HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The board of directors of Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) has declared a quarterly dividend of 90 cents per share on Phillips 66 common stock. The dividend is payable on June 1, 2021, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on May 24, 2021.

About Phillips 66

Phillips 66 is a diversified energy manufacturing and logistics company. With a portfolio of Midstream, Chemicals, Refining, and Marketing and Specialties businesses, the company processes, transports, stores and markets fuels and products globally. Phillips 66 Partners, the company’s master limited partnership, is integral to the portfolio. Headquartered in Houston, the company has 14,200 employees committed to safety and operating excellence. Phillips 66 had $55 billion of assets as of March 31, 2021. For more information, visit www.phillips66.com or follow us on Twitter @Phillips66Co.

Jeff Dietert (investors)
832-765-2297
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Shannon Holy (investors)
832-765-2297
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Thaddeus Herrick (media)
855-841-2368
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ANNAPOLIS, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CleanBay Renewables Inc. (CleanBay) today announced that it is working with the Climate Action Reserve (The Reserve) to establish a nitrous oxide (N₂O) avoidance framework and a protocol for carbon credit accounting associated with fuel and fertilizer derived from poultry manure.

The Reserve, the premier carbon offset registry for the North American market, will initially focus on quantifying the emission reductions from the conversion of agricultural byproducts, like poultry manure, into controlled-release fertilizers. The team will also establish mechanisms to calculate the displacement of fossil transport fuels through the use of agriculture-derived renewable natural gas. The end goal is to develop a science-based framework that is applicable across the entire agricultural sector, enabling science-based carbon credit accounting for agricultural N₂O emission reductions.

“Through The Reserve’s independent analysis, we are confident that our process to create renewable natural gas and controlled-release fertilizer from poultry litter will prove to be a sustainable solution to our country’s emissions challenges,” said Thomas Spangler, CleanBay’s Executive Chairman. “Further, The Reserve will help scientifically quantify the amount of greenhouse gas emissions that each of our facilities will reduce, while also developing a carbon credit accounting method for the entire agricultural sector.”

CleanBay is developing a portfolio of bioconversion facilities across the U.S., each of which will recycle more than 150,000 tons of chicken litter annually. By repurposing a potential source of excess nutrients, each facility can generate over 750,000 MMBtus of sustainable renewable natural gas, 125,000 tons of organic, controlled-release fertilizer, and an estimated 500,000 tons of CO₂ equivalent emission abatement that will be available for purchase in carbon markets.

About CleanBay Renewables Inc.

CleanBay is an enviro-tech company founded in 2013 and focused on the sustainable management of waste through anaerobic digestion and nutrient recovery technologies which produce renewable natural gas and controlled-release organic fertilizer. The company’s first bio-conversion facility will be located in Maryland, and the company is actively developing sites for future facilities on the Delmarva Peninsula, in the Southeast, and California. CleanBay’s powerful solution to reduce air, soil and water pollution is sustained by a robust economic model that provides businesses with an opportunity to offset their CO₂ emissions, local farmers with an alternative use for their poultry litter, and a controlled-release fertilizer to increase food production and support healthy soils.

For more information, visit https://cleanbayrenewables.com.

Andy Hallmark
Outreach Director
CleanBay Renewables
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ABERDEEN, Scotland--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- 

Financial Highlights

For the three months ended March 31, 2021, KNOT Offshore Partners LP (“KNOT Offshore Partners” or the “Partnership”):

• Generated total revenues of $71.5 million, operating income of $27.6 million and net income of $28.1 million.
• Generated Adjusted EBITDA of $51.3 million (1)
• Generated distributable cash flow of $21.7 million (1)
• Reported a distribution coverage ratio of 1.20 (2)
• Reported $115.0 million in available liquidity, which included cash and cash equivalents of $60.0 million at March 31, 2021 (compared to $73.3 million of available liquidity and $52.6 million of cash and cash equivalents at December 31, 2020)

Other Partnership Highlights and Events

• Fleet operated with 91.6% utilization for scheduled operations and 89.1% utilization overall. Utilization was lower in the first quarter due to the offhire of the Windsor Knutsen due to repairs to her main engine block (90 days) and the scheduled drydocking of the Bodil Knutsen (38 days). As Windsor Knutsen benefited from loss of hire insurance for 90 days in the quarter, including the vessel as onhire increases utilization to 97.5%.
• The Partnership’s operations remained materially unaffected by the COVID-19 outbreak to date.
• On January 19, 2021, the Partnership, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Knutsen Shuttle Tankers 19 AS, which owned the Raquel Knutsen, closed a sale and leaseback agreement with a Japanese-based lessor for a lease period of ten years.
• On May 13, 2021, the Partnership will pay a quarterly cash distribution of $0.52 per common unit with respect to the quarter ended March 31, 2021 to all common unitholders of record on April 29, 2021. On May 13, 2021, the Partnership will pay a cash distribution to holders of Series A Convertible Preferred Units (“Series A Preferred Units”) with respect to the quarter ended March 31, 2021 in an aggregate amount equal to $1.8 million.
• The Partnership has agreed on the commercial terms for a one-year fixed time charter contract for the Windsor Knutsen (with potential options to extend the charter by one one-year period and then one six-month period) with a major oil company to commence in the third quarter of 2021.
• During the first quarter, the Bodil Knutsen successfully completed its scheduled second renewal survey drydocking, leaving the dockyard on March 24, 2021. The Partnership took advantage of the drydocking to also install a ballast water treatment system on the vessel.
• On March 9, 2021, the charterer of the Bodil Knutsen, Equinor ASA (“Equinor”) did not notify the Partnership by this due date of its intention to exercise its option to extend the time charter for the vessel and, as a consequence, the vessel was effectively redelivered to the Partnership on February 22, 2021 at the start of the vessel’s drydock. The Partnership is now marketing the vessel for new time charter employment. Absent any such employment and to provide some support to the Partnership in the interim period, the Partnership and Knutsen NYK Offshore Tankers AS (“Knutsen NYK”) have agreed for Knutsen NYK to time charter the vessel from the Partnership on a rolling three month basis, possibly for the remainder of 2021, at a reduced rate, commencing on a date to be agreed in May 2021 based on operational practicality.
• In May 2021, the Partnership reached an agreement with the VOC Industry Co-operation Norwegian Sector (“VOCIC Norway”) whereby VOCIC Norway would fund loss of hire (at a reduced rate) during, and costs related to, the installation of a VOC (”Volatile Organic Compound”) recovery plant on the Bodil Knutsen. The work is expected to be carried out in the third or fourth quarter of 2021 and take around one month. This will significantly improve the operational attractiveness of the vessel in the North Sea and Norwegian sectors going forward as well as virtually eliminate the non-methane VOC released into the atmosphere arising from the vessel’s cargo.

Gary Chapman, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of KNOT Offshore Partners LP, commented, “By continuing to achieve a high effective utilization and strong cashflow throughout the first quarter, we were able to once again provide an attractive, well-covered distribution to our unitholders and we expect our current contract portfolio to continue providing solid distribution coverage throughout the year. We are also making good progress in securing full contract coverage beyond the current year, though the recent effects of COVID on our customers’ capex schedules have created near-term headwinds for shuttle tanker demand. However, given the recovery being seen in certain parts of the global economy already, we are confident that this situation will reverse and represents only an issue of timing. As we move further ahead, we continue to be optimistic about the expansion of shuttle tanker-serviced fields in Brazil and the North Sea in the mid to long term and the growth opportunities that this expansion would present to us as the leading player in the high barrier-to-entry shuttle tanker market.”

Financial Results Overview

Total revenues were $71.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021 (the “first quarter”), compared to $69.9 million for the three months ended December 31, 2020 (the “fourth quarter”). The first quarter revenues were positively affected by earnings from the time charter for the Tove Knutsen being included in the results of operations from December 31, 2020 and increased earnings from the Windsor Knutsen related to loss of hire recoveries in connection with repairs to her main engine block in the fourth quarter of 2020. The increased earnings were offset by reduced revenues from the Bodil Knutsen as a result of 38 days offhire as she started the scheduled drydocking during the first quarter and two less operational days during the first quarter of 2021.

Vessel operating expenses for the first quarter of 2021 were $18.6 million, an increase of $3.0 million from $15.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. The increase is mainly due to the Tove Knutsen being included in the results of operations from December 31, 2020 and increased operating costs for the Bodil Knutsen due to bunkers consumption and increased operating costs in general in connection with the scheduled drydocking in the first quarter.

Depreciation was $23.7 million for the first quarter, an increase of $1.2 million from $22.5 million in the fourth quarter. The increase is related to the Tove Knutsen being included in operations from December 31, 2020.

General and administrative expenses increased $0.2 million from $1.4 million in the fourth quarter to $1.6 million in the first quarter. The increase primarily reflects the effect of additional activity in connection with the year-end accounts.

As a result, operating income for the first quarter was $27.6 million, compared to $30.4 million in the fourth quarter.

Interest expense for the first quarter was $7.4 million, an increase of $1.3 million from $6.1 million for the fourth quarter. The increase was mainly due to the sale and leaseback transaction related to Raquel Knutsen as a result of which both the financial obligation and interest rate increased. In addition, the interest expense increased due to the additional debt incurred in connection with the acquisition of the Tove Knutsen. This was partially offset by two less days in the first quarter compared to the fourth quarter and a lower LIBOR rate on average.

Realized and unrealized gain on derivative instruments was $8.0 million in the first quarter, compared to $0.2 million in the fourth quarter. The unrealized non-cash element of the mark-to-market gain was $11.9 million for the first quarter of 2021, compared to $2.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2020. All of the unrealized gain for the first quarter of 2021 is related to a mark-to-market gain on interest rate swaps.

As a result, net income for the first quarter of 2021 was $28.1 million compared to $24.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2020.

Net income for the first quarter of 2021 increased by $34.2 million to $28.1 million from a net loss of $6.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020. Operating income for the first quarter of 2021 decreased by $0.8 million to $27.6 million, compared to operating income of $28.4 million in the first quarter of 2020, mainly due to lower utilization of the fleet due to the scheduled drydocking of the Bodil Knutsen in the first quarter of 2021. This was partially offset by full earnings from the Raquel Knutsen in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the first quarter of 2020 when the vessel finished its scheduled first special survey drydocking and including the Tove Knutsen in results of operations from December 31, 2020. Total finance income for the first quarter of 2021 increased by $35.1 million to $0.5 million, compared to finance expense of $34.6 million for the first quarter of 2020. The increase in finance income was mainly due to lower average interest costs due to a decrease in the US LIBOR rate and higher unrealized gain on derivative instruments.

Distributable cash flow was $21.7 million for the first quarter of 2021, compared to $28.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2020. The decrease in distributable cash flow was mainly due to lower utilization of the fleet in combination with increased operating costs for the fleet due to drydocking and increased interest costs due to refinancing and increased realized loss on derivative instruments. This was offset by increased contribution from the Tove Knutsen being included in the result of operations from December 31, 2020. The distribution declared for the first quarter of 2021 was $0.52 per common unit, equivalent to an annualized distribution of $2.08.

COVID-19

The outbreak of the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) continues to negatively affect global economic activity, including the demand for oil and oil shipping, which may materially impact the Partnership’s operations and the operations of its customers and suppliers, although progress in vaccinations brings cautious optimism and there are some early signs a recovery may follow.

The Partnership’s focus continues to be on ensuring the health and safety of its employees while providing safe and reliable operations for its customers.

The Partnership’s finances and operations have remained materially unaffected by the COVID-19 outbreak to date, although costs related to crew, crew transportation and logistics have all increased as countries have each introduced different quarantine rules and travel restrictions. The Partnership has not had any material service interruptions on its time-chartered vessels as a result of COVID-19.

However, the potential impact on the Partnership’s business, financial condition and results of operations remains uncertain although large scale distribution of vaccines seems likely to mitigate some of these uncertainties during 2021. It remains too early to definitively judge the speed, scale and overall effect of vaccination efforts.

The closure of, or restricted access to, ports and terminals and passenger air travel in regions affected by the virus may lead to further operational impacts that could result in higher costs. It is possible that an outbreak onboard a time-chartered vessel could prevent the Partnership from meeting its obligations under a charter, resulting in an off-hire claim and loss of revenue. Any outbreak of COVID-19 on board one of the Partnership’s time-chartered vessels or that affects any of the Partnership’s main suppliers could cause an inability to replace critical supplies or parts, maintain adequate crewing or fulfil the Partnership’s obligations under its time charter contracts which in turn could result in off-hire or claims for the impacted period.

Although COVID-19 placed downward pressure on economic activity and energy demand during 2020, oil prices have rebounded back above $60/bbl. Announced delays in new capital expenditure by many oil majors in 2020 have had a negative impact on the demand for shuttle tankers and, given the uncertainty around the continuation of the COVID-19 situation, this dampened demand could persist. This could affect the timing and number of new, long-term offshore projects and the overall outlook for oil production, which could eventually and in turn impact the demand and pricing for shuttle tankers. Furthermore, the Partnership may be unable to re-charter its vessels at attractive rates in the future, particularly for vessels that are coming off charter in the next one to two years. Notwithstanding these challenges, the Partnership remains confident in the mid to long term growth opportunities for the shuttle tanker market and that once economic activity begins to move back closer towards pre-COVID levels the Partnership will be well-placed to capture new opportunities, particularly given an absence of speculative vessel ordering in the shuttle tanker sector.

COVID-19 has had a sustained impact on global capital markets and the responses of governments around the world to manage the impact of the virus have led to lower interest rates and volatility in the prices of equities, bonds, commodities and their respective derivatives. The Partnership’s common unit price has risen in the first quarter of 2021, mainly due to a potential recovery in the wider economy, higher oil prices and sentiment in the energy and shipping sectors. The Partnership has two tranches of debt maturing in August and November 2021 but currently expects to be able to obtain refinancing for this debt, and other debt in the future, on satisfactory terms.

Operational Review

The Partnership’s vessels operated throughout the first quarter of 2021 with 91.6% utilization for scheduled operations and 89.1% utilization overall. Utilization was lower in the first quarter due to the offhire of the Windsor Knutsen (90 days) and the scheduled drydocking of the Bodil Knutsen (38 days). As Windsor Knutsen benefited from loss of hire insurance for 90 days in the quarter, including the vessel as onhire increases utilization to 97.5%.

In December 2020, the Windsor Knutsen reported a crack in its main engine block. The Partnership’s hull and machinery insurance covers the cost of repairs and loss of hire insurance provides income at approximately the level earned during the vessel’s prior long-term charter, excepting a 14-day deductible period under the policy, until such time as the vessel is repaired and fully operational, which is expected to be in or around June 2021. The incident and the repair are not expected to result in any future loss of hire and the repairs are progressing well, on time and on budget.

The Partnership has agreed on the commercial terms for a one-year fixed time charter contract for the Windsor Knutsen (with potential options to extend the charter by one one-year period and then one six-month period) with a major oil company to commence in the third quarter of 2021.

During the first quarter, the Bodil Knutsen successfully completed its scheduled second renewal survey drydocking, leaving the dockyard on March 24, 2021. The Partnership took advantage of the drydocking to also install a ballast water treatment system on the vessel.

On March 9, 2021, the charterer of the Bodil Knutsen, Equinor did not notify the Partnership by this due date of its intention to exercise its option to extend the time charter for the vessel and, as a consequence, the vessel was effectively redelivered to the Partnership on February 22, 2021 at the start of the vessel’s drydock. The Partnership is now marketing the vessel for new time charter employment. Absent any such employment and to provide some support to the Partnership in the interim period, the Partnership and Knutsen NYK have agreed for Knutsen NYK to time charter the vessel from the Partnership on a rolling three month basis, possibly for the remainder of 2021, at a reduced rate, commencing on a date to be agreed in May 2021 based on operational practicality.

In May 2021, the Partnership reached an agreement with VOCIC Norway whereby VOCIC Norway would fund loss of hire (at a reduced rate) during, and costs related to, the installation of a VOC recovery plant on the Bodil Knutsen. The work is expected to be carried out in the third or fourth quarter of 2021 and take around one month. This will significantly improve the operational attractiveness of the vessel in the North Sea and Norwegian sectors going forward as well as virtually eliminate the non-methane VOC released into the atmosphere arising from the vessel’s cargo.

On March 1, 2021, the Tove Knutsen developed a technical default due to leakage from its controllable pitch propeller. The vessel was repaired and returned to operation on April 15, 2021. Under its loss of hire insurance policy, the Partnership will be compensated by insurance for the contractual hire rate for the Tove Knutsen for each day in excess of 14 deductible days while the vessel was offhire. The repair cost will also be covered by insurance, in excess of a deductible of $150,000. The Partnership currently estimates that the aggregate cost to it due to the propeller default (including off-hire and repairs) will be approximately $0.3 million.

Financing and Liquidity

On January 19, 2021, the Partnership through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Knutsen Shuttle Tankers 19 AS, which owned the Raquel Knutsen, closed a sale and leaseback agreement with a Japanese-based lessor for a lease period of ten years. The gross sales price was $94.3 million and a portion of the proceeds was used to repay the outstanding loan and cancelation of the interest rate swap agreements related to the vessel. The bareboat rate under the lease consists of a fixed element per day and there is a fixed-price purchase obligation at maturity. After repayment of the loan and related interest rate swaps, the Partnership realized net proceeds of $38 million after fees and expenses.

As of March 31, 2021, the Partnership had $115.0 million in available liquidity, which consisted of cash and cash equivalents of $60.0 million and $55.0 million of capacity under its existing revolving credit facilities. The revolving credit facilities mature between August 2021 and November 2023. The Partnership’s total interest-bearing obligations outstanding as of March 31, 2021 was $1,023.7 million ($1,017.6 million net of debt issuance cost). The average margin paid on the Partnership’s outstanding debt during the first quarter of 2021 was approximately 2.04% over LIBOR.

As of March 31, 2021, the Partnership had entered into various interest rate swap agreements for a total notional amount of $479.3 million to hedge against the interest rate risks of its variable rate borrowings. As of March 31, 2021, the Partnership receives interest based on three or six-month LIBOR and pays a weighted average interest rate of 1.87% under its interest rate swap agreements, which have an average maturity of approximately 4.0 years. The Partnership does not apply hedge accounting for derivative instruments, and its financial results are impacted by changes in the market value of such financial instruments.

As of March 31, 2021, the Partnership’s net exposure to floating interest rate fluctuations was approximately $391.6 million based on total interest-bearing contractual obligations of $1,023.7 million, less the Raquel Knutsen sale/leaseback facility of $92.8 million, less interest rate swaps of $479.3 million and less cash and cash equivalents of $60.0 million. The Partnership’s outstanding interest-bearing contractual obligations of $1,023.7 million as of March 31, 2021 are repayable as follows:

Distributions

On May 13, 2021, the Partnership will pay a quarterly cash distribution of $0.52 per common unit with respect to the quarter ended March 31, 2021 to all common unitholders of record on April 29, 2021. On May 13, 2021, the Partnership will pay a cash distribution to holders of Series A Preferred Units with respect to the quarter ended March 31, 2021 in an aggregate amount equal to $1.8 million.

Outlook

The Partnership’s earnings for the second quarter of 2021 will be affected by the planned 10-year special survey dry docking of the Bodil Knutsen, which went off-hire February 22, 2021 and which concluded on April 6, 2021. The Tordis Knutsen is due for her first planned 5-year special survey drydocking in the fourth quarter of 2021, which is expected to be carried out in Europe. The vessel is expected to be off-hire for approximately 50-55 days, including mobilization to and from Europe.

The Partnership currently expects that the Windsor Knutsen will be successfully repaired and, given expected insurance recoveries, that no material or lasting financial or operational impact will result. Following the repair, which is expected to conclude in or around June 2021, it is expected that a new one-year fixed charter (with potential options to extend the charter by one one-year period and then one six-month period) will commence in the third quarter of 2021 with a major oil company.

On March 9, 2021, the charterer of the Bodil Knutsen, Equinor, did not notify the Partnership by this due date of its intention to exercise its option to extend the time charter for the vessel and as a consequence the vessel was effectively redelivered to the Partnership on February 22, 2021 at the start of the vessel’s drydock. The Partnership is now marketing the vessel for new time charter employment. Absent any such employment and to provide some support to the Partnership in the interim period, the Partnership and Knutsen NYK have agreed for Knutsen NYK to time charter the vessel from the Partnership on a rolling three month basis, possibly for the remainder of 2021, at a reduced rate, commencing on a date to be agreed in May 2021 based on operational practicality.

The planned installation of a VOC recovery plant on the Bodil Knutsen is also expected to affect the vessel’s operations in the third or fourth quarter of 2021. VOCIC has agreed to fund loss of hire (at a reduced rate) during, and costs related to, the installation, and the work will significantly improve the operational attractiveness of the vessel in the North Sea and Norwegian sectors going forward as well as virtually eliminate the non-methane VOC released into the atmosphere arising from the vessel’s cargo.

As of March 31, 2021, the Partnership’s fleet of seventeen vessels had charters with an average remaining fixed duration of 2.5 years. In addition, the charterers of the Partnership’s time charter vessels have options to extend their charters by an additional 2.8 years on average. As of March 31, 2021, the Partnership had $670 million of remaining contracted forward revenue, excluding options.

In October 2020, Knutsen NYK took delivery of Tove Knutsen’s siste

Questions should be directed to:
Gary Chapman (+44 7496 170 620)

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CRA International, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRAI), a worldwide leader in providing economic, financial, and management consulting services, today announced that an auction process will be conducted for FirstEnergy Corp.’s (NYSE: FE) Pennsylvania utilities — Metropolitan Edison Company (“Met-Ed”), Pennsylvania Electric Company (“Penelec”), Pennsylvania Power Company (“Penn Power”) and West Penn Power Company (“West Penn Power”) — to procure full requirements Default Supply generation service for their Default Service Customers. The auction process will lead up to the auction scheduled for June 28, 2021.

The bidding process will use a descending-price clock auction format. The auction will be managed by Independent Evaluator and Auction Manager CRA International, Inc. The auction is being conducted pursuant to FirstEnergy’s Pennsylvania Default Service Program (DSP‑V) as approved by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. This is the next auction in the DSP‑V auction series that began in October 2018.

The Information Session for prospective bidders for the June auction is scheduled for Wednesday, May 12, 2021. Instructions on how to join the Webcast session are available on the Information Website at http://www.fepaauction.com/Documents/BidderInformationSessions.aspx.

Part 1 Applications from prospective bidders will be accepted starting May 13 and are due no later than May 25. For successful Part 1 applicants, the submission window for the Part 2 Application process will be June 1 through June 15.

The product each of the four Companies is procuring in the June DSP‑V Commercial (Fixed-Price) auction is the 3‑month commercial class contract (delivery period September through November 2021).

Additional information about the auction process can be found at the Information Website at www.fepaauction.com.

About CRA International, Inc. and its Auctions & Competitive Bidding Practice

CRA is a global consulting firm specializing in litigation, regulatory, financial, and management consulting. CRA advises clients on economic and financial matters pertaining to litigation and regulatory proceedings, and guides corporations through critical business strategy and performance-related issues. Since 1965, clients have engaged CRA for its unique combination of functional expertise and industry knowledge, and for its objective solutions to complex problems. Headquartered in Boston, CRA has offices throughout the world. Detailed information about Charles River Associates, a registered trade name of CRA International, Inc., is available at www.crai.com. Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. CRA’s Auctions & Competitive Bidding Practice offers businesses, governments, bidders, and other market participants extensive experience in auction and market design, implementation, monitoring, and participation. More information about CRA’s Auctions & Competitive Bidding Practice is available at www.auctions.crai.com.

Media Relations
Charles River Associates
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
617-425-6453

Nicholas Manganaro
Sharon Merrill Associates, Inc.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
617-542-5300

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Berkana Resources Corporation, a leading provider of Operational Technology (OT) Digital Transformation/Efficiency Solutions, System Integration, Consulting, Security and Compliance services, is pleased to announce that we have been selected as a Cisco Design-In Partner.

“We are very excited about working with Cisco to provide our Operational Technology clients in the Energy sector with Edge solutions based on Cisco’s exceptional products. Cisco’s products address many of the challenges with deploying Edge technology, help reduce risk, and increase efficiency” said Jeff Whitney with Berkana Resources.

For additional information about Berkana Resources, contact Jeff Whitney or visit our website at:

www.berkanaresources.com

For information about Cisco’s Design-In Program, visit their web site at:

Cisco IoT Design-In - Cisco

About Berkana

Berkana has been a trusted provider of Operational Technology solutions to the Oil & Gas and Electric Utility Markets for over 15 years. Our seasoned staff of consultants, SME’s, and project managers provide Digital Transformation/Efficiency solutions, Consulting, Integration, Security and Compliance services to clients dealing with significant changes to their OT infrastructure. Our focus on implementing solutions that incorporate AI, ML, Edge, and the Cloud is helping our clients achieve significant gains in efficiency.

Jeff Whitney
Berkana Resources Corporation
Office phone: (303) 293-2193
FAX number: (303) 293-3764
Email Address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.berkanaresources.com

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The "Ultrasonic Flowmeter Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2021-2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global ultrasonic flowmeter market reached a value of US$ 1.53 Billion in 2020. Looking forward, the publisher expects the global ultrasonic flowmeter market to exhibit moderate growth during the next five years.

An ultrasonic flowmeter is a device that is used to measure the quantity of a liquid or gas that is moving through a pipe. The device measures the fluid velocity which further calculates the motion of gas or any liquid flowing. The velocity of the material flowing is measured with the help of ultrasonic transducers. Along with liquid, one can also measure the velocity of molten sulphur, chemicals, cryogenic liquids and even gases. This device generally works on three different principles namely transit time difference, doppler effect principle, and open channel principle. Ultrasonic flowmeters are mainly used in industries like wastewater, chemical, food and beverages, mining, metals, pharmaceuticals, power generation, paper and pulp industry, etc.

The accuracy of the ultrasonic flowmeters in taking measurements and calculating the velocity of the fluids is a key factor that is driving its demand. The high efficiency and accuracy of ultrasonic flowmeters can be attributed to the fact that they do not suffer mechanical wear and tear, do not cause a drop in the pressure of the fluid flowing through the pipe, and can be used for bidirectional measurements as well. Ultrasonic flowmeters are playing a major role in making bidirectional measurements that can be done with clamp-on flowmeters. Another major factor that is driving the demand of ultrasonic flowmeters is their non-invasive nature. These flowmeters do not require to come in contact with the fluid or involve cutting of the pipe in order to take the measurements. They are highly accurate, reliable and require low-maintenance. Moreover, the rising number of refineries catalyzed by increasing energy demand is also driving the demand of ultrasonic flow meters.

Companies Mentioned

• Asea Brown Boveri Ltd.
• Badger Meter Inc.
• Emerson Electric Co.
• Emerson Process Management
• Faure Herman SA
• General Electric
• Hach/Marsh McBirney Inc.
• Honeywell International Inc.
• Index Corporation
• Invensys Process Systems
• Rockwell Automation Inc.
• Siemens AG
• Teledyne Isco Inc.
• Yamatake Co
• Yokogawa Electric Co

Key Questions Answered in This Report:

1. What was the global ultrasonic flowmeter market size in 2020?

2. What will be the ultrasonic flowmeter market outlook during the forecast period (2021-2026)?

3. What are the major trends in the global ultrasonic flowmeter market?

4. What are the global ultrasonic flowmeter market drivers?

5. What is the impact of COVID-19 on the global ultrasonic flowmeter market?

6. What is the global ultrasonic flowmeter market breakup by product type?

7. What is the global ultrasonic flowmeter market breakup by number of paths?

8. What is the global ultrasonic flowmeter market breakup by technology type?

9. What is the global ultrasonic flowmeter market breakup by distribution channel?

10. What is the global ultrasonic flowmeter market breakup by application?

11. What are the major regions in the global ultrasonic flowmeter market?

12. Who are the leading ultrasonic flowmeter manufacturers?

Key Topics Covered:

1 Preface

2 Scope and Methodology

3 Executive Summary

4 Introduction

4.1 Overview

4.2 Key Industry Trends

5 Global Ultrasonic Flowmeter Market

5.1 Market Overview

5.2 Market Performance

5.3 Impact of COVID-19

5.4 Market Breakup by Product Type

5.5 Market Breakup by Number of Paths

5.6 Market Breakup by Technology Type

5.7 Market Breakup by Distribution Channel

5.8 Market Breakup by Application

5.9 Market Breakup by Region

5.10 Market Forecast

5.11 SWOT Analysis

5.12 Value Chain Analysis

5.13 Porters Five Forces Analysis

6 Market Breakup by Product Type

6.1 Spool Peice

6.1.1 Market Trends

6.1.2 Market Forecast

6.2 Insertion

6.2.1 Market Trends

6.2.2 Market Forecast

6.3 Clamp-On

6.3.1 Market Trends

6.3.2 Market Forecast

6.4 Others

6.4.1 Market Trends

6.4.2 Market Forecast

7 Market Breakup by Number of Paths

7.1 3-Path Transit Time

7.1.1 Market Trends

7.1.2 Market Forecast

7.2 4- Path Transit Time

7.2.1 Market Trends

7.2.2 Market Forecast

7.3 5- Path Transit Time

7.3.1 Market Trends

7.3.2 Market Forecast

7.4 6 or More Path Transit Time

7.4.1 Market Trends

7.4.2 Market Forecast

8 Market Breakup by Technology Type

8.1 Transit Time - Single/Dual Path

8.2 Transit Time - Multipath

8.3 Doppler

8.4 Hybrid

9 Market Breakup by Distribution Channel

9.1 Direct Sales

9.2 Independent Representatives

9.3 Distributors

9.4 Online

10 Market Breakup by Application

10.1 Natural Gas

10.2 Non-Petroleum Liquid

10.3 Petroleum Liquid

10.4 Others

11 Market Breakup by Region

11.1 Asia Pacific

11.2 North America

11.3 Europe

11.4 Middle East and Africa

11.5 Latin America

12 Ultrasonic Flowmeter Manufacturing Process

12.1 Product Overview

12.2 Raw Material Requirements

12.3 Manufacturing Process

12.4 Key Success and Risk Factors

13 Competitive Landscape

13.1 Market Structure

13.2 Key Players

13.3 Profiles of Key Players

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/2epsoj

ResearchAndMarkets.com
Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470
For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630
For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900

Steve Cates Appointed as Chief Accounting Officer and Controller

CENTENNIAL, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--$WWR--Westwater Resources, Inc. (NYSE American: WWR), an energy materials company and developer of U.S. mineral resources essential for batteries for energy storage, today announced the appointment of Steven M. Cates as Chief Accounting Officer & Controller (“CAO”), effective May 10, 2021. As the Company’s CAO, Mr. Cates will serve as the principal accounting officer overseeing all accounting operations, financial reporting, tax and treasury functions. Mr. Cates will report to Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey L. Vigil, who will continue to serve as the Company’s principal financial officer.

Christopher M. Jones, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “As we manage the execution of our graphite business plan and in anticipation of the coming growth of the Company and its business, it is important that we ask strong leaders to join our team with the expertise necessary to support this growth. Steve has answered our call with excellent financial management expertise and his appointment to a senior leadership position strengthens Westwater’s financial management team.”

Jeffrey L. Vigil, Vice President-Finance and Chief Financial Officer, said, “After a comprehensive search process that yielded many highly qualified candidates, we are very pleased to have Steve join the Westwater team. Steve is a proven financial manager whose skills and experience will be instrumental in this stage of anticipated growth and value creation at Westwater.”

Mr. Cates joins the Company from Apartment Income REIT Corp. (NYSE: AIRC), a real estate investment trust, where he served as Controller. Prior to his time at AIRC, Mr. Cates held various accounting and financial reporting roles at companies including Caliber Midstream Partners, LP, an energy and oil infrastructure company, American Midstream Partners, Newmont Mining Corporation and Thompson Creek Metals Company, Inc. Mr. Cates began his accounting career at KPMG in 2002, where he served as senior manager for audit and advisory services through 2009. Mr. Cates earned a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Redlands and is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Colorado.

About Westwater Resources

Westwater Resources (NYSE American: WWR) is focused on developing battery-grade graphite. The Company’s projects include the Coosa Graphite Project — the most advanced natural flake graphite project in the contiguous United States — and the associated Coosa Graphite Deposit located across 41,900 acres (~17,000 hectares) in east-central Alabama. For more information, visit www.westwaterresources.net.

Cautionary Statement

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions and are identified by words such as "expects," "estimates," "projects," "anticipates," "believes," "could," “scheduled,” and other similar words. All statements addressing events or developments that WWR expects or anticipates will occur in the future, including but not limited to the potential growth of the Company’s graphite business, commencement of operations at the Company’s proposed pilot plant facilities, future production of battery graphite products, future financing activities and financial resources, and activities involving the Coosa Graphite Project and the Coosa Graphite Deposit. Because they are forward-looking, they should be evaluated in light of important risk factors and uncertainties. These risk factors and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, (a) the Company’s ability to successfully construct and operate a pilot plant capable of producing battery grade materials in quantities and on schedules consistent with the Coosa Graphite Project business plan; (b) the Company’s ability to raise additional capital in the future including the ability to utilize existing financing facilities; (c) spot price and long-term contract price of graphite and vanadium; (d) risks associated with our operations and the operations of our partners such as Dorfner Anzaplan and Samuel Engineering, including the impact of COVID-19 and its potential impacts to the capital markets; (e) operating conditions at the Company’s projects; (f) government regulation of the graphite industry and the vanadium industry; (g) world-wide graphite and vanadium supply and demand, including the supply and demand for energy storage batteries; (h) unanticipated geological, processing, regulatory and legal or other problems the Company may encounter in the jurisdictions where the Company operates or intends to operate, including but not limited to Alabama; (i) any graphite or vanadium discoveries not being in high-enough concentration to make it economic to extract the minerals; (j) currently pending or new litigation or arbitration; and (k) other factors which are more fully described in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should any of the Company’s underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those currently anticipated. In addition, undue reliance should not be placed on the Company’s forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any obligation to update or publicly announce any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements contained in this news release.

Westwater Resources

Christopher M. Jones, President & CEO
Phone: 303.531.0480
Jeff Vigil, VP Finance & CFO
Phone: 303.531.0481
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Product Sales Contact:
Jay Wago, Vice President – Sales and Marketing
Phone: 303.531.0472
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Investor Relations
Porter, LeVay & Rose
Michael Porter, President
Phone: 212.564.4700
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Largest Wind Farms in Michigan to Serve DTE’s Commercial and Industrial Customers

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apex Clean Energy today announced the closing of the sale of the Isabella Wind I and II projects to DTE Energy, Michigan’s leading producer of renewable energy, and the start of commercial operations for the facilities. The wind farms, totaling 383 MW and located in Michigan’s Isabella County, are the largest clean energy facilities in the state and in DTE’s portfolio. Apex developed and managed construction of the wind farms, which DTE will operate.

“With stakeholders at every level—from localities and utilities to power buyers and the statehouse—helping drive the transition to clean energy in the Great Lakes State, Apex and DTE brought to life the largest wind projects in the history of Michigan,” said Mark Goodwin, Apex Clean Energy president and CEO. “Alongside partners like DTE, we will continue to pioneer the new energy economy, both in Michigan and beyond.”

The Isabella Wind projects will serve commercial and industrial customers—including Ford, General Motors, and the University of Michigan—who have enrolled in MIGreenPower, DTE’s voluntary renewable energy program.

The projects were supported by a construction loan from KeyBank and CoBank, ACB as coordinating lead arrangers, Rabobank as joint lead arranger, and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank as lender.

The Isabella Wind facilities will generate approximately $30 million in tax revenue for the local community, $100 million in landowner payments over the lifetime of the project, more than 350 jobs during construction, up to 20 long-term operations and maintenance positions, and enough clean energy to power the equivalent of 86,000 average U.S. homes. The wind farms will also displace nearly 700,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually, according to the EPA’s AVERT tool.

About Apex Clean Energy
Apex Clean Energy develops, constructs, and operates utility-scale wind and solar power facilities across North America. Our mission-driven team of more than 250 renewable energy experts uses a data-focused approach and an unrivaled portfolio of projects to create solutions for the world’s most innovative and forward-thinking customers. For more information on how Apex is leading the transition to a clean energy future, visit apexcleanenergy.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

About DTE Energy
DTE Energy (NYSE: DTE) is a Detroit-based diversified energy company involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services nationwide. Its operating units include an electric company serving 2.2 million customers in Southeast Michigan and a natural gas company serving 1.3 million customers in Michigan. The DTE portfolio includes energy businesses focused on power and industrial projects, renewable natural gas, natural gas pipelines, gathering and storage, and energy marketing and trading. As an environmental leader, DTE will reduce carbon dioxide and methane emissions by more than 80% by 2040 to produce cleaner energy while keeping it safe, reliable and affordable. DTE is committed to serving with its energy through volunteerism, education and employment initiatives, philanthropy and economic progress. Information about DTE is available at dteenergy.com, empoweringmichigan.com, twitter.com/dte_energy and facebook.com.

Apex Clean Energy
Cat Strumlauf
Director | Corporate Communications
(434) 227-4196
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

DTE Energy
Cindy Hecht
Corporate Communications
313-235-5555
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Ingram Micro recognized on the Emerce100 Best Companies in e-Business list for second consecutive year

WAALWIJK, Netherlands--(BUSINESS WIRE)--#3pl--Ingram Micro Commerce & Lifecycle Services, a leading provider of global supply chain solutions, e-commerce logistics and IT asset disposition services, announced it has again been recognized as a top provider of fulfillment warehousing by Emerce, a Netherlands-based media platform for e-business decision makers. This marks the second consecutive year Ingram Micro has been included on the Emerce100, a list of the best companies in e-business.

The 2021 Emerce100 list was determined by the results of surveys and an analysis of 998 companies conducted by Dutch market researcher Motivaction International. Ingram Micro Commerce & Lifecycle Services is one of ten third-party logistics providers recognized in the fulfillment warehousing category.

"We are proud to be listed among the top fulfillment warehousing providers in the Netherlands once again,” said Jack Heijkans, vice president of commerce, Ingram Micro Commerce & Lifecycle Services. “We are trusted by some of today’s biggest brands and emerging businesses — not just in Europe, but globally — which is a testament to our customer-first focus and the excellence of our operations and teams. E-commerce will continue to take on more and more importance around the world, but it requires strong logistics and planning to be successful, and we enable that for our clients. We facilitate customer growth through world-class operations, supported by continuous investments in innovative technology, collaborative relationships and ensuring our services address the complete lifecycle of products — from receiving, to returns, to disposition and everything in between. We are proud to see our success acknowledged by Emerce.”

Ingram Micro’s global warehouse network includes three facilities in the Netherlands and many more across the rest of Europe, the UK, Asia Pacific, North America and Latin America. View the complete Emerce100 list here.

About Ingram Micro Commerce & Lifecycle Services

Ingram Micro Commerce & Lifecycle Services provides supply chain solutions that connect supply and demand. From cross-border fulfillment to dropship and returns management, IT asset disposition, re-marketing, distribution and more, our solutions drive growth across the commerce and technology markets.

We proudly serve customers ranging from fast-growing brands to Global 2000 enterprises and are dedicated to facilitating their success through our global warehousing network, world-class technology, strategic partnerships and decades of expertise in the logistics, mobile device and ITAD industries.

Learn more at www.ingrammicroservices.com.

Lauren Jow
Global Brand Manager
Ingram Micro Commerce & Lifecycle Services
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Companies Complete Benchmark Testing, Aid Utilities’ Digital Transformation through Management of Massive Data Volumes, Supporting Mission-critical Business Processes in the Cloud

LIBERTY LAKE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--#Azure--Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI), which is innovating the way utilities and cities manage energy and water, announced today that it is collaborating with Microsoft to provide highly scalable cloud-based meter data management (MDM) services to customers. As part of this, the companies successfully completed another round of rigorous performance and scalability testing of its Itron Enterprise Edition™ Meter Data Management (IEE MDM) product. This marks the industry's only meter data management solution to perform large-scale benchmarks in Microsoft Azure.

As utilities undergo digital transformation, it is critical that MDM solutions support rapidly expanding use cases with an increasing volume of data and analytics – at scale. Itron’s collaboration with Microsoft facilitates a performant cloud-based solution enabling higher level of service, lower operational costs, flexible expansion and scability. The comprehensive benchmark validates IEE MDM’s capacity to process 2.8 billion readings a day in less than three hours and deliver time-of-use billing determinants equivalent to a 10-million-meter utility. As a result, utilities can be confident that IEE MDM, deployed using Microsoft Azure cloud will provide a reliable, cost-effective and low maintenance platform that supports some of the largest and most process-intensive deployments, globally.

Together, Itron and Microsoft conducted a series of high-volume data tests on IEE MDM using the Microsoft Azure cloud environment with the goal of replicating the genuine demands of a 10-million-meter deployment. Each test executed a "day-in-the-life" scenario that involved processing a mix of meter types including hourly, 15-minute and five-minute interval and register data—from data import, validation and estimation, to billing determinant calculations with time of use and data exports. These tests verified IEE MDM on Microsoft Azure within a scalable cloud environment that provides easy expansion over time as new data sensors or functionality requirements evolve. The Microsoft Azure cloud environment ultimately lowers the total cost of ownership through the ability to dynamically scale and enable Azure resources only when needed, coupled with upgrade-proof technology.

“Navigating the digital revolution, our customers are managing more mission-critical business processes in the cloud with even more use cases, and as a result, customers are collecting and managing more data than ever before. Expanding our partnership with Microsoft Azure is core to our commitment to continuously delivering a robust, scalable and well-managed data management solution,” said Stefan Zschiegner, vice president of product management, Itron. “This testing confirms that IEE MDM's powerful processing capabilities and ability to scale on Microsoft Azure meets our customers' future data and budget requirements.”

The global Microsoft and Itron partnership provides customers with the only enterprise-class meter data management system using Azure cloud computing, a combination that is optimized to flexibly scale, improve reliability and address the increasing requirements of tomorrow's smart grid. The combined offering's performance meets the strict timelines required for daily billing and critical meter-to-cash business processes and analytics, bringing unprecedented value and cloud stability to utility customers.

"Our customers tell us that scalability and agility are front of mind when selecting products for their smart grid while protecting existing technology investments with comprehensive integration features," said Scott Harden, chief technology officer, Energy at Microsoft. "Together, Microsoft and Itron have focused on providing solutions that help utilities execute on the vision of a data-driven and intelligent grid. IEE MDM based on Azure SQL Server is a leading example of a solution that leverages the performance and availability of the Microsoft cloud along with the rigorous security and administrative control that utilities require."

Itron Enterprise Edition (IEE) Meter Data Management System (MDMS) is an industry-leading data management solution for residential gas, water and electric meters, C&I meters and IoT sensors. The ever-evolving platform provides utilities and cities with the flexibility, value and functionality needed regardless of deployment size. IEE is the most globally deployed meter data management system in the world. The installed base comprises over 100 customers across six continents with more than 45 million meters in production.

About Itron

Itron enables utilities and cities to safely, securely and reliably deliver critical infrastructure solutions to communities in more than 100 countries. Our portfolio of smart networks, software, services, meters and sensors helps our customers better manage electricity, gas and water resources for the people they serve. By working with our customers to ensure their success, we help improve the quality of life, ensure the safety and promote the well-being of millions of people around the globe. Itron is dedicated to creating a more resourceful world. Join us: www.itron.com.

Itron^® is a registered trademark of Itron, Inc. All third-party trademarks are property of their respective owners and any usage herein does not suggest or imply any relationship between Itron and the third party unless expressly stated.

Itron, Inc.
Alison Mallahan
Senior Manager, Corporate Communications
509-891-3802
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Designs unveiled for seafloor mineral collector robots, carbon-neutral vessels and waste-free metals processing and recycling plants will enable a circular supply chain for battery metals

VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group, the acclaimed global architecture firm whose groundbreaking work incorporates innovations in architecture, has collaborated with The Metals Company, a developer of lower-impact battery metals from seafloor polymetallic nodules, to remake conventional metal production for the 21^st century as society embarks on the transition to a net-zero-carbon future. The Metals Company announced in March that it will merge with Sustainable Opportunities Acquisition Corporation (NYSE:SOAC) to go public on the NASDAQ in Q2 2021.

The Metals Company’s challenge with BIG was to bring innovative, whole-systems design to the industrial components needed to supply the world with critical battery metals from polymetallic nodules—fist-sized rocks containing battery-grade nickel, cobalt, copper and manganese—while reimagining the nexus of industry and community. BIG delivered an integrated suite of assets that work together to lift nodules off the seafloor and up to a purpose-built production vessel, transfer them to a hydrodynamic shuttle carrier, and onward to a metallurgical plant designed to transform an urban port site into a battery materials innovation and community hub, set within a regenerative coastal landscape.

“To collect the nodules, we have designed a light-touch, robotic collector vehicle that aims a jet of seawater across the tops of the rocks to gently pry them from the sediment. Part of our design for future collectors includes a buoyant, hydrodynamic shell with an extended lip to minimize seafloor compaction and reduce and redirect the dust plume kicked up during nodule collection,” said Daniel Sundlin, partner at BIG and partner in charge of the collaboration with The Metals Company.

The Metals Company’s first-generation collector vehicle has been engineered and is currently being built by Allseas in the Netherlands to be deployed for testing early next year.

Nodules are transported through a flexible hose at the top of the collector vehicle to a rigid riser pipe where they are lifted on compressed air bubbles ~4 km up to the surface production vessel, a 216-meter-long ship that runs on carbon-neutral electrofuels, with a sunken deck that is covered with photovoltaic solar panels. The streamlined design of the production vessel is driven by functionality. Equipment for nodule collection is strategically packed in the hull to minimize the size of the vessel and maximize operational efficiency. At scale, each production vessel would operate multiple collectors with additional maintenance capacity provided by a support vessel with a ‘moon pool’ for deploying and retrieving collector vehicles.

While The Metals Company’s first production vessel is a deep-water drillship repurposed by Allseas to enable pilot nodule collection, BIG’s next generation vessel design is central to The Metals Company’s plans to scale to a fleet of 10 production vessels, enabling the provision of over 40 million tons of battery metals by 2050, enough to produce 280 million electric vehicles (EVs)—a quarter of the global passenger car fleet.

At full-scale operations, nodules will be transferred from the production vessels to shuttle carriers, whose X-bow design was chosen by BIG to deliver hyper-efficient, hydrodynamic ships to further assist The Metals Company in lowering the carbon footprint of its battery metals. Once at port, the nodules are offloaded onto a conveyor and into a portside processing plant—designed by BIG as a sustainable, performative and social campus in a regenerative landscape that turns conventional metallurgy on its head.

“Deep-water ports around the world are often degraded ecosystems unwelcoming to local communities. We asked BIG to reimagine what a metals-processing facility could be, to have it integrate with—even remediate—the urban coastal environment,” said The Metals Company Chairman and CEO, Gerard Barron. “The result is a breathtaking innovation complex that will transform an industrial port into a community-based hub for the electric vehicle revolution.”

“The global energy system needs to undergo its most profound change in centuries to realize a world run exclusively on renewable sources. If the ongoing research and studies conclude that harvesting minerals from the seabed can be done in an environmentally and socially responsible way, we will not only be able to accelerate the green transition but give form to an entirely new industry that will create a sustainable circular metals economy for future generations,” said Founder and Creative Director in BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group, Bjarke Ingels.

BIG, well known for creating a ski slope on a waste-to-energy plant in Copenhagen, designed The Metals Company’s circular, zero-solid-waste metallurgical plant to contain pyrometallurgical processing and hydrometallurgical refining steps, stockpiles, and product storage alongside offices, visitor-centric experiences, and an innovation center to tie products into the EV supply chain. The company envisions multiple facilities spread across three continents and a number of brownfield sites are currently under consideration. These plants would in time be retooled to recycle battery cathodes at end-of-life, closing the loop on the battery metals supply chain.

“The world is characterized by a mindset that divides the world into front of house and back of house. The front of house is carefully designed in the form of beautiful facades and lush parks, leaving the back of house as purely utilitarian and logistical leftovers in the form of parking lots and warehouses. With The Metals Company, we are designing a human made ecosystem channeling the flow of resources with the care and attention conventionally reserved for the front of house. A next-generation materials industry,” said Bjarke Ingels.

“We’re remaking how society gets, uses and ultimately re-uses the base metals which form the foundation of the clean energy economy,” said Barron. “BIG has delivered these radical, low-impact designs to help us remake an industry. Now the exciting question is, which port will we transform first?”

ABOUT THE METALS COMPANY

The Metals Company is a Canadian developer of lower-impact battery metals from seafloor polymetallic nodules, on a dual mission: (1) supply metals for the clean energy transition with the least possible negative environmental and social impact and (2) accelerate the transition to a circular metal economy. The company through its subsidiaries holds exploration and commercial rights to three polymetallic nodule contract areas in the Clarion Clipperton Zone of the Pacific Ocean regulated by the International Seabed Authority and sponsored by the governments of Nauru, Kiribati and the Kingdom of Tonga. In March, The Metals Company announced that it had entered into a business combination agreement with Sustainable Opportunities Acquisition Corporation (SOAC) to accelerate project development and take it public on NASDAQ as ‘The Metals Company’. More information is available at https://www.metals.co/.

ABOUT BJARKE INGELS GROUP

BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group is a Copenhagen, New York, London, Shenzhen, and Barcelona based group of architects, designers, urbanists, landscape professionals, interior and product designers, researchers and inventors. The office is currently involved in projects throughout Europe, America, Asia and the Middle East. BIG’s architecture emerges out of a careful analysis of how contemporary life constantly evolves and changes. By hitting the fertile overlap between pragmatic and utopia, we architects once again find the freedom to change the surface of our planet, to better fit contemporary life forms.

Find more information at www.big.dk.

Media
Rory Usher | The Metals Company | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Camilla Filtenborg Borggaard | Bjarke Ingels Group | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Virtual Event Brings Together Leaders in Industry and Government Transforming the Energy and Utilities Industries

PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--#AMI--The Smart Grid Customer Education Symposium announced today its stellar lineup of speakers for the 2021 event taking place on June 8^th and 9^th virtually. This year’s event focuses on the intersection of industry and policy and how innovation in technology and customer education are paving the way for a more sustainable energy future.

Keynoting the event will be Congressman Marc Veasey of Texas who is a longtime supporter of energy forward legislation that promotes innovation and fights climate change.

In addition, Commissioner Tim Echols of Georgia is the recipient of this year’s “Innovator of the Year” award for his tireless efforts to promote technology innovation and utility customer education.

With nearly 20 senior leaders from utilities across the country as well as influential policy makers and customer advocates, the Symposium is the most impactful conference on smart grid customer education in the utilities industry. This year’s event will also feature an interactive workshop with the U.S. Department of Energy focused on improving collaboration and communication between industry and the Federal government.

To learn more and register for the event, visit www.smartgridcustomereducation.com.

About the Smart Grid Customer Education Symposium

For more than ten years, the Smart Grid Customer Education Symposium has shed a spotlight on the role customers play in the adoption of smart grid and advanced technologies in the energy and utilities industries. The Symposium is produced by SmartEnergy IP, a division of SmartMark Communications, LLC. Learn more at www.smartgridcustomereducation.com.

Meredith Salefski
SmartMark Communications for SmartEnergy IP
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
615-864-7841

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today Emera (TSX: EMA) reported 2021 first quarter financial results.

Highlights

• Quarterly adjusted EPS increased by $0.17 to $0.96 driven by continued strength in the regulated portfolio, increased marketing and trading earnings and lower financing and other corporate costs, partially offset by a stronger Canadian dollar (“CAD”).
• On track to deploy more than $2 billion of capital investment in 2021 to drive rate base growth and advance Emera’s strategy.
• Filed a petition to increase 2022 base rates at Tampa Electric by $295 million USD.

“We’re off to a solid start this year,” said Scott Balfour, President and CEO of Emera Inc. “Emera’s proven strategy of safely delivering cleaner, affordable and reliable energy has been a driver of growth and innovation for over 15 years. As customers and policymakers look to accelerate the pace of decarbonization, Emera is aligned and well positioned to help lead the energy transition in a way that never loses sight of affordability and reliability for customers while continuing to deliver long-term value to shareholders.”

Q1 2021 Financial Results

Q1 2021 reported net income was $273 million, or $1.08 per common share, compared with net income of $523 million, or $2.14 per common share, in Q1 2020.

Reported net income for Q1 2020 included $321 million of earnings related to the gain on sale of the Emera Maine business, net of tax and transaction costs. In addition, $23 million of after-tax impairment charges were recognized on certain assets in Q1 2020.

Q1 2021 adjusted net income was $243 million, or $0.96 per common share, compared with $193 million, or $0.79 per common share, in Q1 2020.

Growth in quarterly adjusted net income was largely due to increased earnings at Emera Energy Services (“EES”), increased earnings at Peoples Gas (“PGS”) and Tampa Electric, and lower corporate interest and operating, maintenance and general expenses (“OM&G”), partially offset by a stronger CAD.

Strengthening of the CAD exchange rates decreased reported net income by $11 million and decreased adjusted net income by $9 million in Q1 2021 compared to Q1 2020.

Outlook

Emera’s $7.4 billion capital investment plan over the 2021-to-2023 period, and the potential for additional capital opportunities of $1.2 billion over the same period, results in a forecasted rate base growth of 7.5 per cent to 8.5 per cent through 2023. Emera is on track to invest more than $2 billion in 2021, increasing rate base by 6 per cent to $22.5 billion. The capital investment plan continues to include significant investments across the portfolio in renewable and cleaner generation, reliability and integrity investments, infrastructure modernization and customer-focused technologies.

Emera’s capital investment plan is being funded primarily through internally generated cash flows and debt raised at the operating company level. Equity requirements in support of our capital investment plan are expected to be funded through the dividend reinvestment plan, the issuance of preferred equity and the issuance of common equity through our at-the-market program. Maintaining investment-grade credit ratings is a priority of management.

Emera has provided annual dividend growth guidance of four to five per cent through to 2022.

Consolidated Financial Review

The following table highlights significant changes in adjusted net income from 2020 to 2021.

Segment Results and Non-US GAAP Reconciliation

Non-GAAP Measures

Emera uses financial measures that do not have standardized meaning under USGAAP and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other entities. Emera calculates the non-GAAP measures by adjusting certain GAAP and non-GAAP measures for specific items the Company believes are significant, but not reflective of underlying operations in the period. Refer to the Non-GAAP Financial Measures section of our Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") for further discussion of these items.

Forward Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. By its nature, forward-looking information requires Emera to make assumptions and is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. These statements reflect Emera management’s current beliefs and are based on information currently available to Emera management. There is a risk that predictions, forecasts, conclusions and projections that constitute forward-looking information will not prove to be accurate, that Emera’s assumptions may not be correct and that actual results may differ materially from such forward-looking information. Additional detailed information about these assumptions, risks and uncertainties is included in Emera’s securities regulatory filings, including under the heading “Business Risks and Risk Management” in Emera’s annual Management’s Discussion and Analysis, and under the heading “Principal Risks and Uncertainties” in the notes to Emera’s annual and interim financial statements, which can be found on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Teleconference Call

The company will be hosting a teleconference today, Wednesday, May 12, at 9:30 a.m. Atlantic (8:30 a.m. Eastern) to discuss the Q1 2021 financial results.

Analysts and other interested parties in North America are invited to participate by dialing 1-866-521-4909. International parties are invited to participate by dialing 1-647-427-2311. Participants should dial in at least 10 minutes prior to the start of the call. No pass code is required.

A live and archived audio webcast of the teleconference will be available on the Company's website, www.emera.com. A replay of the teleconference will be available two hours after the conclusion of the call by dialing 1-800-585-8367 and entering pass code 7046138.

About Emera

Emera Inc. is a geographically diverse energy and services company headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with approximately $31 billion in assets and 2020 revenues of more than $5.5 billion. The company primarily invests in regulated electricity generation and electricity and gas transmission and distribution with a strategic focus on transformation from high carbon to low carbon energy sources. Emera has investments in Canada, the United States and in four Caribbean countries. Emera’s common and preferred shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and trade respectively under the symbol EMA, EMA.PR.A, EMA.PR.B, EMA.PR.C, EMA.PR.E, EMA.PR.F, EMA.PR.H and EMA.PR.J. Depositary receipts representing common shares of Emera are listed on the Barbados Stock Exchange under the symbol EMABDR and on The Bahamas International Securities Exchange under the symbol EMAB. Additional information can be accessed at www.emera.com or at www.sedar.com.

Emera Inc.
Investor Relations
Dave Bezanson, VP, Investor Relations & Pensions
902-474-2126
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Erin Power, Director, Investor Relations
902-428-6760
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Media
902-222-2683
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--#RBL--Opportune LLP is pleased to announce that Jonathan Harms has been promoted to Managing Director. Mr. Harms brings 15 years of structuring/transaction experience in upstream and midstream capital products, commodities risk management instruments, and off-balance sheet finance structures to the firm where his principal focus will be guiding companies through the financial complexities of the existing industry environment, corporate restructurings, transactional due diligence and advising on Chapter 11 bankruptcies.

“Jonathan brings a unique perspective from his previous roles, which included deploying capital in upstream and midstream finance, dealing with the same complexities as the clients he will now work with in an advisory capacity,” said Opportune Partner Sean Clements. “He is a welcome addition to the Opportune team as we help clients navigate the current energy industry environment.”

Before joining Opportune, Mr. Harms was a founding member of Madava Financial where he helped start an energy-lending specialty finance company. His main focus has been capital solutions for middle-market oil and gas producers and midstream companies. As a principal, Mr. Harms has deployed billions into the upstream and midstream sectors through a spectrum of capital products ranging from commodity prepays/VPPs to traditional RBL facilities to subordinated debt and equity.

“Opportune has built an incredible team and has been on a remarkable growth trajectory, attributes which were key to my decision to join the company,” added Mr. Harms. “As our clients continue to face increasingly complex issues in the ever-evolving energy industry landscape, I look forward to working collaboratively with my colleagues to help our clients achieve success in this challenging environment.”

Mr. Harms began his career with Wells Fargo's Energy Lending Group where he focused on reserve-based loans for upstream borrowers. He later joined Macquarie's commodities group focusing on reserve-based loans, off-balance-sheet financing solutions, and structured derivative finance products. He then moved to Morgan Stanley helping to build a $1.5 billion+ buy-side upstream RBL and mezzanine book.

Mr. Harms holds B.S. and B.A. degrees from Colorado State University.

About Opportune LLP

Opportune LLP is a leading global energy business advisory firm specializing in adding value to clients across the energy industry, including upstream, midstream, downstream, power and gas, commodities trading and oilfield services. Opportune’s service lines include complex financial reporting, dispute resolution, enterprise risk, investment banking, outsourcing, process and technology, reserve engineering and geosciences, restructuring, strategy and organizational design, tax, transactional due diligence and valuation. For additional information, please visit www.opportune.com.

Bryan Sims
713-490-5050
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The "Small Hydropower Market - Forecasts from 2021 to 2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global small hydropower market was evaluated at US$2.825 billion for the year 2019 growing at a CAGR of 3.12% reaching the market size of US$3.503 billion by the year 2026.

Small hydropower is the development of hydroelectric power on a smaller scale to serve a local community, a small business, or an industry. The plant usually produces a lesser amount of electricity with 15-20 MW being the upper limit. These plants are usually installed in existing water supply networks or small streams. The demand for small hydropower plants has also increased because they have a negligible environmental impact. Moreover, the rapid depletion of fossil fuels across the world has been a tailwind to the demand for renewable sources of energy.

The market for small hydropower plants is expected to witness significant growth during the forecast period owing to the rising demand for electricity and increasingly stringent government regulations and initiatives to promote the use of renewable resources across several countries. The rising environmental concern across the world has paved the path for the growth of the renewable energy sector over the years. Furthermore, the concerns due to the rising GHG emissions have increased the need for green sources of energy. The demand for these resources has increased exponentially in recent years with the implementation of a significant number of projects globally.

The rise in the demand for energy for various applications is due to the increasing global population with the need to shift towards renewable sources of energy. The small hydropower plants are appropriate for produce supportable as well as an inexpensive source of energy in emerging and rural areas owing to their lesser investment costs, better efficiency, versatility, and also due to their renewable nature. Furthermore, government initiatives with monetary concessions have promoted the use of renewable sources of energy. Moreover, the increasing demand for renewable sources of energy has increased the generation significantly over the years. For instance, according to a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), hydropower generation has increased substantially from 3902 TWh in 2015 to 4333 TWh in 2019. Additionally, according to the report, hydropower is the world's largest source of renewable electricity generation with a global installed hydropower capacity of 1307 GW in 2019.

The advent of COVID-19 hurt the small hydropower market since the pandemic brought the activities in several end-use industries to a standstill globally which restricted the project construction, exploration and production, gas transportation, and storage activities. After the initial lockdown period, some of the activities were allowed but with restrictions and certain protocols that were required to be followed like the refinery will be operated with a lesser capacity which will require less labor to come in contact, and social distancing was required to be maintained in the premises as well. A significant shift was noticed in several industries using hydropower for various applications. The investments witnessed a downturn during the period as well which restricted the ongoing projects and activities. With the industries recovering after the pandemic gradually, the renewable energy industry is expected to operate in full capacity starting from the third and fourth quarters of 2021. This will further help in the recovery of the small hydropower market.

Companies Mentioned

• Voith GmbH & Co. KGaA
• ANDRITZ
• GENERAL ELECTRIC
• TOSHIBA CORPORATION
• Siemens Gas and Power GmbH & Co. KG
• BHEL
• Gilkes Hydro
• Natel Energy, Inc.
• FLOVEL Energy Private Limited
• SNC-Lavalin Group

Key Topics Covered:

1. Introduction

2. Research Methodology

3. Executive Summary

4. Market Dynamics

4.1. Market Drivers

4.2. Market Restraints

4.3. Porters Five Forces Analysis

4.4. Industry Value Chain Analysis

5. Small Hydropower Market Analysis, by Type

5.1. Introduction

5.2. Mini Hydropower

5.3. Micro Hydropower

6. Small Hydropower Market Analysis, by Capacity

6.1. Introduction

6.2. Up to 1 MW

6.3. 1-10 MW

7. Small Hydropower Market Analysis, by Application

7.1. Introduction

7.2. Civil Construction

7.3. Power infrastructure

7.4. Others

8. Small Hydropower Market Analysis, by Geography

8.1. Introduction

8.2. North America

8.3. South America

8.4. Europe

8.5. Middle East and Africa

8.6. Asia Pacific

9. Competitive Environment and Analysis

9.1. Major Players and Strategy Analysis

9.2. Emerging Players and Market Lucrativeness

9.3. Mergers, Acquisitions, Agreements, and Collaborations

9.4. Vendor Competitiveness Matrix

10. Company Profiles

10.1. Voith GmbH & Co. KGaA

10.2. ANDRITZ

10.3. GENERAL ELECTRIC

10.4. TOSHIBA CORPORATION

10.5. Siemens Gas and Power GmbH & Co. KG

10.6. BHEL

10.7. Gilkes Hydro

10.8. Natel Energy, Inc.

10.9. FLOVEL Energy Private Limited

10.10. SNC-Lavalin Group

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ja4q8z

ResearchAndMarkets.com
Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470
For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630
For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900

● First-of-its-kind “Energy as a Service” fleet electrification infrastructure project integrates solar photovoltaic canopies, onsite generation, battery energy storage, microgrid controls, and electric bus chargers ensuring the fleet’s continuous operation regardless of utility outages

● Project to deliver sustainable and resilient energy and charging infrastructure supporting at least 44 electric buses at Brookville Smart Energy Bus Depot

● Electrification of buses backed by expanded renewable energy advances Montgomery County’s goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2035

SILVER SPRING, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AlphaStruxure, a leader in Energy as a Service (EaaS) solutions, today announced an agreement to deploy an integrated microgrid and electric bus charging infrastructure project for Montgomery County, Maryland. The project will enable at least 44 buses in Ride On Montgomery County’s transit fleet to transition from diesel to electric, advancing the County’s goal to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2035, reducing lifetime emissions by over 155,000 tons, while delivering resilience to climate events and power outages.

The Brookville Smart Energy Bus Depot is a first-of-its-kind integration of microgrid and EV charging infrastructure, delivering sustainability, reliability and resilience for the County’s public transportation system. AlphaStruxure, a joint venture of Schneider Electric and the Carlyle Global Infrastructure Opportunity Fund, will design, build, finance, own and operate the project to enable Ride On’s growing electric bus fleet. The project is designed to deliver benefits and outcomes including:

❖ Bus Electrification: Enabling the County’s transition from fossil fuel buses to electric buses with a customized energy and infrastructure solution

❖ Environmental Sustainability: 62 percent carbon emissions reduction with electric buses powered by the microgrid and lifetime greenhouse gas benefit of over 155,000 tons

❖ Climate Resilience & Operational Reliability: Ensures uninterrupted bus services during any long-term power outages caused by severe weather as well as any short-term disturbances or perturbations of the utility grid

❖ Flexible Fleet Operations: Avoidance of utility demand charges and time-of-use tariffs provides fleet operations with ultimate dispatch flexibility

❖ Financial Benefits: Energy as a Service approach eliminates upfront cost to the County for the project including all microgrid and charging infrastructure, and provides long-term cost predictability for energy supply

❖ Economic Development: Creates more than 50 construction jobs

The Brookville Smart Energy Bus Depot will utilize Schneider Electric’s industry-leading EcoStruxure™ platform, including its top-ranked microgrid controllers and electrical distribution equipment. Leveraging strong relationships with industry-leading partners, the project integrates clean energy including solar photovoltaic canopies designed and built by SunPower, AB Energy USA onsite generation with a carbon neutral fuel transition strategy, Dynapower battery energy storage, charging and energy management software, ChargePilot from The Mobility House, and Heliox chargers. Mortenson will provide construction services and Arup will serve as engineer of record. AlphaStruxure will operate the project via a cloud-connected Network Operations Center providing 24/7/365 operations, monitoring and optimization of energy performance.

"This advanced infrastructure project drives forward several of our priorities—converting our fleets to electric, reducing harmful emissions, and ensuring safety and security—in alignment with our ambitious climate goals," said Montgomery County executive, Marc Elrich. "I’m pleased that this project will also improve the County's resilience, so we can continue providing transportation services even in the event of prolonged power outages."

"The Smart Energy Bus Depot project provides a national model for local governments, transit agencies, and the private sector looking to electrify their fleets," said Montgomery County Department of General Services director, David Dise. "Rather than buying the microgrid and charging infrastructure outright, the County partnered with AlphaStruxure, who builds, owns, operates and maintains the system. The County then purchases the electricity and resilience supplied by the microgrid and charging infrastructure on an ongoing basis. This model delivers the supporting infrastructure required to electrify our bus fleet, customized to our specific needs, at no upfront cost while also enhancing resilience and environmental sustainability."

"Electrifying our bus fleets is a necessary step in reducing carbon emissions, which is why the microgrid and electrification project brings us one step closer to meeting our ambitious climate goals," said Montgomery County council president, Tom Hucker. "This project can show a sustainable path for other counties and cities to follow Montgomery County's lead in transitioning away from dirty energy and moving toward electrification."

“We at AlphaStruxure applaud Montgomery County’s continued leadership in sustainability, resilience, and electrification. With transportation now the largest source of U.S. carbon emissions, we believe electrifying vehicle fleets is essential to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement. However, the availability of sustainable and resilient electricity often poses a major barrier to organizations seeking to migrate fleets off of fossil fuels,” said Juan Macias, CEO, AlphaStruxure. “AlphaStruxure serves as the comprehensive partner for fleet electrification. We’re taking the capital cost, complexity and risk out of electrification for Montgomery County through a powerful integration of technical, financial and contractual solutions.”

“We believe we have the tools to facilitate the transition away from fossil fuels, but organizations are struggling to navigate their options for energy infrastructure improvements,” said Pooja Goyal, co-head of the Infrastructure Group at The Carlyle Group and AlphaStruxure board member. “Carlyle and Schneider created AlphaStruxure to address these challenges with an Energy as a Service offering that we believe is truly unique to the market. We are working alongside our customers and providing a comprehensive solution encompassing technology, ongoing servicing as well as financing. The Montgomery County project illuminates a new pathway to pursue fleet electrification, but it’s only scratching the surface of the outcomes and goals we believe AlphaStruxure can help customers achieve.”

“AlphaStruxure’s microgrid and electrification project and our continued partnership with Montgomery County are more proof points of Schneider Electric’s leadership as the world’s most sustainable company,” said Annette Clayton, CEO & president, Schneider Electric North America and AlphaStruxure board member. “With our innovative Energy as a Service approach we are delivering the triple-bottom-line results for our customers: resilience, cost predictability, and sustainability.”

Beyond microgrid fleet electrification projects, AlphaStruxure partners with energy-intensive and energy-sensitive clients spanning commercial, industrial, government, and critical infrastructure sectors to deliver custom EaaS solutions. Delivering specified outcomes for sustainability, resilience, reliability, and cost-predictability, AlphaStruxure’s EaaS microgrid solutions often integrate additional energy-related technologies including electrical and mechanical upgrades, electrification technologies, charging infrastructure and other advanced systems.

AlphaStruxure is a joint venture between the Carlyle Global Infrastructure Opportunity Fund and Schneider Electric.

About AlphaStruxure

AlphaStruxure delivers customized Energy as a Service solutions that transform sustainability, resilience and reliability into a strategic advantage. Serving energy-intensive private and public sector organizations, AlphaStruxure brings together technical, financial and contractual innovation to meet customers’ current and future energy needs without capital expenditure. AlphaStruxure’s mission is to be the trusted partner in energy transformation, combining Schneider Electric’s industry-leading smart energy management and automation technologies with The Carlyle Group’s comprehensive structuring and financing capabilities. For more information, visit www.AlphaStruxure.com

About The Carlyle Group

The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is a global investment firm with deep industry expertise that deploys private capital across three business segments: Global Private Equity, Global Credit and Investment Solutions. With $246 billion of assets under management as of December 31, 2020, Carlyle’s purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, portfolio companies and the communities in which we live and invest. The Carlyle Group employs 1,825 people in 29 offices across five continents. Further information is available at www.carlyle.com. Follow The Carlyle Group on Twitter @OneCarlyle.

About Schneider Electric

Schneider’s purpose is to empower all to make the most of our energy and resources, bridging progress and sustainability for all. We call this Life Is On. Our mission is to be your digital partner for Sustainability and Efficiency. We drive digital transformation by integrating world-leading process and energy technologies, end-point to cloud connecting products, controls, software and services, across the entire lifecycle, enabling integrated company management, for homes, buildings, data centers, infrastructure and industries. We are the most local of global companies. We are advocates of open standards and partnership ecosystems that are passionate about our shared Meaningful Purpose, Inclusive and Empowered values. www.se.com

Media
Antenna Group for AlphaStruxure
Annika Harper
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Montgomery County
Scott Peterson
+1 (202) 277-9414
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Carlyle Group
Brittany Berliner
+1 (212) 813-4839
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Dr. Hang Shi focused on leading the battery cell design group

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Romeo Power, Inc. (“Romeo Power”) (NYSE: RMO), an energy technology leader delivering advanced electrification solutions for complex commercial vehicle applications, today announced the appointment of Dr. Hang Shi as Vice President of Cell Engineering. In this role, Dr. Shi will be responsible for leading Romeo Power’s battery cell design group and is expected to play a critical role in the company’s efforts to secure a diverse range of qualified cells for its customers’ EV applications.

Dr. Shi brings a broad range of electrification experience to his new position at Romeo Power, including lithium-ion battery research and development, cell design and pilot line scale up. He is a 30-year veteran in the battery technology industry and studied under world-renowned battery technology researcher, Prof. Jeff Dahn. Dr. Shi has founded and served as CEO and CTO of several key innovators in the field.

At Romeo Power, Dr. Shi will evaluate novel cell design and chemistries with external partners, as well as the viability of new cell technology. He will also be responsible for prototyping Romeo Power’s proprietary chemistry-agnostic distributed cell design and leading commercial cell supplier quality audits.

“We are very excited about Dr. Shi’s vision for the future of Romeo Power’s battery cell design and supply sourcing initiatives,” said Dr. AK Srouji, CTO of Romeo Power. “Dr. Shi has been instrumental in leading battery cell technology over the last three decades and has a proven history in electrification solutions and delivering results. We could not be more pleased to welcome him to lead our battery cell engineering group and consider it a major validation of our technology and opportunity.”

“This is a unique opportunity to transform the commercial and industrial transportation industry while positively impacting our world,” said Dr. Hang Shi. “With Romeo Power’s dedicated commitment to powering the world’s transition to electrification, I look forward to challenging what’s possible as we seek new solutions in the battery technology space and take Romeo Power to the next level.”

About Romeo Power

Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Romeo Power (NYSE: RMO) is an energy technology leader delivering advanced electrification solutions for complex commercial vehicle applications. The company’s suite of advanced hardware, combined with its innovative battery management system, delivers the safety, performance, reliability and configurability its customers need to succeed. Romeo Power's 113,000 square-foot manufacturing facility brings its flexible design and development process inhouse to pack the most energy dense modules on the market. To keep up with everything Romeo Power, please follow the company on social @romeopowerinc or visit romeopower.com.

Romeo Power

For Investors
ICR, Inc.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

For Media
ICR, Inc.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ARLINGTON, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Forestar Group Inc. (“Forestar”) (NYSE: FOR) announced that the Company will present virtually to the investment community via webcast at the 14^th Annual J.P. Morgan Homebuilding and Building Products Conference on Wednesday, May 19, 2021 at 4:40 p.m. Eastern Time.

The live broadcast of the presentation may be accessed under the events and presentations section of Forestar’s investor site at investor.forestar.com. Listeners are encouraged to go to the site at least five minutes before the scheduled presentation time. A replay of the presentation will also be available on the Company’s investor site within 24 hours of the presentation and may be accessed until June 18, 2021.

About Forestar Group Inc.
Forestar Group Inc. is a residential lot development company with operations in 54 markets in 22 states and delivered 13,155 residential lots during the twelve-month period ended March 31, 2021. The Company is a majority-owned subsidiary of D.R. Horton, Inc., the largest homebuilder by volume in the United States since 2002.

Investor Relations:
Jessica Hansen, 817-390-8195
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

•  First quarter revenue grew $0.9 million to $2.4 million over trailing fourth quarter as market steadily improves
• U.S. market conditions strengthening and market share expanding driving revenue in North America up 74% over trailing quarter
• Tool revenue grew 84% over the trailing quarter while Contract Services revenue was up 19%
• Cost savings efforts and improved revenue resulted in positive cash generation from operations; ended quarter with $2.3 million of cash on hand
• Restructured international team to build market opportunity while expanding relationships with major oil field service companies to deepen market reach

VERNAL, Utah--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Superior Drilling Products, Inc. (NYSE American: SDPI) (“SDP” or the “Company”), a designer and manufacturer of drilling tool technologies, today reported financial results for the first quarter of 2021 ended March 31, 2021.

Troy Meier, Chairman and CEO, commented, “The pace of activity is encouraging as markets begin to recover. Demand for new Drill-N-Ream^® well bore conditioning tools in North America continued through April as market conditions strengthen. We believe we are also continuing to gain market share in this depressed environment as more operators recognize both the production efficiencies gained and costs saved when using the DNR for their drilling operations. Drill bit refurbishment activity has increased as well during the quarter, with the growing number of drill rigs operating in the U.S.”

He added, “We are bringing back fabricators, advancing new drill bit development and we are making progress on broader marketing and servicing agreements with much larger entities that have the breadth to extend and deepen our market reach. While we are not expecting the market in the U.S. to return to pre-COVID levels, we believe that there is still plenty of room for improvement and more market penetration potential for the DNR. We have also restructured our international development team to improve returns on our investments in those markets while also advancing the agreements needed to gain market share.”

Mr. Meier concluded, “We are optimistic about the recovery supporting growth through 2021. More significantly, we are excited about the changes we are making in the organization and the relationships we are building that we expect to drive significant growth for the Company in the long-term.”

First Quarter 2021 Review ($ in thousands, except per share amounts) (See at “Definitions” the composition of product/service revenue categories.)

Revenue increased sequentially $884 thousand, or 57%, over the trailing fourth quarter as market share and market conditions improved. The year-over-year comparison reflects the impact of the global pandemic on the oil & gas production industry. The market in North America is improving more rapidly than international markets. Revenue in North America increased 74% from increased tool sales, as well as higher royalty and repair fees. Contract Services revenue also improved sequentially reflecting increased drill bit refurbishment. International revenue was relatively unchanged from the trailing fourth quarter as the market recovery is lagging similar to the lag in decline this market had through 2020.

First Quarter 2021 Operating Costs

⁽¹⁾ Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure defined as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, non-cash stock compensation expense and unusual items. See the attached tables for important disclosures regarding SDP’s use of Adjusted EBITDA, as well as a reconciliation of net loss to Adjusted EBITDA.

Total operating expenses increased 13% over the trailing fourth quarter, while revenue increased 57% demonstrating the effect of cost reduction efforts and the operating leverage gained from higher volume.

Net loss for the quarter was $1.1 million compared with $0.7 million in the trailing fourth quarter which included a $0.9 million benefit from the government forgiveness of SBA debt. Compared with the trailing fourth quarter, Adjusted EBITDA⁽¹⁾ improved sequentially as a result of increased sales and operating leverage gained from higher volume.

The Company believes that when used in conjunction with measures prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), Adjusted EBITDA, which is a non-GAAP measure, helps in the understanding of its operating performance.

Balance Sheet and Liquidity

Cash at the end of the quarter was $2.3 million, up from $2.0 million at the end of 2020. Cash provided by operations in the first quarter of 2021 was $139 thousand. Long-term debt, including the current portion at March 31, 2021, was $3.0 million. The $4.2 million long-term financial obligation is related to the future minimum lease payments under the 15-year lease of the Company’s Vernal, Utah property.

Definitions and Composition of Product/Service Revenue:

Contract Services Revenue is comprised of drill bit and other repair and manufacturing services.

Other Related Tool Revenue is comprised of royalties and fleet maintenance fees.

Tool Sales/Rental revenue is comprised of revenue from either the sale of tools or tools rented to customers.

Tool Revenue is the sum of Other Related Tool Revenue and Tool Sales/Rental revenue.

Webcast and Conference Call

The Company will host a conference call and live webcast today at 10:00 am MT (12:00 pm ET) to review the results of the quarter and full year and discuss its corporate strategy and outlook. The discussion will be accompanied by a slide presentation that will be made available prior to the conference call on SDP’s website at www.sdpi.com/events. A question-and-answer session will follow the formal presentation.

The conference call can be accessed by calling (201) 689-8470. Alternatively, the webcast can be monitored at www.sdpi.com/events. A telephonic replay will be available from 1:00 p.m. MT (3:00 p.m. ET) the day of the teleconference until Wednesday, May 19, 2021. To listen to the archived call, please call (412) 317-6671 and enter conference ID number 13718357, or access the webcast replay at www.sdpi.com, where a transcript will be posted once available.

About Superior Drilling Products, Inc.

Superior Drilling Products, Inc. is an innovative, cutting-edge drilling tool technology company providing cost saving solutions that drive production efficiencies for the oil and natural gas drilling industry. The Company designs, manufactures, repairs and sells drilling tools. SDP drilling solutions include the patented Drill-N-Ream® well bore conditioning tool and the patented Strider^™ oscillation system technology. In addition, SDP is a manufacturer and refurbisher of PDC (polycrystalline diamond compact) drill bits for a leading oil field service company. SDP operates a state-of-the-art drill tool fabrication facility, where it manufactures its solutions for the drilling industry, as well as customers’ custom products. The Company’s strategy for growth is to leverage its expertise in drill tool technology and innovative, precision machining in order to broaden its product offerings and solutions for the oil and gas industry.

Additional information about the Company can be found at: www.sdpi.com.

Safe Harbor Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements and information that are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included in this release, including, without limitations, the continued impact of COVID-19 on the business, the Company’s strategy, future operations, success at developing future tools, the Company’s effectiveness at executing its business strategy and plans, financial position, estimated revenue and losses, projected costs, prospects, plans and objectives of management, and ability to outperform are forward-looking statements. The use of words “could,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “expect,” “may,” “continue,” “predict,” “potential,” “project”, “forecast,” “should” or “plan, and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward -looking statements contain such identifying words. These statements reflect the beliefs and expectations of the Company and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include, among other factors, the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and related impact on the oil and natural gas industry, the effectiveness of success at expansion in the Middle East, options available for market channels in North America, the deferral of the commercialization of the Strider technology, the success of the Company’s business strategy and prospects for growth; the market success of the Company’s specialized tools, effectiveness of its sales efforts, its cash flow and liquidity; financial projections and actual operating results; the amount, nature and timing of capital expenditures; the availability and terms of capital; competition and government regulations; and general economic conditions. These and other factors could adversely affect the outcome and financial effects of the Company’s plans and described herein. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof.

FINANCIAL TABLES FOLLOW.

⁽¹⁾ Adjusted EBITDA represents net income adjusted for income taxes, interest, depreciation and amortization and other items as noted in the reconciliation table. The Company believes Adjusted EBITDA is an important supplemental measure of operating performance and uses it to assess performance and inform operating decisions. However, Adjusted EBITDA is not a GAAP financial measure. The Company’s calculation of Adjusted EBITDA should not be used as a substitute for GAAP measures of performance, including net cash provided by operations, operating income and net income. The Company’s method of calculating Adjusted EBITDA may vary substantially from the methods used by other companies and investors are cautioned not to rely unduly on it.

For more information, contact investor relations:
Deborah K. Pawlowski, Kei Advisors LLC
(716) 843-3908, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Please replace the release with the following corrected version due to multiple revisions.

The updated release reads:

LAKEVIEW ENERGY CLOSES A $50 MILLION CAPITAL PARTNERSHIP WITH ORION

Lakeview Energy, LLC. (“Lakeview”) announces the closing of a multi-draw, senior secured debt facility with Orion Energy Partners, L.P. (“Orion”) to fund process upgrades at its existing 55 million gallon per year biorefinery in Coshocton, Ohio (the “Plant”). The capital investment will provide energy savings to Lakeview and support a long-term offtake agreement with an industry leading producer of hand sanitizer and other hygiene products. Under this strategic arrangement, Lakeview will supply the offtaker with low carbon United States Pharmacopeia (“USP”) grade ethyl alcohol for use in its various product lines.

Based in Chicago, Illinois, Lakeview is a private renewable energy company that owns a variety of operating biorefineries in the Midwest US. Lakeview has been operating ethanol and biofuel plants since 2011 and acquired the Plant in Coshocton in 2013. With the infusion of Orion’s flexible capital, Lakeview will restart the Plant and produce higher quality USP grade ethanol, as well as fuel grade ethanol and associated co-products. The Plant’s process upgrade projects will be completed in early-2022.

“Our partnership with Orion provides us with the ability to improve the efficiency of the Plant and support the supply of low carbon, high purity alcohols to our new strategic offtake partner,” said Jim Galvin, Lakeview’s CEO. “We are excited to collaborate with Orion, an industry leader in sustainable infrastructure, and this partnership marks Orion’s confidence in our team, industry experience, and mission.”

“Lakeview has successfully proven its ability to capitalize on a growing market while reducing risk via product diversification, and we are extremely excited to start our capital partnership with the team,” said Chris Leary, Investment Partner at Orion. “We also recognize that society is still grappling with social and economic challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, and we feel proud to be supporting a business that will bring benefit to the local community in the form of new jobs and positive public health attributes.”

Dorsey & Whitney LLP acted as legal counsel to Lakeview and Greenberg Traurig, LLP acted as legal counsel to Orion.

About Lakeview Energy

​Lakeview Energy is a renewable energy company based in Chicago with investments in biofuels, agribusiness, and wind energy. For more information, please visit www.lakeviewenergyllc.com.

About Orion Energy Partners

Based in New York and Houston, Orion is a leading private credit and equity capital partner supporting middle market infrastructure and related companies focused on energy transition and environmental innovation, with firmwide assets under management of more than $2.5 billion. We provide a range of creative financing solutions as an alternative to equity investment and traditional loans. Our target investment sectors include energy efficiency, digital infrastructure, sustainable power generation, renewable fuels, waste & recycling, water, transportation and midstream. Orion manages long-term, committed capital across multiple investment funds, allowing Orion’s team to forge transformational relationships across a diverse group of companies and to be patient and supportive as these organizations execute on their business plans. For more information, please visit www.OrionEnergyPartners.com.

Contact information for Lakeview:
Jim Galvin
CEO
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Contact information for Orion:
Bethany Gorham
+1 (212) 292-0968
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.