The investment is expected to enhance Hungary's industrial capabilities and strengthen bilateral economic relations March 11 (Xinhua) -- A new milestone in Chinese-Hungarian economic cooperation was celebrated with the grand opening of ZettaNet a newly established optical cable manufacturing company in Kisber backed by Chinese telecommunications giant FiberHome is expected to enhance Hungary's industrial capabilities and strengthen bilateral economic relations "This newly established ZettaNet cable manufacturing base is our first industrial entity invested in and constructed in Europe," said Zeng Jun The Hungarian facility aims to leverage FiberHome's expertise in the fiber optic cable industry to establish a high-end optical communication manufacturing hub in Europe and logistics delivery to serve the broader European market state secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration and Regional Development emphasized the project's positive impact on the local economy She noted that the arrival of high-tech investments boosts economic resilience adding that "this project marks another important milestone in this process." Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade stressed the importance of evaluating the project's impact on the local community He also pointed out that Hungary's strategic location makes it an attractive destination for Chinese investors and underlined the need for competitive wages to retain skilled labor Chinese Ambassador to Hungary Gong Tao remarked that the project was completed and put into operation in less than a year He stated that this achievement not only demonstrated the efficiency and strength of Chinese companies but also reflected the mutual trust and shared vision between China and Hungary moderated the discussion which asked “why isn’t there more renewable energy on the grid?”  One of the greatest sources of opposition to renewable energy implementation is local and state regulation and the group talked about how this and other factors have resulted in the slow integration of solar energy into power grids a partner in the Renewable Energy Group at Bradley deals primarily with development and finance for renewable energy projects the problem of implementation boils down to five pressure points: Interconnection to the grid Kisber served in the Tennessee State House of Representatives for 20 years before becoming the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development under Governor Bredesen “We believe that the value in developing these projects is in the long-term ownership and in that interconnection especially as those interconnections become more scarce,” Kisber said Local and state regulations can pose a major obstacle to business “With over 5,000 local and state jurisdictions and having to deal with the unique codes and ordinances of each one it becomes a bespoke exercise in trying to get permitting and trying to get land use certificates to bring a project to construction and ultimately to completion,” he said Silicon Ranch has found success in creating solar plants including a recent partnership with Vanderbilt but it took over a billion dollars in institutional investments to raise the capital necessary to support the company’s development pipeline one of the top-20 most-cited administrative and/or environmental law faculty in the United States the backdrop for conversations around the energy industry is the current “vertical infrastructure,” wherein a single entity provides power generation Roughly 2/3 of the country’s energy markets are strictly organized but the rest is open to independent developers but we also open things up quite a bit to these independent developers,” Rossi said “Independent power producers who are non-utilities who can take a risk and make the investment to build a project.”  independent producers still face many roadblocks in the parts of the country that do allow independent contractors it’s surprising anything gets built,” Rossi said “If we were to conceptualize a project today it would still take us 5-10 years under very good conditions to get that project built.”  The issue for the aforementioned two-thirds of the country boils down to long-term power purchase agreements While purchase agreements allow for a reliable revenue stream to finance projects The plants that are created face another obstacle: land but the land must also be optimally located near existing transmission assets which are owned by vertically integrated utilities can be in the tens of millions to sometimes hundreds of millions that you have to incur just to get the project connected to the grid,” Rossi said “These lines are typically owned by a utility that has a strong interest in doing what it can to manage the queue … That can be a big challenge making sure that your project is in that queue.”  The transmission problem is one that will be paramount over the coming decades “If we’re to move transmission forward—what we need to do with clean energy—this is a massive expense item that we’ll need to confront over the next couple of decades,” Rossi said “[We’re] trying to think about ways of designing the network so that we can get better more flexible access to transmission in the future.”  A recent bill proposed by Senators Joe Manchin and John Barrasso seeks to accelerate the energy permitting process at the federal level more localized barriers would still be at play Support for renewable energy has risen over the past few years however some still oppose it due to inaccurate information or poor experiences with companies in the past “We [Silicon Ranch] have gone into a handful of communities where a previous developer has not acted consistent with the community standards and have upset a lot of people,” Kisber said This results in local councils putting in unreasonable requirements that make renewable energy developments impractical Kisber combats this by being transparent about lead times to mitigate expectations and maintain positive community relations Bowles followed Kisber by talking about perceptions on the state level “I will say the Tennessee General Assembly has actually done some really good things for solar in recent years,” Bowles said “We have passed three bills in the last two sessions solar energy still faces opposition on the state level from some Solar’s lack of reliability is another obstacle to its adoption but it is currently the lowest cost form of energy production Kisber believes solar plays a specific role in energy production: stocking energy supplies “Our customers are utilities and oftentimes a large customer—a utility or a data center for instance,” Kisber said “The contracts of the last five or six years that we’ve been doing … Those are energy supply.”   besides keeping average energy costs for big consumers down is creating tax revenues for rural communities Kisber recounted a story about a county Silicon Ranch worked with that had not experience a significant economic development since the 1950s the tax revenue generated by our investment enabled them to give a thousand dollar pay raise to every school teacher Vanderbilt University’s Online Privacy Notice A filly named Aunt Pearl rounded the turn last Friday afternoon in front of the clubhouse at Keeneland race track in Lexington and the reverberations were felt all the way back here in Memphis.  In the crowd watching this year’s Breeders’ Cup World Championships were one Memphis father and his two Memphis sons coming to grips with the magnitude of what they were about to accomplish there was a Rhodes College economics professor sitting at home who had bet big on this filly a bet that would help him win one of the most prestigious events a horseplayer can win one of eight yearlings Memphis native Michael Kisber and his ownership group bought and transported from England last October had taken the lead almost from the moment she left the gate during the Breeders' Cup $1 million juvenile fillies turf race pulling away from the field for a victory heard throughout the modest Memphis horse racing scene “When she came around the stretch in the lead “It was a pretty emotional moment,” added Kisber’s son “because we’ve been trying to do this forever Here we are at the biggest stage in the game Unbeknownst to many sports fans around town the biggest moment in recent Memphis horse racing history may have taken place this past weekend.  The 14-race Breeders' Cup flew under the radar nationally this year given the COVID-19 pandemic So what happened by Saturday may not have registered locally the same as a dramatic Memphis football comeback or the news of when the NBA season will start. In the realm of horse racing this was a landmark achievement for Memphis which owns a 20 percent stake in Aunt Pearl won its first Breeders' Cup race on Friday the chair of the economics department at Rhodes College and the son of former Congressman Phil Gramm beat out 430 other participants to win the Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge on Saturday turning a $10,000 buy-in into nearly $500,000 More: How a Rhodes College economics professor became one of world's best at betting on horses More: Memphis horse racing syndicate led by Rhodes College professor gambles on Preakness Stakes “You get an owner that wins and a horseplayer who wins the contest,” Gramm said “I would say it’s hard to be much bigger than that.” Keep in mind that horse racing in Tennessee was once as big a part of this sports community as it is today in Kentucky Where the Memphis fairgrounds and Mid-South Coliseum sit now was once home to the Montgomery Park race track The Tennessee Derby was held there until 1906 when the state legislature outlawed gambling in the state there remains a small but interconnected community of horse racing enthusiasts who could be on the verge of renewed relevance now that sports gambling is legal in Tennessee again Kisber is a traditionalist who loves racing on grass and he’s passed on that love to his two sons The family bought their first horse in 2008 and they’ve been entering horses in the Breeders' Cup since 2012 That’s how the Kisber's got involved last October at a prominent horse auction called Tattersalls They began investing in European horses because they are bred for grass racing American horses are usually brought up on dirt tracks “If they breed them for grass over there,” Zachary Kisber “we can probably find some horses over there at Tattersalls that can win some big races.” Kisber got to name two fillies and went with a Memphis theme for both: Earnstine N Hazel and Minglewood.  But it will be hard to match what Aunt Pearl has done since Kisber and his group bought her for about $360,000.  Aunt Pearl broke her maiden (won her first race) on 901 Day at Churchill Downs in September wearing Memphis Jockey Club silks She won again in early October at Keeneland setting a track record to qualify for the Breeders' Cup Then she announced herself as probably the fastest 2-year-old turf filly in the world this past weekend “A lot of horses that run up front get tired and get beat by closers so could she hold her speed through the distance?” said Michael Kisber. “But it wasn’t close ever Gramm used Aunt Pearl to get his tournament run rolling He had placed a $600 bet on Aunt Pearl and another filly named Vequist to win consecutive races Gramm’s bankroll went from $7,500 to about $24,000 because Gramm was familiar with Aunt Pearl who co-owns and founded Ten Strike Racing along with Gramm a Ten Strike horse who raced in the 2019 Preakness Stakes.    “It was a lot of fun to see the Kisber’s in the winner’s circle and have that be a part of my bets for the weekend,” said Gramm who finished ninth in the 2019 National Handicapping Championships and teaches a course called the economics of racetrack wagering markets at Rhodes He then placed a $7,500 exacta bet on the final race Saturday the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Longines Classic When Kentucky Derby winner Authentic won and Improbable finished second His bankroll of $170,250 was bigger than everyone else and he took home the $322,500 in prize money Gramm would have celebrated in Lexington with a festive dinner full of revelry So he forgot about the bottle of whiskey that had been set aside for the next big occasion savored this moment with his family over takeout Greek food and a viewing of “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off." “I had the day of my life,” Gramm said.   everyone else in Memphis who loves horse racing You can reach Commercial Appeal columnist Mark Giannotto via email at mgiannotto@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter: @mgiannotto This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page We had moved up from 29 place in dressage to 22 place after a great marathon with non-other than Bram Chardon as my navigator and coach This meant we started in the first half of the day and four-in-hands came in the afternoon session Kimba was all over the place and Al was ready for another marathon But I wasn’t stressed or even nervous about what was to come Bram told me not to worry about Kimba and her antics Al listened to the corrections when he kept getting strong and settled a little and Bram kept directing me as we had trained so much at home With several sharp left right turns in the course  I just needed to give us space and stay straight after clearing each cone just a little longer.  The rule has changed to allow the “groom”  to talk in cones But they are not allowed to walk the course in advance with us We had just one and a half hours from 7-9:30 to learn the course We used headsets to talk and Wayne sat in the grandstand while I walked the course.  The route was cemented in my brain after watching the first of the singles A lot of balls were hitting the ground but I didn’t stress As long as Kimba and Al can go fast they are happy I don’t see any ring crew running to pick up balls”.  At one point Wayne told me to pick up speed and the ponies happily obliged We don’t really have a strategy like others who watch the “split times” we just go fast because we have to to make time After we went through the final cone at 20 I had completed my first Pony Driving World Championships Clear with just 3 seconds slow which equates to 1.5 time penalties and cantered out the arena pointing to my ponies as the crowd cheered Mary Phelps 🇺🇸 but it was early on in the division I even went back to the camper and started to pack Then I thought “I better go get a picture of the scoreboard while my name and the American flag is still in the number one position because that probably won’t last I could tell time would be an issue for many Most World Championship cones courses only have maybe 1 or two “Double Clear”: no balls After each driver the announcer said “and Mary Phelps from they USA is still in the lead.” At the end I remained on top but the best 10 pairs drivers were ahead of me in overall scores (dressage-marathon combined) were still to come was tracking results and we were moving up in the overall standings dream was to be in the top half of the best in the world in the overall standings and still on the leader board for the cones division.  I stood quietly and surprisingly calm as each combination went I felt for the drivers who were in medal contention Our US Equestrian support crew Danielle and Dee had joined our small group and I could see Bram kept looking a little amazed as Mary Phelps USA He was tracking team results of course for the Dutch who were in hot contention (as usual) with Germany Most of the ponies in the top ten were bigger and I believe this is where small ponies have an advantage Cas Hendriks 🇳🇱 came in with his small pony pair Same with Melanie Van de Bunt  🇳🇱 and her small ponies Then Rodinde Rutjens 🇳🇱 the eventual World Champion had one ball too to be in the company of great drivers and now friends was good enough for me We had just won the cones division of the FEI World Driving Championships for ponies My small spicy wild and different Classic American Shetland ponies just became the best in the world for cones Out of 38 competitors in the pairs division we moved from 29 after dressage to 22 after a rocking marathon to 12th place on the top together- Wayne Humphreys my husband and guide As we stood there watching the Single cones awards being presented Wayne (who is 77) said “ I think I might have trouble getting up there.” Oh boy It had been a long week and both of us were stiff and sore Just one more challenge left in the Pony World Championships getting on the podium without hurting ourselves 3 months in the Netherlands training with the great Chardon family and Bram Chardon had come to this.  Hungary as guests of organizer Vilmos Jambor is the greatest honor I have ever experienced they stopped by the podium to congratulate us several made a point to come up to me with genuine words of congratulations I have been good-natured about enduring comments about my “little ponies” That means from now on we ask for the word RESPECT Now we will go home to the USA and play it forward Share what we have learned and encourage anyone on any level IES Group specializes in assisting foreign national equestrians with the US immigration process Read about updates in the law and the athletes they represent Equine preventative maintenance and rehabilitation devices using scientifically proven infrared light therapy Registered properties of HorsesDaily®Inc. A media and marketing company for the Equine Industry. All content under this copyright is the property of HorsesDaily® Inc. Unless otherwise noted. ©1997 - 2025 horsesdaily.com and dressagedaily.com Enter your email address and we will send you a link to change your password was an influential person in Downtown Jackson for much of the Twentieth Century as president of Kisber's Department Stores the gateway to Downtown from the north direction on Highland Avenue will bear his name as the Jonas A Memorial Roundabout was dedicated Thursday morning a little less than two-and-a-half since Kisber died in November of 2016 A federal jury has awarded a Georgia couple $135.5 million for damages to their property by a Tennessee-based solar company and its contractor attorney for plaintiffs Shaun and Amie Harris who live near Lumpkin has developed more than 160 solar panel facilities across the country At “Lumpkin Solar,” IEA cleared and mass-graded about 1,000 acres of timberland farmland and land near the Harris couple that was previously used for recreational hunting and fishing – without installing adequate measures for erosion and sediment control “The result was what one would expect – when it rained pollution poured downhill and downstream onto the neighbors’ property inundating wetlands with silt and sediment and turning a 21-acre trophy fishing lake into a mud hole,” Butler said operated and maintained a nuisance … that caused sedimentation to pollute plaintiffs’ wetlands The court further finds that this nuisance has continued for approximately two years unabated,” U.S The jury returned a compensatory damage verdict of $10.5 million where jurors consider an amount that would punish the companies for their actions IEA and and an IEA subsidiary – IEA Constructors LLC – acted with specific intent to cause harm The jury imposed $25 million in punitive damages against SRC the engineering firm that designed the erosion and sediment control plan for SRC and IEA “The SRC/IEA litigation and trial strategy was to blame everyone else and deny responsibility,” said plaintiffs’ counsel and they blamed ‘erodible soils.'” “Meanness is not neighborly,” Butler said in summarizing the case “and it is a terrible litigation and trial strategy.” said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press that it would appeal the verdicts “We relied on our contractor to carry out this scope of work in compliance with applicable law and in keeping with industry best management practices as specified by the appropriate regulatory bodies in the state of Georgia,” the company said “As the long-term owner of this facility Silicon Ranch remains committed to the continued success of Stewart County and the surrounding region,” the company continued ”While we sincerely regret the unintentional damage to our neighbor’s property Silicon Ranch does not believe the verdict in this trial is supported by the facts in this case.” Please tell us what we can do to improve this article A group of well-known Nashville area business executives is behind efforts to organize Studio Bank which is seeking to become the first newly chartered Nashville-based bank in a decade In announcing filing of a notice of intent to apply for a state banking charter organizers revealed a list of directors that includes real estate developer Pat Emery mortgage company executive Mike Hardwick III and retired insurance executive Ron Corbin Upon approval by the state's Department of Financial Institutions the group led by former Avenue Bank executives will be able to start raising Studio Bank's main round of capital and submit their formal application Studio Bank is expected to offer products and services through a multi-channel delivery model allowing clients to bank anywhere and anytime "The organizing team is well positioned to create a one-of-kind client experience and reframe the way Nashvillians think about banking," Emery said in a statement.  Studio Bank's management team is led by Chairman an Avenue Bank co-founder who was chief strategy and marketing officer for that homegrown lender that was acquired by Pinnacle Financial Partners “The company we are creating will reflect the soul of Nashville innovation and collaborative spirit," he said "Imagine a boutique bank that is hyper-local and bankers who are highly engaged in serving our city — a bank that is social and enjoys making connections bringing together a diverse community of clients and friends." Dorn is joined in management by former Avenue Bank executives Larry Dorris Richard Bynum and April Britt as chief operating officer chief credit officer and chief experience officer who at Studio Bank will occupy the same chief financial officer post he had held with the parent of Metropolitan Bank Corbin and Dorn on Studio Bank's board are music agent Rod Essig entrepreneur and investor Kent Wood and Tara Scarlett president and CEO of the Scarlett Family Foundation Rounding out the list or directors are music publisher Rusty Gaston New York record label executive John Deutsch, former CVS Caremark General Counsel Sara J Studio Bank plans to name a board of advisors (the founders' advisory board) with members who organizers said will represent Nashville's signature industries and civic organizations.  Reach Getahn Ward at gward@tennessean.com or 615-726-5968 and on Twitter @getahn.  “He’s shown us a lot,” Gaffalione said “He’s shown us everything we need to see this year He’s coming into the race with great form He’s been putting himself in the game a bit more We probably won’t change anything up run his race and see if we’re good enough.” Vahva Among Breeders' Cup Pre-Entrants Drill On Dirt was second in Keeneland’s Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix (G2) on Oct and the debates surrounding trainer Bob Baffert Just as it invades numerous homes in the neighborhood and pushes its way into the lives of the locals It is probably the most unpopular resident of Kisbér Krisztina (31) came here to escape from urban life they have fulfilled their dream of owning a small property with a vineyard on the city’s outskirts of Kisbér – a 5,526-souls town about 100 kilometres west of Budapest we weren’t aware of how persistent the pungent stink would be,” she says No matter how hot it is.” The odour even sticks to the washing she hangs out to dry Bakony Bio can feed over 5,800 pigs at the same time 15,000 pigs are processed within the space of one year They use their slurry to produce energy and warmth via a biogas plant at the site Krisztina’s property is situated only a couple of hundreds of metres away with just some trees and a small meadow in between where some of the windows do not even have glass yet but plastic screens to provide some protection Not from the smell but from the fat flies that came to Kisbér with the slurry With no financial resources to face a relocation moving away is not an option for Krisztina and her family Bakony Bio and its odour have turned into a local issue in Kisbér Citizens have been fighting against the company for over 12 years European farmers complain of being suffocated by environmental requirements from Brussels within the framework of the so-called Green Deal it received more than €2.5 million from the Common Agricultural Policy air pollution can cause various health issues professor on One-Health and Environmental Epidemiology at Utrecht University On the road to emissions neutrality in the EU agriculture plays a key role: this sector is responsible for 10 percent of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions And it is not doing as well as other sectors in reducing them Agriculture produces 56 percent of the yearly EU methane emissions And they have scarcely decreased since 2000 Methane is one of the so-called greenhouse gases Farming is also responsible for 94 percent of the EU’s yearly ammonia emissions Emissions of this air pollutant have remained stable for the last three decades despite the fact that the EU has set itself an annual reduction rate of 6 percent between 2020 and 2029 It contributes to the generation of particulate matter when it reacts with other gases” “About 35 percent of the particulate matter originates in ammonia.” Fine particulate matter is particularly harmful to human health: thanks to its small size it penetrates into sensitive regions of the respiratory system exacerbating illnesses such as asthma and contributing to other cardiovascular diseases and premature death livestock farming is the main source of ammonia and methane: It generates more than half of the methane and almost three-quarters of the yearly ammonia emissions in the EU ammonia is produced by enzymes from bacteria when the animal’s slurry and urine mix “We often forget agricultural emissions and the health issues they bring because we still form the picture that farming is just a natural thing But 5,800 animals in one place is not romantic Can a pig farm damage the mental health of residents There are less than 1 kilometre between the facility and the first houses on Kisbér’s main road there are a few small houses with vineyards on a gravel track Krisztina and her family live in one of them The branch of Bakony Bio Zrt in Kisbér is the company's first of four farms all of which include not only a livestock farm but also a biogas plant the farm in Kisbér is supposed to be its flagship The facility uses the animals' manure to produce energy which they present as an example of sustainability and “circular economy” Emissions such as methane and ammonia are generated in this process As soon as the facility entered the test phase several citizens contacted the authorities to protest over a hundred people joined a collective complaint The cause: An unbearable stench of pig slurry “We repeatedly reported this to the local authorities” “But they often only arrived hours or even days later.” By then or the stink might have simply disappeared The local authorities have also approached the company regarding the lack of reports on environmental measures as well as applications for licence extensions The conflict reached a crucial point four years ago: Representatives from the regional authorities the local government and the residents came together to discuss the issue in a town hall meeting The reason: The town hall meeting took place in September during the hot phase of the COVID pandemic Pongrácz alleged health reasons to skip the meeting who limited his role to reading a letter on behalf of Pongrácz Pongrácz defends himself by stating that the company is allegedly committed to reducing the odour through a mix of chemical products and technical measures Bakony Bio has also planted several rows of trees around the farm “which will produce a pleasant fragrance when they are in bloom.” These are all actions that the authorities had already ordered But the citizens have not noticed any improvement “After eight years of pointless complaints and the pointless town hall meeting together with another 118 Kisbér residents The city joined the case by intervening on the plaintiffs’ side and supporting them with legal costs penetrating odour is also a psychological burden: “I feel ashamed.” He and his wife used to get visits from friends But instead of the appetising aroma of a barbecue there is just the smell of slurry everywhere and we lived on the same street – but now they moved away which can have serious mental health risks and also some physical effects” The case in Kisbér is also one of personal fates each of the 119 plaintiffs had to file a witness report with Bence Szentkláray the lawyer representing the citizens and the town She is in a wheelchair and suffers from asthma,” says Szentkláray When she was no longer able to work due to her health situation she moved to the outskirts of Kisbér with her family looking for a life closer to nature They had imagined that she would at least be able to sit in the garden by the small stream on warm days “Now she is trapped where the air and water bring the stench She has been plagued by depression for some time now It was a long and sometimes challenging process for the 119 people to find the courage to stand up for themselves even though it was clear there was an issue to report it is still common to be afraid to take action against companies or politicians,” Szentkláray says people fear losing their jobs if they speak out.”  The legal case has been dragging on for four years now The residents had to wait two years for the first verdict Some were to be compensated with HUF 300,000 or HUF 500,000  (€1,000 or €1,600) an amount the plaintiffs consider “ridiculous and offensive” nor their defence lawyers were willing to give an interview to CORRECTIV Regarding the complaints by the Kisbér residents Pongrácz alleged that odour tests had been performed several times by different authorities and that “each time it was ensured that neither the biogas plant nor the pig farm emits odours that could affect” the local population it has “all the necessary permits for its operation” including the environmental protection permit which has been recently renewed “for the third time” where it has been proven that the odour coming from the Bakony Bio facility in Kisbér was causing unnecessary discomfort to the residents The European Environment Agency (EEA) has estimated how much the emissions of facilities like Bakony Bio have cost Hungarian and European society The estimation takes into account the costs attached to illness the Kisbér farm cost the Hungarian taxpayers a total of €497,000 in 2021 alone The case of Kisbér is setting a precedent in Hungary people from other parts of Hungary have contacted him with similar cases The town is just one of many places in the EU where the population bears the brunt of such businesses a year marked in Europe by elections for a new Parliament in Brussels began with farmers’ protests spread across the continent Although each country had its own particular nuances they all shared a common mantra: the EU’s environmental reforms are stifling farmers who are in many cases the most dependent on EU subsidies “Many of them feel like they have no negotiating power over their income” He is a pasture farmer and regional chairman of the Lower Saxony/Bremen branch of a German Farmers’ Association EU subsidies account for 30 to 50 percent of the farmers’ income Europe’s farming is overwhelmingly a family business: Nine out of ten farms are family-run They also are usually not larger than 11 ha a small percentage of intensive farms (4 percent) control more than half of the land in the EU the number of farms has decreased by a third they were just 9.1 million in 2020; this means that There is a clear trend towards fewer and larger farms In the politically heated months ahead of the June EU elections farmers have presented themselves as being the guarantee to Europe’s food sovereignty: If environmental regulations put them on the brink of disappearance the continent will depend on imports to feed itself However, the EU is a giant when it comes to exporting agricultural products. In 2022, the EU trade in agricultural products had a surplus of €33 billion meaning that the bloc sold more abroad than it bought from third countries the EU is producing more food than it consumes the EU produces more crop products than it consumes The same is true for meat and dairy products for example: The country produced around 5 million tonnes of pork meat in 2022 In this case half of the exports go to countries outside the EU – mainly to China The image of agriculture as a predominantly family-based sector has been a recurring argument in the outgoing European Parliament during the debate on a piece of environmental legislation that has not attracted as much attention as others: the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) this European law regulates some 50,000 industrial installations of all types – from thermal power plants to chemical companies to refineries These facilities have to get a permit to operate and must report their emissions Intensive livestock rearing is also covered by the IED: about 20,000 of the facilities included in the bill are large pig and poultry farms the directive only covers 3 percent of all methane and 18 percent of all ammonia emissions produced in the EU by livestock rearing The limited scope for these two air pollutants is mainly explained by an omission: cattle farming one of the primary sources of methane and ammonia To close this gap and adapt the norm to changes in the industry the European Commission proposed an emissions directive reform in 2022 it suggested expanding the law’s scope to 10 percent of the largest cattle farms which would help increase the percentage of livestock emissions covered by the law to 43 percent for methane and 60 percent for ammonia a new text for the updated Emissions Directive was adopted by the EU Parliament in March 2024 cattle farming was again excluded – at least until 2026 “The Industrial Emissions Directive is probably the first piece of legislation where we have witnessed this strong backlash from large and powerful conventional agriculture and its representatives in Brussels,” comments Marco Contiero Greenpeace director for EU agricultural policy One of the prominent figures leading the opposition against the inclusion of the largest cattle farms in the emissions directive is Benoît Lutgen Son of a former Belgian senator and Minister for Agriculture and the Environment in the Wallonia region he was Minister of Agriculture there himself As part of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development the Belgian Member of the European Parliament (MEP) was appointed in May last year to analyse the Commission’s proposal and amend any agriculture-related aspects that needed improvement from the committee’s point of view for an omission of cattle in the revision of the IED: “Lumping farmers in with industrialists adds to a negative perception of family-run farms” His proposal made it to the final text that was adopted by the Parliament last March Asked about his position on the IED and the inclusion of cattle explained that he has always argued for an emissions directive specific to agriculture “Cows are not waste and pigs are not cement” He did not answer whether he had considered the impact of cattle rearing on the ammonia and methane emissions Lutgen also stressed that he had not only been Minister for Agriculture in Wallonia and those who think they can advance environmental causes without consulting agricultural players are sadly mistaken!” “Farming issues are very complex,” explains Marco Contiero the rest of Parliament only rubber stamps what the Agriculture Committee decides” Four more MEPs had looser connections to the agriculture sector “These numbers show that MEPs with links to agriculture and the agriculture industry have a safe majority in the agricultural committee and can determine the outcome of any vote” 23 out of 47 members have strong links to agriculture most of them being themselves farmers or having been farmers before becoming politicians Four further MEPs have looser links with farming Since he is a substitute member of the committee Lutgen has not been considered in this analysis CORRECTIV also analysed if MEPs in the current Agriculture Committee have benefited from EU subsidies for the sector nine of them received a total of 5.6 million euros in payments ranging from a few tens of thousands of euros to a couple of million euros between 2014 and 2022 Two MEPs alone were paid 3.8 million euros well-educated landowners who have time to go into politics and be elected These are not small peasants who have a couple of animals and a tractor” “Large-scale farmers and landowners don’t have to lobby the Member States will have almost two years to enforce it will review whether cattle farms need to be included in the law by 2026 Farmers will be playing a key role there: The right-wing populist parties surging in the polls and set to see a rise in rural areas Some weeks later, the EU Member States approved loosening environmental standards linked to farming subsidies some Member States have also eased regulations putting the climate change policies on the back-burner is a short-term solution “The need for the EU to pursue a stronger environmental focus and reduce greenhouse gases and other emissions is a given” “Not only because of the effects we are already observing on nature and human health but also due to international treaties such as the Paris Agreement.” Relaxing regulations now does not make the problems disappear It just leaves the sector with a lot of uncertainty about how to prepare for the future is that the environmental protection measures will have to be taken up again And then maybe with more stricter and perhaps also abrupt measures due to the increased urgency.”  Stricter environmental regulations for agriculture and livestock rearing could lead to less production and higher prices. However, climate change won’t make it any easier for European consumers. In its Agricultural Outlook 2023-2035 in a scenario of shifting global weather patterns declining domestic production of meat and milk in the EU “is likely to lead to higher domestic prices” “We have a major ecological crisis that needs to be politically addressed” “That will be less likely with a far-right dominated EU-Parliament in Brussels So voters should be aware of their responsibility” If you would like to securely leak information and documents to us, please visit this page Unsere Reporterinnen und Reporter senden Ihnen Recherchen was Journalismus für unsere Gesellschaft leisten kann – regelmäßig oder immer dann Homeowner Paige Kisber opens the front door of her stately updated Georgian home barefoot and dressed in a lightweight sweater and jeans It is the perfect attire for a home she fittingly calls “warm and inviting.” steps lead up to a dining room framed by floor-to-ceiling windows that look out on a landscaped backyard that includes a charming The 1920s structure was already there when Paige and her husband They tore down the existing main house and rebuilt it but left the guest house The couple and their two children had previously been living in an older home on Sunnyside Drive in Belle Meade While they had originally planned to renovate and enlisted the help of architect Van Pond it was looking more and more difficult and cost prohibitive In a collaborative effort between homeowners and architect they adjusted the plans to accommodate a new build instilled the character and integrity of an older house The result was a home with soaring ceilings hardwood and tile floors and built-ins galore While all the family members have plenty of their own space because of the design of the house Paige says “everybody is still close.” The guest house provides another 750 square feet with one bedroom Photographs by Garett Buell with StudioBuell 515 Church St., Unit 4504 501 Murfreesboro Road 404 Lynnwood Blvd. 1150 Travelers Ridge Drive 3416 Richards St. 3728 West End Ave. there are no recent results for popular videos there are no recent results for popular commented articles Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: After more than three decades in Tennessee state politics His family had owned a chain of department stores when he was a kid Kisber had worked his way up in the family business “It taught me a significant amount about responsibility and how you interact with the public and treat your employees.” His only regret was that he had never started a business himself In 2010 he sought to correct that when he and his colleague Reagan Farr kicked around a number of ideas for an entrepreneurial venture They eventually settled on a surprising contender: solar power “We kept coming back to this idea that solar energy was prevalent in Europe it was growing on the West Coast and would ultimately spread east,” Kisber says “It could become a more widely accepted energy source as the price dropped.” Their thinking went that companies and utilities wanted solar but did not want the hassle of constructing and operating it themselves If Kisber and Farr could handle those tasks they could tap into a market poised to explode They ran the numbers by outgoing Tennessee governor and serial entrepreneur Phil Bredesen for whom Kisber worked as economic development chief he signed on as an adviser—and then a few months later agreed to become chairman of their new company owns and operates solar energy plants across the U.S It has built  more than 2 million photovoltaic panels producing 450 megawatts in 14 states—with another gigawatt of power in the pipeline oil and gas giant Shell gave the company a major vote of confidence by investing $217 million to help expand Silicon Ranch’s business demonstrating that even fossil fuel companies are now hedging their bets “It shows you how quickly this industry has evolved and is maturing into an everyday energy source,” Kisber says Solar power indeed appears ready for its moment in the sun after decades of unfulfilled promise thanks to a combination of advancements in photovoltaic panel technology and a growing desire among the public to adopt renewable energy are leading the way to ensure that solar is not just a feel-good energy source but an economically viable one as well Kisber has long sought to make an impact on the world He worked his way through a political science degree at Vanderbilt as a newspaper reporter covering Nashville politics he decided he could do a better job than the politicians he was covering and threw his own hat into the ring running for state representative out of his dorm room Kisber won that race and served for 20 years in the state house before joining Bredesen’s administration where his job as economic development chief included investments in solar and wind power he longed to implement change more directly and someone else is going out and doing it,” he says and there is a great deal of personal satisfaction in that.” Silicon Ranch partners with existing utilities to supplement the power grid with solar generation to help meet consumer demand Among the most prominent of these is the solar farm for Volkswagen’s manufacturing and assembly plant in Chattanooga 33,000-panel system generates 13.5 gigawatt hours annually renewable energy to make its auto plant the first and only one in the world to be LEED Platinum certified by the U.S When Kisber launched Silicon Ranch in 2011 the cost of producing a kilowatt hour of solar power was much higher than its fossil fuel equivalent costs have dropped by two-thirds to make solar extremely competitive with fossil fuels which fluctuate with global supply and demand the consistency of the sun allows for stable pricing for decades Kisber predicts in the long run his most recent projects will actually cost less than they would had natural gas been used Then there are the environmental benefits of solar Silicon Ranch’s website includes a running tally of how many tons of greenhouse gas emissions the company’s panels have saved At last count it was more than 429,000 tons “It is so exciting to come home from work every day and tell my kids what I did and how it’s making a positive difference,” he says “We’re helping from an economic standpoint and I believe from a cultural standpoint as well.” While solar efforts like Kisber’s are helping to solve the problem of energy consumption in the U.S. citizens of developing countries face a starker problem—no access to energy at all 1.1 billion people live without energy access One in seven people don’t have access to lights at night,” says Leslie Labruto who is taking skills she honed at the Clinton Foundation and putting them to use as global energy lead at Acumen an organization using market solutions for social change the organization has strategically invested in companies installing home solar power systems in the remotest parts of Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa Each system can charge a battery with enough strength to power three lights and a cellphone charger dramatically improving a family’s quality of life and it gives economically disadvantaged people an opportunity to afford energy that isn’t tied to fossil fuel consumption,” she says Labruto seemed destined to study engineering growing up in a “women-centric” New Jersey home with her mom “I was the one fixing the toilet and working on the sink.” Attending Vanderbilt with a scholarship she was as excited to do hands-on projects as she was to travel the world “Vanderbilt was incredibly instrumental in helping me in my desire to be a global citizen,” she says Rather than a more traditional engineering project focused on city infrastructure she conducted her senior project with an interdisciplinary team helping design a solar- and bike-powered system to generate electricity for a school in Guatemala “It really opened my eyes to the fact that the world needs solutions and I can be a part of it,” Labruto says After graduation she served as a young alumni trustee on Vanderbilt’s Board of Trust and earned a master’s studying clean energy at Imperial College London She then got a job at the Clinton Foundation working with small islands to transform their energy economies excited by its blend of social mission with venture capital but we’re also trying to make our money back to invest in more companies down the road,” she says That frees companies to have access to flexible money compared to grants that can have onerous conditions and allows them to leverage Acumen’s seed investment to raise more money from investors and broaden their impact “Being an entrepreneur is tough,” she says “We see ourselves as a partner to stand by your side while you’re trying to solve a business problem and do the right thing for the world.” The same supportive self-reliance extends to customers of the solar home systems which cost about $200 but are offered on a payment plan of That makes it affordable even to those making just a few dollars a day offering them an asset and a point of pride in the bargain After establishing their credit-worthiness customers can then work toward buying a larger asset such as a refrigerator or television or even a solar-powered irrigation pump or milling machine They work toward something and can determine how to use it,” she says “Things that really enhance quality of life but once seemed unobtainable are suddenly within reach.” Even as Kisber and Labruto are spreading more solar power around the world they are still limited by where they can install silicon photovoltaic panels which are not always the most pleasing objects to look at who envisions a world in which solar power could really be all around us—even if we cannot see it is pioneering a new technology to create a transparent coating that could be applied to virtually any surface to make it an instant solar panel “Imagine the glass face of a skyscraper being transformed into a giant photovoltaic energy generator,” Barr says Since the average building has more vertical than horizontal surface area the technology offers a dramatic increase in the space that could be used for solar energy But that is just the beginning of the applications Barr sees for the coating or cellphones that could recharge their own batteries similar to the kind one finds in blue jeans or house paint—only instead of capturing visible light they absorb only the ultraviolet and infrared spectrums of the sun’s energy “There is energy in all of those parts of the spectrum,” Barr says “but because they’re not visible to the eye Barr came to Vanderbilt to study chemical engineering and fell in love with the hands-on process of trying to create new organic molecules that could have a practical application in the real world he continued on to a doctoral program at MIT where he joined a group trying to integrate solar cells into new materials such as fabric “We felt there was an opportunity to more broadly deploy solar technology if you could seamlessly embed it into existing products and surfaces without changing their appearance.” Barr has raised $25 million and now employs 20 workers at his Redwood City headquarters in the heart of California’s Silicon Valley So far the company has created small-scale prototypes of glass panels about a square-foot in size to demonstrate the concept It also is currently partnering with glass and other manufacturing companies to incorporate the technology into their processes in the hopes of producing new materials to supplement existing solar panels “You could have transparent solar on the glass and traditional solar panels on the roof and they could all work toward enabling net-zero energy buildings,” Barr says This kind of many-shots-on-goal approach is crucial to the philosophy of Barr and his fellow solar pioneers Whether it is fields full of photovoltaic panels affordable solar homes in remote African villages or cellphones that can charge themselves through innovative coatings the number of approaches to harnessing and deploying the sun’s rays is growing And they all point to a clean energy future that has never been brighter Michael Blanding is a Boston-based author and investigative journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times The Boston Globe Magazine and Boston Magazine was named a New York Times best-seller and an NPR Book of the Year If not for a chance accident his first year at Vanderbilt Baratunde Cola’s life might have turned out very differently who goes by “Bara,” was a walk-on fullback for the football team when he tore his ACL in a pickup basketball game I probably wasn’t going to come back to Vanderbilt the next year,” says Cola “He suggested I come back on the equipment staff and work on the side to make some money for school.” started doing paid research to make ends meet and discovered a love for lab work (He also eventually made it back to football and won a scholarship.) After graduation he earned his master’s at Vanderbilt and his Ph.D where he studied carbon nanotubes—a wonder material 10 times stronger and 10 times lighter than steel That opportunity set him down a path to use the technology to transform solar energy production Last year his efforts were rewarded with the prestigious Alan T a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation recognizing outstanding researchers age 35 and younger “If you look at the course of human history it’s really only every 100 years that there’s a new material that can transform how things are fundamentally done,” enthuses Cola who is now an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Georgia Tech It’s inevitable carbon nanotubes are going to be a dominant material like that.” Today’s solar panels operate by absorbing the sunlight in the form of photons which excite electrons that are then captured as electricity more than 60 percent of the sun’s energy is lost as heat If the sun’s energy could be absorbed in the form of waves Cola set about to create a device called an optical rectenna which in theory could use carbon nanotubes to turn electromagnetic waves directly into electricity—but no one had been able to build one so small that it could capture the frequency of visible light “It was the perfect kind of problem I would want to spend money and time on,” he says “The chances are we wouldn’t be successful working to construct an optical rectenna on the nanoscale publishing a paper demonstrating the first working version of the device This year Cola’s team extended the basic demonstration to the first practical device that could be used in applications “Our recent work increased efficiency by a hundredfold,” he says “It was a huge validation that we are on the right track.” in Atlanta to continue developing carbon nanotube technology He is currently figuring out how to manufacture his device in a way that it can be commercialized experimenting with a flexible and cheap aluminum foil substrate to hold the tubes in place it could dramatically transform the potential of solar power Nashville, Tennessee 37240 615-322-7311 • Contact Us The spectators came to Memphis’ Montgomery Park on April 24 “They besieged the ticket windows and entrance gates,” wrote the Commercial Appeal “eager to be on time for the Tennessee Derby.” “to witness the thoroughbreds battle for the rich plums and purses.” The track at Montgomery Park named for New Memphis Jockey Club founder Henry A which Memphis celebrated like a holiday each April the infield was open free of charge to all Black residents of the city showed up early for a spot along the fence and the best enjoyed national fame despite the growing grip of Jim Crow The mile-and-a-furlong Tennessee Derby was “the first important race of the season in this country,” according to the New York Times That day a chestnut filly named Lady Navarre won the race trailed a length by Good Luck a Canadian jockey who 77 years later would be inducted into the U.S No one that April day in Memphis could have guessed they were watching the last Tennessee Derby The Tennessee legislature put an end to gambling in the state the following winter Today, the Kentucky Derby is when most Americans briefly turn their attention to the ponies The race at Louisville’s Churchill Downs launches the Triple Crown the “sport of kings” was America’s pastime and the Tennessee Derby was a race the whole country followed the first important thoroughbred race on American soil took place near Williamsburg Five horses completed the four-mile course Horse racing became a favorite pastime of the colonial elite It was a way to prove their sophistication by embracing a sport patronized by English royalty was an emblem of wealth and status and a proud extension of his owner,” wrote historian Randy J The revolutionaries disapproved of its aristocratic air The American Revolution put a damper on American horse racing The races slowly resumed after independence The opulence of the sport fit the ambition of Southern plantation owners Charleston became the center of racing in the young country Tennessee had thoroughbreds even before it became a state in 1796 and by 1839 the state had 10 tracks and 37 stallions at stud more than Kentucky according to a 1947 article in the Tennessee Historical Quarterly Most thoroughbreds were raised in Middle Tennessee which had the same nourishing bluegrass as Kentucky Belle Meade outside Nashville became a world famous stud farm “The prevailing opinion in the South is that Tennessee possesses more and better blood than Kentucky Tennessee stock will fetch more money in the South than ours will,” said a prominent Kentucky breeder in 1836 As tension rose between the two regions with the approach of the Civil War “sectional races” were held that pitted a Northern horse against a Southern one The Civil War devastated Southern horse breeding The wealthy white planters could no longer afford the sport and the rising industrialists and bankers in the North were eager to invest often pressing prized racers into military service The brief life of the Tennessee DerbyIn 1836 Montgomery founded the New Memphis Jockey Club on the site where the Memphis Fairgrounds sits today the club had a race that became talked about nationwide crowds could be sparse for the Tennessee Derby and the other races especially if they fell when cotton needed to be harvested women and children are there from every walk of life,” reported the Memphis Appeal in 1889 “They jostle one against another in the greatest good humor The man who wins is a hero for half an hour He who loses finds it best to jest with those who jest at him.” like the Kentucky Derby a race for 3-year-old thoroughbreds The derby itself was not held from 1887 to 1889 although other races took place those years When it returned the length was shortened to one and an eighth miles The Tennessee Derby was known “to be one of the many defeats for favorites,” according to the Chicago Tribune frequently crowning horses who entered the race with odds against them forces were again aligned against horse racing in the United States which would become an official party in 1912 under Theodore Roosevelt “Not only is horse racing seen as promoting organized crime but it’s also making life difficult for working class families who spend too much time at the track gambling away family money,” said racing historian Steven A was not worried — even after an anti-gambling bill was introduced in the Tennessee legislature at the start of 1907 who won with the support of the wealthy horse owners was a lifelong member of the Memphis Jockey Club and “never pretended to see all evil in the sport,” wrote The Courier-Journal in Louisville Despite the turfmen's confidence in their power to sway state politicians to their position gambling in the state of Tennessee was banned The Jockey Club considered holding the race without gambling which would have caused them to likely lose $30,000 to $40,000 They looked at buying nearby land in Arkansas or Mississippi to build a new track They even talked to New Orleans about hosting the Tennessee Derby and other major races that year thoroughbreds did not race that year nor any year since in Tennessee the last horses at Montgomery Park were sent to other stables and for the first time in 50 years no thoroughbreds wintered in Memphis The anti-gambling fervor would also end racing in other places but a loophole was found to allow parimutuel betting and the Kentucky Derby was saved owns nearly 100 thoroughbreds with partner Clay Sanders and other investors They call their partnership Ten Strike Racing in honor of the horse who won the first Tennessee Derby But all of their horses are stabled outside Tennessee “I would be shocked if there are more than 20 thoroughbreds bred a year in Tennessee,” Gramm said “My guess is it’s a byproduct of breeders who have the facilities for the Tennessee Walkers.” The only major race in the state is Nashville’s Iroquois Steeplechase which is run by a nonprofit and does not allow gambling Efforts have been made to bring back thoroughbred racing to Tennessee The most recent attempt was a bill introduced in 2019 that failed to gain traction a window was open for a new Tennessee horse track but none of the proposals had the financial backing to win state approval Eventually in 1998 the Racing Commission was disbanded and the law that created it was repealed in 2015 Gramm noted that betting on horses has been less popular in recent years as lotteries and sports betting have become legal in more states The tracks also take a large cut of any winning bet which makes wagering on other sports more appealing Michael Kisber and his son Zachary are also Memphis-based owners of thoroughbreds Michael Kisber’s dad taught him to bet the ponies Zachary Kisber got his first taste of racing when he was 10 years old during a trip to Universal Studios in Southern California when the family detoured to the track at Santa Anita Park the Kisbers are part of a small group of racehorse owners in Tennessee They have had success at the Breeders' Cup and in Dubai “We run it like a business and treat it like a business,” said Michael Kisber “But you don’t get into it to make a profit.” The Kisbers are also attached to the history of racing in Tennessee Their jockey silks are inspired by a 1908 lapel pin from the Memphis Jockey Club have much hope that thoroughbred racing will ever return to Tennessee racetracks rely on an attached casino to turn a profit “Tennessee is not going to approve casino gambling,” Michael Kisber said Todd A. Price covers culture in the South. He can be reached at taprice@gannett.com A bold partnership that will help Vanderbilt University power its campus entirely through renewable energy is a step further toward that goal with the Jan 19 groundbreaking for a solar farm in Bedford County Vanderbilt announced two pioneering agreements with the Tennessee Valley Authority and Nashville Electric Service to procure off-site large-scale renewable energy at a solar farm being built by Silicon Ranch Corp The solar project will connect to the electric grid through the distribution system of the Duck River Electric Membership Corp “We are excited to partner with TVA, NES and Silicon Ranch on this landmark solar project, which we hope will provide a model of collaborative, forward-thinking solutions that can be adopted by other organizations in our region and across the country,” Chancellor Daniel Diermeier said “The Vanderbilt I Solar Farm will generate jobs and tax revenues for the local community and also yield educational and research opportunities for our faculty and our students—setting a bold precedent for how we can continue to work together on behalf of our shared future.” TVA’s Green Invest Program matches demand for green power from business industrial and organizational customers with new utility-scale solar projects within the Tennessee Valley “This marks a milestone for the Tennessee Valley as we break ground on the first project ever developed under TVA’s Green Invest program and we are thrilled to be doing so with Vanderbilt DREMC and Silicon Ranch,” said Jeannette Mills TVA executive vice president and chief external relations officer “Together with 153 local power company partners TVA is building the energy system of the future Green Invest has positioned us to bring together customers and renewable energy partners who are all investing in our communities.” Vanderbilt’s initial partnership will mitigate approximately 70 percent of the university’s annual indirect greenhouse gas emissions Its second Green Invest project will supply enough renewable energy to offset the remaining 30 percent of the university’s annual indirect greenhouse gas emissions from purchased electricity plans to hire more than 250 craft workers—the majority of whom will be recruited from the Bedford County area and the military veteran community—to install the facility operate and maintain the Vanderbilt I Solar Farm a disciplined approach the company takes with every project it develops “Several of our colleagues and I are proud Vanderbilt alumni and all of us at Silicon Ranch applaud this world-class institution for its bold and thoughtful leadership,” said Matt Kisber “Thanks to Vanderbilt’s commitment and the vision of our friends at TVA Silicon Ranch is on pace to invest well over $1 billion in renewable energy projects across the Tennessee Valley and we are delighted to expand this legacy to Bedford County.” DREMC and Silicon Ranch to reduce carbon emissions in our region,” said Decosta Jenkins reliable and affordable power while continuing to listen to our customers’ needs.” “Duck River Electric is thrilled to support this project and our friends at Vanderbilt TVA and Silicon Ranch on this journey,” said Scott Spence “It is a privilege to be part of helping Vanderbilt achieve their sustainability goals while ensuring the members of Duck River Electric do not incur any of the expense.” The 35-megawatt Vanderbilt I Solar Farm is expected to begin producing power before the end of 2022 “We continue to push action and to be open to additional innovations, as addressing solutions to climate change is among our highest priorities,” said Vice Chancellor for Administration Eric Kopstain Vanderbilt announced that it was collaborating on a separate effort with the nonprofit organization Climate Vault to achieve carbon neutrality decades ahead of its initial goal of 2050 That initiative will effectively remove carbon pollution permits from regulated carbon markets while simultaneously stimulating research into emerging carbon removal technologies In total seventy-seven competitors from eleven nations started at the fourth official FEI European Championship for Children (U14) Host Vilmos Jámbor and his team did everything in their power to make the event both a celebration of the sport and fun for the drivers there were a number of extra activities organized for the young competitors and their teams The summer temperatures in Kisbér-Ászár and the gorgeous courses designed by British level 4 course designer Barry Hunter also added to the success of this event The 13 year-old son of international four-in-hand driver Tobias Bücker started his road to gold by winning the dressage With his pony Joldis Guiseppe he held onto his lead after the marathon and with a beautiful double clear round His teammate Lea Voskort celebrated her 12th birthday on Saturday and thanks to her third place in the dressage and second place in the marathon clinched the individual silver medal with her 15 year-old pony Filou The bronze medal went to France in this division 13 year-old Kilian Lenormand moved up a position after driving a solid cones The Brit Colette Holdsworth won the bronze medal in the Children’s division in Schildau two years ago and in Kisbér-Ászár the now 16 year-old driver upped the ante to claim the gold medal in the Junior division With her 10 year-old pony Pepper she won the marathon and maintained her placing until the end even despite having a few faults in the cones The silver and bronze medals both went to Germany with Nea-Renee Bonneß and Lisa Maria Tischer rounding out the podium of this large division In the Junior pair pony division there were only three competitors but that didn’t make it easy for German Lea Schröder After her teammate Amelie Müller won the dressage cones and the gold medal with her German riding ponies Penny and Puenktchen Silver went to Amelie Müller and Hungarian Richard Aszódi won bronze 19 year-old Linnea Kristiansen won the bronze medal two years ago in Schildau and this year the young Swedish driver went home with the gold With her 17 year-old pony Plassens Lucky Luke with whom Kristiansen represented Sweden at the Pony World Driving Championships in Minden as an individual driver the multiple-time Swedish Champion won the dressage and was fourth in the marathon Marathon winner Severin Baldauf from Austria claimed the silver medal and bronze went to the experienced driver Dávid Palkovics for Hungary Palkovics also won bronze at the last European Championship and has taken part in a number of World Championships with his four-in-hand of ponies The German flag flew over the entire podium for the Young Driver single horse division At the last minute Fokko Strassner and Marie Tischer exchanged medal placings after Tischer noted just a few too many faults in the cones German youth champion Strassner and his 9 year-old Hannoverian Stradivari 30 won the gold In 2017 Tischer won the gold medal with her Fortino at the World Championships for Young Horses in Mezöhegyes in the 6 year-old horse division This year in Kisbér-Ászár they won the dressage and maintained their lead even after the marathon; one unlucky ball and too many time faults knocked the 19 year-old down to silver who with a third place finish in the dressage and second place in the marathon had a consistent performance with her 14 year-old Haflinger Amoroso 31 Ten nations competed against each other for team medals and Germany once again claimed the gold Host nation Hungary won silver and bronze went to France In September 2019 Kisbér-Ászár will once again host an FEI Championship pair and four-in-hand ponies will travel to Hungary to take part in the World Driving Championship for Pony Drivers Click here for results. Click here for the photos from the cones and prize giving. Bram Chardon was niet alleen naar Hongarije afgereisd om zijn zus Edith te helpen hij speelde ook een belangrijke rol in de prijsuitreiking Tijdens elk volkslied werden de landenvlaggen binnengereden door Bram Bram was verantwoordelijk voor de vlag van de Wereldkampioen ‘s wereld meest toonaangevende mensport website Website powered by Analyst ICT Tamara Pijl drove an outstanding dressage test and with it took the lead in the provisional standings for single ponies at the World Championships for Pony Driving in Kisbér-Ászár The German team was also extremely strong with top presentations by Katja Berlage and Fabian Gänshirt who are currently sitting in second and third place Photo – Tamara Pijl and Dex (Krisztina Horváth) For quite a while it looked like the Germans would stay in the lead after Katja Berlage scored 51,09 penalty points and held onto that lead for most of the day Her team mate Fabian Gänshirt was a close second with 52,03 It was at the very end of the day that Dutch champion Tamara Pijl and her pony Dex put down an impressive score of 46,37 penalty points giving her an almost five point lead in front of her German rivals The Belgian driver Gilles Pirotte and French driver Claire Lefort are currently holding on to the fourth and fifth positions respectively Read More at Hoefnet Chester Weber and his family transform [...] we are dedicated to providing premium-quality supplements that empower your health [...] The Tennessee Valley Authority and the Jackson Energy Authority announced a partnership with solar power company Silicon Ranch on Thursday to build a new solar farm in Madison County to supply power to a new Facebook data center. said there is a growing interest among companies to move to carbon-free renewable energy sources for sustainability purposes "Projects like these are what allow companies to meet their goals," he added data center would be located just outside Nashville in Gallatin The company is making an $800 million investment to build a 1 million square foot facility over the next three years.  "The Gallatin center will be one of our most advanced yet – powered by renewable energy and supporting more than 100 high-skilled and well-paid jobs," Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg said in a Tennessean column. The data center will use an immense amount of electricity The project is also part of a Facebook initiative to use renewable energy for all its operations by the end of 2020 and beyond The solar farm is part of TVA's Green Invest Program which announced similar renewables projects with General Motors and Vanderbilt University earlier this year  TVA and Silicon Ranch have previously partnered together on several projects The new 70-megawatt solar farm's location is on roughly 900 acres just outside the McKeller-Sipes airport in the Denmark area of Madison County The Jackson Energy Authority will distribute the power for the TVA.  The solar farm will create 350 construction jobs and will become the largest solar farm project in the county's history.  "Sustainability is an important aspect of the electric industry and our community's culture," said Jim Ferrell President and CEO of Jackson Energy Authority by press release "It will supply carbon-free solar power for many years to come." Reach Adam Friedman by email at afriedman@jacksonsun.com by phone at 731-431-8517 or follow him on Twitter @friedmanadam5 Much in the same manner as the previous day was Germany extremely strong and Christof Weihe took a very early lead with his 42 a score not to be surpassed the rest of the day Christof was not a member of the team and his points won’t count towards the team medals Luckily the second place score for Jan-Felix Pfeffer does count and with his score of 43,92 penalty points had to take second place after winning the dressage at the last two World Championships in 2015 and 2017 At the end of the afternoon Rodinde Rutjens drove her ponies to an impressive third place with 45,18 penalty points and will be breathing down her German colleuges necks in the marathon Estonian driver Pille-Riin Roosileht is currently in fourth place with 46,18 and Swiss driver Lea Schmidlin is in fifth with 48,11 A number of pair drivers made their World Championship debut in Kisbér with Canadian driver Carina Crawford finishing in 23rd and American driver Mary Phelps finishing in 29th British team members Averina Snow and Joseph Adams finished in 20th and 29th place Tomorrow the four-in-hand ponies will drive dressage and Saturday all competitors will drive marathon The competition will close Sunday with cones driving Click here for the starting orders and results Click here for the photos a Nashville-based solar energy company founded by former Gov attracted a major investment from global oil and gas corporation Shell The deal, which could total $217 million, will provide a solar energy platform in the U.S. to Netherlands-based Shell while allowing Silicon Ranch to enter new markets and expand offerings. Silicon Ranch is developing, owns or operates 100 solar energy facilities in 14 states across the U.S ► Business: Nashville digital marketing firm Girlilla turns 10 “We were impressed by Silicon Ranch’s proven management team and its long-term ownership model and commitment to the communities it serves,” Marc van Gerven “This joint venture partnership progresses our new energies strategy and provides our U.S customers with additional solar renewable options." which generated more than $233 billion in revenue in 2016, will buy a nearly 44 percent interest in Silicon Ranch from Switzerland-based investment manager Partners Group The purchase amount will be based on Silicon Ranch’s performance and Shell has the ability to increase its position after 2021 ► More: Nashville's first community solar power project heading to Madison Partners Group will issue new debt to finance the company as the deal closes in the first quarter of the year Silicon Ranch will continue to be led by CEO Matt Kisber and Chief Financial Officer Reagan Farr Both men founded the company in 2010 with Bredesen after serving as commissioners in his administration Bredesen serves as Silicon Ranch chairman and is now pursuing a U.S. Senate seat he intends to step down as chairman to focus on senate duties solar offers the lowest cost option for long-term energy because solar construction costs have dropped significantly He expects demand for solar energy to increase as technology further improves costs continue to decrease and as more consumers prioritize renewable energy in renewables that solar is quickly becoming a much more sought after energy generation source," Kisber said "Solar can be an important component in the overall energy mix that helps lower the carbon intensity and makes the air cleaner, makes the community healthier and provides the lowest cost of generation." Shell prioritized new energy technology and established a solar energy office in San Francisco Silicon Ranch raised two rounds of capital and was not looking for new partners as Shell sought to acquire an existing solar platform Silicon Ranch recognized the growth opportunities the partnership offered Silicon Ranch employs about 30 people in Nashville That a Nashville company garnered a major investment from a global corporation for new energy technology is a notable achievement for the local business community “Nashville is home to a diverse group of industry-leading and today’s announcement represents another proud moment for our city’s corporatecommunity," Barry said "It is a testament to the success of our very own Silicon Ranch that Shell—one of the world’s energy leaders—has selected it as a strategic partner for building a successful global solar business.” Silicon Ranch works with military partners in addition to electric cooperatives and corporate customers The company includes 880 megawatts of PV systems contracted with nearly 1 gigawatt in its development pipeline.   Silicon Ranch projects are underway nationwide and the company brought the first large-scale solar projects to Tennessee "Whether it is a utility company or a commercial company they are hearing their customers want clean "There is still quite a bit of new opportunity for the solar energy industry." the sector is moving to more need-based power generation a development Kisber described as a "game-changer" for the solar industry Reach Jamie McGee at 615-259-8071 and on Twitter @JamieMcGee_ It seems the use of solar power is on the rise in West Tennessee, and a solar farm will be under construction in Jackson in summer 2019, slated for completion by the end of next year. Jackson Energy Authority was awarded a two megawatt solar installation through a Tennessee Valley Authority program in October 2017 The farm will be built and operated by Silicon Ranch a national company whose roots started in Tennessee It will sit on a 26-acre plot of land near McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport and produce enough renewable energy to power about 400 homes But this project is not intended to address residential power needs and its construction will impact the Jackson community in ways beyond the utility sector A solar farm is a plot of land that has been outfitted with solar panels to harness the sun and create renewable energy the company that is financing the build of the Jackson solar farm "The idea was to be an independent power producer and sell our power to utilities and companies but to be different than a lot of other companies in that we would own and operate these projects with an emphasis on giving back to the community," CEO and president of Silicon Ranch Matt Kisber said Silicon Ranch's solar equipment will create renewable energy which will be purchased through the Tennessee Valley Authority the only entity in the Tennessee Valley that can generate and sell power Through a "distributed solar solutions" program TVA will sell this renewable energy to a distributor — in this case Kisber said solar panels have become much more efficient and less costly in recent years making solar power a more viable renewable energy source.  "That affords utilities the ability to contract with companies like ours and buy power less expensively than a lot of the other forms of generation that they have available to them," Kisber said JEA vice president of economic and industrial development said the new solar farm will have no impact on customers' utility rates the solar farm will pose "minimal risk" to all JEA customers The farm's main purpose will be to serve industrial customers who want to purchase renewable energy credits to meet corporate environmental goals "Our arrangement with Silicon Ranch is that they will receive the power sales .. and then we receive the [renewable energy credits]," Nanney said JEA will sell those credits to industrial customers at current market value Both residential and industrial customers will see no changes in electricity rates as a result of the solar farm Kisber describes solar farms as large investments with the potential to have a proportional impact on the communities where they are located and we pay property tax on those," Kisber explained adding that Silicon Ranch has done multiple solar projects in small Silicon Ranch often makes property tax arrangements with the communities in which they build these arrangements resulted in $1,000 raises for school teachers and funds to purchase new equipment for playgrounds.  Kisber said Silicon Ranch contracts with two contractors that specialize in building solar farms for the projects Out of 200 to 300 workers that could be on a building site all but about 25 are hired and trained locally "The economic impact from construction is significant in these communities," he said Past Silicon Ranch projects have created new jobs in Arkansas as well "It really broke the log jam [and] allowed new investment and new jobs in rural southwest Arkansas," Kisber said.  Will industrial customers benefit?The purpose of this solar farm is to allow JEA to provide industrial customers with options to buy renewable energy credits that were generated locally Silicon Ranch will receive the power sales from the project but JEA will receive the renewable energy credits they own the "green" power that it represents This means they can make the claim that they use renewable energy "Many companies have objectives to decrease their carbon footprint and their impact on the environment .. and this is a way for them to do that," Nanney said adding that they already have interest from some local industries.  "A lot of the companies don't want to just go out and buy them on the market ..." Nanney said "They want to get RECs that are generated locally." Industrial customers will not receive any tax credits for the renewable power The purchase of RECs provides revenue that helps grow the market for renewable energy as well Kisber said this is also an important part of a company's decision to purchase RECs "What so many companies are asking in their selection process whether it's for expansion or for new investment is to know that they're going to be able to have two things: that they can get renewable energy .. [and] their investment is causing new renewable energy to be created," Kisber said Silicon Ranch has several other solar energy projects located in the West Tennessee area is an example of the most efficient way to deploy solar power producing 20 megawatts that can serve up to 4,000 homes Kisber said the use of solar power in the West Tennessee area is on the rise He said in terms of sun insolation — how much sunlight reaches the ground — southwest Tennessee has only about 5 percent less than the desert southwest "There's a great sun resource in southwest Tennessee," Kisber said Silicon Ranch currently has about 180 megawatts of solar power under contract in the state of Tennessee with approximately 120 of those located in West Tennessee Kisber said he hopes the solar farm in Denmark and the new solar farm in Jackson will "[open] the door to Jackson industry." This is not the first time Kisber has worked in Jackson working for his grandfather at a young age for 25 cents per day at the family business He also worked as a photographer for The Jackson Sun from 1978 to 1982 and served as an elected legislator in Jackson for 10 terms from 1982 to 2002 He also served in then-Gov. Phil Bredesen's cabinet from 2002 to 2010 as the Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development "It's been an exciting ride — and there's a lot more opportunity in the years ahead," Kisber said Nanney said this solar farm is the first project of this kind for JEA but they are considering future possibilities "We are evaluating whether we can do future projects to support other aspects of the community whether it's commercial business or residential or more from the industrial sector," Nanney said is to have more installations in the future." Reach Cassandra Stephenson at ckstephens@jacksonsun.com or at (731) 694-7261 The solar energy plant developer whose chairman is former Tennessee Gov Phil Bredesen is the latest tenant signed up for space at the 222 building rising in SoBro Silicon Ranch will occupy 19,000 square feet of space at the mixed-used building which Houston-based Hines is developing along with Nashville-based C.B In addition to Silicon Ranch's corporate headquarters that space will house the company's newly created network operations center from where it will monitor performance of its plants nationwide.  With Silicon Ranch's signing to take up the 19th floor the 362,000 square feet of office space at the 25-story 222 building is 62 percent leased. Bank of America, architect Gresham Smith & Partners, law firms Burr & Forman and Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein real estate firm CBRE and Paradigm Talent Agency are the previously announced tenants Silicon Ranch is expected to move into its new corporate home in the first quarter from roughly 6,000 square feet of space at downtown's Pinnacle at Symphony Place office tower owner and operator of solar energy plants has nearly 100 projects operating or under development in 14 states and has doubled its operating portfolio for three straight years "Both the solar industry and the city of Nashville are in the midst of rapid and all of us at Silicon Ranch are excited about our new home at 222," said the company's CEO Matt Kisber who was commissioner for the state's Department of Economic and Community Development in Bredesen's administration who was the state's revenue commissioner under Bredesen, is Silicon Ranch's vice chairman and chief financial officer.  222 will include 28,000 square feet of street-level retail amenities for four restaurants and other retail services The building is rising across from the city’s 12-acre Riverfront Park and Ascend Amphitheatre Reach Getahn Ward at gward@tennessean.com or 615-726-5968 and on Twitter @getahn The Commission has launched a new call for proposals worth up to €600 million under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) to fund key cross-border energy infrastructure projects across the EU The call is open to projects included on the first list of Projects of Common Interest (PCIs) and Projects of Mutual Interest (PMIs) The list was adopted under the revised ‘TEN-E Regulation’ which ends support for fossil fuel infrastructure and will help the EU reach its ambitious climate and energy goals Projects of Common Interest (PCIs) are key cross-border infrastructure projects that link or significantly impact the energy systems of 2 or more EU countries Projects of Mutual Interest (PMIs) link energy infrastructure of 1 or more EU country with neighbouring (non-EU) countries we must intensify our investments to ensure a genuine Energy Union,” said Energy and Housing Commissioner Dan Jørgensen: “This is key to power our competitiveness ensure our energy security and bring down energy costs for all Constructing the crucial missing links for seamless cross-border energy flows is essential – and the Connecting Europe Facility’s contribution is instrumental in this respect.” Project promoters may apply for EU co-financing both for studies and construction works the Commission will organise a CEF Energy online info day to support stakeholders with the application and evaluation process The results of this call will be released early next year This call will help the EU complete the Energy Union and make sure citizens and businesses can fully benefit from the clean energy transition and integrated energy markets CEF Energy is one of the EU’s key funding instruments to support infrastructure developments jobs and competitiveness with a total budget of €5.88 billion for the period 2021-2027 166 cross-border energy projects for EU support New list of EU energy Projects of Common and Mutual Interest Key cross border infrastructure projects PCI/PMI selection process You must be logged in to post a comment eub2 is the default publisher for EUbusiness Design and developed by :  Platform investment aligns Shell with best-in-class U.S 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Silicon Ranch Corporation announced today that it has signed an agreement to make Shell its largest shareholder Shell will acquire a 43.83% interest in Silicon Ranch from Partners Group the global private markets investment manager for up to $217 million in cash based on Silicon Ranch performance with the possibility to increase its position after 2021 Partners Group will continue to support Silicon Ranch through a newly issued junior debt financing simultaneous with the closing of the sale the transaction is expected to close in Q1 2018 Nashville-based Silicon Ranch will continue to operate under its existing management and the Silicon Ranch brand The fast-growing business has doubled its operating portfolio for three consecutive years with approximately 880 megawatts of PV systems that are contracted or operating in 14 states from New York to California and close to 1 gigawatt more in its development pipeline The innovative company has been a first-mover in a number of U.S demand-driven approach to business development across a diverse customer set with particular emphasis on building long-term relationships with electric cooperatives and corporate customers across the country The transaction will enable Silicon Ranch to accelerate its growth strategy by developing new projects and expanding product offerings across its portfolio The strategic partnership provides Shell a platform to establish a successful global solar business by aligning with a proven team in the second largest solar market in the world "We were impressed by Silicon Ranch's proven track record and its long-term ownership model and commitment to the communities it serves," said Marc van Gerven "Partnering with Silicon Ranch progresses our New Energies strategy and provides our U.S customers with additional solar renewable options With this entry into the fast-growing solar sector Shell is able to leverage its expertise as one of the top three wholesale power sellers in the U.S. while expanding its global New Energies footprint." said: "Our goal at Silicon Ranch has always been to ensure that Americans have access to a reliable and we are honored to welcome Shell as our newest business partner By pairing our solar expertise and trusted brand with the scale we are well-equipped to collaborate with our utility partners to provide comprehensive win-win energy solutions for them and their customers Silicon Ranch also wants to thank Partners Group for the financial and commercial support that enabled us to surpass our ambitious growth targets over the last two years." said: "Shell shares our steadfast commitment to long-term partnership and together we will unlock tremendous value in the U.S This significant and strategic investment by Shell is in the best interest not only of our company and our employees but also of our customers and the communities we serve because it will allow us to capture synergies with Shell's businesses and benefit from its long heritage in providing energy services around the world." Silicon Ranch CorporationMatt Beasley+1 615 577 4616[email protected] Silicon Ranch CorporationMatt Beasley+1 615 577 4616matt.beasley@siliconranchcorp.com Do not sell or share my personal information: will have a solar power and agricultural complex next door that will be part of fueling the data center with 100% clean energy The project is one that leaders say will give Montgomery the opportunity to be at the forefront of an "energy revolution." Back in May, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey announced that Meta California-based technology conglomerate that owns Facebook plans to open an $800 million data center in Montgomery across from the Hyundai plant The data center will be the 24th in existence and the second in Alabama — with the first being in Huntsville is one of the supporting sources of renewable energy which was founded in 2011 by former Tennessee Commissioner of Revenue Reagan Farr former Tennessee State Representative Matt Kisber was created with the intent of looking forward in his and Kisber's time working in economic development they noted the biggest challenge was always rural economic development and they saw a solution to that in solar power "We saw this energy revolution happening early because we were always talking to the companies that were working on it as things like this always seem to do,'" Farr said "We wanted to have a company in our home state that can work with our neighbors and figure this out locally And we wanted to do this in a way that reflects how we do business Farr said the addition of Silicon Ranch's project to Montgomery's Meta data center provides Montgomery a unique position to cement itself as a forerunner in the world of renewable energy production [Meta data center] sites where you're going to have a solar project adjacent to their data center so it's going to be a very visible billboard for Meta's approach to economic development and sustainability," Farr said "There's two revolutions happening in our country right now and data centers are becoming increasingly necessary for us to have the lives that we have All these data centers are becoming the manufacturing hubs of the 21st century and I think Montgomery has a real chance to have cutting edge data center that is showcased for its commitment to how you can do this sustainably." Besides the opportunity to make a statement about what Montgomery has to offer the project offers tangible impact as well "One super exciting thing about the Montgomery project that we really want to highlight is that we are using Alabama manufactured solar modules steel mill in Arkansas and was fabricated in Memphis," Farr said "I think between the 300 people you'll have on site for the year of construction and the impact of those manufacturing investments plus the ongoing land management and collaboration with Meta on promoting the site will be tremendous." Farr said that though jobs and stimulation to the industries that produce items involved in the supply chain for the project will peak during construction the project will create renewable energy over its lifespan at a low cost to operate which will generate [tax revenue] once the project is live The grassroots impactBeyond tax revenue benefits and the supply of clean energy provided with the site this particular project brings local agricultural opportunities to the landowner partners Silicon Ranch works with The company has over 150 projects around the country and Kisber said that each project seeks to provide the opportunity for families deeply intertwined with agriculture to increase their profit and continue the business that has been in their families for generations "There's some great stories around some of the ranchers involved with our projects whose children have gone off to work industrial jobs because they didn't have an opportunity to make a living ranching," Kisber said they were able to come back and be part of the family business again and grow that family business." Impact on AlabamaSilicon Ranch is planning to invest more than $1 billion in the state of Alabama in the form of five different projects with one in operation and four more planned with $90 million being invested into building owning and operating the project in Montgomery The company is also estimated to pay around $17 million in local taxes over the life of the project "We don't build the cheapest plant we can build you're building it very differently than you would if you were building it for your family to live in we want it to be a well-built asset we can be proud of." Sarah Clifton covers business for the Montgomery Advertiser You can reach her at sclifton@montgome.gannett.com or follow her on X @sarahgclifton Early this morning the pony of German individual driver Ann Christin Leeser was accepted for competition bringing the tally of competitors up to seventy-seven After the completion of the first few drives of the Childrens division (ages 12-14 years with single pony) it was decided that two minutes extra would be given to the competitors than originally planned and with high temperatures it was appreciated by everyone The Junior pair pony division begins tomorrow morning Young Drivers single horse and the CAI3* four-in-hand pony competitors Click here for the starting orders and results. Click here for the photo album. Phil Bredesen spent much of his second term touting the benefits of solar investments He dedicated millions in stimulus dollars to set up the Tennessee Solar Institute in Knoxville recruited two large manufacturers of solar materials to the state and his administration pushed for legislation providing green energy companies a series of tax breaks Weeks after the tax bill passed in June 2010 Bredesen had another reason to root for the burgeoning sector’s success: He became chairman of a new Nashville solar company Today, Silicon Ranch builds, owns and operates more than 120 solar projects in 14 states. The company’s partners include global oil and gas company Royal Dutch Shell, which bought a 43 percent stake in the company this year and Canada-based Greystone Managed Investments Silicon Ranch raised questions about conflicts of interest for Bredesen and Silicon Ranch co-founders Reagan Farr and Matt Kisber who were both state commissioners at the time Both the timing of the company’s creation and the introduction of tax incentives directed at the solar industry spurred criticism of the governor during his last months in office COMPLETE COVERAGE:  Tennessee elections MIDTERM SPECIAL:  Stay on top of the issues with a subscription, starting at 99 cents per month Senate seat as a Democrat against Republican U.S He invested in Silicon Ranch to help his aides start a company just as he had done for other employees in the private sector several times before There is no legal rule against a governor making investments while in office and other governors have done so “If I thought I would be describing this hour by hour eight years later I probably would have documented everything I was doing better,” Bredesen said in an interview at his campaign headquarters earlier this month “There is certainly nothing wrong with it.” The timing of Silicon Ranch’s incorporation has been the subject of a recent media report in The New York Times and has been the centerpiece of an ad from the Senate Leadership Fund a PAC aligned with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that is flooding the airwaves with ads critical of Bredesen Republicans in Tennessee have accused Bredesen of using his office to profit personally.  “Whether it’s illegal or not is one thing Is it an appropriate use of funds?" Gillum Ferguson said of the use of stimulus dollars and tax credits aimed at solar "He is setting up the playing field to tilt to one side and he invests in that side.” Silicon Ranch never accessed stimulus funding but did take advantage of tax credits.  On the campaign trail: How Phil Bredesen hopes to win Tennessee's US Senate race On the campaign trail: How Marsha Blackburn hopes to win Tennessee's US Senate race he turned to four founders and board members of his then-employer and he grew HealthAmerica to a 6,000-person company that later sold for $400 million when some of his employees at HealthAmerica sought to start their own companies, including Coventry Corp and First Commonwealth, Bredesen said he provided seed capital “I did with this like I have done multiple times in the past which is try to help out people who have been working for me and wanted to do something financially,” Bredesen said the state’s economic development chief approached Bredesen about starting a company and after considering other sectors they landed on solar, Bredesen said “We talked and said, we have been touting this renewable energy for a prolonged time why don’t we explore if there is something there to be done kind of putting your money where your mouth is,” Bredesen said Farr agreed to step down from his government role so he could focus on building the company until Kisber and Bredesen could become more involved after the term ended they might have waited, but Bredesen said he understood why Farr and Kisber were eager to move forward sooner with their roles for the state winding down “I think they understandably wanted to get started rather than suddenly find themselves without a paycheck on Jan. 20 and no work had been done,” Bredesen said I didn’t see it at the time as particularly problematic.” Bredesen has talked about being an investor in the solar industry after his time in office.  Silicon Ranch was incorporated in early August 2010 five months before Bredesen and Kisber left office Farr said he stepped down from the state on Aug 31, and Bredesen invested $250,000 into the company in September he invested another $3.75 million into the company When The Tennessean reported on Bredesen’s involvement in Silicon Ranch in November 2010 Farr described Bredesen as a passive investor and Bredesen said he secured the company’s domain name He kept his Silicon Ranch investment out of a blind trust that managed his other assets he used the same arrangement for Qualifacts A blind trust did not make sense for Silicon Ranch he said, because he knew what was in it — his check — and there were only a few months left of his term “There is absolutely nothing about it that anyone saw as inappropriate at the time,” Bredesen said Bill Haslam also kept his stake in his family’s Pilot Flying J out of his blind trust he made investments in a ranch in Colorado and two Florida homes He kept those outside the blind trust because state policies would not affect them Haslam spokeswoman Jennifer Donnals said.  said in 2010 that Farr should avoid working with companies that the state had any influence over to avoid any appearance of conflicts of interest Farr and Kisber said in 2010 media reports they would avoid taking advantage of business relationships built during their time in government Kisber met with officials at Corrections Corporation of America At the time CoreCivic had a nearly $90 million contract with the state Bredesen said he had not known about the meeting until media reports surfaced and that he objected to the meeting because of perception issues Silicon Ranch has never done business with CoreCivic but Kisber knew some of its founders and had been interested in insights on running an asset-based business and on workforce development now president and chief operating officer of Silicon Ranch “I told him not to do it again,” Bredesen said “I do not believe they ever did anything like that again There wasn’t anything bad about it; it was just visibly bad." who loaned $19 million to Silicon Ranch and has invested $4 million into the company since 2010 has seen his investment stake grow to between $25 million and $50 million He has not sold any shares of the company to date Bredesen said that he has never been an employee of Silicon Ranch and receives no stock options He will resign as chairman if he is elected senator Farr emphasized that for the first year of the company But now he's "extremely proud of what we've done."  Bredesen's attention on solar was driven by a focus on economic development and his interest in the environment When Bredesen and Kisber traveled to Europe in June 2009 and June 2010 they focused on renewable energy development and when Bredesen traveled to China in October 2009 he reported positive conversations with leaders about the industry “The real interest for me was my personal desire to do things that were environmentally sound I thought it was a real opportunity to create some jobs and bring some investment in," Bredesen said "Our focus was probably much more on the creation of manufacturing jobs rather than the presence of solar generating facilities.” In 2008, Bredesen recruited Hemlock Semiconductor Corp. a manufacturer of solar ingredient polysilicon, to Tennessee committing at least $111 million in incentives to attract the $1 billion investment in Clarksville and the 500 new jobs expected according to the Tennessee Economic & Community Development office Bredesen announced German polysilicon producer Wacker Chemie AG had chosen a site near Cleveland for a $1 billion plant also promising 500 jobs The state provided $107 million in grants and training funding more than $62 million in federal stimulus money went to set up the Tennessee Solar Institute a partnership between Oak Ridge National Lab and the University of Tennessee About $6.4 million in grants was dedicated to Austin Peay State University to train workers in solar.   Bredesen signed into law three tax breaks for green energy companies Sales would be taxed similarly to pollution control facilities such as water recycling operations or dust filters allowing businesses to receive a full tax refund on machinery and equipment purchases.  They would be exempt from the state's franchise tax on equipment and their property taxes were calculated as they were for pollution control facilities in Tennessee with their salvage value of property assessed no higher than half a percent of their acquisition value After then-Attorney General Robert Cooper and Comptroller Justin Wilson objected to the property tax provision calling it unconstitutional because it favors certain taxpayers state lawmakers changed the limit to 12.5 percent in 2013 The larger break remains intact for pollution control facilities Lawmakers originally sought a higher tax limit which would have significantly damaged the sector said Tennessee Solar Energy Industries Association Executive Director Gil Hough "It would have made a lot of projects not go up," Hough said.  Bredesen said the impetus for the tax law was to give structure to the new sector in Tennessee At the time there was no definition of how taxes for solar businesses would be treated because there weren’t many solar businesses in the state and companies needed a clear policy to secure loans from lenders Bredesen said Tennessee’s tax treatment on solar is “middle of the road” compared with other states Silicon Ranch chief marketing officer and president of the Tennessee solar association pointed to 13 states where property tax credits are the same as or higher than Tennessee's four of which are in the Southeast.   Silicon Ranch began applying for the tax breaks passed in 2010 Silicon Ranch has been certified by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation for 19 solar projects The state does not disclose the size of the credits Silicon Ranch does not benefit from the sales tax provision passed in 2010 because it is classified as an industrial machinery company and Silicon Ranch still pays a franchise tax on its equity Silicon Ranch benefited from the original more lucrative property tax break for one year before the law was changed With just 10 percent of Silicon Ranch’s business in Tennessee any savings from the property tax law are “very The 2013 tax change amounted to about a $50,000 annual increase in tax payments in Tennessee for Silicon Ranch Silicon Ranch helps companies or utility cooperatives that want to have solar energy The company signs a long-term contract for buying solar power and Silicon Ranch secures the financing Among its earliest customers was Volkswagen a company Bredesen recruited to Tennessee in 2008. The automaker announced plans in 2013 for a new 33-acre solar park to power its Chattanooga facility Discussions with Volkswagen about solar began in late 2011 Tennessee's solar sector includes more than 4,400 jobs, according to a 2018 Solar Energy Industries Association report That's about half of the jobs in Florida and North Carolina and on par with Georgia each leaders in the sector in the Southeast.  Bredesen said he thinks the state could be doing more to help the sector expand in Tennessee “There is no question I had a very different commitment to it than Bill Haslam did,” Bredesen said. “We could be more of a leader in this field than we are.” Reporter Joel Ebert contributed to this report Reach Jamie McGee at 615-259-8071 and on Twitter @JamieMcGee_ Not only have they published a cookbook of traditional recipes shared by the families who helped shape Jackson over the last 130 years they have brought to life through memories It’s often said that the kitchen is the heart of the home represents the heart and soul of one of the oldest reform congregations in West Tennessee It is dedicated to the memory of several women who will forever be remembered by this congregation Florence Koenisgberg Cohen and Ann Frolich Rosenblum The Jewish community has been part of this area since before there was a Jackson it grew to over 120 families and today Congregation B’nai Israel remains an active community of about thirty families which is located at the corner of West Grand and Campbell Streets is a landmark of the historical LANA community Under the leadership of congregation president the first service was held at this location on Rosh Hashanah Eve It remains one of the few properties in Tennessee listed in the National Register for its significance in Jewish heritage Many of the memories are associated with the celebrations and dinners served in the basement of synagogue Some of the recipes shared in this collection reflect the stories and religious observances that have been celebrated there and passed down through generations Jewish tradition recognizes a meal as a time for fellowship as food has always been intrinsic to their life and culture Indeed food is the glue that is attributed to tying the Jewish people together and likely the focal point of many of their social gatherings One celebration in the Social Hall that I remember was Mike Crane’s bar mitzvah John played baseball with the Crane brothers hunk of brisket or whatever else Mike’s grandmother She insisted that these growing boys needed a snack before supper The bar mitzvah spread was beyond describable many others – but this is the one I remember which is the Yiddish word for “little corners,” “little twists,” or possibly “royal,” couldn’t possibly be as good as I remember mini-croissant-like pastries will leave you craving more Gold gave my mother the rugelach and also her strudel recipes and I remember the sticky sweetness in the kitchen as the first batches were baked was a lifelong friend of my brother’s as was Sammy Goldstein The Goldstein’s have been neighbors for years and Joanne’s recipe for Reuben quiche in this book is a keeper It will remind you of the unsurpassable corn beef and rye sandwiches you’d order at one of the famous New York delis Jane’s recipe for corn light bread and for chicken casserole you have no idea what you’re missing if you haven’t tasted this regional cornmeal based sweet bread Jane Kisber was the first lady of fashion for many years in Jackson and her recipe for pound cake and also blintzes David Crane was known to generations as the owner of a shoe store located in Kisber’s Department Store but to others he was acclaimed as a wonderful baker six-braided bread traditionally eaten at holiday celebrations has shared family recipes for Mama Gold’s Mondel Janet and Mike Silver have included some of the recipes taken from Flo Cohen’s personal recipe cards along with Helen’s Hot Fruit and Helen’s Salad Dressing which belonged to Mike’s mother but did you realize that for years the cornerstone of Jackson was the original Robert’s Jewelry Store which was downtown and founded by Joseph Cohen in 1946 Cohen went on to be named “Man of the Year 1964” and his legacy lives on today thorough his family and their business Robin Richman Vinegar shares several of her mom Shirley Richman’s favorites such as chocolate tassies and stikla Add to that Brenda Rayman’s recipes for lemon butter cookies the Famous Temple Emanu-El Brisket and latkes – those crispy potato pancakes a staple of the Jewish diet eaten especially during the festival of Hanukah Recipes for Bess Crane’s Kugel and other classics such as Rebecca Axelrad and Janice Rosenbloom Riddler’s cheesecake and mandelbrot a traditional Jewish cookie that resembles biscotti but is more tender It is certainly interesting how traditional recipes have played such an important part of the Jewish culinary culture For instance is the Seder plate with the foods of Passover At this meal it’s traditional for Jews to eat horseradish to remember the bitterness of their forebears’ lives as slaves in ancient Egypt is eaten to represent the mortar the slaves used in building the pyramids falls precisely seven weeks after Passover and is a holiday celebrating the giving of the 10 Commandments on Mount Sinai It’s traditional to celebrate the holiday by eating dairy dishes such as Marjorie Cohn Diott’s cheesecake featured in this collection which celebrates the triumph of Queen Esther over Haman should include drinking wine and a brisket is traditionally served along with the Hamantaschen a recipe included for David Cohen who is partial to these yeasty triangular cookies filled with prunes There’s little not to like about the Jewish noodle casseroles which can be savory or sweet a day of rest and celebration that begins on Friday at sunset and ends on the following evening after nightfall Challah is crispy and golden bread on the outside and fluffy on the inside and also a traditional David Crane was such a good challah baker that one Rabbi always took a loaf home to Cincinnati Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the New Year in the Jewish calendar Hannah Clayton’s recipe for a Honey Cake laced with spices coffee and a swig of whiskey is also traditional is associated two meals – the pre-fast meal and the break-fast meal eggs and cheese are on the menu following the fast homemade applesauce and Hanukkah-shaped cookies Matzah balls made of unleavened bread are sometimes added and you’ll find Ira Marks family recipe One hundred and thirty years represents generations many recipes and celebrations and many people who contributed to the Jackson Tennessee that we know today Get a copy of this collection by pre-ordering now Pinch off small balls for each mini muffin tin Press into each muffin tin to form a pie shell Filling (will need to double the recipe for 4 dozen): Mix ingredients until smooth Take out of tins while warm and let cool on rack Susan Crane Farber (daughter of Bess Crane 4 cups flour (could be a little more or less – put in 3-1/2 cups and add more if the dough is too sticky) Knead by hand or in a mixer with the dough hook or use a bread machine Cover and leave in a warm place or put in the oven if it has a proof setting then split each half into 3 parts to braid Place on cookie sheet and let rise for 1-2 hours or until about double in size Brush on and sprinkle with poppy seeds or sesame seed or topping of choice – if you like Jody Fischer Crane (daughter-in-law of David Crane) Sour Cream Pound Cake (Jane Greenberg Kisber) one at a time and beat well after each addition Place batter in well-greased Bundt or tube pan and bake 1-1/2 hours at 300 degrees Test with cake tester and if it doesn’t’ come out clean so you’ll have to cut it down for a family This mixture is good as a Seder symbolic dish or for breakfast firm crisp apples (4 tart/sweet and 4 sweet) Drain large can of pineapple and reserve juice in a bowl dates and apricots about the same size and put them into drained liquid from pineapple Mix thoroughly (this will allow the dried fruits to not stick together when trying to mix them into apples.) Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well Pour in wine (use less wine if you prefer charoset drier and more if you prefer it really moist.) Mix twice a day for two days – sample each time – Mmmmmm Good Stir in vinegar to make the proper consistency You can adjust the heat by adding more or less horseradish Line bottom of 9x13-inch greased pan with bread cubes Pour egg/milk mixture over dry ingredients in pan and cover with foil Uncover and return to oven for additional 10 minutes – until puffed and lightly browned wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 3-4 hours or overnight Remove the dough from refrigerator and allow to sit on the counter for about 15 minutes On a lightly floured surface or silicone mat roll one ball of dough into a 12-inch circle Place point side down on ungreased cookie sheet lined with parchment or a silicone baking mat Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture Repeat with remaining two dough balls and filling dip bottoms in granulated sugar and place on wax paper to cool completely Fold in cottage cheese and sour cream; fold in drained noodles Place in well-greased (with butter) 2-quart casserole dish Sprinkle with corn flakes and top with dabs of butter Bake at 375 degrees until golden and crusty on top (45 minutes – I hour.) B’nai Israel Mid-Year Bulletin Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until browned on top David Friedman (son of Jane Lindy Friedman) Make checks payable to: Congregation B'nai Israel Shipping cost is $5 for one cookbook; $6 for 2-5 cookbooks to the same address Cookbooks delivered locally in Jackson around December 11 at no cost Trackers | The economic argument for trackers is increasingly compelling president and CEO of Silicon Ranch Corporation explains why the technology’s use is increasing and examines the benefits of opting for single axis tracking systems we have upgraded our product offerings and features to bring you the best experience please check your email inbox for password reset message from PV Tech and follow the instructions Can\'t find the email? Try to sign in again and use the "Forgot Password" button If you have any questions please contact us. Belépés China's Fiberhome to produce optical cables in HungaryEnglish China's Fiberhome is to set up its largest European base in Hungary where it will manufacture optical fibre cables Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced in Beijing on Wednesday The company will manufacture optical cables in the town of Kisbér The project is valued at eight billion forints with the state funding 15 percent of the cost thus contributing to the creation of around 150 new jobs in the town Chinese companies are amongst the leaders in the global market even in sectors requiring the most modern and sophisticated technological solutions," the Foreign Minister said Szijjártó added that the company has already indicated that it will pursue further investments in Hungary if the demand for optical cables continues to grow and there is a need for further expansion of its manufacturing capacity "It is thus very good news that Chinese companies continue to see Hungary as their number one investment destination in Central Europe and the trend of Chinese companies contributing to the growth of the Hungarian economy looks to remain stable in the future," he said For more quick, accurate and impartial news from and about Hungary, subscribe to the Telex English newsletter! 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