GE Accelerates Wind Services Response Time at Mississippi Wind Turbine Logistics Center

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Press release:
11 October 2012GE Accelerates Wind Services Response Time at Mississippi Wind Turbine Logistics Center 

• Facility Serves as GE’s Americas Renewable Energy Logistics Hub
• Achieved World-Class Inventory Accuracy, Quality and Performance at 99.9 Percent
• DeSoto County Supervisor Jessie Medlin and Jim Flanagan, President and CEO of the DeSoto County Economic Development Council, Spoke at Today’s Event

OLIVE BRANCH, MISS.—October 11, 2012—GE (NYSE: GE) today hosted a celebration to mark the first anniversary of its central logistics center for renewable energy components in Olive Branch, Miss. The facility distributes replacement wind turbine parts and solar technology components globally, including to renewable energy sites in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Brazil.

In the year since it was established, the Olive Branch parts warehouse has achieved world-class inventory accuracy, quality and performance of 99.9 percent. In addition, the site has been injury free since its commencement, marking two years of safe operations.

“Our spare parts delivery speed, accuracy and quality are of utmost importance to our customers and to us at GE,” said Andy Holt, general manager of wind services for GE’s renewable energy business. “Today we are proud to celebrate the success of our Olive Branch logistics center and especially our world-class response time to customers. The work our team is doing helps our customers increase power production and reliability.”

Local dignitaries who spoke at the event were Jessie Medlin, DeSoto County supervisor District 1, and Jim Flanagan, president and CEO of the DeSoto County Economic Development Council.

The Olive Branch center increases customer productivity by packaging all parts required for a project together, resulting in customized customer packages. Since February 2012, the center also has provided and maintained a specialized tooling operation for GE’s field services team. Tools created for GE technicians are used at customer wind farms and, in most cases, can be delivered to a site within one day.

The facility is part of GE’s service strategy to further improve customer response times throughout the Americas as more renewable energy projects are developed and existing power facilities require maintenance. The facility is located in a 212,880-square-foot section of a 452,743-square-foot building and was strategically placed near a FedEx hub facility to expedite faster, easier distributions. Olive Branch is located 23 miles south of Memphis, Tenn.

GE offers long-term parts supply agreements that help optimize on-site part quantities, enable automatic restocking and provide guaranteed support for customers component needs. In addition, GE’s online parts purchasing tool, REstore, allows for turbine owners to restock parts at their convenience, 24 hours a day. A growing percentage of the orders shipped out of GE’s Olive Branch warehouse come in through GE’s REstore tool every year.

About GE
GE (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter. The best people and the best technologies taking on the toughest challenges. Finding solutions in energy, health and home, transportation and finance. Building, powering, moving and curing the world. Not just imagining. Doing. GE works. For more information, visit the company's website at www.ge.com.

About GE Power & Water
GE Power & Water provides customers with a broad array of power generation, energy delivery and water process technologies to solve their challenges locally. Power & Water works in all areas of the energy industry including renewable resources such as wind and solar; biogas and alternative fuels; and coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy. The business also develops advanced technologies to help solve the world’s most complex challenges related to water availability and quality. Numerous products are qualified under ecomagination, GE’s commitment to providing innovative solutions that maximize resources, drive efficiencies and help make the world work better. Power & Water’s seven business units include Aeroderivative Gas Turbines; Gas Engines; Nuclear Energy; Power Generation Services; Renewable Energy; Thermal Products and Water & Process Technologies. Headquartered in Schenectady, N.Y., Power & Water is GE’s largest industrial business.Follow GE Power & Water and GE’s renewables business on Twitter@GE_PowerWater and @GErenewables.

U.S. Struggles to Rescue Green Program Hit by Fraud

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The following is an excerpt from an article in:


The New York Times
Friday, October 12, 2012

U.S. Struggles to Rescue Green Program Hit by Fraud

By MATTHEW L. WALD

WASHINGTON — A Maryland man is awaiting sentencing for what may seem an unusual crime: selling bogus renewable energy credits and using the $9.3 million in illicit proceeds to buy jewelry and a fleet of luxury cars.

In a similar case in Texas, a man has been indicted for selling a whopping $42 million in counterfeit credits. He bought real estate, a Bentley and a Gulfstream jet.

As a result of such cases, the Environmental Protection Agency is scrambling to retool a program that relies on such credits to encourage the use of cleaner diesel fuel in engines. The refining industry has meanwhile seized on the schemes to argue that government fuel mandates don’t work and the rules should be relaxed or scrapped.

Under the E.P.A. program, initiated in 2009, a producer who makes diesel fuel from vegetable oils and animal fats receives renewable energy credits for every gallon manufactured. The producer can then resell the credits to refiners, who pay millions of dollars for them under a government mandate to support a minimum level of production.

The credits can also be resold, a commonplace activity in the arena of corporate compliance with federal environmental rules.

The problem is that at least three companies were selling bogus credits without producing any biodiesel at all, the E.P.A. has said in announcements over the last year. Agency officials declined to comment for this article.

Now no one is certain how many of the credits are real. So far, more than $100 million in fraudulent credits have been identified, the refining industry estimates. That amounts to roughly 5 percent of the credits issued since 2009, but the percentage could rise as current investigations of other producers progress.

The credits are easier to counterfeit than hundred-dollar bills. Known as “renewable identification numbers,” or RINs, the 38-digit credits have no physical form and are traded electronically. Exxon Mobil, Marathon and Sunoco are among the many big companies that have bought bogus credits.

For more, visit www.nytimes.com.

For Solar Panel Industry, a Volley of Trade Cases

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The following is an excerpt from an article in:


The New York Times
Friday, October 12, 2012

For Solar Panel Industry, a Volley of Trade Cases

By KEITH BRADSHER

HONG KONG — The solar panel manufacturing industry in the United States and Europe has begun a volley of trade cases against imports, following the same track as the steel industry before it — and for many of the same reasons.

“Back in the ’60s and ’70s, all over the world, governments were investing in steel mills,” said Nicholas Tolerico, a retired American trade official and steel executive. “These days, they invest in solar panels, and you end up with the same overcapacity and cutthroat pricing.”

The Commerce Department issued a final ruling Wednesday that would impose tariffs of 24 to 36 percent on solar panels imported from China. The department concluded, despite China’s denials, that manufacturers had received government subsidies and had “dumped” solar panels on the United States market for less than it cost to manufacture and ship them.

Solar panel manufacturers in the United States are now lobbying the Obama administration to broaden the tariffs to include solar panels made partly in China and partly in other places, notably Taiwan. And the American industry is not ruling out more trade cases against other Asian solar panel exporters.

In Brussels, the European Union has started a trade investigation into solar panel imports from China, a case covering imports worth $26.5 billion last year. And the European industry is seeking a second case against Chinese solar panel exports, accusing them of benefiting from government subsidies.

Shen Danyang, a spokesman for China’s commerce ministry, said in a statement on Thursday that the United States had disregarded “the reasonable defense of the Chinese government and Chinese enterprises,” and he expressed “strong dissatisfaction” with the Commerce Department’s decision.

He also said that the American decision to put import tariffs on a category of renewable energy imports was harmful to global efforts to address climate change. And he warned that the American action was likely to result in reduced Chinese imports of raw materials and factory equipment for the solar panel industry.

For more, visit www.nytimes.com.

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News release from NREL:

NREL Nano-Technology Solar Cell Achieves 18.2% Efficiency

Breakthrough should eliminate need for anti-reflection layer, cutting costs

Friday, October 12, 2012

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have produced solar cells using nanotechnology techniques at an efficiency – 18.2% -- that is competitive. The breakthrough should be a major step toward helping lower the cost of solar energy.
NREL tailored a nanostructured surface while ensuring that the light-generated electricity can still be collected efficiently from the solar cell. The researchers made nano-islands of silver on a silicon wafer and immersed it briefly in liquids to make billions of nano-sized holes in each square-inch of the silicon wafer surface. The holes and silicon walls are smaller than the light wavelengths hitting them, so the light doesn't recognize any sudden change in density at the surface and, thus, don't reflect back into the atmosphere as wasted energy. The researchers controlled the nanoshapes and the chemical composition of the surface to reach record solar cell efficiencies for this 'black silicon' material.

The paper, "An 18.2%-efficient black-silicon solar cell achieved through control of carrier recombination in nanostructures" by NREL's Jihun Oh, Hao-Chih Yuan, and Howard Branz, currently appears on Nature Nanotechnology's website.

Typically, solar cell manufacturers must add an extra anti-reflection layer, or two, to their cells, which boosts costs significantly.

NREL previously had demonstrated that their nanostructures reflected less light than the best anti-reflection layers of a solar cell. But until now, they hadn't been able to achieve overall efficiency with their black silicon cells that could approach the best marks for other silicon cells.

Oh, Yuan, and Branz, first had to determine why the increased surface area of the nanostructures dramatically reduced the collection of electricity and hurt the voltage and current of the cells.

Their experiments demonstrated that the high-surface area, and especially a process called Auger recombination, limit the collection of photons on most nanostructured solar cells. They concluded that this Auger recombination is caused when too many of the dopant impurities put in to make the cell work come through the nanostructured surface.

This scientific understanding enabled them to suppress Auger recombination with lighter and shallower doping. Combining this lighter doping with slightly smoother nanoshapes, they can build an 18.2%-efficient solar cell that is black but responds nearly ideally to almost the entire solar spectrum.

The Energy Department funded the research grant through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Branz, the grant's principal investigator, said, "This work can have a big impact on both conventional and emerging solar cell based on nanowires and nanospheres. For the first time it shows that really great solar cells can be made from nanostructured semiconductors."

Branz added, "The next challenges are to translate these results to common industrial practice and then get the efficiency over 20%. After that, I hope to see these kinds of nanostructuring techniques used on far thinner cells to use less semiconductor material."

"Now we have a clear study that shows how optimizing the surface area and the doping together can give better efficiency," Yuan said. "The surface area and the doping concentration near the surface affect nano-structured solar-cell performance."

First author, Oh, an NREL Postdoctoral Fellow said the NREL study "clearly shows that the right combination of a carefully nano-structured surface and good processing can reduce the cost while cutting unwanted reflection of sunlight."

NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy's primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. NREL is operated for DOE by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.

###

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Press release:

POET SUBMITS COMMENTS TO EPA REGARDING RENEWABLE FUEL STANDARD WAIVER

REQUESTS COULD 'DESTROY' EFFORTS TO COMMERCIALIZE CELLULOSIC ETHANOL

Friday, October 12, 2012 - Corporate News & Announcements
SIOUX FALLS, SD (Oct. 12, 2012) – POET last night submitted comments to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regarding the requests to temporarily waive the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

POET’s comments addressed three key issues in the debate.

1. The RFS has built-in provisions for temporary supply disruptions such as this year’s drought. 

“That program was designed specifically to provide for flexibility in the mandate in years like this and to allow the market to dictate lower ethanol levels without the need to grant a waiver. The evidence shows that the marketable credit trading program will alleviate the impacts of the drought conditions this year, and POET urges EPA to let Congress’s program— and the market—work as designed.”

2. Ethanol’s use of corn is over-stated.

“The ethanol industry uses corn to make two primary products: ethanol and distillers’ grains animal feed. Once this important co-product is taken into account, only 17.5% of corn acres are used to produce ethanol.”

3. A waiver would have a serious impact on efforts to commercialize cellulosic ethanol.

“Granting a waiver of the RFS will send the wrong signal to the investment community and could make it impossible for companies such as POET to attract the capital needed in order to commercialize cellulosic ethanol.” 

About POET

POET, one of the world’s largest ethanol producers, is a leader in biorefining through its efficient, vertically integrated approach to production. The 25-year-old company has a production capacity in excess of 1.6 billion gallons of ethanol and 9 billion pounds of high-protein animal feed annually from its network of 27 production facilities. POET also operates a pilot-scale cellulosic bio-ethanol plant, which uses corn cobs, leaves, husk and some stalk as feedstock, and expects to commercialize the process in Emmetsburg, Iowa through its joint venture with DSM. For more information, visit http://www.poet.com.

Save Thousands on this Lenexa, Kansas Bank Approved Short Sale

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Lenexa Maintenance Free Home with a Finished Basement
3 bedroom, 3 bathroom home with a finished basementSave Thousands on this Bank Approved Short Sale2973 square feet 

APPROVED SHORTSALE! Four bedroom, three bath villa home,! Terrific, open main level with kitchen, bath, formal dining, and fireplace, Loft office/den overlooking living room and main floor. Partially finished basement with bedroom, (perfect for older child), plenty of storage. or could be finished as recreation room.

For more information including address, viewing multiple pics and a virtual tour, go to: Lenexa, KS. Bank Approved Short Sale


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Save Thousands on this Olathe, KS. Pre-approved Short Sale - Olathe Home with Finished Basment

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Olathe, KS. Side/Side Split with Finished Basement
4 bedroom, 3 bathroom side to side split with a finished basementDouble car garage

PRICED TO SELL QUICKLY! TERRIFIC LOCATION!! Vaulted ceilings in living room and dining room, kitchen. Fantastic deck, beautifully covered, wonderful outdoor living area, treed, and beautiful! 4TH NON-CONFORMING BEDROOM IN BASEMENT WITH FULL BATH!

For more information including address, viewing multiple pics and a virtual tour, go to: Olathe Split Level Home


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Top 11 pumpkin patches to visit in Kansas City

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Sure you can take the kids to the grocery store to get your pumpkins, but it is not the same as taking the kids to the pumpkin patch. Here is my top 11 pumpkin patches to visit in Kansas City.

1) KC Pumpkin Patch

The KC Pumpkin Patch has something for everyone and boasts 50+ acres of pumpkin picking fun. From their 1,000's of u-pick pumpkins, scarecrow corn maze, and the Pumpkin Express Train, to hayrides, and the Three Little Pig Farm, it's perfect for pumpkin patching. They even have a Pumpkin Cannon for husbands! To get to the pumpkin patch just head down I-35 7 minutes from Olathe to the 2nd Gardner exit. The pumpkin patch is right off of the highway.

• 29755 W. 191st St, Gardner, KS 66030
• 913.484.6251

2) Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead

You'll enjoy the time looking thru all pumpkins of every kind here! It's the Annual Pumpkin Hollow!  They have a variety of activities for the season! Climb the hay pyramid, play in the corn box, get lot in the hay maze and so much more! Check out the link for the times & activities!  Or call for more information!

• 13800 Switzer, OP, KS 66221
• 913-897-2630

3) Louisburg Cider Mill

The best place to pick your pumpkins, enjoy the corn maze, wagon rides & more while munching on the fresh cider donuts & apple cider!!  Plus they have all kinds of family entertainment & crafts!  Louisburg Cider Mill buys all the apples local along the Missouri River! The cider making method dates back 2,000 years, and it still produces the best quality cider. Louisburg Cider Mill continues the old fashioned methods in the manufacture of our many other products as well. If you go done, bring me up some fresh cider donuts. They are the best!

• 14730 Hwy 68, Louisburg, KS 66053
• 800-748-7765, 913-837-5202

4) Faulkners Pumpkin Farm

Faulkners Pumpkin Farm has miles of pumpkins, gourds, squash, cornstalks, and crafts and boasts a new location in 2008. They also have a great children's play area, train rides, petting farm and hayrides around the pumpkin farm. Open until October 30th.

• 10600 Raytown Rd, Kansas City, MO 64134
• 816.763.4644

5) Kerby Farm Pumpkin Patch
Come on down to the farm! They've got is all!  Spook house, pumpkins, hay rides & so much more! Pick out your own pumpkin! Challenge your mind with our corn maze! Take your family on a hayride! The possibilities are endless at the Kerby Farm and we have plenty of snacks and drinks to keep you warm or cool, no matter the weather!

• 15943 158th Street- Bonner Springs, KS
• 913-441-1766

6) Carolyn's Country Cousins Pumpkin Patch
There are so many things to do at Carolyn's..train ride, hayrides to the 50+ acres you pick pumpkin patch, make your own scarecrow, giant slides, tractor trikes, tractor carousel, plus they have all kinds of fall decorations, potted mums and much more!

• 17607 NE 52 St - Liberty MO

7) Johnson Farms

They have 30 acres of all fall stuff - pumpkins, gourds,squash, & fall flowers!  Great get-a-way that is so close to home! This pumpkin patch is a family favorite. The piggy races are my kids favorite.

• 177th & Holmes Road (State Road D), Belton.
• 816-331-1067

8) Weston Red Barn Farm

The Weston Red Barn Farm has been a favorite of Kansas Citians for decades--and is an educational farm for those young and young at heart. Pick out unusual pumpkins (like Australian Blue & New England Cheese) and gourds or head out on their tractor-drawn hayride to their patch to pick your own. Red Barn Farm also has animals, corn maze and two country stores (both which have yummie RBF apple butter!).

• 16300 Wilkerson Road, Weston, Mo. 64098
• 816.386.5437-due to school events, call for time.

9)Pumpkins Etc.

So I ADORE Pumpkins Etc., I love to drive down the scenic Platte County roads and head there every year. This family run farm doesn't boast glitz and glamour, but a down home pumpkin patch. They've got rows of beautiful mums, pumpkins and gourds galore and a great barn with goodies inside. They've also got the cutest, kid-friendly kittens that make my heart melt...(and they give them away free on Halloween!).

• Located East of Platte City on Farmer Lane (between 92 hwy and HH)816.858.5758

10) Wagon Wheel Orchard
Welcome to Wagon Wheel Orchard, a small family-owned and operated orchard situated on the California and Oregon trails in western rural Johnson County, Kansas, specializing in variety!

• 15380 Edgerton Road in Gardner, KS.

11) Powell Pumpkin Patch
A pumpkin patch that is free to get into and that offers free hayrides. That is hard to beat, isn’t it? This pumpkin patch is in Lousiburg, Kansas.

• 25695 Spring Valley Rd. in Louisburg, KS.

No matter if you choose to visit one or two or all of these pumpkin patches, I’m sure you will have fun.

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Luxury Country Club Plaza Condo for sale - Kansas City Real Estate

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RE/MAX Premier Realty Dowell Taggart Team Direct: (913) 712-9204 Direct: (913) 712-9313 Website or Mobile: http://www.kansascityrealestatenetwork.com/HRT1800960 Scan this with your Smartphone ...links to a Listing Website.

411 W 46TH Terrace Kansas City, MO 64112 MLS#: 1800960 Price: $799,000 Bedrooms:   2 Full Bathrooms:   2 Half Bathrooms:   0 COMPLETELY REMODELLED! UNIT #801 WITH NORTH & WEST VIEWS.APPROX 2100SF ELEGANT PLANTATION SHUTTERS, ALL WINDOWS. PANELED BR2 USED AS DEN WITH FIREPLACE & BUILT-INS. FORMAL LR W/SEE THRU FRIREPLACE. EAT IN KITCHEN W/CHERRY CABS & CENTER ISLAND. FABULOUS CUSTOM MASTER BATH. WALK-INS.INDOOR RESERVED PARKING, PARTY ROOM,EXERCISE ROOM WITH STEAM BATH.

The information being provided is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. All information must be verified by the purchaser. Listing information courtesy of: RE/MAX PREMIER REALTY

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Lenexa, Kansas Approved Short Sale For Sale - 4 Bedroom Home in Lenexa for $127,950

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RE/MAX Premier Realty Dowell Taggart Team Direct: (913) 712-9204 Direct: (913) 712-9313 Website or Mobile: http://www.kansascityrealestatenetwork.com/HRT1769296 Scan this with your Smartphone ...links to a Listing Website.

12340 W 82nd Place Lenexa, KS 66215 MLS#: 1769296 Price: $127,950 Bedrooms:   3 Full Bathrooms:   3 Half Bathrooms:   0 APPROVED SHORTSALE! Four bedroom, three bath villa home,! Terrific, open main level with kitchen, bath, formal dining, and fireplace, Loft office/den overlooking living room and main floor. Partially finished basement with bedroom, (perfect for older child), plenty of storage. or could be finished as recreation room.

The information being provided is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. All information must be verified by the purchaser. Listing information courtesy of: RE/MAX PREMIER REALTY The information displayed on this page is confidential, proprietary, and copyrighted information of Heartland Multiple Listing Service, Inc.(Heartland MLS). Copyright 2012, Heartland Multiple Listing Service, Inc. Heartland MLS and RE/MAX Kansas-Missouri do not make any warranty or representation concerning the timeliness or accuracy of the information displayed herein. Listing Information last updated 10/5/2012. In consideration for the receipt of the information on this page, the recipient agrees to use the information solely for the private non-commercial purpose of identifying a property in which the recipient has a good faith interest in acquiring. Read Listing Data Terms of Use

RE/MAX sells more homes than any other real estate company.
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