids in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. By 2018, they will connect around 1,000 villages.
For customers, the lure of renewable energy from micro-grids is in the cost.
According to Sunil Jain, chief executive officer of Hero Future Energies Pvt. Ltd, the cost of power from a diesel generator set comes to about Rs.22 a unit for telcos, which require higher capacity generators.
"Cost of solar power with adequate storage facility comes to not more than Rs.14-15 a unit. Innovation in solar power and storage facilities could further drive down the cost of off-grid power in the next few years and revolutionize the electricity sector," said Jain, who is convinced that India's mobile telephony story (in which competition, technology and enabling regulation combined to drive tariffs to the lowest in the world) could be repeated in energy.
For the non-profits and companies, Uttar Pradesh is a good testing ground for models they can apply elsewhere, in the country, and without—in other parts of Asia and in Africa.
According to the International Energy Agency's World Energy Outlook 2015 report, India has 237 million people with no access to electricity. In many villages, power supply is intermittent.
According to executives in power companies, 70% of those without access to electricity or with intermittent access to it are in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand.
In parts of Uttar Pradesh, where solar power is available to households and shops, consumption of electricity is growing steadily on the back of affordable solar-powered gadgets such as lanterns, mobile phone chargers and fans, even entire power systems suitable for a shop. To capture the market, solar gadget makers are tailor-making products for the rural consumer.
According to Nidhi Modi, executive director, RAL Consumer Products Ltd, which has so far sold 2.5 million solar lanterns in villages, a customer can recover the cost of a lantern in about four months from the savings made on the use of kerosene. A solar lantern providing 6-8 hours of uninterrupted lighting costs Rs.695, while kerosene costs a family Rs.150 a month.
Most consumers in rural areas can and will pay, says Modi. Her company designs solar-powered products based on expected hours of use, energy consumption and consumers' ability to pay. "Then we arrange for loans for buyers from microfinance institutions without any collateral," says Modi.
Encouraged by the response, RAL Consumer Products is preparing to sell these lanterns designed in India, but made in China, in similar markets in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
According to Jaideep Mukherji, CEO, Smart Power India, an entity established by the Rockefeller Foundation, the viability of a grid is determined by the number of households, shops and availability of an anchor customer that will buy about 25-30% of the power generated.
He said a two-room household that uses kerosene worth about Rs.180-250 a month could have a solar lighting and mobile charging facility for about Rs.110 a month. "Based on the wealth of experience in villages in India, we are looking forward to similar operations in other countries, too," said Mukherji.
Zia Khan said the social impact of affordable renewable energy power is of immense importance to The Rockefeller Foundation. "Students are able to study for longer hours, women feel safer and micro enterprises stay open for more time," Khan said.
In June, the central government set a target of installing at least 10,000 mini-grids, generating 500MW of power in five years and serving rural India.
Smart power programme boosts small biz in state
PATNA: Raj Kumar Shah of Siwan exemplifies entrepreneurs whose business has grown over the past few months owing to the setting up of a decentralised renewable energy (DRE) mini-grid plant under the Smart Power for Rural Development (SPRD) programme.
Raj Kumar owns a general store cum printing shop near the main village market.
Its being one of the few printing shops among the 150 other shops in Nabiganj village, he has a regular customer influx. However, till a year ago, his printing business didn't reap desired profits; the technology was time-worn, electricity availability was a major hindrance and his financial condition didn't allow for any kind of investment towards machine upgrade. He was losing business of close to Rs 5,000 per month because of his inability to deliver the services on time.
Now, there are 25 operational plants across East Champaran, West Champaran, Araria, Supaul, Gaya, Saran and Gopalganj districts in Bihar. Two plants are in the construction phase in Gaya and West Champaran districts. The 25 plants are being operated, managed and maintained by Smart Power India's (SPI) partner Energy Service Companies (ESCO). These are based on solar, biomass and hybrid (solar+biomass) technology. Approximately, 800KW of renewable capacity has already been commissioned in the state.
The decentralized electricity generation can make use of different renewable energy sources available in the state. Since Bihar is an agriculture based economy, rural areas have readily available biomass and large surfaces in the rural areas can be used for solar energy generation under SPRD programme, says Disha Banerjee, director, policy & communications, SPI.
Banerjee told TOI that the Rockefeller Foundation incorporated the SPI to implement the SPRD programme, which is an innovative, market-based model that operates through decentralized renewable energy (DRE) mini-grids powered by sources such as solar and biomass. Sustainable DRE mini-grids go beyond household lighting with a focus on productive use by creating an ecosystem that drives socio-economic development, she said.
Currently, there is only one anchor customer (a telecom tower) at the Bheldi site in Saran district. This solar mini-grid plant of 30kW capacity was commissioned in February, 2015. However, even when a connection to the national grid is available, the service of electricity is inadequate. Multiple electrification options are currently being explored and the SPRD programme can substantiate and complement the state government's efforts towards rural electrification, Banerjee said.


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Q: Azure DevOps: Creating custom checklist work item We are using an inherited Agile process which we want to customize in the following way:
Add a custom work item type, which is shown as checklist item for a feature in a kanban board. As seen in the agile work-item hierarchy documentation the default child-items for a feature are user-story and bug and they are shown in the kanban board as expected (for reference, see checklist item documentation).
However what I can't manage to do is to add a work item type which can be added as child to a feature and which is then shown in the same fashion.
Any advice if this is feasible and where to configure this relation between feature and my-custom-work-item?

A:
Any advice if this is feasible and where to configure this relation
between feature and my-custom-work-item?

You may add this reference on the Backlog Levels: Edit, rename, or delete a portfolio backlog
Add your my-custom-work-item to User Story Level.


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We can choose to wake up and grumble all day and be bitter and angry and judge others and find satisfaction in others doing bad instead of good. Or we can we wake up with optimism and love and say, 'Just what is this beautiful day going to bring me?'
— Canadian author/actress Margaret Trudeau
ACCORDING to American billionaire Bill Gates, 2021 has been the most unusual and difficult year in his storied life, and we agree that apart from the previous year of 2020, that year had a brief period of relative normalcy before the coronavirus pandemic upended everything into what we now call as the 'new normal'—to which we all have to adapt.
Still, despite experiencing a number of big transitions and reforms in our daily routine, the truth is that it has not changed my view or the love I feel for my work. In fact, as this year comes to a close, I have sat down to think and write about some of the things that would I would consider my priorities heading into 2022.
When Microsoft was started, Bill and friend Paul Allen had a vision that personal computers would one day play a significant role in people's lives, but both really didn't had the slightest idea that this would lead to a future where this would be the only connection to the world. Like what we experience during this health crisis brought by the coronavirus pandemic, many of us found entire days with the only human interaction we found was through a screen.
This has resulted in the most unusual and difficult year of our lives. We were locked down inside our communities and inside our homes and there was limited mobility, so we couldn't visit our friends and relatives nor perform ordinary tasks like going to the market and eating out without worrying about strictly following the minimum health safety protocols and fearing the threat of infection or transmission.
This year, the pandemic had dominated our lives since day one. We've all had to adapt to new set of rules and had to follow mandatory policies and restrictions just to ensure that we are safe and protected from Covid-19.
And we had stretches of time without any face-to-face social interaction. In my case, if I had a break from work, I'd get out of my office and go down to the garage or driveway just to see something different. After work, I'd go straight home (usually with the wife whose office was just near mine) and on reaching our abode would turn on the television, prepare dinner then eat before watching a popular series on Netflix.
This has been a strange and disorienting experience. My personal world has never felt smaller than it did over the last twelve months.
At the same time, this year was a reminder that our world is more connected than ever. 2021 was full of monumental events with global repercussions, including extreme weather events, the ongoing effects of the pandemic and China's continued incursions into our territorial waters and exclusive economic zone in the West Philippine Sea. Every time I watched the news, I was reminded of just how significantly something happening on the other side of the world could affect you at home. It's never been clearer that tackling big problems requires people working together across borders and sectors.
To date, we have registered significant advances in our national vaccination program and several cities and town and even provinces have announced they have reached herd immunity in the fight against the severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 or SARS-CoV-2 that causes the dreaded Covid-19. We are reaching full vaccination for the whole population and we appear to be curbing the spread of the deadly disease that has claimed the lives of almost 50 million Filipinos—out of the 5.27 million in the world.
This is in encouraging for us and we can see this with the steady reopening of businesses and the decrease in unemployment. We are gaining back our disrupted lives, thanks to government's unique pandemic response and the cooperation of most of us in following the protocols for our safety and protection.
In Africa, however—where the latest mutation of SARS-Cov-2 known as the Omicron variant has been first detected—the latest statistics on Covid-19 are discouraging. Just 6 percent—about 78 million—of the continent's 1.3 billion people have been fully vaccinated. Worldwide, by comparison 43 percent are fully vaccinated and boosters are now widely available in many countries.
Without enough vaccines available in Africa, Covid-19 marches on infecting millions of people. Even assessing the true scale of the pandemic on the continent is difficult. A recent World Health Organization (WHO) assessment estimated that only one in seven cases of Covid in the so-called Dark Continent are being detected because of a limited amount of testing.
And while many Western and Asian countries are recovering economically from the pandemic and returning to some version of normalcy, most countries in Africa continue to struggle. Disruptions to schooling, health care, and livelihoods have sunk many families deeper into poverty, leaving them without enough food and basic services.We should all be upset about this inequity. It's critical that more should be done to get vaccines into the arms of the people at high risk for Covid, including the elderly and immune-compromised, who are living in low-income countries. (With excerpts from GatesNotes)(ai/mtvn)
Microsoft co-founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1984. (Photo: Doug Wilson/Corbis Historical/Getty Images)
Bagong EO para sa maximum retail at wholesale price ng medisina welcome kay Eleazar
Pangilinan: Lifting every Filipino family from poverty is TROPA's governance hallmark


When you're a demigod, your mother could be a lonely mortal, a narcissistic goddess, or missing altogether. But come on, moms only get one day a year dedicated to them. So, to mark the occasion, let's celebrate some of the better mothers across the Riordan books.
Having Athena as a mom guarantees you'll always be cared for, be at the top of the class, and receive awesome gifts like baseball hats that grant invisibility. The downside? She's incredibly picky about her kids' romantic partners. Ask Annabeth.
Maria is one of Hades' few romantic partners who stood up to him. When the god of death wanted the di Angelos to hide from Zeus in the Underworld, Maria refused, unwilling to raise her kids in the company of ghosts and three-headed dogs. A good mother until the very end, Maria lost her life at the hands of Zeus. Maybe Hades had the right idea all along.
You may think she's a superficial, self-obsessed deity, but Aphrodite truly loves her children. She went out of her way to aid Piper and friends, even helping them slay giants in The Blood of Olympus. And we imagine her fashion advice is always on point.
Although Natalie Chase passed away two years before Magnus's first trip to Hotel Valhalla, she's remembered fondly by him, as well as her former partner, Frey. As an avid nature-lover, it makes sense that she would attract the god of summer. Her hikes and camping trips with Magnus have surely fueled his sense of adventure.
You can't blame Demeter for not always being the best mother. Her father's idea of parenting involved swallowing his children whole. While she's overprotective of her immortal children, she takes a hands-off approach with demigod children like Meg McCaffrey. After what happened between Meg's father and Nero, you can bet Meg will have choice words for Demeter when they finally meet.
Which Goddess do you think would make the best mother? Let us know in the comments on our social channels!


Rich coral pink, lacy flaring petals that are slightly ruffled along edges, fragrant. Beard is tangerine orange.
Awards: American Dykes Memorial Medal 1985.
Standards - white. Falls - cloudy violet, brown hafts. Beards - orange and white. Ruffled and laced.
Awards: John C. Wister Memorial Medal for Tall Bearded irises 1999.
Fluted and heavily ruffled true blue self with great branching, large well substanced flowers. Beards - dull blue tipped yellow in throat.
Standards and falls - heavily laced cold white. Falls have slight gilt gold rim and fine gold haft veining. Beards - yellow gold. Slight musky fragrance.
This picture was taken before the flower was fully open that day.
Standards - medium dark blue, darkest at base, darker texture veining; style arms medium dark blue. Falls - icy blue white, greenish texture veining. Beards - white. Heavily ruffled. Slight sweet fragrance.
Awards: Honorable Mention 2006, Award of Merit 2008.
Note: the iris was just opening up the morning I took this picture.
Standards - lemon orange sherbet, edge pale gold; style arms with darker midrib. Falls - pale lemon center with darker veining, edge pale gold. Beards -orange, 1" fuzzy orange sherbet horn usually present. Ruffled. Slight sweet fragrance.
Look at all the frills on this iris!
Standards - white, tinted violet at top. Falls - light blue violet, white center and hafts. Beards - cream. Sweet fragrance.
Awards: Honorable Mention 1995, Award of Merit 1997, John C. Wister Memorial Medal for Tall Bearded irises 2000.
This iris is so easy to grow. I had a special friend, Clarence Hopkin, who passed away in March 2009 and always think of him each time I see this iris blooming.
Rich cranberry violet self. Ruffled. Beards - light purple-white.
Awards: Honorable Mention 1977, Award of Merit 1979.
Standards - French lilac. Falls - aster, paling to iris and ageratum faintly shaded buff on hafts. Beards - salmon to lilac white beard. Pronounced sweet fragrance.
Awards: Honorable Mention 1992, Award of Merit 1994.
You can see the 'toeing in' that the top bud is doing. It is crowding out the nice bloom that the Designing Woman has, that I am trying to show in the picture. This would be considered a fault in this stalk if I was bringing it for an entry to an iris show.


I have added tons of old magazine scans of Emilia Clarke. You can go to the gallery to take a look. Please, if you have any scans that are not online here and want to share, feel free to contact me.
Emilia Clarke covers Elle Australia (April 2019). You can go to the gallery to take a look to the scans. Please, don't forget to buy the magazine.
The scans of Emilia Clarke for Entertainment Weekly, March 15th, 2019 issue, are here. Please, don't forget to buy the magazine.
Emilia Clarke covers Elle Portugal (March 2019). You can go to the gallery to take a look to the scans. Please, don't forget to buy the magazine.
Emilia Clarke covers Elle France (November 23rd, 2018). You can go to the gallery to take a look to the scans. Please, don't forget to buy the magazine.
Emilia Clarke covers Vanity Fair, Summer 2018 issue. You can go to the gallery to take a look to the scans and don't forget to buy the magazine.


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Australian cyclones: 'Know your weather, know your risk'
25/03/2019 - by the Climate Centre
Australia's Bureau of Meteorology said Saturday it had "mobilized its full national resources well in advance of tropical cyclones Trevor and Veronica" to help ensure the safety of communities.
"We are tracking very significant weather systems for World Meteorological Day [Saturday], with two tropical cyclones set to make landfall over the weekend," said its Extreme Weather Desk Manager, James Taylor, who added that the storms were "a reminder for communities to remain vigilant to the risks posed by severe weather.
"The bureau is urging communities to follow the advice of their local emergency services and to keep aware of [its] forecasts and warnings. Know your weather, and know your risk."
Some people who had been evacuated from the path of Cyclone Trevor – which made landfall Saturday as a Category 4 storm – were today able to go home.
Summer storms
The Australian Red Cross set up three evacuation centres sheltering up to 2,000 people from remote towns; its account of sitting out the storm in one of the centres was published today.
Cyclone Veronica, meanwhile, originally also a Category 4, was downgraded over the weekend and turned west, away from the Australian mainland, and was forecast to drop in strength, the BOM tweeted.
"It really is quite unusual for two cyclones to happen at the same time, particularly two very strong systems," the BBC today quoted the BOM's Steph Bond as saying; this had happened only twice in Australia's history.
She attributed the timing to a phenomenon known as the Madden-Julian Oscillation that is conducive to summer storms.
Sea surges
"The MJO is a natural phenomenon and there's no scientific consensus yet on what impact, if any, climate change may be having on it overall," said Erin Coughlan de Perez, Manager, Climate Science at the Climate Centre.
"But both these storms were both accompanied by large quantities of rainfall, and this pattern of very intense rain embedded in storms that are otherwise not exceptional in terms of frequency or windspeed is more familiar in the context of climate attribution.
"We are also seeing greater probabilities of more destructive sea-surges with storms worldwide as a result of higher sea-levels, which was the case in Mozambique last week, for example."
The Australian Red Cross has been managing three evacuation centres sheltering 2,000 people whose homes lie in the path of Cyclone Trevor, one of two severe storms to have affected the north and west of the country over the past few days. (Photo: ARC)