the genie movie
2025-01-10   

the genie movie

UCF coach Gus Malzahn reportedly resigning to take Florida State OC jobIt’s an intriguing vision for the future of renewable energy. Giant white blimps slipping silently through the air carrying containers of solar panels, or, more likely, wind turbine blades which are expensive and devilishly tricky to move by road. One of the biggest logistical challenges for renewable energy projects – and wind farms in particular – is the task of transporting heavy towers and turbine planes from ports to the project sites. And finding a solution to this is the aim of French company Flying Whales, founded by entrepreneur Sébastien Bougon, who has already established bases in France and Canada and is now looking at opportunities in Australia. “We looked at the market in Australia and there was a fantastic surprise, how much you are revamping your energy generation and energy network,” Bougon told “What we do today is work with all players to look at their business cases. For instance, wind farms in Tasmania, New South Wales, Queensland or in Western Australia, and work with those companies to check out the technical feasibility, to check out the financial feasibility, and to confirm that when we [start operations in] 2028, everything is OK.” Bougon is focused on metrics like the huge numbers of turbine blades needing to be installed in Queensland alone – as many as 40,000 in the coming year. Mt Isa in Queensland’s north-west has already been announced as one of the company’s six operations sites, with a second site imminent. Bougon also sees opportunity in new and replacement transmission infrastructure along Australia’s strung out grid. A helicopter can carry 5 tonnes of weight, or a fifth of a transmission tower. Bougon says one of his airships could carry the whole thing – in a cargo hold inside the “belly of the whale” or attached to the bottom if it’s more than 100m long – to a remote site fully assembled, and do it more cheaply. Flying Whales is yet to take ownership of a completed model; engineering is complete, testing is underway, assembly is next and the first airship – a 200m long behemoth called LCA60T – will be ready in 2026 for certification. Cutting out road transportation could improve project economics, says aviation researcher Craig Neal, who wrote a paper on the feasibility of heavy airship transport in 2016. “Using airships to move renewable energy equipment is definitely feasible,” he told “What’s attractive with airships is they can make the actual transportation much simpler. It’s extremely complicated, takes a lot of planning, there is a lot of cost involved, and it’s very slow.” But there are also some big question marks over critical details. A wind industry source from a large global company suggested that airships would require their own set of infrastructure, such as a suitable lay-down ‘airport’ area with a tethering tower and a similar set-up at port, and all would need to be approved by aviation regulator CASA. And as another pointed out, wind sites tend to be windy. Figuring out how to deal with an aircraft that is lighter than air to deliver equipment to those areas could be the sticking point in any future featuring blimps. “Wow, incredible. It’s a pretty wild idea,” were the first comments out of the mouth of Stromlo Energy cofounder Garth Heron when asked about the prospect of airship deliveries. Airships wouldn’t be suitable for moving a giant 477 tonne grid transformer, in New South Wales (NSW), although the third iteration of a model proposed by US company AT2 Aero could carry up to 450 tonnes. But Heron points out that shipping wind turbine blades by air could be more dangerous than other methods. “The component that they will be thinking of moving that are the most difficult to move are things like turbine blades,” he told . ‘What wind turbines are very good at is catching wind. [So] on the safety aspects they would have some incredible challenges.” Heron says the amount of movement that can happen even when lifting a blade from the ground with a crane is “quite scary”, so safety while loading and unloading is the biggest problem an airlifted blade would pose for airship transportation. Another wind industry source says deliveries would be reliant on wind speeds on the day, potentially making airship deliveries less reliable than the more laborious road method. While some companies are proposing models that are loaded while on the ground, Flying Whales’ method is to use a “sling” to lift and lower cargo into an airship’s hold while in the air. Bougon acknowledges the concerns around wind and reliability, but says they have built in safeguards against this as part of the original design brief. “Our airship is actually a flying crane and when a crane installs blades on masts there can’t be a lot of wind, so it’s exactly the same for us,” he says. The wind speed limitation while loading is the same as for a helicopter, of 40km/hour, if a helicopter was doing the same job. The wind speed limit a Flying Whales airship could take during flight is 100km/hour, he says. The whole thing is stabilised with 4 megawatts (MW) of engines placed around the airship. “We have 4 MW of embedded power around the airship [in] 32 electrical engines [powering] 32 propellers in order to stabilise it and ensure perfect behaviour,” Bougon says. “Electric engines can distribute the forces all around and you can stablise the drone much easier than it’s exactaly the same as the aisrship, as soon as we could have electrical engines,... we could have complete stabilisation. “It’s the evolution of the electric propellers and engines that could make drones happen, that could make this large airship feasible in terms of stabilisation when you load and unload.” Other challenges also abound, such as the issue of variable buoyancy. This is where an airship needs to account for the change in weight during drop off and pick up of loads. Releasing helium – priced at $35/cubic metre – isn’t feasible. Flying Whales plans to carry up to 60T of water as ballast, while LA-based Aeros has developed a compression system, where helium is compressed and released inside the airship depending on the need. If airshippers can convince renewables developers of their safety, they will then be able to appeal to their wallets: cutting out some tens to hundreds of millions of dollars in road upgrades between ports and sites. “The issue is really about the cost of the road upgrade. That’s the problem this could potentially solve,” Heron says. Logjams on roads is an issue that wind developers in Queensland are already worried about. A last year into wind equipment transportation by the Queensland Transport and Logistics Council outlined just how complicated the process is to move very heavy items from port, through towns and into regional areas. “QTLC members have raised concerns regarding inefficiencies and constraints in current wind farm development processes, from the initial development application process through to the transportation of componentry and materials,’ the report said. “If nothing is done, with the increase in wind farm projects coming online, these inefficiencies and constraints have the potential to significantly impact wind farm project delivery and increase costs.” Flying Whales is the only airship proponent seriously targeting Australia as yet, but it’s not the only company out there. Hybrid Air Vehicles in the UK has already built and tested its pilot “flying bum” airship. Also in the UK are SkyLifter, Varialift Airships and Aeromechanics. Lockheed Martin spun its airship division out into AT2 Aerospace in the US, while Aeros, Blimp Works and Solar Ship are also based in North America. Israel has Atlas LTA Advanced Technology, Argentina has Aero Vehicles and France also has Euro Airship. Aviation researcher Neal speculated in his 2016 paper that airships would be doing the heavy lifting in Australia by 2020. He says today the reason why that forecast didn’t happen is money. “I think it’s been the age old story of investment. The funding has always been the issue,” he says. “When Boeing developed the Boeing 787 [Dreamliner] it was some phenomenal amount of money they spent, something like $35 billion or something. If you had a fraction of that money going into airships we’d have different models running.” Neal’s 2016 research focused purely on the economics of what airships might be useful for, and said the oversize overmass (OSOM) market was where gains could be made. “They have the ability to vertically takeoff and land like a helicopter; to operate over long distances; and to carry vast cargo loads in terms of weight, volume and dimensions. Yet, depending upon the size and model of cargo airship, their cost per freight tonne kilometer (FTK) may be at a comparable cost to general road freight and significantly cheaper than current air freight,” he wrote at the time. “The nature of the item being transported, the level of difficulty in the route taken, time of year, weather conditions and many other variables can make the level of planning and coordination required for these movements highly resource intensive. “To date there hasn’t been a practical alternative to get an OSOM item to site, as rail and traditional air (both fixed wing aircraft and rotary wing) have limitations which make their employment unfeasible.”

Sam McDowell: Chiefs enacted emergency plan after Patrick Mahomes’ outburst vs. Raiders. What next?This Thanksgiving, as you pass the mashed potatoes and carve the turkey, why not elevate the dinner table chatter with insights about the U.S. economy? On Wednesday, the economics team at Bank of America, led by Aditya Bhave , tackled 10 of the most pressing economic questions Americans are asking today, from stubbornly high food prices to the country's soaring deficit. Their answers provide clarity on the challenges and opportunities shaping the nation’s financial outlook, and could spark some spirited family debates. 1) Food Is So Expensive These Days. Why Do Economists Keep Saying Inflation Is Down? It's a question that's been on everyone's mind as they scan grocery receipts. While inflation is slowing down, the impact of prior price hikes still lingers. Inflation—defined as the year-over-year increase in prices—has cooled significantly since its peak in mid-2022. However, that doesn't mean prices are returning to pre-pandemic levels. Although food prices rose by just 1.2% over the past year, they remain far above where they were in 2019. That's why groceries still feel expensive, even as economists declare victory over inflation's worst days. 2) Will Prices Ever Go Back To 2019 Levels? Forget about it, and you should hope that doesn’t happen. For prices to revert to 2019 levels, the economy would need to experience a prolonged period of deflation, which means negative inflation rates. But as Bank of America highlights, deflation is “usually a sign of economic malaise that is very hard to break out of.” Since 1960, the U.S. has only experienced one brief episode of mild deflation, during the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. Higher prices, while painful, are now baked into the economy. Instead of looking backward, economists suggest focusing on income growth and productivity improvements to maintain purchasing power in an elevated price environment. Also Read: Amazon Dominates Holiday Shopping As Black Friday Spending Soars: Goldman Sachs 3) Why Haven’t We Had A Recession? Is It Now Looming? The dreaded "R-word" has haunted financial markets since the Federal Reserve began its aggressive rate hikes. Yet, against all odds, the U.S. economy has not only avoided a downturn, but even expanded strongly. Why? Bank of America credits several factors for the economy's surprising resilience. First, real income growth has outpaced inflation over the last two years, boosting household purchasing power. Second, fiscal policies have counteracted the tightening effects of monetary policy. Third, many households locked in ultra-low borrowing rates during the pandemic, insulating them from the Federal Reserve's higher rates. With 2025 expected to be another solid year, a recession might not be on the immediate horizon. 4) Why It’s Difficult To Find A Job In A Strong Economy? The labor market is still tight, but hiring patterns have shifted. Bank of America describes the current job market as a "low-hire, low-fire" environment. Job openings have fallen from their 2022 highs, leaving fewer opportunities for workers seeking new roles. While sectors like healthcare, education, and hospitality continue to drive hiring, others have stagnated. On the bright side, layoffs remain historically low, signaling stability for those already employed. Read Also: Consumer Confidence Hits 2-Year High As Recession Fears Fade: Stock Market Optimism Soars To Record High 5) Housing Prices Are Too High, and Mortgage Rates Aren't Dropping. Will This Ever Change? If you're feeling priced out of the housing market, you're not alone. Bank of America expects housing affordability to remain a challenge into 2024 and beyond. While mortgage rates have marginally eased this year, they are unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels anytime soon. Compounding the issue is the so-called "lock-in effect," where existing homeowners with low mortgage rates are reluctant to sell, limiting the supply of available homes. With demand still strong and supply constrained, home prices remain elevated. The median home price relative to income is now higher than at the peak of the 2005 housing bubble—a sobering statistic for aspiring buyers. 6) Fed Chair Powell Said Interest Rates Could Fall Gradually. Yet, By How Much? Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has indicated that rate cuts will happen gradually, and Bank of America predicts the central bank will trim rates by another 75 basis points by mid-2025. Inflation, while dropping sharply from sky-high levels in recent years, still remains above the Fed's 2% target, particularly when measured by the Core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, the Fed’s favorite inflation gauge. In October 2024, a basket of consumer goods that excludes groceries and energy costs, was up 2.8% compared to a year earlier. Bank of America forecasts inflation hovering between 2.5% and 3% for the next couple of years, which could limit the Fed's appetite for aggressive rate cuts. Read Also: Fed Minutes Reveal ‘Confidence’ In Inflation Reduction, Yet Flag Divergent Views On Interest Rate Path Ahead 7) Trump Is Back, What Policies Should I Expect? Will He Cut Taxes Again? According to Bank of America, a key priority for Republicans would be extending the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which is set to expire in 2025. Other proposals include introducing modest corporate tax cuts for domestic manufacturers, and slightly raising the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction cap. On trade, tariffs on Chinese imports are expected to rise, adding inflationary pressure, while deregulation in the energy and financial sectors could bolster corporate profits. On Monday, Donald Trump vowed to impose 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico unless the neighboring countries adopt stricter measures to combat drug trafficking and illegal immigration. “On immigration, significant tightening in the flow of migrants appears to be more likely than large changes to the migrant population that is already in the US,” the analysts said. Read also: US–Mexico Trade Tensions Escalate As Mexican Peso Hits August 2022 Lows: Why Is Auto Industry Most At Risk? 8) How Will These Policies Affect The Economy? According to Bank of America, fiscal stimulus from lower taxes and deregulation could boost growth, but tighter trade restrictions and immigration curbs might offset these gains. The net impact? Modest economic growth with inflation remaining above 2.5%. 9) Why Is The US Running A $2 Trillion Deficit? Deficits are nothing new for the U.S., but their current size is unprecedented during a period of strong economic growth. At nearly $2 trillion in FY 2024, the deficit is 6.4% of GDP—well above historical norms. This surge is largely driven by higher interest costs on the national debt and inflation-linked increases in programs like Social Security and Medicare. Adding to the strain, federal tax revenue growth has failed to keep pace with spending, creating a widening gap. Without meaningful fiscal reforms to either rein in spending or boost revenues, the deficit is likely to remain elevated, posing long-term risks to the economy. 10) Will The Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Solve The Deficit Problem? The recently formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) aims to cut wasteful spending, but Bank of America is skeptical of its impact. History shows that past attempts to rein in deficits through efficiency gains have fallen short. From the Reagan administration's Grace Commission to Clinton-era initiatives, similar efforts failed to produce meaningful savings. Moreover, political resistance to cutting mandatory spending programs like Social Security and Medicare remains a significant hurdle. The bottom line: The deficit problem won't be fixed overnight, and any solution will require tough, politically charged decisions, the analysts said. Read Next: ‘It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year’ For The Stock Market, History Says Photo: Shutterstock © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

US president-elect Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he was nominating staunch loyalist and retired general Keith Kellogg as his Ukraine envoy, charged with ending the 21⁄2-year Russian invasion. Trump campaigned on a platform of ushering a swift end to the Ukraine war, boasting that he would quickly mediate a ceasefire deal between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian leader Vladimir Putin. But his critics have warned that the incoming Republican is likely to leverage US military aid to pressure Kyiv into an agreement that left it ceding occupied territory permanently or agreeing not to join Nato. “I am very pleased to nominate General Keith Kellogg to serve as Assistant to the President and Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia,” Trump said in a statement on social media. “Keith has led a distinguished Military and Business career, including serving in highly sensitive National Security roles in my first Administration.” A fixture on the cable news circuit, the 80-year-old national security veteran co-wrote an academic paper earlier this year calling for Washington to leverage military aid as a means of pushing for peace talks.Tre Carroll scores 18 as Florida Atlantic fends off Texas State 89-80

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