SatNews The World Teleport Association (WTA) has announced that Speedcast has achieved Tier 3 certification of its Biddinghuizen (Netherlands) Teleport under WTA’s Teleport Certification Program The Biddinghuizen certification marks the 62nd issued since the program was launched at IBC 2015 and another 6 teleports are currently engaged in the quality evaluation process independently verified standards as a means for teleports to differentiate themselves and for customers to choose the price-performance level suitable for their applications Certification is issued on a Provisional (self-reported) basis after completion of a +170-item questionnaire that is evaluated against standards developed by WTA’s Certification Committee The teleport then has six months to achieve Full Certification To achieve Full Certification under WTA’s program an auditor is dispatched to visit the teleport provide independent validation of the data submitted in the questionnaire and identify additional factors that may positively or negatively affect the score Full Certification is issued at a Tier number from 1 through 4 of which 4 represents the highest degree of excellence Certifications have been issued to teleports operated by IABG Teleport “Biddinghuizen is one of nine teleports that make up the Speedcast global ground segment network,” said Speedcast’s Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer “That ground segment is our vital link between space and terrestrial communication and the processing centers that contribute much of the value of our services WTA Certification gives our customers confidence in the infrastructure technology and procedures that ensure that value.” “Biddinghuizen joins the 25 teleports WTA has certified in Europe,” said WTA executive director supporting mission-critical operations for energy For more information about the Teleport Certification Program, visit this link or email WTA Membership Director Randall Barney at [email protected] Karolin Schaps Solar Carport Biddinghuizen in Biddinghuizen Solarfields/Handout via Thomson Reuters Foundation is finding innovative places to site solar projects on limited land AMSTERDAM - In the Dutch countryside about 130 km (80 miles) east of Amsterdam an unusual-looking hill towers and glistens above farmhouses The hill - 25 metres (80 ft) tall - is built from 15 years' worth of household and business waste What's remarkable is what's covering it: 23,000 solar panels Dutch solar developer TPSolar opened the array which can produce up to 8.9 megawatts of power The former landfill now generates enough electricity for about 2,500 households The project reflects a wider drive in the Netherlands - which now has more than 48 million solar panels installed - to find innovative places to put new renewable energy capacity With land for renewable energy siting short nearly everywhere around the world the Dutch experience - including putting solar on car parks train stations and airfields - could inspire better siting of renewables globally TPSolar's Barry Lamers (left) and Robert van der Horst (right) at solar park Berkelweide in Lochem "Because we have so little space in the Netherlands it's important to use the ground for multiple reasons," said Bernd Nijen Twilhaar a coordinator at Dutch solar developer Solarfields which manages large solar farms and has installed at least 450,000 panels in the country "We have to be innovative and creative so we can produce the electricity the Netherlands needs to go green," he added The Netherlands today has an average of two solar panels per inhabitant - and installed capacity of more than 1 kilowatt (KW) per person - making it Europe's per-capita solar powerhouse according to industry association Solar Power Europe Solar developers and analysts say the expansion has been driven by a huge drop in equipment prices and ambitious government targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions The government aims to make 70% of its electricity renewable by 2030, mainly through expanding solar and wind power capacity as it seeks to cut its emissions as one of Europe's top six polluting countries the Netherlands is cutting energy reliance on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine Dutch solar and wind farms have helped fill the electricity supply gap left by gas-fired power stations that have became unprofitable to run amid record-high gas prices But the Netherlands' farmland is among the most expensive in the EU making finding space for solar plans costly That reality, combined with the country's high population density means solar firms have had to be inventive when it comes to finding space In recent years, the Netherlands has enshrined climate targets like its renewable energy goal into law, vowed to limit onshore gas and oil drilling The nation's 2022 renewable energy budget was 13 billion euros ($13.9 billion) the Netherlands generated 14% of its electricity from solar farms - up from 1% in 2015 - overtaking coal-fired power generation for the first time The proportion of electricity from solar was the highest generated in the EU the country's "net metering" system - set up in 2004 and allowing households with solar panels to offset their green electricity production against their consumption - now has more than two million homes generating renewable power The Dutch government is assessing how site planning and financial support can be altered to encourage more construction of solar farms better integrated into the landscape an energy ministry spokesman said by email who focuses on building green energy projects at waste management company Afvalzorg described the Dutch approach to renewables as "extremely MacGyver-ish" - referring to a 1980s U.S TV show about a resourceful secret agent who assembled ingenious devices from everyday objects "We take the different energy technologies we stack them and we try to make a combination that really works," said Jacobs whose company has teamed up with a local utility to turn disused landfill sites into solar farms "It takes a while but once everybody hops on the train we actually execute relatively quickly in the Netherlands." Nearly 20% of the low-lying country's surface is water and solar power developers including GroenLeven have taken advantage by installing farms on man-made lakes The company has installed more than 500,000 solar panels on Dutch waters leaving the Netherlands behind only China globally in such siting "This idea of floating solar came up in the Netherlands earlier than in other countries," said Benedikt Ortmann global director of solar projects at German renewable energy company BayWa r.e. said it now is rolling out more floating solar sites in European countries such as Belgium Dutch firms are also looking for ways to make solar plants work alongside agricultural production GroenLeven's Maarten de Groot points at the company's Nij Beets floating solar farm at Nij Beets "Rather than having to fight over who's going to get the access to the land we come up with solutions to jointly use it," said Carel Kooij business development manager for large-scale photovoltaic (PV) at the Dutch subsidiary of Swedish utility Vattenfall One so-called "Agri-PV" project involves growing strawberries and raspberries below a solar panel roof replacing the plastic cover traditionally used by farmers project leaders said the plants needed 25% less water because they were sheltered from the sun potentially saving irrigation water in a future where climate change brings hotter and drier summers Dutch solar developers say new projects must be conceived with local interests firmly in mind stipulates that renewable energy projects should aim to allocate 50% of the green energy they produce to local inhabitants developers tend to invest in the community - from sending a percentage of renewable power generated to local energy cooperatives or setting up a socioeconomic fund to make energy efficiency improvements you are always working in someone's backyard," said Robert van der Horst "You always have to talk to the people and discuss what is best for a certain area," he added "Then you try to enhance that with your solar farm."  (Reporting by Karolin Schaps; Editing by Kieran Guilbert and Laurie Goering.) 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The Workforce Disclosure Initiative is an investor-backed project to improve the quantity & quality of corporate workforce data via an annual survey & engagement process Trust Conference is the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s flagship annual event taking place in the heart of London each year TrustLaw is the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s global pro bono service facilitating free legal assistance to NGOs and social enterprises around the world Showers early with some clearing overnight Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: "It was really fun to not be limited by your own voice or your own style and just have complete freedom" Bombay Bicycle Club have opened up about their upcoming album ‘My Big Day‘ and how it is their most collaborative LP to date After being asked what made them want to expand their creative process during the latest episode of NME‘s In Conversation series frontman Jack Steadman said: “I think that might be another result of me doing my solo stuff where I did collaborate on almost every song It was really fun to not be limited by your own voice or your own style and just have complete freedom.” He continued: “It’s certainly very eclectic…from Holly Humberstone to Damon Albarn it’s a nice mix of people and obviously the surprise is gonna blow a lot of people’s minds.” ‘My Big Day’ features the likes of Humberstone, Albarn, Jay Som and Nilüfer Yanya. Both Steadman and the band’s guitarist, Jamie MacColl, shared what it was like to get someone as big and busy as Albarn for a feature. “I actually went and played him the album, ‘cause I value his opinion a lot. It was just one song, where instead of giving me a few notes or feedback, he just got his engineer to bring him a microphone and just started singing this melody.  It was kind of a curse as well as a blessing. It’s so good but am I ever going to persuade him to actually finish it and write the lyrics?,” shared Steadman. MacColl added: “I think he finished it in a long journey between Coachella and somewhere else. Also, he doesn’t own a mobile phone, so it’s not like you can just WhatsApp him and be like, ‘how are the lyrics going?’” The LP also features another special guest that has been kept under wraps. “It’s gonna shock a lot of people, so why not make it into something,” said Steadman, with MacCall adding: “I think we wanted to reveal it visually for the first time as well, rather than on a track listing.” A post shared by Bombay Bicycle Club (@bombayinsta) the band discussed how their self-produced their upcoming LP attributing things like trying not to limit themselves and attempting to “not play it safe” anymore as some of the reasons for their decision “I think we were definitely consciously trying to be a bit braver than we were on the previous record and saying that nothing was off limits,” explained MacColl “Particularly when you’ve been doing this for 18 years there’s no point trying to play it safe at this point There’s nothing to be gained from it personally or even commercially.” Steadman added: “What we’ve realised is we’re never gonna meet someone that’s harder on us than we are We whittle away at songs and really cut the fat off them [It’s about] doing that enough times until the ten songs you’re left with are incredible.” ‘My Big Day’ is set for release on October 20 via AWAL. Pre-order the album here. The world’s defining voice in music and pop culture: breaking what’s new and what’s next since 1952 No social distancing and dance like there’s no tomorrow Next month Fieldlab Events (in collaboration with ID&T and Mojo) can finally start organizing corona test festivals on the grounds of Defqon.1 in Biddinghuizen READ: Gunz For Hire is giving away ‘Toy Soldiers’ for free: “We’re working on a new secret mission” Things are finally turning a little into the direction of the events industry On the grounds that is familiar territory for hardstyle enthusiasts there will be two corona festivals in March – with 1.500 visitors allowed per edition a mini-festival where visitors help collect data such as behavior But it is actually a full blown festival that has everything you need Multiple stages, a full line-up with artists and food trucks. “It is not a medical experiment, we look at contact”, spokesman Tim Boersma of Fieldlab Events says to Dutch news website 3voor12 “Everyone will be provided with a tag at the entrance Not all of those fifteen hundred people meet each other Can you solve that by putting more toilet blocks?” visitors must be able to hand in a negative corona test and they will be given access to the festival in phases but everyone is completely free outside of that The festivals start at 15:00 and will last until the beginning of the evening: “In case there is still a night curfew at that time.” Fieldlab would start earlier with several events but these were postponed due to the curfew and extension of the lockdown Soon there will also be trial events in the Ziggo Dome and two Dutch football matches (with 1.500 supporters as well) When the corona festivals will take place and which (hardstyle) artists will perform here, will be announced later. Keep an eye on the channels of Fieldlab Events for more information Finally some positive news for the events industry: let this end a hopeless situation for many Footage taken from Q-dance / Spark WEBSITE BY BHUGE We use cookies to give you the best experience on our site You can find more information about the cookies we use or turn them off in the settings This site uses cookies to provide you with the best possible user experience Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognizing when you return to our site and helping our team understand which parts of the site you find most interesting and useful Strictly necessary cookies must always be enabled so that we can save your cookie preference settings we will not be able to save your preferences This means that every time you visit this site you will need to enable or disable cookies again Sign In Register The Dutch are captivated by the tropical temperatures but of course the harder styles community can only think about one thing: ‘the curse of Biddinghuizen’ has finally been lifted It will be hot as hell at Defqon.1 for a change ALSO READ: Festival checklist 2019 – are you completely ready? Defqon.1 Festival faced some bad luck: even though the weather would be beautiful beforehand rain just didn’t seem to be able to stay away from the weekend festival This year this bad luck seems to have ended since it will might even be over 30°C… Even though you never really know in the Netherlands, you can assume it will be an average of 30°C this weekend. Do you want to visit Defqon.1 now? Sunday tickets are still available via Q-dance’s official website. Make sure you look after yourself and your friends and be sure to make it a weekend to remember forever Footage via Facebook-page Defqon.1 Defqon.1 has just announced the first details of the upcoming edition Organization Q-dance reveals the exact date of the largest harder styles festival in the world which will take place again next year for 4 days with about 100,000 visitors READ: “Defqon.1 2022 was the best edition ever” The Weekend Warriors can finally prepare themselves for Defqon.1 2023 where visitors will receive an extensive offer during these 4 days of madness This is a follow-up to the last edition: with more than 300 artists impressive final shows and a lot of harder styles Ticket sales for Defqon.1 will start on 25 October for DEDIQATED members The Travel & Stay and regular sales start on the 27th and 29th: most options sell out quickly more information about the upcoming edition will be revealed soon Defqon.1 will take place from Thursday 22 June to Sunday 25 June. Keep an eye on the official website of Q-dance to stay informed about everything around the festival Footage taken from Facebook page Defqon.1 you will need to enable or disable cookies again.