#EV Charging Solutions West London

[westcosolar]

EV Charging Solutions in Reading, Slough, High Wycombe & West London - West Co Solar

West Co Solar is a leading provider of EV charging solutions across Reading, Slough, High Wycombe, and West London. We offer reliable, efficient, and sustainable EV charging installations for residential and commercial properties. Our team specializes in providing customized charging solutions that are designed to meet the unique needs of every customer. Whether you're looking for home charging or business installations, West Co Solar ensures a seamless and professional service. Visit https://www.westcosolar.co.uk/ to learn more about our EV charging solutions and how we can help you make the switch to electric driving.

[carrecoverylondon]

Avoid Roadside Stress: London Car Recovery Services at Your Fingertips

In the hustle and bustle of London's vibrant streets, the last thing any driver wants to encounter is a breakdown or a car-related mishap. Whether you're a seasoned Londoner or a visitor exploring the city's marvels, unforeseen car troubles can quickly turn a pleasant journey into a stressful ordeal. However, there's no need to let roadside mishaps ruin your day when you have access to reliable car recovery services right at your fingertips.

London's sprawling network of roads, from the iconic landmarks of the West End to the bustling lanes of the East, presents its own set of challenges for drivers. Navigating through traffic jams, negotiating narrow lanes, and dealing with unpredictable weather conditions are all part and parcel of driving in the city. Despite the best precautions, breakdowns and accidents can still occur, leaving drivers stranded and stressed out on the roadside.

Thankfully, London is home to a plethora of professional car recovery services that offer swift assistance and peace of mind to motorists in distress. These services are not just limited to towing vehicles; they encompass a range of solutions designed to get you back on the road promptly and safely. Whether you've run out of fuel, suffered a flat tire, or encountered a more serious mechanical issue, there's a recovery service ready to come to your aid.

One of the key advantages of London vehicle rescue services is their accessibility. With the prevalence of smartphones and mobile apps, help is just a few taps away. Many reputable recovery companies offer dedicated apps that allow users to request assistance, track the arrival of the recovery vehicle in real-time, and communicate with the service provider directly. This seamless integration of technology ensures a hassle-free experience for drivers in distress, minimizing the time spent waiting by the roadside.

Moreover, the competitive nature of London's car recovery industry means that providers are constantly striving to deliver top-notch service to their customers. This translates into faster response times, well-equipped recovery vehicles, and highly skilled technicians who can diagnose and resolve a wide range of issues on the spot. Whether you're stranded in central London or on the outskirts of the city, help is never too far away.

Another aspect that sets London's car recovery services apart is their commitment to customer satisfaction. Reputable companies prioritize professionalism, transparency, and reliability in their operations. From the moment you place a call or request assistance through their app, you can expect clear communication, accurate arrival times, and courteous service from the recovery team. This level of professionalism instills confidence in drivers, knowing that they're in capable hands during a stressful situation.

Furthermore, many car recovery services in London offer additional benefits beyond roadside assistance. Some providers offer membership programs or subscription packages that entitle members to discounted rates, priority service, and other perks. These membership programs are particularly beneficial for frequent drivers or businesses that rely heavily on their vehicles for operations. By investing in a membership, drivers can enjoy added peace of mind knowing that help is always within reach.

In addition to traditional car recovery services, London also boasts a growing number of eco-friendly and sustainable options for motorists. Electric vehicle (EV) recovery services, for instance, cater specifically to the needs of electric car owners, offering specialized assistance such as rapid charging or battery replacement on the go. As the popularity of EVs continues to rise in the city, so too does the demand for specialized recovery services tailored to their unique requirements.

Moreover, some car recovery companies in London are embracing innovative technologies such as GPS tracking and predictive analytics to enhance their service offerings. By leveraging data insights and real-time tracking capabilities, these companies can optimize their fleet operations, improve response times, and proactively identify potential issues before they escalate into emergencies. This proactive approach not only benefits drivers but also contributes to smoother traffic flow and enhanced road safety across the city.

In conclusion, navigating London's busy streets comes with its fair share of challenges, but with reliable car recovery services just a tap away, drivers can rest assured that help is always at hand. Whether it's a minor inconvenience or a more serious breakdown, London's network of professional recovery providers offers swift assistance, professionalism, and peace of mind to motorists in need. By embracing technology, sustainability, and innovation, these services continue to evolve to meet the ever-changing needs of London's diverse driving community. So the next time you find yourself stranded on the roadside, remember that help is just a phone call or a few taps away, ensuring that you can get back on the road and back to enjoying all that London has to offer without skipping a beat.

[aargoev]

AARGO EV Smart Green Drive 2.0 Drive of 229 Km | Inauguration of DC Fast Charger | 100 EV Participated

AARGO EV SMART Private Limited hosted the most awaited event of the year, Green Drive 2 2021,

which is second in the series after Green Drive on 15th August 2021 which was attended by 113 Electric 4 Wheelers which included Tata Nexon EV, MG ZS EV, Hyundai Kona etc. The Second Drive of the series i.e. Green Drive 2.0 was organized starting from Faridabad -Krishna Valley Vrindavan -Asli Pappu Dhaba Kotwan and ended at India Expo Mart, Greater Noida. Some EV owners from Rajasthan also joined the drive. The Total Distance of the Drive was 229 Km’s which is the longest E-Drive ever organized in the Indian subcontinent by any company.

Like before 100 Electric 4Wheelers including Mercedes EQC, Tata Nexon EV, MG ZS EV as part of the Drive. Green Drive is a platform that helps in promoting the Electric vehicle Ecosphere among people. The usage of electric vehicles will provide a shift from polluting fossil fuels and will help in saving the environment for our future generations.

At the time of Green Drive 1.0 there were 100 installations and now AARGO EV SMART Private Ltd. Has an installation base of 180 Charging stations PAN India with a presence in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, West Bengal, Gujrat, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Kerala etc. The only company to have a presence in Northeastern states of Assam, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh etc.

The Evian’s are on a mission to save the environment and AARGO EV SMART Private Limited and their Brand AARGO EV SMART, with their Principle Group Company AAR POWER SOLUTION-System Integrators of ABB are supporting the same by installing Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Pan India.

To date, AARGO EV SMART has installed more than 180 Charging Stations in India. AARGO EV SMART has done installation with OEM’s including AUDI INDIA, PORCHE, LEVC (London Electric Vehicle Company), Indian Oil etc. Adding to this a lot of installations are done at real estate projects, Hotels and private investors.

Event Details-: Total Distance of Drive 229 Km.

1. There was a Multi-Model E-mobility Summit organized by AARGO EV SMART Private Ltd. at Krishna Valley Vrindavan on 24th December 2021. More than 50 EV owners and technocrats assembled to discuss the future of E-Mobility and the current scenario in the Indian subcontinent. AARGO EV SMART Invited Mr. Abhijeet Sinha, National Program Director (ease of Doing Business) and Project Director (National Highway for EV) as Guest of honor of the Summit. AARGO EV Smart has electrified NH 19/44 with DC Fast Chargers and has facilitated EV users from Delhi to Agra.

The Key dignitaries included Mr. Sarth Jain-Founder Xponents and Dandera Electric, Mr. Parikshit Khurana- Director Krishna Valley Vrindavan, Mr. Sudhir Kr. Jasawat-Group Business Head AAR Power Solution and AARGO EV SMART Pvt. Ltd., Mr. Ashish Arora and Mr. Vivek Ahuja. Administrators of Nexon EV Owners Club India.

2. On 25th December a havan was organized at Asli Pappu Dhaba whereas a DC Fast Charger of AARGO EV SMART is installed. The havan was organized to commemorate the birth anniversary of Shri. Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji and inauguration of DC Fast Charger. 

By Installation of this charger, NH 19/44 is fully electrified and Electric Vehicle Owners can travel from Delhi to Agra or vice versa.75 Electric 4 Wheelers including Tata Nexon EV, Mercedes EQC, MG ZS EV were present during the event. Thereafter Green Drive 2 was Flagged off in presence of Shri. Nardev Ji, Nephew of Shri Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary, MLA Chhata, SDM Shri Kamlesh Goyal ji, Kulveer Singh Ji, Owner Asli Pappu Dhaba, Shri. Sudhir Kr. Jasawat, Group Business Head-AARGO EV SMART Pvt. Ltd. and AAR POWER SOLUTION, Shri. Parvinder Kumar, Director-AAR Power Solution.

3. Green Drive 2 proceeded via KGP and reached India Expocenter, Greater Noida at 3.30 pm and was received by lakhs of visitors present at EV India expo and Mr. Abhijeet Sinha -National Program Director (ease of Doing Business) and Project Director (National Highway for EV). There were Live chargers installed at site by AARGO EV SMART to Charge electric vehicles who joined the drive. 2 Type 2 AC Chargers 7.4 Kw and 1 DC Fast Charger 24 KW were installed by AARGO EV SMART at the site.

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt:

1. 27 Cities Have Reached Peak Carbon.

Scientists have warned that global greenhouse gas emissions need to peak in 2020 and then rapidly decline in order to avoid catastrophic warming. Luckily, on Thursday, Paris mayor and chair of the C40 network of cities committed to climate action Anne Hidalgo announced that 27 major cities, representing 54 million people, had already passed this milestone, according to a GCAS press release. Barcelona, Basel, Berlin, Boston, Chicago, Copenhagen, Heidelberg, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Melbourne, Milan, Montréal, New Orleans, New York City, Oslo, Paris, Philadelphia, Portland, Rome, San Francisco, Stockholm, Sydney, Toronto, Vancouver, Warsaw and Washington, DC have all seen their emissions fall over the last five years to at least 10 percent below peak levels while their economies have continued to grow.

2. NYC Puts Its Money Where Its Mouth Is.

It is not enough for cities to rest on past accomplishments. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio followed up an earlier commitment to divest the New York pension fund from fossil fuels with a new commitment to double the fund's investments in climate change solutions to $4 billion within three years, a GCAS press release reported.

3. West Coast Represents.

The Pacific Coast Collaborative (PCC), representing the states of California, Oregon, Washington, the Canadian province of British Columbia and the cities of Los Angeles, Oakland San Francisco, Portland, Seattle and Vancouver, renewed its commitment to working together against climate change and towards a growing renewable energy economy. Commitments included reducing carbon emissions, developing a low-carbon, regional transportation system, improving building efficiency and reducing food waste 50 percent by 2030.

4. EV Innovators Charge Forward.

Business leaders made commitments as well, including ChargePoint, one of the world's largest networks of electric vehicle chargers, according to Reuters. The company announced a pledge to add 2.5 million charging points to its network within the next seven years on Friday, according to a press release emailed to EcoWatch. The commitment represents a nearly fifty-fold expansion of its charging network, would prevent two million tons of greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere and would help establish infrastructure for a future in which EVs are expected to represent more than 50 percent of new car purchases by 2040.

[architectnews]

K:Port Mobility Hubs, London + Portishead

K:Port Mobility Hubs, London and Portishead News, New British Building, England

K:Port Mobility Hubs in London and Portishead

13 September 2021

Design: Hewitt Studios

Hewitt Studios LLP – K:Port® Mobility Hub | Enabling the Sustainable Electrification of Transport

K:Port Mobility Hubs in UK

Award-winning architect Hewitt Studios LLP unveils the first of its pioneering K:Port® Mobility Hubs in London and Portishead, which have been designed to inspire and enable the sustainable electrification of transport.

K:Port® is a low-carbon, multi-modal transport solution designed to democratise e-mobility and inspire behavioural change within the communities it serves. Unlike established and familiar solutions it allows deployment in prominent and sensitive locations, with minimal environmental impact and a secure & flexible long-term legacy.

K:Port Woolwich, London, England:

K:Port® represents a fresh approach to e-mobility and a declaration of the ‘art of the possible’. Hewitt Studios’ intention is that this attractive, front-of house mobility hub offer will, with a clear focus on well-being, health and sustainability, help to motive consumer changes in behaviour.

Concept Hewitt Studios’ concept for K:Port® derives from the Japanese notion of “Komorebi”; the dappled light which occurs when sunlight shines through the leaves of a tree. The essence of the tree is apparent throughout the K:Port®, from the form of the canopy itself and the timbers which make up its structure, to the collection and use of rainwater and sunlight via the solar PV surface – this is photosynthetic architecture!

K:Port Portishead, North Somerset:

Sustainability K:Port® has sustainability at its core. It is resource efficient, with a carbon-sequestering, responsibly sourced timber structure and options for rainwater harvesting, sustainable drainage and net-gain biodiversity. It is energy efficient, with integrated energy generation from the Solar PV canopy and can be upgraded with battery storage and smart charging. K:Port® can also be Smart City enabled with smart sensors, energy monitoring and energy aggregation functionality.

K:Port in Woolwich, south London:

User Experience K:Port® is designed to be easy, enjoyable and safe to use. The high-quality environment can be made available 24/7 via the incorporation of integrated LED lighting, CCTV and motion sensing / EV bay detection. It provides sheltered charging for EVs, e-bikes and e-scooters, keeping equipment dry and cool. Spaces are fully accessible in accordance with Part M and charge points are protected in line with IET guidelines.

Procurement and Legacy K:Port® is capable of rapid implementation, with an established supply chain ready to deliver modular, prefabricated components on site to be constructed in 2-3 weeks. Hewitt Studios have a developed kit of parts available to fit any site, with significant economies of scale to be achieved for large role outs. K:Port® is cheap and easy to maintain and at the end of its life, the timber frame has been designed to be re-locatable (to another site), re-usable (as a building frame) and / or disposable (as biomass fuel), ensuring a long-term sustainable legacy.

K:Port in Portishead, Somerset, England:

First Projects A two ‘tree’ K:Port® has been recently been completed for Transport for London, in partnership with ESB Energy and Siemens Mobility, located adjacent to the Woolwich Ferry Terminal at Glass Yard. This provides eight 50kw rapid chargers (upgradable to 125kw), battery storage and smart energy management, as well as multi-modal travel connections to cycle route and river crossing. An integrated rain garden and sustainable drainage system enhances the site’s flood resilience.

A single ‘tree’ K:Port® has also been installed at a prominent site at Parish Wharf in Portishead Marina. It has been delivered for North Somerset Council and the West of England Combined Authority as part of the Revive Network. It was funded by the Office of Zero Emissions vehicles via Go Ultra Low West. Initially, two 50kW rapid chargers will serve the four charging bays, with more capacity to be added in the future as demand dictates.

Hewitt Studios will be on Stand C4-110 at the Cenex-LCV event | 22nd-23rd September. Contact: www.hewittstudios.co.uk paul@hewittstudios.co.uk, 07590 399732

Electrical Charging Stations

Electrical Charging Station Building Designs – selection on e-architect:

Electrical Charging Stations, Gothenburg, Sweden Design: Kjellgren Kaminsky Architecture (KKA) image from architect Electrical Charging Stations Gothenburg

E.ON Ultra-fast Charging Stations Design: Graft image courtesy of architects firm E.ON Ultra-fast Charging Stations

Ultra Fast Charging Stations Design, Fredericia, Jutland, western Denmark Design: COBE image from architect practice Ultra Fast Charging Stations by COBE

English Architecture

English Architecture Designs – chronological list

British Houses

Black House, Kent, South East England Architect: AR Design Studio image courtesy of architects Black House in Kent

A House for Essex, Essex, South East England Design: FAT Architecture and Grayson Perry photograph : Jack Hobhouse A House for Essex

Balancing Barn, Suffolk, South East England Design: MVRDV photo : Living Architecture Balancing Barn Suffolk

Comments / photos for the English Planning System Reform Comment – New British Homes page welcome

The post K:Port Mobility Hubs, London + Portishead appeared first on e-architect.

[his-dark-materials-trilogy]

Philip Pullman's Book of Dust should learn from JK Rowling's magic

From The Guardian, by Mark Lawson

Wednesday 15 February 2017 

What Philip Pullman describes as an “equel” – a story that extends the His Dark Materials trilogy with a complementary narrative – has become the fashion for continuing entertainment mega-franchises aimed at an initial audience of children.

George Lucas’s original three Star Wars films have been expanded backwards, forwards and sideways, while JK Rowling’s stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – soon heading for Broadway after breaking box-office records in the West End of London – fills in some of the long gap between the boy wizard’s farewell to Hogwarts Academy and the enrollment of his children in the school.

From the sparse details released so far, it seems that Pullman’s newly announced The Book of Dust trilogy – the first volume of which will appear on 19 October – will similarly explore the childhood of his heroine, Lyra Belacqua, before readers met her at Jordan College, Oxford, in the first His Dark Materials book, Northern Lights (known in the US as The Golden Compass).

Pullman and Rowling’s solutions to a common literary dilemma – balancing an audience’s desire for more of the same with a writer’s desire to try something different – continue a long synchronicity between the two authors. The latest example is the introduction of dramatist Jack Thorne, who (with Rowling and John Tiffany) wrote Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and is currently adapting His Dark Materials for a BBC television version.

Thorne’s double duty feels appropriate because these narratives, rivals for the minds of recent generations of young readers, have constantly overlapped. Pullman and Rowling both began publishing their serial novels shortly before the millennium, and rapidly gained an adult audience as well. Each story involved an 11-year-old child who, in a supernatural universe existing alongside our own, is required to risk their life in order to defeat evil forces.

Although Harry is explicitly a quasi-Christ figure and Lyra a sort of Eve, both stories have been criticised by Christians for, in Rowling’s case, supposedly endorsing witchcraft and, as Pullman stood charged, for making the evil empire against which Lyra fights a specifically religious force, complete with a name – the Magisterium – that was historically applied to Roman Catholicism.

Although Pullman’s attack on the Vatican proved prophetic – as news stories of the last two decades increasingly showed, a percentage of the church’s priests have indeed been a grievous threat to children – one of the fascinations of The Book of Dust will be whether Pullman makes the metaphor broader. The suppression of dissent and enforcement of orthodoxy that the Magisterium represents are certainly still to be found in the Roman church, but also in the fundamentalist branches of American Christianity and Islam. Ideological crackdowns are to be found as well in the UK and US in political and academic institutions on a spectrum from right to left. Without letting the popes off the hook, Pullman might usefully hang others beside them.

The writer’s longstanding interest in science also seems likely to come through in the new trilogy’s promised exploration of the origins and meanings of “dust”. In His Dark Materials, the Magisterium believes this ambiguous substance represents original sin – but it could clearly provide biological or ecological matter, in the areas of Hawking and Dawkins, in the new books.

In narrative terms, Pullman’s biggest challenge will be to negotiate the fact that readers of the initial trilogy will already know – or, as it may turn out, think they know – the solution to various mysteries in Lyra’s childhood, including her real parentage. Any appearance of Lord Asriel, her “guardian”, or Marisa Coulter, her mother, will trail future-story alongside any back-story that Pullman fills in.

He is, though, too subtle a writer not to have spotted that problem and, as Rowling and Thorne showed in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the filling in of gaps can create new resonances in known characters and storylines. Alongside the already guaranteed reappearance of Lyra, fans will also hope for plotting involving Roger Parslow, a child who crucially disappears early in His Dark Materials, and Will Parry, Lyra’s friend, who has his own back-story opacities involving his father.

Ideally, a prequel, sequel or “equel” to an adored story should resemble a party at which those present include some people you already know and love, but also many fascinating newcomers to whom we are thrilled to be introduced. Pullman’s track record suggests that he will understand this and that The Book Of Dust will show that – as in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Star Wars: Rogue One – the best way to go forward with a beloved franchise is to shift sideways.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2017/feb/15/philip-pullman-the-book-of-dust-jk-rowling-magic

[mastcomm]

Trump’s Mideast Plan Is Seen Mainly as an Election Lift for Netanyahu

LONDON — Less than a month after being sworn in, President Trump welcomed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to the White House with a bold promise: He would broker a peace accord between the Israelis and the Palestinians — the diplomatic unicorn that had eluded half a dozen of his predecessors.

“I think we’re going to make a deal,” he said in 2017. “It might be a bigger and better deal than people in this room even understand.”

“As with any successful negotiation,” Mr. Trump continued, “both sides will have to make compromises. You know that, right?” he added, turning to his guest.

Mr. Netanyahu grinned. “Both sides,” he replied.

The Israeli leader will return to the White House for meetings Monday and Tuesday, and Mr. Trump is expected at last to lay out the details of that long-awaited plan. Mr. Netanyahu said Sunday he hoped to “make history” on the visit.

But far from a bold effort to bring old enemies together — one that demands painful concessions from both sides — Middle East experts now expect the plan to be mainly a booster shot for Mr. Netanyahu’s desperate campaign to stay in power.

Benny Gantz, again Mr. Netanyahu’s rival in Israel’s third election in less than a year, will have his own separate meeting with Mr. Trump on Monday. He had at first resisted the invitation, fearing a political trap in which Mr. Netanyahu would get to play the statesman while Mr. Gantz would look puny by comparison. But analysts said he could not afford to snub the president, given Mr. Trump’s enduring popularity in Israel.

The Palestinians, who stopped talking to Mr. Trump after he ordered the United States Embassy to be moved to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv in December 2017, will not be at the White House to be briefed on the plan. They have vowed to reject it.

“For him to do this in the middle of an Israeli election, without any Palestinian participation and with no intention to follow up with any of the participants, shows this is not a peace plan at all,” said Martin S. Indyk, who served as special envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations under President Barack Obama.

“It is a farce from start to finish,” he said.

Mr. Indyk’s verdict is harsh but not uncommon among diplomats who have worked on past peace efforts. Like other veterans of those fruitless negotiations, in both Democratic and Republican administrations, Mr. Indyk watched the early days of Mr. Trump’s diplomacy with fascination and even muted hope — that this most undiplomatic of presidents might achieve a breakthrough where they had failed.

That triumph of hope over experience was shared by some in the region. Palestinians and Israelis took to calling it Mr. Trump’s “deal of the century,” outdoing his own description of it as the “ultimate deal.”

The president brought a deal maker’s swagger and a property developer’s instincts to a problem that, after all, involves disputed territory. His close ties to Mr. Netanyahu — something Mr. Obama lacked — raised hopes that he might be able to extract real concessions from Israel. In a sign of the importance Mr. Trump attached to the effort, he put his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, in charge of it.

Mr. Kushner led a team that included Jason D. Greenblatt, the Trump Organization’s former chief lawyer, and David M. Friedman, a bankruptcy lawyer with ties to the Jewish settler movement who became Mr. Trump’s ambassador to Israel. He would emerge as the most influential adviser to Mr. Trump on Israel.

For months, Mr. Kushner and Mr. Greenblatt traveled around the Middle East, meeting with Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and other nations. Their strategy, known as “outside-in,” was designed to build a coalition of Arab support for a peace plan. The Arab leaders, the White House hoped, would pressure the Palestinian Authority to accept whatever Mr. Trump offered.

Mr. Kushner devoted particular attention to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, with whom he had cultivated a friendship of like-minded scions. Prince Mohammed expressed a willingness to establish relations with Israel and said the Israelis “have the right to have their own land.”

At home, Mr. Trump’s pro-Israel supporters were growing restive. They worried that he might put too much pressure on Mr. Netanyahu. Mr. Trump told him that a rapid expansion of settlements was not conducive to an agreement. After meeting with Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, in May 2017, Mr. Trump said that it was an “honor” — a post that later vanished from his Twitter feed.

Any such worries, however, were laid to rest seven months later when Mr. Trump announced he would move the embassy, formally recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The move delighted evangelicals, as well as pro-Israel donors like Sheldon Adelson, the Las Vegas casino magnate.

But it drove away the Palestinians, who cut off contact with the White House, and doomed the White House’s efforts to build Arab support for its plan. King Salman of Saudi Arabia was among those who condemned the decision, declaring, “East Jerusalem is an integral part of the Palestinian territories.”

Mr. Trump reacted harshly to the Palestinian rejection. He punished them by cutting off hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to the Palestinian Authority, as well as funding for the United Nations agency that helps Palestinian refugees.

The State Department shut down the office of the Palestine Liberation Organization in Washington. It downgraded the American consulate in Jerusalem, which had been a key channel to the Palestinians, by merging it with the embassy under Mr. Friedman, who later said Israel had the right to annex parts of the West Bank.

Even as the rift with the Palestinians widened, Mr. Kushner and Mr. Greenblatt labored on their plan. Working under a veil of secrecy, they compiled a multipage document, with annexes, that officials said would propose solutions to all the key disputes: borders, security, refugees and the status of Jerusalem.

While the plan never leaked — a rarity in the sievelike world of Middle East diplomacy — its general contours became known. It is not expected to call for a two-state solution or give East Jerusalem to the Palestinians. Nor will it offer Palestinian refugees a right of return or other compensation.

Mr. Kushner and Mr. Greenblatt, who has since left the administration, predicted in March 2018 that the Israelis and the Palestinians would each find things in the plan to embrace and oppose. But it was already clear that it would be tilted heavily in Israel’s favor — or more precisely, in the favor of their embattled ally, Mr. Netanyahu.

Facing indictment on multiple corruption charges in early 2019, the prime minister was fighting for his political life. With Mr. Netanyahu facing a closely fought election that April, Mr. Trump gave him an election-eve gift, announcing in March that the United States would reverse decades of policy and recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which was seized by Israeli troops in 1967.

With the release of his plan stymied by the instability in Israel, Mr. Kushner turned his attention to economics. In June, he announced the United States would raise more than $50 billion to improve the lives of the Palestinians and their Arab neighbors. His 38-page plan, titled “Peace to Prosperity,” had slick graphics and the promotional tone of a real estate prospectus.

Mr. Kushner followed up with a two-day workshop in Bahrain, which was boycotted by the Palestinians and shrugged off by other Arab leaders, for whom the peace project had faded into irrelevance.

Even after Mr. Trump’s shift on the Golan Heights, Mr. Netanyahu was unable to cobble together a majority to form a government. After a second election, in September, he found himself again short of a majority.

If Mr. Trump releases his plan this week, analysts said, it will be less about delivering the “deal of the century” than giving Mr. Netanyahu one last electoral lift.

from WordPress https://mastcomm.com/event/trumps-mideast-plan-is-seen-mainly-as-an-election-lift-for-netanyahu/

[inerginc]

We’re consistently reminded that we’re facing a future in modern cities that looks very different from the one we’re in now – perhaps not exactly hover-cars ala The Jetsons, but we can expect buildings that generate power for both their site and the grid, automated vehicles transporting heavy goods, and automated aerial taxis planned for the Paris Olympics.

Streetlights themselves are smarter than the ones we grew up with. The modern smart streetlight uses less power, generates its own power via solar and wind energy and even supplies the grid with excess, but there’s one more capacity that city lighting infrastructure offers that’s stirring up excitement for electric vehicle drivers around the globe – easy access to charging infrastructure.

This article was originally published in Smart Energy International 4-2019. Read the full digimag here or subscribe to receive a print copy here.

At present, EV charging infrastructure is growing at a rapid pace. In the US, Electrify America is installing an EV charging station at a Walmart store once every three days, which are capable of charging multiple vehicles simultaneously, and the UK now boasts more charging points than fuel stations. Enel has mapped charging stations across most of Europe, but that has still not been enough to beat the number one concern for those contemplating crossing the divide and buying their first EV – range anxiety. Then, there are concerns around charging costs themselves, with few countries offering subsidised – let alone specific – EV charging costs.

The answer it appears has been on the street the whole time.

To London, where the streets are paved with EV-charging gold.

In 2016, Transport for London (Tfl), the Greater London Authority, and London Councils announced a partnership with EV charging solutions provider ubitricity, and Siemens, to convert hundreds of the city’s streetlights into on-street charging.

Ubitricity retrofitted the first London lamppost with charge points in 2016, and by 2018 had approximately 300 charging points across the city and around 13,000 electric vehicles.

Two-thirds of Londoners park on-street and parking in the UK capital is infamously difficult to find at best. Imagine then, inner-city traffic intended to consist of low emission cars, scooters, and other public traffic and the fact that at best, one-third of it is capable of being charged at home.

On-street charging, it appears, would be the most logical solution.

Siemens would provide the streetlight technology to enable the solution – a smart charging cable that reads which street-pole is used, and mobile metering technology to track the power consumed. The data is then sent to a mobile power provider for billing.

A solution perhaps, that’s simpler than many would imagine.

These “Smart City” EV charging points deployed in the boroughs of Wandsworth and Kensington and Chelsea come in the face of pressure on local councils, particularly after government ministers called on councils to “ensure that all their residents can take advantage of this [electric] revolution” in transport. The scheme was funded with £3.7 million of London’s £13 million Go Ultra Low funding and aims to deliver 1,150 charging points by the end of 2020.

Cllr Julian Bell, London Councils’ chair of the transport and environment committee, said: “We each recognise the importance of improving air quality for Londoners and London Councils are leading the way in rolling out electric vehicle infrastructure across London by taking innovative new technology, such as using the power from lighting columns to charge vehicles and scaling it up to provide safe charging solutions more accessible for Londoners.

“This is an exciting step in providing London boroughs the means to purchase and install electric vehicle charge points. Together, London Councils will continue to work with partners to improve our air quality and help clean up London’s air.”

A more recent example has started on the other side of the globe in Sydney, Australia, and differs in that instead of a cable, the entire streetlight pole is replaced.

The technology provides a more comprehensive solution, more closely resembling future infrastructure, featuring Wi-Fi connections, security cameras, and smart lighting that can be controlled remotely.

The Wi-Fi connection, when offered over a city-wide network, effectively creates a free public network, capable of gathering and transmitting traffic information, electricity consumption, In March 2019, Melbourne-based EV charging solutions provider Jet Charge announced the installation of the first light-pole as part of a two-suburb trial in the west-Sydney suburbs of Blacktown and Canada Bay.

The rollout is small, at just twenty streetlight poles, but includes Wi-Fi, providing connectivity for both utility and convenience’s sake.

Perhaps best of all, the infrastructure is free to use for now. Future rollouts may make charging free, or near-free, with smart streetlights generating and storing power, to be used for either grid balancing and demand management, long-term storage, or free EV charging services.

The poles are designed by ENE-HUB, and are estimated to cost in the region of AU$30,000 each, but produce the same amount of energy as a typical Australian home connection. This means that charging will take hours instead of minutes, with the idea being that vehicle owners would use the facilities to charge vehicles overnight.

“We’ve been working with a smart light pole company to deploy the first light-pole chargers in Australia, and the first one is being turned on right now,” said Jet Charge boss Tim Washington, in an interview with CarsGuide at the Nissan Future summit.

“They’re security cameras, they have LED lighting, and they have Wi-Fi hotspots and EV charging. And we helped them to design and build them.

“It’s really to demonstrate what street-side charging might look like. It’s a demonstration of what’s possible.” SEI

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