Tag Archives: press-releases
Xcel Taps Biomass Of Dead Forests
Posted: Friday, May 24, 2013 4:00 am By MATT HILDNER | mhildner@yahoo.com Xcel Energy hopes to put some of the state’s beetle-infested forests to use through the generation of electricity. The company, which provides electricity to much of the Front Range and parts of the San Luis Valley, will seek proposals for a two-megawatt demonstration project that creates power through the gasification of forest biomass. “Xcel Energy would gain valuable experience concerning the potential use of biomass for future electricity generation and we would be able to determine whether this type of technology is a reasonable and promising way to address the the health of our Colorado forests,” said David Eves, CEO of Xcel’s Public Service Co. of Colorado. Gabriel Romero, a spokesman for Xcel, said the facility would likely be located near company infrastructure such as transmission lines and substations. The company has transmission lines running through much of the northern half of the state, which has millions of acres of pine forests that have succumbed to the mountain pine beetle. The eastern San Juan Mountains also have hundreds of thousands of acres of forest infested by the spruce beetle, but Xcel’s transmission system is less widespread in that corner of the state. In filings with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, the company said it would only seek a 10-year contract for power from the plant. The company also would require full access to information about the plant’s performance. Xcel hopes to evaluate the technology, including its performance at high altitude and in diverse weather conditions. Continue reading
Moratorium ‘Won’t Harm Palm Oil Industry’
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Business | Wed, May 29 2013, 12:46 PM Paper Edition | Page: 14 The palm oil industry should not be worried about the government’s decision to extend the moratorium on the conversion of primary forest and peatland, as the measure will unlikely affect forests allocated for commercial purposes, an official says. Director General of Forestry Planning at the Forestry Ministry, Bambang Soepijanto, said in Jakarta on Tuesday that the decision would not harm the palm oil industry as about 5.7 million hectares of forest areas designated for oil palm, rubber and sugar cane plantations had not been used. In addition, oil palm plantations could use part of about 17 million hectares of forest which had been designated as convertible production forest (HPK), he said. According to data from the Agriculture Ministry, Indonesia currently has a total of 9 million hectares of oil palm plantation nationwide, less than the total HPK designated for commercial use. Earlier the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (Gapki) director of law and advocacy Tungkot Sipayung had said that the moratorium extension would indeed limit the expansion of existing oil palm plantations, which in turn would result in decreased tax contributions to the state. He said that the palm oil industry employed 6.7 million workers and had contributed Rp 30.73 trillion (US$3.16 billion) to state revenues in 2006-2012 from crude palm oil (CPO). The government, through Presidential Instruction (Inpres) No. 6/2013 issued on May 13, has decided to extend the forest moratorium, a continuation of the previous moratorium which resulted from REDD+ an Indonesia-Norway bilateral agreement with a potential $1 billion carbon transaction. Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan had previously declared that the first moratorium was a success, saying that the move had slowed the country’s deforestation rate to 450 hectares per year during 2010-2011, from 3.5 million hectares per year in the period of 1999-2002. In the first moratorium, the government had allocated 69.14 million hectares of primary forest and peatland for non-commercial use but this was decreased to 64.79 million hectares following a six-monthly-review regularly carried out during the two-year period. For the next moratorium, the Forestry Ministry has decided to protect 64.68 million hectares of primary forest and peatland from commercial use after four revisions. “The revisions were based on several updates, such as spatial-planning data, forest-use data, location-use permit and land-use certification (HGU), and the latest survey of primary forest and peatland,” he explained. The latest revision will take effect for six months until the next regular six-monthly-review. It will only affect new land-use permit proposals and not affect existing permits which are not due to expire until the next revision. (koi) Continue reading
Now Smell This: Jo Malone Velvet Rose & Oud + Venustus Water Perfume
MAY 27, 2013 by Alison Larsen 0 As Winter closes in on us, it’s time to think about buying a warming fragrance. We already know how closely memory and scent are linked, so don’t underestimate the power of a new smell to take you on a sensory journey throughout the cooler months. The fragrance sections of both Myer and David Jones can be a minefield (and leave you with a headache!), so we thought we’d highlight two perfumes we’re kind of obsessed with right now. Jo Malone ‘s Velvet Rose & Oud flew off shelves last year as a limited edition flavour in the Cologne Intense Collection, and due to its success, has now been added permanently to the coveted Jo Malone fragrance stable. A smoky wood and floral mix, this baby is not for sensitive nostrils. Spiced with clove, the experts say it’s at its best when layered with like-minded notes to increase depth. Yum. Curious? Try it alongside Jo Malone’s Dark Amber & Ginger Lily to smell like no one else in the room. Another favourite right now is Sydney spa Venustus ’s Altruism Water Perfume. Mixed from organic essentials oils and pure water, this perfume (and the entire Water Perfume range for that matter) is perfect for sensitive-skinned ladies. The idea here is holistic healing through smell, and Altruism is for the nurturer in all of us. An unlikely threesome, geranium, bergamot and spearmint make for quite the heartwarming combination. Continue reading
