H2 FANTASY TOYS FOR BOYS OF THE 1%

America's Cup: ETNZ developed hydrogen powered foiling chase boat unveiled by Hamish Hooper

ETNZ 6 February 2022
 

America's Cup hydrogen powered chase boat © Emirates Team New Zealand

America's Cup hydrogen powered chase boat © Emirates Team New Zealand

Emirates Team New Zealand’s prototype hydrogen foiling chase boat is in the final stages of a complex fit out prior to its launch in March.

The construction of the boat was started in August 2021 at the team’s North Shore build facility, the appendage construction is in its final stages and the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Powertrain installation is underway at the team’s base in Auckland’s Viaduct Harbour.

The ETNZ Hydrogen project powered by Toyota has been an important one for Emirates Team New Zealand who, as Defender of the America’s Cup, have committed to driving hydrogen innovation in the marine industry through working with clean technologies.

“The Hydrogen project has been a completely new challenge across the board for Emirates Team New Zealand designers, builders and engineers,” said Head of Design Dan Bernasconi. “These types of projects are extremely beneficial to keep the guys pushing the boundaries, continually learning and approaching problems with different perspectives, which all help to keep raising the bar in our design approach to the 37th America’s Cup which is also progressing in parallel.”

The prototype foiling boat is 10 metres in length, and approximately 5200kg displacement, the cruising speed will be 30-35 knots with a top speed of around 50 knots and will carry 6 crew members with a range of between 150-180km generating approximately 440kW peak power via a 400V DC system powered by the Hydrogen Fuel Cell.

“A project like this is not a straightforward one, and we have had to pull together a wide range of suppliers and components for this prototype boat, parts of which look like something out of Back to the Future,” explains Project Manager Geoff Senior.

“Toyota New Zealand and the Toyota Motor Corporation Japan have been a significant part of the project in supplying the 2 x 80kW pre-production Toyota Hydrogen Fuel Cells. Global Bus Ventures have supplied the Hydrogen Powertrain system design and integration and Gurit have been a valuable partner with the composite materials and engineering.”



The four hydrogen storage tanks onboard from Hexagon Purus will store 33kgs of hydrogen gas at 350bar while the propulsion is via a Mercury bottom end propellor which is embedded within the foils. The design of the foil wings by the Emirates Team New Zealand design team was largely based on AC75 technology and the Autopilot which will be used to control the ride height is ETNZ proprietary technology that will be implemented in the new AC40 boats in production.

Michael Rasmussen ETNZ Mechatronics Engineer said, “It is a learning curve for everyone involved, but it always is when we are driving technology into new territory. But with that comes really focused engagement from everyone involved to produce something we hope will reach the objectives we set out to achieve in driving a clean change in the global marine industry from down here in New Zealand.



America's Cup hydrogen powered chase boat - photo © Emirates Team New Zealand

It will be an exciting yet stressful time once we are ready to get it out onto the water and put it to the test, which seems to be the way with every boat Emirates Team New Zealand creates.”

The prototype boat is expected to launch early next month and will be put through a thorough sea trial to work through all the complex systems involved to get the boat up and flying.

An integral supporter to The ETNZ Hydrogen project powered by Toyota is Emirates Team New Zealand Sustainability Ambassador and former Chair of Directors, Sir Stephen Tindall, who along with helping to fund the project also believes that strategically clean hydrogen will be a very important part of New Zealand’s green sustainability in future.

“Green hydrogen comes from renewable energy like wind, solar and hydro and once the hydrogen is used in the boat, the only by-product is water.” said Tindall.

“I believe our ambitious move into hydrogen boats by Emirates Team New Zealand will set the scene for motor driven craft as we did in starting the marine foiling revolution. I am looking forward to seeing millions of hydrogen driven vehicles and boats over the next 20 years.”



America's Cup hydrogen powered chase boat - photo © Emirates Team New Zealand

America's Cup hydrogen powered chase boat - photo © Emirates Team New Zealand

America's Cup hydrogen powered chase boat - photo © Emirates Team New Zealand

Forget Ferries. This Hydrogen-Powered ‘Flying Boat’ Soars 3 Feet Above Water and Has Room for 13 People

It's expected to debut in Dubai in November next year.

By RACHEL CORMACK

ROBB REPORT

The Jet ZeroEmission

A “flying boat” may sound like an oxymoron, but a certain Swiss start-up is ready to prove otherwise.

The Jet ZeroEmission is launching what it claims will be the world’s first hydrogen-powered flying boat next year in Dubai. The startup has partnered with Zenith Marine and DWYN to build the new zero-emissions vessel, which has been fittingly christened the Jet.

With a futuristic, spaceship-like silhouette, the yacht will measure roughly 33 feet from tip to tail and is designed to carry up to 12 passengers and a captain. As its moniker suggests, it can soar like a jet, too.

That’s all thanks to the Jet’s hydrofoils, which will essentially lift it up 3 feet out of the water to ensure less resistance than a normal planing boat. Foiling also makes for a smoother ride with less wake since you’re flying above any choppy seas.

The Jet’s creator and designer, Alain Thébault, with a model of the flying boat. The Jet ZeroEmission

The Jet’s propulsion is just as forward-thinking. It will be equipped with two hydrogen fuel cells that will power the electric motors for quiet, emissions-free cruising at zippy speeds. According to the Swiss outfit, the Jet will reach around 18 knots during take-off and sit somewhere between 35–40 knots while cruising. It will mainly be dedicated to serving hotels and high-end clients, according to the brand.

It’s worth pointing out that pairing hydrofoils with hydrogen is not exactly a new concept. There has been a spate of designs that combine this bleeding-edge tech. In fact, Emirates Team New Zealand is building a hydrogen-powered foiling chase boat to support the AC75 racing yachts in the 37th America’s Cup.

The Jet can reach 40 knots at full tilt. The Jet ZeroEmission

Still, the Jet ZeroEmission is gaining serious momentum. The company, which is led by noted yachtsman Alain Thébault, has already secured part of the required funding of $11.4 million (€10 million). Thébault brings a wealth of experience to the project, too. The Frenchman previously designed and constructed a hydrofoil trimaran called L’Hydroptère in which he set a world sailing speed record back in 2009. As you might expect, he’s excited by his new projects.

“We are pleased to make this announcement from Dubai, and be able to manufacture and launch ‘The Jet’, which is going to be the world’s first boat to sail without noise, waves, or emissions,” Thébault said in a statement.

The Jet is slated to take its first flight during the COP28 UAE climate conference in Dubai in November 2023.

Check out more photos below:

The Jet ZeroEmission




The Jet ZeroEmission




The Jet ZeroEmission




The Jet ZeroEmission




The Jet ZeroEmission




The Jet ZeroEmission

Sanlorenzo Will Debut Its First Hydrogen-Powered Superyacht in 2024

The zero-emissions 164-footer has been earmarked for the CEO, naturally.

By RACHEL CORMACK

Sanlorenzo

There’s been a lot of chatter about hydrogen-powered superyachts, but Sanlorenzo now has a concrete plan to get one to sea.

The Italian yacht builder, which is no stranger to innovation, has announced that it will deliver a 164-footer equipped with hydrogen fuel cells as soon as 2024. Sanlorenzo’s CEO Massimo Perotti is so confident in the design, in fact, that he is backing it himself, as reported by the Superyacht Times.

Perotti has bought the very first hull in order to fund the development and test the new technology before making it available for Sanlorenzo’s clients. Think of him as a very lucky test pilot. The CEO also confirmed that this will be the world’s first 164-foot motor yacht to feature the emissions-free technology.



Sanlorenzo’s CEO Massimo Perotti has bought the hydrogen-powered superyacht for himself. Wikimedia Commons

To help with the lofty endeavor, Sanlorenzo has signed an exclusive agreement with Siemens Energy. Together, the duo plan to more widely integrate fuel cells in the 79 to 262 foot (24–80 meter) yachting sector with a new generation hybrid (diesel-electric) propulsion system that will be showcased for the first time in the new superyacht.

So, how does it work? According to the yard, the hydrogen fuel cells will generate electricity from reformed methanol to power the vessel. This means that yachts fitted with this “Net-zero GHG emission” system will be able to produce clean, green energy even when the generators and engines are switched off. In turn, the vessels will rely less on diesel fuel while both at anchor and at sea to lower the overall environmental impact and increase efficiency.

Sanlorenzo’s SL120A—for Asymmetric—divides space differently than similar-sized motoryachts. Sanlorenzo/Thomas Pagani

It’s worth noting that the hydrogen setup will power the hotel load and not the propulsion system as that’s considered to be the most damaging when it comes to carbon emissions.

Sanlorenzo has not yet shared any details about the superyacht’s design, but the yard has been exploring asymmetrical designs more frequently with models like the SL120A. If this 164-footer is anything like the rest of the fleet, we should be in for a surprise.

Opinion: Tunisia’s democracy is disappearing before our eyes

A man shouts during a demonstration marking the ninth anniversary of the assassination of leftist opposition leader Chokri Belaid in Tunis on Feb. 2. 

(Mohamed Messara/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

By Josh Rogin

Columnist
February 3, 2022 

While we are distracted by the looming war in Europe, the “genocide Olympics” in China and the never-ending pandemic, the last hope for a successful Arab democracy in the Middle East is fading. Tunisia, the only real success story from the Arab Spring, is slipping into the autocratic abyss — and the United States is nowhere to be seen.

Opinions to start the day, in your inbox. Sign up.


Last July, When President Kais Saied sacked the prime minister, dissolved the parliament and turned the military on his political opponents, the international community generally expressed cautious optimism that Saied would quickly hand back the power he had just grabbed. Despite warnings that he was perpetrating a “self-coup,” the Biden administration decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Nearly seven months later, there’s no room left for such wishful thinking. Saied has extended his 30-day state of emergency repeatedly. He took over control of the courts, which sentenced former president Moncef Marzouki to four years in prison in December. He had plainclothes police arrest a former justice minister, part of his clampdown on the main opposition party Ennahdha and all other political opposition.

Amnesty International recently reported that the Tunisian military, controlled by Saied, now routinely tries, convicts and punishes civilians, including political activists and journalists, as part of the president’s crackdown on dissent and free speech. Saied’s self-appointed ministers ordered police forces to shut down the government’s anti-corruption authority. Saied has effectively consolidated total power over the government and dismantled Tunisia’s messy but functioning system based on political inclusion and checks and balances.


When Saied rolled out his new “political roadmap” in December, the State Department made encouraging noises. Left out were the details that the president plans to personally choose the officials who will write the new constitution, which will lay out the ground rules for elections scheduled for December. If he’s not yet a dictator with total power over the government, he’s well on his way.

“Tunisia was the place where the Arab Spring started and stood as proof that democracy could succeed, even in a country with a significant Islamist constituency,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who traveled to Tunisia and met with Saied in September, told me. “And now we’re left scrambling with a quasi-dictator and real uncertainty as to which way this country is heading.”

Murphy said it’s time to signal to Saied and the rest of his country that the U.S. relationship with Tunisia will suffer greatly if the president doesn’t change course. Saied’s moves were enormously popular among Tunisians last year, but that popularity is fading steadily as citizens realize that Saied’s drastic moves are not resulting in the end of their economic crisis, as he had promised. This gives the United States some leverage and an opportunity, Murphy said.

A multibillion-dollar loan from the International Monetary Fund and a $500 million infrastructure grant from the Millennium Challenge Corporation to Tunisia are both stalled. The State Department is holding back some military support funds, and Congress is threatening to reduce or cancel U.S. economic assistance to Tunisia unless conditions improve.

“People love him because he’s promised not just to root out corruption, but to turn around the economy,” Murphy said. “He can’t do that without the West.”

Some lawmakers, such as Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), support sanctions on Tunisian officials who participate in the crackdowns. “Unfortunately, the administration has not taken this issue seriously, even in some cases praising Saied, despite claiming to support a pro-democracy agenda,” Wilson told me. Sanctions might turn Saied even more against Washington rather than persuade him to abandon his march toward autocracy. But the U.S. government’s response in Tunisia is not just about Tunisia.

There’s growing belief throughout the Middle East that the Biden administration wasn’t serious when it came into office promising to put human rights at the center of its foreign policy agenda and preaching about the struggle between democracies and autocracies. President Biden’s team has largely looked the other way as Arab autocrats in places such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates disregard all international concerns about their own human rights abuses.

“We are seeing an approach that privileges security concerns so far above and beyond human rights, they’re not even in the same room anymore,” said Sarah Holewinski, Washington director at Human Rights Watch. “Unfortunately it looks an awful lot like rolling out the red carpet to dictators and giving human rights a seat somewhere in the overflow room.”

Tunisia is an important security partner. But history shows that autocratic dictatorships over the long term breed more instability and extremism, and therefore make much worse security partners than even messy democracies.

There’s understandable fatigue in Washington and reluctance for yet another run at pushing democratic values in Middle Eastern countries. But if we don’t do it, we’re abandoning the aspirations of millions and consigning the region to deeper chaos and an endless cycle of violence that will eventually blow back onto our shores.




Opinion by Josh Rogin is a columnist for the Global Opinions section of The Washington Post. He writes about foreign policy and national security. Rogin is also a political analyst for CNN. He previously worked for Bloomberg View, the Daily Beast, Foreign Policy, Congressional Quarterly, Federal Computer Week and Japan's Asahi Shimbun newspaper. Twitter

‘We need politicians and experts’: how Chile is putting the climate crisis first


President Gabriel Boric has brought renowned named climate scientist Maisa Rojas into government to help ensure a greener future

Maisa Rojas believes Chile could become a leader in the fight against climate change. Photograph: www.cristianprado.cl

John Bartlett in Santiago
Sat 5 Feb 2022

Hidden behind the Andes in a quiet corner of South America, a formidable generation of former student leaders are putting together one of the world’s most exciting progressive movements.

On 11 March, Gabriel Boric, 35, a tattooed leftist with a steely resolve to reform Chile from the bottom up, will become the country’s youngest ever president – and his green agenda is echoing across the world as time ticks away on an impending climate catastrophe.


“It is so exciting to see what these young people have done,” says Maisa Rojas, 49, a renowned Chilean climate scientist who has been named environment minister in a cabinet including several of Boric’s student protest generation.

“These people were university leaders just 10 years ago, but they’ve brought a completely fresh perspective to the challenges of the 21st century, including climate change.”

Gabriel Boric in Santiago, Chile, in January. Photograph: Alberto Valdés/EPA

On 24 January, Boric named a female-majority cabinet for the first time in Chile’s history. Rojas, one of 14 women among the 24 ministers, is a prominent academic at the University of Chile, where she first studied physics in the 1990s, and the director of the country’s interdisciplinary Centre for Climate and Resilience Research.

She holds a PhD in atmospheric physics from Lincoln College, Oxford, and was one of the authors of August 2021’s ominous Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, which warned that big climate changes, caused by human activity, were now inevitable and irreversible.

But now, after a distinguished career in academia, Rojas will lead the way on Boric’s ambitious promise to construct a green, sustainable and resilient future for Chile.


Chile’s president-elect names progressive, majority-women cabinet


“I think there’s a lot of space for Chile to become a leader in the fight against climate change,” she says, “I would love to be able convince other countries that ambitiously tackling climate change is in their best interests.”

While international leadership would be vitally important in a region noted for its climate pariahs, led by the notorious Brazilian president, Jaír Bolsonaro, Chile’s extraordinary variety of landscapes and climates also make the country uniquely vulnerable to climate change at home, with prolonged droughts increasingly common.

From the world’s driest desert, Atacama, in the north of the country, down through the arid valleys of central Chile to Patagonia’s dramatic fjords and glaciers, mining, forestry, agriculture and fisheries dominate a raw material-led economy that is among South America’s strongest.

And just as Rojas speaks calmly and methodically about the climate crisis, she is clear in linking the health of the planet to the development models that have brought it to the brink.

Endangered flowers in the Atacama desert, Chile, the driest desert in the world. Photograph: Jose Caviedes/EPA

“Global warming is a symptom of the way that our civilization has developed over the 200 years since the Industrial Revolution,” she says. “That has had two consequences: one is obviously the degradation of our physical environment, but the other is structural inequality which, in the case of Chile, is the basis of the social unrest that started in 2019 – and led to the writing of the new constitution.”

In October 2019, vast, era-defining anti-inequality protests exploded in Chile, leading party leaders to sign an accord to work towards replacing the current constitution, which was drafted under General Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship (1973-1990).

The assembly which was convened to write the new constitution has since passed a resolution declaring that the process is taking place in the context of a climate emergency.

Elsewhere, Chile has committed to net zero emissions by 2050 as part of ambitious climate targets. In June last year, plentiful solar and wind potential led the lower house of congress to approve a bill which would bring forward a ban on the installation of new coal-fired power plants from 2040 to 2025.

The senate is yet to rule on the law, which Rojas says is an absolute priority. “When we address climate change, it’s not just an environmental issue,” she says. “We need to look at structural elements of our society, which also means changing our development pathway.”

The receding Santa Ines glacier in Seno Ballena fjord in Punta Arenas, southern Chile. 

“The narrative of economic growth in opposition to environmental protection is a false dichotomy that belongs in the 20th century – I’m not saying that we will transform Chile into one big national park without any industries, but we certainly have to do things differently.”

Rojas is measured and thoughtful as she speaks, and she freely admits that she isn’t a natural politician. “It feels strange to be a climate scientist in the world of politics, I definitely feel a bit out of place,” she says.

“But we definitely need both politicians and experts to be involved in this process. Just because I am an expert, it does not mean that I will make a better minister than someone who is a politician.”

Rojas was pushed towards politics reluctantly at first. After the first round of Chile’s presidential election in November, a very different future seemed to lie in wait when José Antonio Kast, a conservative who made a point of rejecting and minimising the climate crisis, beat Boric by two percentage points.

“I was heartbroken and left in total shock,” she remembers, “I said at the time, I cannot just stay in my comfort zone in academia now – I have to get involved.”

Alongside a number of concerned scientists, Rojas wrote a letter to the British scientific journal Nature to express concern over a climate change denier winning Chile’s election.

Soon afterwards, she was inducted into Boric’s campaign team as environmental spokesperson, before the he stormed to victory in December’s runoff, winning more votes in the process than any presidential candidate in Chile’s history.

Although this is Rojas’s first political position, she has led international climate efforts in the past and was appointed coordinator of the Cop25 summit’s scientific advisory committee when Chile was due to host the conference in 2019.

Although it was eventually moved to Madrid as unrest exploded in Chile, Rojas says the role was a wake-up call that helped her understand the dynamics of top-table politics, as well as the private sector – where she had no experience – and the various branches of government.

The Chilean president-elect, Gabriel Boric (centre in blue shirt), presents his first cabinet in Santiago, Chile, in January. Photograph: Reuters

She also says it signalled a turning point for the narrative surrounding the climate crisis. “Climate change really became front page news in 2019 with the Cop25,” she says. “It stopped being something that would occur at the end of the century and might harm polar bears in the Arctic.”

But at Cop26 in Glasgow last November, as she worked with the team on the annual report on the climate crisis, Rojas felt an unfamiliar feeling. “For the first time in my life I felt something like ‘eco-anxiety’ – I was really worried about what was going on,” she says.

Rojas says she is still trying to work out how she will manage expectations and adhere to the promises made during the campaign, saying that a “ratchet” mechanism, in which goals are set and made more ambitious periodically, could be preferable.

“The expectations are so high,” she says of the incoming Boric government, which is still riding a wave of optimism ahead of its inauguration. “We all know that politics is the art of the possible, but I am confident we can deliver.”

 

‘Italian clawback measures threaten renewables growth’

Open letter from various trade groups calls on government to withdraw Article 16 of Law Decree 04/2022

 3 February 2022  Other News[Image: Octopus]

RELATED STORIES

Renewables groups urge EU to back green hydrogen

8 DECEMBER 2020

COVID-19: New renewables capacity to 'fall 13%'

20 MAY 2020

EU NGOs and citizens press for ‘ambitious’ green recovery

14 MAY 2020

Amsterdam event showcases corporate PPAs

2 OCTOBER 2019

Italian green light for 8GW auction plans

10 JULY 2019

A group of renewable energy associations, including WindEurope, have criticised Italy’s so-called clawback measures as posing a threat to the country’s energy transition.  

Article 16 of the Italian Law Decree 04/2022 (“DL Sostegni ter”) “introduces discriminatory measures” between producers of electricity based on generation technology, creates market distortions undermining investor confidence and risks slowing down the energy transition process, the associations stated in an open letter to the Italian government.

They are calling on the Italian government to withdraw Article 16 and to “initiate a constructive dialogue to define effective and balanced solutions to tackle high energy prices”.

Article 16 introduces clawback measures against photovoltaic plants under Feed-in-Premium tariffs as well as for geothermal, hydro, photovoltaic and wind merchant power plants with capacity above 20kW.

The vast majority of such plants will receive a fixed reference price until the 31st December 2022, based on historical average zonal electricity prices  in Italy.

Measures included in Article 16 will lead to significant wholesale energy markets distortions and on the behaviour of buyers and sellers in the market, highlighted the open letter.

“It might affect the free formation of prices as required by the Electricity Regulation (2019/943) setting a de facto unavoidable and administratively determined strike price for any possible future Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) in contradiction with the Government’s stated goal to promote the conclusion of such contracts in the Italian power market.”

These complex and discriminatory measures will “jeopardise the Fit-for-55 targets”, stated the associations adding that Article 16 of the “DL Sostegni ter” is inconsistent with the proposals in the “European Commission toolbox for action and support” that the EU and its Member States can use to address the immediate impact of current prices increases, and further strengthen resilience against future shocks.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

France, Luxembourg ask Lebanon for information on central bank chief’s finances – sources

Posted on February 5, 2022

Lebanon's Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh speaks during an interview in Beirut

By Laila Bassam and Timour Azhari

BEIRUT (Reuters) -Lebanon has received letters from French and Luxembourg authorities asking for information relating to Lebanon Central Bank Chief Riad Salameh’s bank accounts and assets, two Lebanese judicial sources told Reuters.

The sources did not elaborate.

A spokesperson for Luxembourg’s judiciary confirmed to Reuters in November https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/luxembourg-judicial-authorities-open-criminal-case-related-lebanon-central-bank-2021-11-15 it had opened “a criminal case” in relation to Salameh and his companies and assets, declining to provide further information at the time.

France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Lebanon are also probing Salameh’s personal wealth. Salameh has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing during his nearly three-decades at the helm of Lebanon’s central bank.

A spokesperson for Luxembourg’s judiciary and Lebanon’s justice minister did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday.

The French embassy in Lebanon said Saturday it could not comment on “ongoing judicial affairs”.

When asked for comment, Salameh told Reuters the request for cooperation from Luxembourg was a “normal procedure” not a “legal suit”.

“If they had filed a legal suit they don’t need help in the investigation,” he said.

Salameh denied reports that he had been charged by Luxembourg authorities, and noted both Switzerland and France had previously requested similar cooperation from Lebanon.

Salameh’s role at the central banks has come under close scrutiny since Lebanon’s economic meltdown in 2019, which has seen the value of the currency collapse and swathes of the population pushed into poverty.

The Swiss attorney general’s office last year said it had requested legal assistance from Lebanon in the context of a probe into “aggravated money laundering” and possible embezzlement of more than $300 million under Salameh at the central bank.

The Swiss probe centres on comissions paid to a company owned by Salameh’s brother, Raja, from 2002 till 2015. Salameh has said the comissions were paid by so-called “third parties”, not the central bank.

Reuters was unable to reach Raja Salameh for comment. He has previously denied any wrongdoing.

(Reporting by Laila Bassam and Timour Azhari in Beirut; Writing by Timour Azhari; Editing by Jane Wardell, Matthew Lewis and Alex Richardson)

Yukon Energy signs 40-year agreement to buy hydro power from Indigenous-owned energy corp in B.C.

Social Sharing

• Facebook

• Twitter

• Email

• Reddit

• LinkedIn

Agreement is subject to conditions, including federal 

funding of $150 million for hydro expansion project

CBC News · Posted: Feb 04, 2022 2:59 PM CT | Last Updated: February 4

Yukon Energy entered into an agreement to buy electricity from a proposed expansion of the Atlin hydroelectric project. The deal would add eight megawatts of capacity tot he Yukon grid. (Philippe Morin/CBC)

Yukon Energy has entered into an agreement with Atlin, B.C.'s Tlingit Homeland Energy Limited Partnership to buy renewable energy from its proposed $206-million hydro expansion project for 40 years beginning in late 2024.

"It's a pretty significant deal for us," said Andrew Hall, president and CEO of Yukon Energy. "[It] gives us certainty around the details of how we would purchase the power, what price we pay."

He said Yukon Energy will pay less or the same amount it would otherwise pay for electricity generated using liquefied natural gas and diesel.

The deal is subject to several conditions.

Over the course of the next six months, the Yukon Utilities Board will review the agreement and submit a report to the Yukon government on or before July 19, 2022, saying whether or not it thinks it's a good deal for ratepayers.

At the same time, Yukon Energy and Tlingit Homeland Energy, which is owned by the Taku River Tlingit First Nation, will work together to secure $150 million in federal funding that's required for the proposed hydro electric expansion to take place.

Hall said the Yukon government committed to funding a portion of the project.

He added approvals are still required from the Taku River Tlingit First Nation and Yukon governments, more consultations need to take place — primarily with the Carcross Tagish First Nation — and permits are still required in both B.C. and Yukon for the transmission line that will bring the power from Atlin to the Yukon.

Meeting peak winter demand

If everything goes according to plan, the deal will add eight megawatts of capacity to the Yukon energy grid, allowing it to get rid of four rental diesel units.

Hall said one of the attractive features of Tlingit Homeland Energy's hydro project is that it produces energy in the winter. He explained that it stores water in the summer and generates electricity in the winter months.

Yukon set a new record in energy consumption on Jan. 6 this year, when it reached 116 megawatts.

"We need that capacity, those megawatts to meet the peak demand," said Hall.

Downtown Whitehorse in winter, March 2020. Andrew Hall, president and CEO of Yukon Energy, said the agreement will help it meet the peak demand for energy in winter in the Yukon. (Paul Tukker/CBC)

He added the utility will buy on average 31 gigawatt hours of energy from September to May, every year. The amount is roughly equivalent to what's required to power 2,500 Yukon homes annually.

Peter Kirby, president and CEO of Taku Group of Companies, which owns Tlingit Homeland Energy Limited Partnership, said he was happy to reach an agreement with Yukon Energy on what will be "a generational relationship."

"It is a mutually beneficial project for B.C., for TRT (Taku River Tlingit), for Yukon and for Canada in terms of all of us are working collectively, cooperatively to build infrastructure that reduces greenhouse gas emissions," he said.

Hall said Yukon Energy is required by the territorial government to have an average of 93 per cent of its electricity generated from renewable sources on its grid, and has a goal of increasing that to 97 per cent by 2030.

"Atlin is really important to that future and keeping our electricity green," he said. "And that's really important when you're looking to electrify, whether it's, you know, supporting Yukoners to buy electric vehicles or to heat their homes with electricity."

Hydro-Québec Reaches Agreement With

 Brookfield Renewable To Purchase Output

 From Rivière du Lièvre Generating Stations


MONTRÉAL, Feb. 1, 2022 /CNW Telbec/ - Hydro-Québec and Evolugen, the Canadian operating business of Brookfield Renewable, today announced that they have entered into a 40-year escalating electricity purchase agreement under which Hydro-Québec will purchase the output of the Lièvre hydro-electric portfolio in Québec with 263 MW of capacity. The assets will continue to be operated by Evolugen.

Hydro-Québec (CNW Group/Hydro-Québec)

Given the ongoing energy transition, it is expected that demand for clean, renewable base load electricity generation will increase sharply in the coming years. Hydro-Québec is implementing several strategies to address this demand, in particular by contracting the capacity comprised of four generating stations located along Rivière du Lièvre in Outaouais. The facilities will contribute approximately 1.5 TWh annually, which is equivalent to the energy used by close to 90,000 homes.

The agreement involves integrating Evolugen's Lièvre generating fleet, into Hydro-Québec's generation planning. It also includes priority access rights associated with the US market.

"With this strategic agreement, we are adding capacity and renewable energy to our supply in a context of increasing demand in both Québec and neighboring markets. The opportunity to purchase output from reliable hydroelectric generating stations that are currently in operation and already connected was appealing for many reasons. This agreement is particularly useful for us during winter peaks," noted Pierre Despars, Vice President – Corporate Strategy and Business Development at Hydro-Québec.

"We are pleased to sign a strategic agreement with our long-standing partner, Hydro Québec, to contract our Lièvre assets for the next 40 years. This agreement offers a sustainable and Québec-based solution to meet Hydro-Québec's growing renewable energy demand," said Josée Guibord, CEO of Evolugen, the Canadian operating business of Brookfield Renewable. "Our team works hand-in-hand with customers to provide tailored clean energy solutions, like this one, that fit our customers' objectives and reduce their exposure risk."

Deliveries of output from the facilities began on December 31, 2021.

About Hydro-Québec
Hydro-Québec generates, transmits and distributes electricity. It is Canada's largest electricity producer and one of the world's largest hydroelectric power producers. Its sole shareholder is the Québec government. As a leader in hydropower and large transmission systems, Hydro-Québec exports clean, renewable power and commercializes its expertise and innovations on world markets.

About Evolugen
In Canada, Evolugen currently owns and operates 61 renewable power facilities, including 33 hydroelectric generating stations, 4 wind farms and 24 solar farms, for a total installed capacity of 1,912 MW. As a leader in the renewable energy sector, Evolugen offers sustainable solutions focused on accelerating the transition toward Canada's low-carbon future. Evolugen is owned by Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P.

About Brookfield Renewable
Brookfield Renewable operates one of the world's largest publicly traded, pure-play renewable power platforms. Its portfolio consists of hydroelectric, wind, solar and storage facilities in North America, South America, Europe and Asia, and totals approximately 21,000 megawatts of installed capacity and an approximately 56,000-megawatt development pipeline. Investors can access its portfolio either through Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (NYSE: BEP; TSX: BEP.UN), a Bermuda-based limited partnership, or Brookfield Renewable Corporation (NYSE, TSX: BEPC), a Canadian corporation. Further information is available at http://www.bep.brookfield.com and https://bep.brookfield.com/bepc. Important information may be disseminated exclusively via the website; investors should consult the site to access this information.

Brookfield Renewable is the flagship listed renewable power company of Brookfield Asset Management, a leading global alternative asset manager with approximately $650 billion of assets under management.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements and information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements may include estimates, plans, expectations, opinions, forecasts, projections, guidance or other statements that are not statements of fact. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "will", "expected", "intend", "potential", "can" or variations of such words and phrases. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements regarding the parties' future expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, financial condition, assumptions or future events or performance, including with respect to the expected increase in demand for renewable generation and annual generation of the Lièvre hydro-electric facilities. Although Brookfield Renewable believes that such forward-looking statements and information are based upon reasonable assumptions and expectations, no assurance is given that such expectations will prove to have been correct. The reader should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information as such statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including the ability of the parties to realize the expected benefits of the Lièvre power purchase agreement, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Brookfield Renewable to differ materially from anticipated future results, performance or achievement expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and information.

Except as required by law, Brookfield Renewable does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether written or oral, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Brookfield Renewable/Evolugen (CNW Group/Hydro-Québec)

SOURCE Hydro-Québec

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2022/01/c3220.html

Yukon education professionals get 5.35% raise over 3 years in new contract

Social Sharing

• Facebook

• Twitter

• Email

• Reddit

• LinkedIn

Negotiations were 'long and drawn out' because of the uncertainty of the pandemic, says union head

CBC News · Posted: Feb 04, 2022 5:40 PM CT | Last Updated: February 4

Ted Hupé, president of the Yukon Association of Education Professionals, said the new collective agreement ratified by members of his association includes a 5.35 per cent salary increase over three years. (Laura Howells/CBC)

Members of the Yukon Association of Education Professionals ratified a new collective agreement on Jan. 26 that will see their salaries increase by 5.35 per cent over three years.

According to Ted Hupé, president of the association, members will receive a salary increase of 1.75 per cent this year, and 1.8 per cent each of the following two years.

The agreement is retroactive to Aug. 18, 2021 and will be in place until June 30, 2024.

The Yukon Association of Education Professionals (YAEP) represents 1,186 current members including teachers, Yukon First Nations Language Teachers, educational assistants, teachers-on-call (TOCs) and other education professionals throughout the Yukon.

Hupé said there weren't a lot of changes to workplace conditions in the new collective agreement but the association did manage to negotiate an increase in the pay for teachers who sit on health and wellness committees because those meetings take place outside normal working hours.

He said other highlights include negotiating a 7.5 per cent pay increase for TOCs.

"They did not get an increase last time round and they are one of the lowest paid TOCs in the country," Hupé explained.

He added that even with the increase, teachers on call in the Yukon remain among the lowest paid in the country.

Teachers on call will also now receive a regular teacher's pay on the sixth day of an assignment instead of the 11th, as was the case in the previous agreement, Hupé said

Hupé added the association was also able to negotiate an increase in the pay grid for educational assistants, to recognize their post-secondary credentials.

He added that when educational assistants are required to supervise a class because of the shortage of teachers and teachers on call, they will receive acting pay.

Negotiations 'long and drawn out'

Hupé said negotiations between the association and the Yukon government began last May.

"It was long and drawn out," he said.

He said that because we're in a pandemic, everyone was unsure of the future.

"Because of the uncertainty, it wasn't easy," he said. "We all recognized that this is not a flush, prosperous time for anybody."

The Yukon government issued a news release after the collective agreement was ratified.

In it, the minister for the public service commission, John Streicker, said it "benefits Yukon educators while being fair and financially responsible."

"We are glad to have reached an agreement that supports our teachers and school staff in our effort to ensure Yukon learners have the skills and knowledge they need to learn and thrive in schools across the territory," said education minister Jeanie McLean in the news release.

With files from Sissi De Flaviis