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GENEVA, 3rd September, 2021 – The World Economic Forum has published a new study on how artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to accelerate a more equitable energy transition and build trust for the technology throughout the industry.
As the impacts of climate change become more visible worldwide, governments and industry face the urgent challenge of transitioning to a low-carbon global energy system.
Digital technologies – particularly AI – are key enablers for this transition and have the potential to deliver the energy sector’s climate goals more rapidly and at lower cost.
Written in collaboration with BloombergNEF and Deutsche Energie-Agentur (dena) – the German Energy Agency, Harnessing Artificial Intelligence to Accelerate the Energy Transition reviews the state of play of AI adoption in the energy sector, identifies high-priority applications of AI in the energy transition, and offers a road map and practical recommendations for the energy and AI industries to maximize AI’s benefits.
The report finds that AI has the potential to create substantial value for the global energy transition. Based on BNEF’s net-zero scenario modelling, every 1 percent of additional efficiency in demand creates $1.3 trillion in value between 2020 and 2050 due to reduced investment needs. AI could achieve this by enabling greater energy efficiency and flexing demand.
“AI is already making its mark on many parts of society and the economy. In energy, we are only seeing the beginning of what AI can do to speed up the transition to the low-emissions, ultra-efficient and interconnected energy systems we need tomorrow. This report shows the potential and what it will take to unlock it – guided by principles that span how to govern, design and enable responsible use of AI in energy. Governments and companies can collectively create a real tipping point in using AI for a faster energy transition,” said Roberto Bocca, Head of Energy, World Economic Forum.
“As dena, we have been focusing on digital technologies for years. Especially with our ‘Future Energy Lab’ we are boosting Artificial intelligence projects AI is an essential technology for the energy transition since it will provide the glue to connect the different sectors (power, heat, mobility and industry) and serve as digital technology to effectively monitor systems and processes. To efficiently control the energy system of the future, which will be very volatile due to renewable energies, such agent-based control will play an overarching role,” said Andreas Kuhlmann, Chief Executive Officer, dena.
High priority applications for how AI can accelerate the transition to low-carbon energy future include:

(1) Identifying patterns and insights in data to increase efficiency and savings: According to BNEF’s net-zero scenarios, fully decarbonising the global energy system will require between $92 trillion and $173 trillion of investments in energy infrastructure between 2020 and 2050. Even single-digit percentage gains in flexibility, efficiency, or capacity in clean energy and low-carbon infrastructure systems can therefore lead to trillions of dollars in value and savings.
(2) Coordinating power systems with growing shares of renewable energy: As electricity supplies more sectors and applications, the power sector is becoming the core pillar of the global energy supply. Ramping up renewable energy deployment to decarbonize the globally expanding power sector will mean more power is supplied by intermittent sources (such as solar and wind), creating a need for better forecasting, greater coordination, and more flexible consumption to ensure that power grids can be operated safely and reliably.
(3) Managing complex, decentralized energy systems at scale: The transition to low-carbon energy systems is driving the rapid growth of distributed power generation, distributed storage, and advanced demand response capabilities, which will need to be orchestrated and integrated into much more networked, transactional power grids.
Navigating these opportunities presents huge strategic and operational challenges for energy-intensive sectors and energy systems themselves, just as they are undergoing once-in-a-lifetime digital transformations. AI can act as an intelligent layer across many applications and has the ability to identify patterns and insights in data, “learn” lessons accurately and improve system performance over time, and predict and model possible outcomes for complex, multivariate situations.

NEW DELHI, 3rd September, 2021 – India on Friday reported 45,352 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the overall country’s tally to 32,903,289, according to the health ministry’s updated data.
With 366 more people succumbing to COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, the overall death toll has further climbed to 439,895.
India is the second most affected country in the world in terms of infections after the US, and its death toll is the third-highest
reported in the world after the U.S. and Brazil.

LONDON, 3rd September, 2021 – Nuclear reactors generated a total 2553 TWh of electricity in 2020, down from 2657 TWh in 2019, according to the latest World Nuclear Performance Report released by the World Nuclear Association.
Despite the small decline, the Association’s Director General, Sama Bilbao y León, said “the resilience and flexibility shown by the global nuclear fleet tell a very positive story.”
The decrease in nuclear output was strongly influenced by the overall fall of around 1 percent in global electricity demand in 2020 caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the report says. In addition, nuclear reactors were increasingly being called upon to provide load-following support to the growing share of variable renewable generation.
“In any other year an almost 4 percent decline in nuclear generation would be an unequivocal disappointment,” Bilbao y León says in the preface to the new report. “In 2020 the world’s nuclear reactors have shown resilience and flexibility, adapting to changes in demand while ensuring stable and reliable electricity supply.”
The capacity factor for the global fleet in 2020 was still high at 80.3 percent, down from 83.1 percent in 2019, but maintained the high performance seen over the past 20 years. Nearly two-thirds of reactors had a capacity factor greater than 80 percent last year.
“There is no age-related trend in nuclear reactor performance,” the Association says. “The mean capacity factor for reactors over the last five years shows no significant overall variation with age. With some reactors now being licensed to operate for 80 years, the consistency in performance of reactors regardless of age is notable.”
At the end of 2020 there were 441 operable nuclear reactors, with a combined capacity of 392 GWe. This total capacity has remained almost unchanged for the last three years, with new capacity additions being matched by the amount of nuclear capacity being permanently shutdown.
During 2020, five new reactors with a combined capacity of 5521 MWe (net) started up: Barakah 1 in the UAE; Ostrovets 1 in Belarus; Leningrad II-2 in Russia; and, Fuqing 5 and Tianwan 5 in China. However, six reactors with a combined capacity of 5165 MWe (net) were shut down: Fessenheim units 1 and 2 in France; Indian Point 2 and Duane Arnold in the USA; Leningrad 2 in Russia; and, Ringhals 1 in Sweden.
Between 2018 and 2020 there have been 26 reactors permanently shutdown with a total capacity of 20.8 GWe, compared to 20 new reactors starting up, with a total capacity of 21.3 GWe.
“With global electricity demand expected to rebound sharply, there is a real risk that greenhouse gas emissions will do so as well,” Bilbao y León said. “More than half of the reactors permanently shutdown in the last few years have done so not because of technical limitations, but because of political phase-out policies or the failure of markets to adequately recognise the value of low-carbon reliable nuclear power. This is a loss of low-carbon generation that the world can ill afford to squander.”
However, there are promising signs for nuclear, the Association noted. Already in 2021, four new reactors have been connected to the grid and construction has started on seven reactors, although two reactors have permanently shutdown.
Bilbao y León said: “It is vital that nuclear generation bounces back further and faster, helping displace fossil fuels, thus avoiding a sharp rise in greenhouse gas emissions. The operation of the existing nuclear fleet must be maximised and extended as long as feasible, and the pace and scale of new nuclear construction must increase.”
Construction started last year of four new reactors with a combined capacity of 4473 MWe (net). Three of these are in China (San’ao 1, Taipingling 2 and Zhangzhou 2) and one in Turkey (Akkuyu 2).
The median time for construction of reactors grid connected in 2020 was 84 months, down from 117 months in 2019.
The report, which analyses data from the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Power Reactor Information Service database, also includes country reports, summarising recent developments in each country with operable reactors and/or reactors under construction.
It also presents four case studies highlighting the contribution nuclear energy makes to greenhouse gas emissions reduction. These case studies include: the Grohnde nuclear power plant in Germany, which has produced 400 TWh of low-carbon electricity; the Haiyang plant in China, which is providing district heating; the Akkuyu plant, the first to be built in Turkey; and Peach Bottom units 2 3 in the USA, which have been approved to operate for 80 years.

Series of activities lined up to mark the 16 years anniversary of the Aguata Diocese, Anglican Communion, will reach its crescendo on Saturday, September 4, 2021, with the enrolment of some Anglican faithful into the Knighthood order of Saint Christopher and Lady of Bethany. The event, which will take place at the Cathedral Church of Saint John, Ekwulobia, will be performed by the Anglican Bishop of Aguata Diocese, the Right Reverend Samuel Chukwudi Ezeofor (JP), Ph.D. The knighthood investiture is the first to be performed by Bishop Ezeofor, who was translated to Aguata Diocese on April 3, 2018.

Knights are men from noble and well known families; those who distinguished themselves in the State, Church or society at large. In England, when Queen Elizabeth confers knighthood, it is in recognition of deeds done in service of the crown, common wealth or the entire world.

Knighthood began as a secular institution in ancient Rome. From there, it spread to other parts of Europe by the tenth century. However, the earliest orders of knights were formed after the recovery of Jerusalem. These knights had their vows, orders and functions, both spiritual and temporal, including military.

The Anglican Church, which constituted part of the Holy Catholic Church, was part of the one church founded by Christ. Therefore, knighthood among other institutions is part of its common heritage before the church was divided. It was in realization of the existence of knighthood as a means of motivating devoted Christians that the Anglican Church in Nigeria, in recent time, revived from the ecclesiastical archives, the knighthood institution.

The patrons of the orders into which Anglicans have been invested are: Saint Christopher, Saint Augustine, Saint Paul, and Knights of the Good Shepherd. The ladies are also ladies of Saint Mary and Ladies of Bethany. A knight is simply not one who holds honorific title “Sir” as a reward for his or her past services but rather one who has distinguished him or herself in the service to the church and society. Those to be invested with this honour must be communicating communicants, husbands of one wife, balanced in character and conduct, not a member of a secret society, not given to wine but given to hospitality.

What, in essence are the functions of knights in the church, one may ask? A knight is a member of the laity whom the Bishop deems fit to be bestowed an honour upon. He is seen as a defender of the faith and a soldier for the propagation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. They are to carry on their warfare against the devil and all its ramifications with spiritual weapon.

Other roles of the Christian knight include the protection of rights of the diocese, planting of churches, sponsoring of crusades, seminars, revivals and conventions as well as giving financial support to churches, schools and hospitals. They donate towards the synod, women conferences and other church needs.

There is no doubt that today’s Christian knights are living up to the high ideals of the order. Their outings and activities are a sight to behold and their responsibilities are carried out to the letter.

On the other hand, some knights have gone beyond the bounds of their obligations to the church by belonging to secret societies, engaging in various vices, and engaging in immoral activities. However, the office of knighthood is not a status symbol or an exclusive preserve of the pride or the pompous.

So, as Aguata Diocese of the Anglican Communion celebrates her 16 years anniversary tomorrow, it behooves the novices to be made knight of the church to be above board like the Caesar’s wife by being alive to their duties as the soldiers of Christ, and defender of the church. Aguata Diocese, Lampada Christi!

In the face of lingering inter-communal clashes and boundary disputes across Nigeria, stakeholders have called for the inauguration of a national physical development plan, to ensure clear cut demarcation of boundaries.

The president, National Institute of Town Planners, NITP, Mr. Olutoyin Ayinde made this call in Awka while exchanging views with the Executive Chairman, Anambra State Physical Planning Board, ANSPPB, Barrister Chike Maduekwe in his office.

Mr. Ayinde, who is a former Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, added that a regional physical plan will help improve road connectivity within and outside Anambra State.

The National President disclosed that the institute has been embarking on a nationwide tour,  adding that Anambra was the 17th state it had visited since the present administration was inaugurated in October, 2020.

Responding, the Chairman, Anambra State Physical Planning Board, Barrister  Maduekwe commended the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners for their contributions to national development with regards to town planning.

Barrister Maduekwe said Anambra State was open to tapping from the wealth of knowledge of the professionals as it is vital in fostering the urban and rural development goals of the state.

Members of the group also paid a visit to Nnamdi Azikiwe University where they met with the Vice Chancellor, Professor Charles Esimone, who commended the institute for espousing University-Industry Relations with the goal of solving industry based problems.

Also in the entourage were the second Vice President of the institute, Mr. Ogbonnaya Chime, the Anambra State Chapter Chairman, Mr. Emmanuel Ifemedebe and Professor Chiedu Okoye of the Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, among others.

A strong grassroots based structure and continuous projection of the achievements of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA are basic factors that will guarantee the party’s victory at the November sixth governorship poll in Anambra State.

The party’s candidate for the election, Professor Charles Soludo stated this during the Awka North and South campaign meeting of the party.

The event was organized by a Board of Trustee member of the party and former member that represented Awka North and South Federal Constituency, Chief Anayo Nnebe in Awka.

The Awka North and South campaign meeting had in attendance stakeholders, political appointees, wards and local government executives within the constituency.

The political meeting, headed by Chief Nnebe, was aimed at reviewing, assessing and settling existing differences among party members and to strengthen Professor Soludo’s campaign in the constituency.

Addressing the assembly, Professor Soludo described the achievements of the party in the past fifteen years as the major political thrust of the party.

Professor Soludo, who was represented by his running mate, Dr. Onyekachukwu Ibezim said unlike other political parties, APGA has shown that it understands the yearning of the masses and will clinch victory at the poll.

Addressing the gathering, Chief Nnebe, who is a former Speaker of Anambra State House f Assembly, revealed that his move from PDP to APGA was the best decision ever as it is in line with the needs of the people, stating that the move is beneficial to every Onye Anambra.

He stated that the party has put its  best foot forward by nominating Professor Soludo, stating that his excellence in public service and administration speak for him even as he asked Awka North and South Council Areas to begin aggressive campaign for APGA  and participate  fully in the ongoing voter registration exercise.

The Anambra State Deputy Chairman of APGA, Chief Tony Omeligwe-Ele asked the party members to have the motto of the party at heart so as not to be deceived by political stunts of the opposition but be committed to the vision of the party especially at the grassroots level.

The chairman of Eke-Awka Market, Chief Jude Agummadu, the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Willie Obiano on Community Liaison, Chief Obi Ochije, the former Deputy Speaker, Anambra State House of Assembly, Honourable Hafford Oseke and an indigene of Awka, Chief Author Nwachukwu in their separate speeches, said the meeting is necessary for  success in the upcoming election,  asking all political stakeholders to work throughout this campaign season to ensure victory for APGA.

LONDON, 3rd September, 2021 – More than 219.03 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 4,716,114​ have died, according to a Reuters tally.
Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in Mainland China in December 2019.

Anambra State-born Master Monwuba Chibuzor Chibuikem, with registration number, 10054281ID, has topped the chart with a score of three hundred and fifty eight out of the possible four hundred marks, in the just released Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, examination result.

 

JAMB Registrar, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, disclosed this during his presentation at the 2021 admission policy meeting which held virtually and was attended by relevant education stakeholders, including heads of tertiary institutions, admission officers and registrars.

 

According to Professor Oloyede, who gave details of the best ten candidates in the 2021 edition of Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, Master Chibuikem was closely followed by the duo of Qomarudeen Abdulwasiu Alabi and Adeogun Kehinde Oreoluwa, both rank second with three hundred and fifty marks.

 

Master Chibuikem, who hails from Anambra State is based in Lagos, where he sat for the examination.

It was a jubilation  for beneficiaries of the Federal Government’s household upliftment programme, the Conditional Cash Transfer, at Ihiala, Dunukofia, Awka North, Ayamelum, Anambra West, and Orumba South Local Government Areas, as the National Cash Transfer Office recommenced payment of the monthly five thousand naira stipend in Anambra State, after six months of break.

 

Correspondent, Emmanuel Okonkwo reports that the Federal Government’s household uplifting programme is an initiative of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration aimed at lifting millions of indigent Nigerians out of poverty by paying them five thousand naira stipend on monthly basis, to enable them build up various petty businesses.

 

This month’s story was different as the beneficiaries were paid the sum of thirty thousand naira each at a stretch, covering their last year’s July, August, September, October, November, and December stipends, which were not paid.

During the disbursement of the stipend, payment providers of the National Cash Transfer Office were seen using electronic devices to identify each of the beneficiaries before payment, to ensure that the money is given to the right and deserved persons.

 

Speaking to Journalists shortly after the flag off of the programme at Ihiala Local Government Headquarters, the Head, Anambra State Cash Transfer Unit, Mr. Ralph Enukorah, who explained that the benefiting Local Government Areas were selected based on poverty index ratio of the World Bank, as the programme is meant for the poorest of the poor across Nigeria, encouraged the beneficiaries to use the money given to them to exit poverty level as targeted by the Federal Government.

 

Mr. Enukorah disclosed that apart from the poorest Local Government Areas in Anambra, including Orumba South, Ihiala, Awka North, Dunukofia, Ayamelum, and Anambra West, which were earlier selected, the programme has been extended to additional five Local Government Areas, including Awka South, Ogbaru, Onitsha South, Oyi, and Anambra East, which will soon start receiving their stipends as the arrangement has been concluded.

On his part, an official from the Abuja Cash Transfer Office, who is in charge of the disbursement, Mr. Uchenna Ozuzu, expressed satisfaction with how the disbursement exercise is being done in Anambra State, confirming that the money is being given to the right individuals who are really battling with poverty.

 

In their various remarks, some of the beneficiaries, including Mrs. Stella Okoli, Anthonia Obasi, and Apolonia Nwigwe, all from Ihiala, and their Dunukofia counterparts, Mrs. Elizabeth Anaekwe and Grace Aduaka, thanked the Federal Government for remembering them, saying that the money will enabled them startup businesses and also venture into agriculture to support their families.

 

The Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria, OAAN, has recognized the Anambra State Signage and Advertisement Agency, ANSAA, as the best advertisement agency in Nigeria.

 

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of ANSAA, Chief Jude Emecheta, was also honoured by the association for his sterling leadership of the agency.

 

The Association made the recognitions when a delegation of its  national leadership led by the President, Mr Emmanuel Ajufo, visited the Anambra State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Mr C. Don Adinuba, in his office at the Jerome Udoji State Secretariat, Awka.

 

 

Correspondent, David Okpokwasili reports that while speaking during the presentation of the award, Mr. Ajufo commended ANSAA for upholding high standard professionalism in their job, especially in their relationship with outdoor advertisement agencies operating in the State.

 

Mr. Ajufo said that unlike other States where practitioners are always in court with regulators, the association has not had any reason to write petitions, talk less of filing suit, beckoning on the States to emulate the example of Chief Emecheta and ANSAA.

 

Receiving the guests, the Anambra State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Mr. Adinuba, highly commended Chief Emecheta as a visionary leader, who has taken the Anambra State Signage and Advertisement Agency to become an example of how a public institution should be run, stating that the agency has also  contributed in no small measure to boosting the internally generating revenue of the State.

 

Commissioner Adinuba highlighted that Governor Willie Obiano’s style of leadership gave his appointees the opportunity to excel in their offices, which has been visible in the number of awards, recognitions and honours received by the different agencies and parastatals under the present administration.

 

Later in his acceptance speech, the Managing Director of Anambra State Signage and Advertisement Agency, Chief Emecheta, thanked the apex association of advertising practitioners in the country for the honour and stated that the cordial relationship between the agency and the association has brought a new phase of progress in the industry in Anambra State.

 

Chief Emecheta also pleaded with the OAAN leadership to ensure that members promote the highest standard of professionalism in their work, to sustain the relationship they have with the State Government.

 

The Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria, OAAN, delegation also had the General Secretary, Mr. Sola Akinsiku, and the former South East Regional Chairman of the association, Sir Soloo Akugha, while the Managing Director, Anambra State Printing and Publishing Corporation, Sir Chuka Nnabuife, and other top management staff of the Ministry of Information and Public Enlightenment were in the team that received the association.