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Clean Energy, Electricity, Energy, Energy Distribution, Projects

RWE Npower Sparks Interest In Engineering

The npower enthuse day recently rolled into Cramlington Learning Village in Northumberland, where over 50 students took part in the one day educational experience. The students, aged 13 to 14, participated in a range of interactive activities designed to help them think about the impact science and engineering has on their daily lives.

The students were encouraged to think of ways to improve existing products or design a completely

new concept, before considering the very real problem of how people can meet and reduce the UK’s future demand for energy. These activities were followed by a ‘facts and fiction’ session where the students were given the opportunity to meet with engineering staff from npower. Throughout the npower enthuse day, the students took part in a series of hands-on activities relating to the power industry.

Enthuse, which is part of npower’s Brighter Futures Programme, is a five year scheme designed to inspire and engage students aged 12-14 years old in science, technology, engineering and maths.

Head teacher, Mr Wise, Cramlington Community High School, said, “The variety of activities gave the students an excellent insight into what it would feel like to be an engineer. Also, the opportunity to meet with staff from npower has really brought today’s activities to life and gave the students a great introduction into the world of work.”

Dave Carlton, project manager of the environmental scoping for Blyth Power Stationsaid: “The main purpose of today has been to inspire students in science and engineering and share with them the exciting opportunities that the energy industry has to offer.”

In 2008 alone, npower enthuse days reached out to over 3400 students across the UK and this number is continuing to rise throughout 2009.

About npower
npower is one of the UK’s largest electricity supplier and draws on 50 years experience in supplying electricity and gas. npower offers a range of essential home and business services to 6.6 million customers across the UK.

RWE npower has been awarded the prestigious CommunityMark from Business in the Community (BITC). npower is the only utility business, amongst 21 other companies in the UK, to receive this accolade. The CommunityMark is a new BITC standard which has been created to recognise companies that are good investors in local communities and who have brought about real and positive changes.

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Clean Energy, Electricity, Electricity Generation, Energy, Green Energy, Power Supplies, Renewable Energy

Sandwell Homes has signed up with Opus Energy to supply their offices with renewable and cleaner energy as part of the company’s pledge to reduce its carbon footprint

Opus Energy, an independent supplier of electricity to UK businesses, won an 18 month contract with Sandwell Homes worth in the region of £1million.

Sandwell Homes, which is responsible for managing 30,000 council properties on behalf of Sandwell MBC, wanted to be proactive in becoming more environmentally responsible. Opus’s simple approach of sourcing cleaner energy for every customer appealed to Sandwell’s vision for both the company and the borough.

Sandwell Homes’ Environmental Manager, Tony Thompson, said: “This is the first step in a series of environmentally friendly measures planned for Sandwell Homes. We will be reviewing our waste, recycling and transport CO2 emissions and hope to make savings for the company and on behalf of the taxpayer in the long-term. We are committed to influencing the local community by setting the example and reducing our carbon footprint.”

Members of Sandwell Homes’ new environmental steering group signed up to the eco-challenge by painting their hands green and marking a symbolic giant footprint at the start of the group’s first meeting.

Steve James, Commercial Director at Opus Energy said: “We are really enthusiastic about supporting Sandwell Homes in their goal to be environmentally responsible. We worked closely with the team to suit the company’s individual requirements and were able to source a cost neutral renewable energy which is Levy exempt. We will also be installing smart meters at no additional cost which is a great way of monitoring and reducing electricity consumption.”

• Opus Energy will be installing over 800 smart meters at Sandwell Homes sites
• The Carbon Trust suggests that smart metering could reduce the average business’ consumption by 12.3% a year
• Other councils using smart meters include Cambridge and Cumbria City Councils

About Opus Energy

Opus Energy is a leading independent supplier of electricity offering tailor-made solutions for the UK SME and corporate markets. Its market-leading innovations are driven by customer needs and the company is committed to helping businesses become more environmentally responsible through procurement of energy from cleaner sources.

Opus Energy has over 40,000 customers across all sectors. Large customers include: Yell Group, Thorntons, Farmfoods, Cumbria County Council and Deloitte & Touche.

Over the last two years (between April 2006 and March 2008), 62% of the energy supplied by Opus Energy to its customers came from cleaner, low-carbon sources – 54% from renewable generators and 8% from cleaner Combined Heat and Power (CHP) produced by CHP generators. These CHP generators have been awarded accreditation by the regulator, Ofgem, for producing cleaner, more environmentally friendly power.

Opus Energy’s management team has a 50 percent stake in the business, while International Power Plc (LSE:IPR.L) holds 30 percent and Telecom Plus Plc (LSE: TEP.L ) has 20 percent. With offices in Northampton and Oxford, it employs 200 people.

For more information please visit: http://opusevolution.opusenergy.com

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Electricity, Energy, Energy Distribution, Politics

Russ Allen, author of the new book Electrocution of America: Is Your Utility Company Out to Kill You?

With just a few months before President-elect Barack Obama takes over the White House, one expert is questioning whether his plan for infrastructure reform is complete. 

Months ago, Obama called for the creation of a National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank to help rebuild America’s roads and bridges.

Russ Allen, author of the new book Electrocution of America: Is Your Utility Company Out to Kill You?, says the plan ought to include provisions for dealing with a little-known but serious form of electrical pollution called “stray current.”

“The way that utility companies in this country have built their distribution systems allows stray current to run through American homes and infrastructure on its way back to substations,” says Allen. “That stray current has killed people as well as livestock, and could be taxing the healthcare system by causing illness.”

More and more lawsuits across the nation are being won by plaintiffs who are suing utility companies over this dangerous issue. 

Mr. Allen says that Obama’s plan should include legislation that mandates utility companies return stray current to their substations on a third wire, just as the builders of homes are required to install outlets with a third wire. “If stray current isn’t stopped, Americans will continue to suffer its effects,” says Mr. Allen.

Some states, including Wisconsin, Michigan and New York, have already tried to pass legislation requiring that utility companies monitor stray current but many of those attempts have fallen short. The attempted legislation followed studies that confirmed the dangers of stray current.

Electrocution of America is Mr. Allen’s attempt to combat stray voltage and the utilities that allow it. In his book, he points out that stray current, or stray voltage as it is sometimes called, can have devastating effects on people, including:
• An increase in the blood sugar levels of diabetics
• An increase in the severity of the symptoms associated with multiple sclerosis
• An increase in the incidents of ADD in children
• An increase in the numbers of fibromyalgia sufferers

There is even evidence of a reduction in the milk production of livestock.

Russ Allen is one of the heirs to the Allen Dairy Farm outside of Green Bay, Wisconsin, and a leader in the movement against the electrical pollution of animals. He won a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Wisconsin Public Service for the damage they caused to his dairy herd with the design of their distribution system.

Electrocution of America: Is Your Utility Company Out to Kill You? can be found on:

For more information, contact the author directly at allen4568@sbcglobal.net.

GLENMORE BOOKS and author Russ Allen chose Arbor Books (www.ArborBooks.com) to design and promote Electrocution of America: Is Your Utility Company Out to Kill You? Arbor Books is an internationally renowned, full-service book design, ghostwriting and marketing firm. 

(Electrocution of America: Is Your Utility Company Out to Kill You? by Russ Allen; ISBN: 0-9779685-0-2; $22.95; softcover; 5½” x 8½”; 406 pages; GLENMORE BOOKS)

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Energy, Oil & Gas, Products, Services

Many struggling oil and gas producers have big ideas, but may find their projects postponed indefinitely or pass them by while they struggle to find funds, not anymore

Commonwealth Capital Advisors (CCA) reached yet another milestone when it released a new software module of Financial Architect®. OIL & GAS Producer™ is revolutionizing the way start-up and early-stage Oil & Gas producers are raising substantial amounts of capital using the techniques of Wall Street investment banks.

OIL & GAS Producer™ is an addition to the highly acclaimed Financial Architect® for operating companies that simplifies equity financing for start-up and early-stage companies. The easy-to-use software based OIL & GAS Producer™ generates the required securities offering documents and investor leads, which enable start-up and early stage Oil & Gas producers, Oil & Gas Drillers and Field and Production Engineers raise and manage an unlimited amount of capital for oil and gas acquisition and or production.

CCA is a ten-year-old investment banking advisory firm comprised of Wall Street Investment Bankers, Securities Attorneys and CPAs who invented Financial Architect®, a patent pending system designed to substantially reduce the cost (in time and money) of raising capital, through the selling of securities.

“The goals of Financial Architect®, and the module we’re announcing for oil and gas production companies are simple,” said Timothy Hogan, CCA’s Chairman and CEO. “We want to help entrepreneurs involved in the oil and gas industry to significantly lower the costs and increase the speed of raising equity capital. Just as important, we want to provide oil and gas producers and their professional management teams with an easy-to-use expert system that will enable them to choose the right deal structure for the capital they need, and manage those funds in compliance with federal and state securities laws, rules and regulations.”

“We believe there’s significant and growing demand among entrepreneurs for control over their financing strategies. The software components of Financial Architect® are designed to meet this ‘do-it-yourself’ approach,” he concluded. More importantly, Commonwealth Capital Advisors has developed and now provides

Financial Architect® as the Premier Expert System for start-up, early-stage and seasoned companies, that seek capital. The patent pending, software based, Financial Architect® is a system and method of reducing the cost of raising capital, as so states the abstract of its patent application.

Financial Architect® enables entrepreneurs to: valuate their company pre and post-money; create “marketable deal structures” for securities to be offered that are designed to sell into today’s private equity markets; create the required securities offering documents compliant with federal and state securities laws, rules and regulations; and access to accredited “angel” investors, private equity funds, hedge funds, registered investment advisors, broker-dealers and many other sources of capital, around the world, that have a specific interest in funding start-up and early-stage companies. Access to investors, more Wall Street secrets and techniques, as well as, regulatory guidance is located in the password-protected “Commonwealth Capital Club” located on CCA’s website and is part of Financial Architect®.

“When it comes to raising capital, there are no guarantees — only degrees of probability. To further ensure success, simply increase the probability to the highest degree possible. Financial Architect® is designed to increase your probability of raising capital to the highest degree possible. How can we make such a claim? Because this is the Wall Street process and without it, Wall Street wouldn’t exist. We’ve simply brought the “Wall Street” process to “Main Street” companies.”

Timothy D. Hogan, Founder & CEO: Commonwealth Capital Advisors “When it comes to raising capital, there is no simpler way to explain how to effectively raise substantial amounts of capital while maintaining voting control. If you read just the first 2-Chapters of the Ebook, “The Secrets of Wall St. – Raising Capital for Start-Up and Early Stage Companies,” it would be time well spent. By doing so, you will be able to make an informed decision if our process is right for your company’s capital raising needs. At a minimum, you will save a significant amount of time, money and headaches trying to figure out how the world of capital really works,” Hogan concluded.

If you have not been through the process before and have a limited appreciation and understanding of it, then we suggest you educate yourself first, by reading the abridged edition of: “The Secrets of Wall Street – Raising Capital for Start-Up and Early Stage Companies.” (It’s Complimentary)

Entrepreneurs around the world are revolutionizing the way capital is raised using Financial Architect®.

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