Mes: febrero 2021

MINNEAPOLIS, Feb. 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — National Grid Renewables, which includes the renewables development company formerly known as Geronimo Energy, announced today the start of construction on the 200 megawatt (MW) Prairie Wolf Solar Project (Prairie Wolf) in Coles County, Illinois. The project is poised to generate millions in tax revenue, landowner income and charitable initiatives, all while adding more clean energy to the electric grid.

«I think the Prairie Wolf Solar Project is a win-win for everybody,» said Wes Humphres, a landowner in the Prairie Wolf project area. «It’s going to be a huge benefit to the schools and other taxing bodies in the project area, and it will create and support jobs in the local community.»

As previously announced in 2020, Prairie Wolf has an executed Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA) with Cargill, marking the second renewable energy VPPA contracted between Cargill and National Grid Renewables, the first being for a portion of the Crocker Wind Farm in Clark County, South Dakota.

«The groundbreaking of the Prairie Wolf Solar Project is an exciting step forward in Cargill’s work to support renewable energy as a way to change the way we power our operations, harnessing the innovative, economic and environmental benefits of renewable power,» stated Eric Hoegger, Director, Global Renewable Energy for Cargill. «We are honored to continue partnering with National Grid Renewables as we work to fulfill our commitment to reduce CO₂ emissions by 10% by 2025, measured against a 2017 baseline.»

Industry-leading Engineering, Construction, and Procurement (EPC) contractor, Swinerton Renewable Energy has been contracted to construct Prairie Wolf. The Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) located project is anticipated to begin operation by the end of 2021.

«The renewable energy sector is positioned for unprecedented growth in the coming years,» said George Hershman, President of Swinerton Renewable Energy. «The development of large-scale, impactful projects like Prairie Wolf in newer solar markets like Illinois will be vital in helping our industry reach its ambitious goals and expand access to clean energy for more Americans. We applaud National Grid Renewables for their leadership in the Midwest.»

Using the United States’ Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) greenhouse gas equivalencies calculator, the project is estimated to offset carbon dioxide emissions by 285,000 metric tons annually. Prairie Wolf will also benefit local and statewide economies through the production of new tax revenue, the creation of new jobs, increased local spending during construction and a local charitable fund estimated to contribute $800,000 over the first 20 years of project operation.

«Prairie Wolf is on the leading edge of the large-scale solar energy industry in the Midwest,» stated David Reamer, Head of Development, U.S. Onshore Renewables for National Grid Renewables. «We are thankful to the community members in Coles County for welcoming us and look forward to bringing economic development to the local area. Further, we are pleased to partner with leading companies like Cargill and Swinerton Renewable Energy to prove that Midwest solar is economic, valuable, and the right choice for customers and businesses.»

About National Grid Renewables
National Grid Renewables, part of the competitive, unregulated National Grid Ventures division of National Grid (NYSE: NGG), develops, owns and operates large-scale renewable energy assets across the United States, including solar, wind and battery storage. As a farmer-friendly and community-focused business, National Grid Renewables develops projects for corporations and utilities that seek to repower America’s electricity grid by reigniting local economies and reinvesting in a sustainable, clean energy future.

National Grid Renewables has a robust development pipeline of wind, solar and battery storage projects in various stages of development throughout the United States, as well as geographically diverse operational assets across the country. It supports National Grid’s vision of being at the heart of a clean, fair, and affordable energy future for all. Please visit www.nationalgridrenewables.com to learn more.

About Swinerton Renewable Energy
Swinerton Renewable Energy (SRE) offers engineering, procurement, construction, and SOLV® operations and maintenance (O&M) services for solar photovoltaic plants throughout North America to a diverse range of clients. Over 130 years of building landmark projects, Swinerton has forged a reputation for unsurpassed safety, workmanship, on-time delivery, and customer satisfaction. Today, our team takes pride in building cost-effective solar systems that will generate reliable, clean power for many years to come. SRE has delivered over 6 GW of solar projects and our SOLV team manages 6.2 GW of PV plants. Learn more about Swinerton Renewable Energy at swinertonrenewable.com.  

About Cargill
Cargill’s 155,000 employees across 70 countries work relentlessly to achieve our purpose of nourishing the world in a safe, responsible and sustainable way. Every day, we connect farmers with markets, customers with ingredients, and people and animals with the food they need to thrive. We combine 155 years of experience with new technologies and insights to serve as a trusted partner for food, agriculture, financial and industrial customers in more than 125 countries. Side-by-side, we are building a stronger, sustainable future for agriculture.

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SOURCE National Grid Renewables

NEW YORK, Feb. 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index® improved again in February, after increasing in January. The Index now stands at 91.3 (1985=100), up from 88.9 in January. The Present Situation Index—based on consumers’ assessment of current business and labor market conditions—climbed from 85.5 to 92.0. However, the Expectations Index—based on consumers’ short-term outlook for income, business, and labor market conditions—fell marginally, from 91.2 last month to 90.8 in February.  

The monthly Consumer Confidence Survey^®, based on a probability-design random sample, is conducted for The Conference Board by Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and analytics around what consumers buy and watch. The cutoff date for the preliminary results was February 11. The survey results did not fully capture the events surrounding the Texas power crisis nor the loosening of dining restrictions in NYC.

«After three months of consecutive declines in the Present Situation Index, consumers’ assessment of current conditions improved in February,» said Lynn Franco, Senior Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board. «This course reversal suggests economic growth has not slowed further. While the Expectations Index fell marginally in February, consumers remain cautiously optimistic, on the whole, about the outlook for the coming months. Notably, vacation intentions—particularly, plans to travel outside the U.S. and via air—saw an uptick this month, and are poised to improve further as vaccination efforts expand.»

Consumers’ assessment of current conditions improved in February. The percentage of consumers claiming business conditions are «good» increased from 15.8 percent to 16.5 percent, while the proportion claiming business conditions are «bad» fell from 42.4 percent to 39.9 percent. Consumers’ assessment of the labor market also improved. The percentage of consumers saying jobs are «plentiful» increased from 20.0 percent to 21.9 percent, while those claiming jobs are «hard to get» declined from 22.5 percent to 21.2 percent.

Consumers, however, were marginally less optimistic about the short-term outlook in February. The percentage of consumers expecting business conditions will improve over the next six months fell from 34.1 percent to 31.0 percent; however, the proportion expecting business conditions will worsen also declined, from 19.0 percent to 17.7 percent. Likewise, consumers’ outlook regarding the job market was somewhat mixed. The proportion expecting more jobs in the months ahead decreased from 30.4 percent to 26.1 percent; however, those anticipating fewer jobs also declined, from 22.1 percent to 20.6 percent. Regarding short-term income prospects, 15.2 percent of consumers expect their incomes to increase in the next six months, down slightly from 15.8 percent in January. Conversely, 13.2 percent expect their incomes to decrease, down from 15.5 percent last month.

Source: February 2021 Consumer Confidence Survey^®

The Conference Board / Release #8036

The Conference Board publishes the Consumer Confidence Index^® at 10 a.m. ET on the last Tuesday of every month. Subscription information and the technical notes to this series are available on The Conference Board website: https://www.conference-board.org/data/consumerdata.cfm.

About The Conference Board
The Conference Board is the member-driven think tank that delivers trusted insights for what’s ahead. Founded in 1916, we are a non-partisan, not-for-profit entity holding 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status in the United States. www.conference-board.org.

About NIELSEN
Nielsen Holdings plc (NYSE: NLSN) is a global performance management company that provides a comprehensive understanding of what consumers watch and buy. Nielsen’s Watch segment provides media and advertising clients with Total Audience measurement services for all devices on which content — video, audio and text — is consumed. The Buy segment offers consumer packaged goods manufacturers and retailers the industry’s only global view of retail performance measurement. By integrating information from its Watch and Buy segments and other data sources, Nielsen also provides its clients with analytics that help improve performance. Nielsen, an S&P 500 company, has operations in over 100 countries, covering more than 90 percent of the world’s population. For more information, visit www.nielsen.com.   

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SOURCE The Conference Board

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Feb. 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Immediate, a financial wellness company, today announced findings from new surveys of 1,250 hourly and salaried workers and 200 CEOs and human resources leaders across five industries. Employee respondents overwhelmingly expressed concern about their current and future financial wellness, and a desire for more financial wellness benefits from employers. Meanwhile, employers revealed an overestimation of their employees’ financial security.

The latest report from Immediate, The unseen costs of financial stress in the workforce, probes workers’ financial pain points and how they’re coping with them today, while assessing the extent to which employers are supporting their teams’ financial wellness.

Key findings include:

Employers overestimate the financial health of their employees, though they admit that requests for pay advances have increased, particularly for higher-income workers

• The majority (87%) of employers characterize their employees’ financial wellness as good or excellent in the midst of the pandemic, though only 62% of employees would say the same.
• Almost half (46%) of employers report an increase in requests for pay advances since the start of the pandemic. 84% of employees who have asked for a pay advance at least once say they have needed to do so more frequently since that start of COVID-19.
• Employees with household incomes of $75k+ report asking for multiple pay advances at a higher rate than those who make less than 50k. 
• 24% of those making $75–$100k, and 26% of those making $100k+ have requested pay advances six or more times.
• Despite this, more than a third of employers do not offer pay advances, or lack a standard process for offering them.
• Just under half (40%) of employers offer no employee benefits for financial wellness.

Unexpected financial needs are the norm for employees

• More than 80% of employees surveyed say that they have experienced at least one unexpected financial need in the past 12 months. About half of employees faced this six times or more in the same time period—or about once every other month.
• Three-quarters (75%) of employees surveyed feel concerned about their financial stability this year; 36% of salaried workers say they are very concerned.
• Nearly 60% of employees who say they are very concerned with their financial stability in 2021 are part of households that make over $75,000 a year.

Financial stress negatively impacts employees’ physical and mental health, affects job performance

• More than 75% of employees report that financial struggles negatively impact their physical health, while 80% say these negatively impact their mental health.
• The large majority (93%) of employees say financial concerns impact their job performance, with 55% who say it does so often or very often.
• More than half (54%) of healthcare employees said financial stress impacts their attention at work with about a third (34%) saying this is often or very often the case; 63% of healthcare workers say financial stress affects their on-the-job performance.
• More than a quarter of workers would delay medical care if faced with an unexpected healthcare cost, with salaried employees slightly more likely to delay treatment than hourly workers.

About 4 in 5 say an earned wage access (EWA) solution would help alleviate their financial stress

• A majority of employees (77%) say that an EWA solution would help alleviate their financial stress, and 68% are willing to pay for this benefit themselves.
• For those who currently have access to EWA, 89% say they take advantage of the benefit, and 67% do so at least once a month.
• Most of the employees surveyed (80%) say they would prioritize an employer that offers an EWA solution over one that does not.
• Meanwhile, almost half (46%) of HR leaders said offering competitive benefits will continue to be one of their top three challenges in 2021.

«In a global pandemic, it’s shocking that so many CEOs and HR leaders think their employees are in excellent financial health,» said Matt Pierce, Immediate founder and CEO. «They have a much bigger problem than they’re aware of, when 9 in 10 employees are saying financial stress impacts their job performance. You know that’s going to hit a business’ bottom line, or worse, in the healthcare industry, cause a negative patient outcome. With resources like earned wage access available, which cost a company nothing, there is no reason this should happen, especially when they can make such a significant positive impact on employees’ lives.»

«These unprecedented times are producing vulnerable employees that need help,» said Mason Beard, chief strategy officer at Immediate. «It’s an opportunity for employers—by answering that call, they will create gratitude which strengthens employee loyalty. Loyal employees help optimize business performance.»

Methodology
In November 2020, Immediate commissioned research and strategy firm Sage Growth Partners to conduct two surveys: one of 1,250 employees across the country and another of 200 employers, including CEOs and HR leaders. Respondents represented a range of company sizes and industries, including healthcare, retail, hospitality, and manufacturing. For more details on methodology, please download the full report here.

About Immediate
Immediate partners with employers to provide their employees with wages that have been earned but not paid, whenever they are needed. With seamless time tracking and payroll integrations, same day and next day bank transfers, and the ability to put earnings directly on a debit card, Immediate is working to improve financial wellness and eliminate cycles of debt for employees by allowing them to access their hard-earned wages. To learn more, visit joinimmediate.com.

Media Contact
Boh Hatter
(410) 534.1161
bhatter@sage-growth.com

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SOURCE Immediate