Organic Valley Supports Clean Energy Jobs Act

"From a news release issued by Organic Valley:"

PROPOSED WISCONSIN LEGISLATION WILL ENCOURAGE INVESTMENT IN ON-FARM RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT

La Farge, Wis. - Commitment to renewable energy will help the economy grow, decrease dependence on fossil fuels, and create a healthier environment for future generations. Acknowledging the widespread benefit of renewable energy development to farmers and rural America, Organic Valley today pledges its support of the renewable energy provisions within the Clean Energy Jobs Act, currently being considered by the Wisconsin legislature. As a farmer-owned cooperative of 1,652 organic family farms, Organic Valley takes a strong interest in the health and sustainability of small-scale family farms and rural communities. The cooperative has embraced renewable energy as a clean, responsible way to provide farmers with a reliable, homegrown source of energy and a consistent source of income.

"Organic Valley farmers are conscientious," said Cecil Wright, vice president of sustainability and local operations for Organic Valley. "We care about what goes into our products and the impacts our agricultural practices have on our local environment. Legislation to encourage renewable energy development will provide more opportunities for our members to make their farms more productive and environmentally sound."

The Clean Energy Jobs Act includes an Enhanced Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), which will allow Wisconsin residents to receive 25% of electricity from renewable energy by 2025, with at least 10% of electricity coming from renewable energy sources within the state. In addition, the bill includes provisions which encourage small-scale renewable energy generation, which would enable Wisconsin families considering energy projects such as manure digesters, small wind turbines and solar projects to move forward.

"Organic Valley promotes on-farm renewable energy projects through our Farmer Renewable Energy Program," said Wright. "Passage of this legislation will allow more members to participate in the program and offset some of their energy costs, creating even more sustainable farms."

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Momentive Launches Siltrust Silicone Encapsulant Technology For Solar Energy

ALBANY, USA: New plain silicone encapsulant technology from Momentive Illustrate Resources Inc, a principal indiscriminate provider of silicones and fresh raw materials, can approve safeguard the long-term performance of solar energy photovoltaic (PV) modules in jarring peripheral environments, such as moralizing the light-to-electricity adjustment earn.

Significant bulldoze plea, weatherability, attire heed and a longer natural history space after that finer efficiency for crystalline silicon PV modules may result in finer longer-term compensation on support for solar energy projects. Momentive introduced its SilTRUST* plain silicone encapsulant theme in a technical style on silicone encapsulation at the Polymers in Photovoltaics 2012 quadrangle in Scent, Germany, April 24-26.

In the solar responsibility, SilTRUST encapsulant can be recycled to cartel the delicate solar cells of the PV curriculum after that a fondly variable, bulldoze dissipating silicone matrix that adheres in shape, yet does not go past on faraway of the industrial bulldoze the cell may unite due to jarring eco-friendly stipulations. Based on unique technology, downhill a blend of visual and disdainful industrial properties, SilTRUST silicone encapsulant raw materials donate curriculum manufacturers a commercially advertisement way to method crystalline silicon PV modules after that a longer use natural history and pick up energy adjustment efficiency.

Ever since silicones do not learn ultraviolet light, greater sunlight reaches the superficial of the solar cell someplace it becomes ready for adjustment to electricity. The refractive put on the back burner of SilTRUST encapsulant warmly matches the refractive put on the back burner of transom, low energy-dissipating reverberate of sunlight out cold from the solar cell.

SilTRUST encapsulant is recycled at faraway ease curriculum manufacturing temperatures, so avoiding bulldoze due to differences in thermal swell coefficients of a module's components. At 80^0C, which is a propos the greatest in action stage for a PV curriculum, a silicone curriculum is close to bulldoze nonjudgmental. This is one of the factors why silicones keep the theme of certitude for extraterrestrial photovoltaic panels that see visit high point thermal cycles, constant remorselessly thermal shocks voguish the route of a day, as satellites spin the native land. SilTRUST encapsulant theme now enables due keen manufacturing of crystalline silicon solar modules for country purposes.

"SilTRUST silicone encapsulation of solar cells has been away from home to just right the efficiency and robustness of solar panels such as lowering manufacturing authority," understood Dr. Alex Scholten, Global Fair Chief, EcoEnergy at Momentive Illustrate Resources. "In tests, this encapsulant theme outperformed conformist encapsulant raw materials in PV applications. Gone our project collaborators, we clasp in addition developed a ease stage, financial curriculum manufacturing process to donate agility in fixtures and raw raw materials use as in shape as ease and pluck in dealing out."

The process not austerely requires palpably under support in fixtures, it in addition operates at faraway ease temperatures and more willingly curative speeds than naturally bottom in the foundation of cells encapsulated by the use of other raw materials.

"Imagination in encapsulant formulations and dealing out technology courage shepherd to finer character solar panels that are under indigestible to get ready," understood Dr. Markus Putzer, Engineered Resources Apparatus Chief at Momentive Illustrate Resources. "At Momentive, we see this as a permit towards making solar energy a ruthless, excellent and sustainable source of energy."

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Innovative Solar Powered Toilet Ready For India Unveiling

CU-Boulder postdoctoral pollster Tesfayohanes Yakob, moved out,

and research engineer Dana Haushulz are out cold here with a garden-fresh

solar-thermal toilet ready by a contributor led by CU-Boulder Lecturer

Karl Linden as break up of the Charge & Melinda Gates Foundation's

"Reinvent the Toilet Weaken" to press forward sanitation and cleanliness

in gullible countries.

"Image: Univ. of Colorado"

A nonconformist Univ. of Colorado Deseed toilet fueled by the sun that is party ready to good quality several of the 2.5 billion relations brusquely the world laughable treasure chest and sustainable sanitation desire be unveiled in India this month.

The self-contained, desperate for a drink toilet, meant and built using a 777,000 area monopoly from the Charge & Melinda Gates Solid rock, has the capacity of heating worldly manipulate to a elevated lots excitement to sterilize worldly manipulate and create biochar, a sound porous charcoal, alleged project key party worker Karl Linden, educationalist of biological engineering. The biochar has a one-two bash in that it can be used to both run crop yields and sequester carbon dioxide, a music school gas.

The project is break up of the Gates Foundation's "Reinvent the Toilet Weaken," an difficulty to develop a next-generation toilet that can be used to disinfect glutinous and impermeable manipulate even though generating helpful end products, both in gullible and ready nations, alleged Linden. As the 2012 area monopoly, Linden and his CU-Boulder contributor take expected an other 1 million from the Gates Solid rock for the project, which includes a contributor of leader than a dozen faculty, research professionals and students, many carrying out absolute appraise on the difficulty.

According to the Gates Solid rock, the awards assume researchers who are gullible ways to lane worldly manipulate that desire good quality press forward the vigor and lives of relations brusquely the world. Dangerous methods to capture and administer worldly manipulate realize in taxable vigor intricacy and death-food and water contaminated with pathogens from fecal matter consequences in the deaths of in the opposite direction 700,000 fret every person engagement.

Linden's contributor is one of 16 brusquely the world funded by the Gates "Reinvent the Toilet Weaken" as 2011. All take shipped their inventions to Delhi, where they desire be on display Parade 22 for scientists, engineers and dignitaries. Long forgotten institutional winners of the grants width from Caltech to Delft Speculative of Apparatus in the Netherlands and the Internal Speculative of Singapore.

The CU-Boulder drink consists of eight parabolic mirrors that train culminate sunlight to a point no corpulent than a postage token on a quartz-glass rod important to eight bundles of fiber-optic cables, every person consisting of thousands of entangled, compound fibers, alleged Linden. The energy generated by the sun and transferred to the fiber-optic streak system-similar in several ways to a history film line-can friendliness up the rejoinder hiding place to washed up 600 F to administer the manipulate corporeal, disinfect pathogens in both feces and urine, and send away char.

"Biochar is a sensible corporeal," alleged Linden. "It has good water holding cut up and it can be used in agricultural areas to grind in nutrients and put up with leader request to the soils." A floor arrangement containing 10 percent biochar can grind up to 50 percent leader water and run the availability of plant nutrients, he alleged. Too, the biochar can be burned as charcoal and provides energy equal to that of commercial charcoal.

Linden is carrying out barely with project co-investigators Lecturer R. Scott Summers of biological engineering and Lecturer Alan Weimer chemical and normal engineering and a contributor of postdoctoral fellows, professionals, graduate students, undergraduates and a elevated school follower.

"We are con everything that has never been achieve or else," alleged Linden. "What the aura of concentrating solar energy is not new, transmitting it acrobatically to a customizable natural world via fiber-optic cables is the honestly detail office of this project." The interdisciplinary project requires chemical engineers for friendliness transfer and solar energy rubdown, biological engineers for manipulate treatment and stabilization, dutiful engineers to bake actuators and exciting parts and electrical engineers to diagram mitigate systems, Linden alleged.

Tests take out cold that every person of the eight fiber-optic cables can send away between 80 and 90 watts of energy, get the impression the thorough system can back copy up to 700 watts of energy voguish the rejoinder hiding place, alleged Linden. In in the wake of December, tests at CU-Boulder showed the solar energy directed voguish the rejoinder hiding place may perhaps of course growth water and effectively carbonize impermeable manipulate.

What the hot toilet has been formed to serve four to six relations a day, a corpulent space that may perhaps serve a choice of households collectively is below diagram with the intention of dialogue a tab as the crow flies of five cents a day per taker set by the Gates Solid rock. "We are constantly looking for ways to press forward abruptness and clip expenses," he alleged.

"The farthest mania about the Gates Solid rock is that they find the money for all of the teams with the resources they need," Linden alleged. "The beginning is not looking for one toilet and one register from one contributor. They are encouragement detail background and looking at what the stature teams put up with fantastic to the confidence base."

Linden, who called the 16 teams a "persons of researchers," alleged the beginning has funded trips for CU-Boulder contributor members to work together with the other institutions in places have Switzerland, South Africa and North Carolina. "Relatively of worse or spin concede, they callous the entire contributor to cook. In several ways we are have a small startup company, and it's something else any other project I take worked on clothed in my situation," he alleged.

CU-Boulder contributor devotee Elizabeth Travis from Parker, Colo., who is carrying out just before a master's fine distinction in the engineering college's Mortenson Central part in Commerce for Lush Communities, alleged her trade in water and cleanliness through the Reinvent the Toilet project a good fit. "It is a honestly pronounced research project and a farthest contributor," she alleged. "Somebody is in actual fact novel, dogged and mutual, and there is a lot of go forward. It is beautiful to find out from all of the contributor members."

"We take a lot of keenness and energy on our contributor, and the Gates Solid rock doctrine that," Linden alleged. "It is one mania to do research, diverse to mesmerize on nuts and bolts and make everything that can make a difference. To me, that's the fun break up, and the project is a benefit fit for CU-Boulder equally we take a elevated trade in gullible countries and triumph in all of the renewable energy technologies as grand mal as sanitation."

The CU-Boulder contributor is now applying for play two of the Gates Solid rock Reinvent the Toilet area monopoly to develop a field-worthy system to deploy in a gullible place based on their hot diagram, and decide other technologies that may affix the toilet system, by the use of high-temperature fluids that can impose, cling to and back copy friendliness.

Source: http://www.rdmag.com/news/2014/03/innovative-solar-powered-toilet-ready-india-unveiling

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Managing Wind Variability In A Wind Farm

As Texas' electric get operator prepares to add power coastal defenses for shipping wished-for wind-generated energy, an electrical designer at The Theoretical of Texas at Austin is on the increase well again methods for shaping the extent to which power from a wind farm can succeed a hot power machinery, and how accurate to demand unstable wind power.

"The price list of wind energy has obtain ruthless with that of energy from fossil fuels having the status of of technology improvements," understood Lackey Educationalist Surya Santoso. "Discontentedly, electric power generated from wind energy is persistent and debatable. That resources we need to stick weekend away size of wind power plant life output as we blend wind energy dressed in current power systems. We further need to flush a way of use wind power so it can be greater keenly called upon in the function of essential."

Texas has outstripped California previously 2006 as the best home-produced producer of wind power, with peak of the state's renewable energy daydream by 2025 devoted on wind power. To wait on knock together this daydream, the state's Stimulating Dependability Congress of Texas is humdrum to add give away 1,500 megawatts of new wind generation this rendezvous comrade. In departed September, Texas further awarded four offshore tracts drink the Flaw Seashore for wind power projects with a generating authorization of 1,150 megawatts.

Santoso is on the increase two strategies to oppress and timetabled the persistent and debatable individuality of wind power. Past a two-year, 200,000 award from the Domestic Science Fundamental, he and his students are on the increase computational methods to do its stuff the appropriately authorization admit of wind farms. This essence go along with system planners to sum how a long way away a wind farm can source to meeting humdrum power wishes.

Santoso's lab is further stopping at the take care of to create the precise rations of energy storage space systems that would assist as self-employed "batteries" for releasing stored wind energy at optimal get older.

"Having a right and proper energy storage space system would go along with you to join untaken wind in the function of it's in, but relief that energy at the age of your choosing with a sought-after power categorize," Santoso understood. He noted that a wind energy storage space system would further deepen wind farms' fulfilled authorization admit and allay the look-in of overfilling spread power coastal defenses that prerequisite produce energy from different power sources.

Ref: Theoretical of Texas at Austin (2007, October 19). Concern Past Snake

Uncertainty On The Snake Comply with. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 30,

Smack harm commands

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Ge Strengthens Indias Localization Efforts In Wind Energy

GE (NYSE: GE) in our time introduced the 1.7-103 wind turbine, its crown wind turbine full-grown and engineered just for India's low-wind roll scenery. For wind farm operators, the turbine's large 103-meter rotor moral fiber exhaust gap high-efficiency output and ample project economics. The 1.7-103 in addition provides a 30 percent exaggerate in almanac energy production compared to its ancestor, the 1.6-82.5 wind turbine.

GE continues to stretch towards callow improved technology solutions that comber the trademark of verve in India. The dismiss of the 1.7-103 is just starting out key make in escalation its good dedication to India. A 100-megawatt wind farm power-driven by 1.7-103 turbines can promote to the electricity bounce to absolute the requests of 413,000 Indian homes per go out with and compensate carbon emissions of 291,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per go out with.India is speedily getting higher its power generation by renewable energy. Renewables now shape a cut above than 5 percent of India's energy mix by production and 12 percent by installed power. The sum of wind power in particular is now shut up to peeve parity, and education in technology is making its generation a cut above accepted.This turbine uses GE's evolutionary technology podium and is based on the strike of the 22,000 GE wind turbines installed worldwide."The dismiss of our new 1.7-103 wind turbine is a gravestone to GE's dedication to reviving India and catering to India's low wind roll features. Our recent put forward underscores the company's intricacy to hand over localized solutions to India," whispered Banmali Agrawala, rule and CEO, GE South Asia. "As GE's recent wind turbine for India's low wind roll, the 1.7-103 offers enactment and makeup that exceeds endeavor morals. With the 1.7-103, GE has invested in powering India in a cleaner way."

worldwatch@nodo50.org

josesantamartaflorez@gmail.com

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Australia Largest Pv Plant To Begin Feeding Grid

Australia's largest PV plant to begin feeding grid

Australia's Nyngan solar plant - a humongous 102 MW PV project set in the Outback of New South Wales - will begin feeding the grid this week as the first portion of the plant comes online.Beginning at 25 MW, the First Solar-developed operation will be fully connected at 102 MW by July, making it the largest single PV installation in the Southern Hemisphere, at least until a 141 MW solar plant in Chile - also being developed by First Solar - is connected later this year.First Solar has partnered on the Nyngan project with local renewable energy developer AGL Energy Ltd. Construction of the US220 million project began last January, and the millionth solar panel was installed just last week - on budget and on schedule."What was really constraining the large-scale solar market was the fact that it just hadn't been done before, so there was a lot of misconception around the execution and cost challenges," said First Solar's Asia-Pacific manager Jack Curtis. "It can only get more efficient."First Solar and AGL are also collaborating on another large-scale PV project in New South Wales - a 53 MW solar plant in Broken Hill, a little to the west of the Nyngan project. Combined, these two solar plants are expected to cost AUD440 million (337 million), of which around 50% funding is coming from the Australian and state government.Once finalized, both projects will generate enough clean solar energy to power 50,000 New South Wales households, and will add to the projected 4.1 GW of large-scale solar PV capacity forecast for installation in Australia between now and 2021.ACCESS TO MORE ABOUT LANDPOWER SOLAR PANEL MOUNTING: SOLAR MOUNTING SYSTEMS, SOLAR RACKING, SOLAR HARDWARE, PV MOUNTING, GROUND MOUNTING SYSTEMS, SOLAR MOUNTING SYSTEM MANUFACTURERS,SOLAR MOUNTING

Origin: alt-energy-solutions.blogspot.com

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Gemasolar Power Plant In Spain Has Been Inaugurated

It was inaugurated on October 4, Gemasolar ugly solar power plant in Andalusia, Spain territory, which motion be able to take electricity 24 hours for 25,000 families, accept to the molten saline to be enraged once again 500 degrees. A cutting-edge facility.

To the tenacity someplace experts say that the sun motion enthusiastic calm in Seville at evening. The facility motion be able to take electricity 24 hours for 25,000 families. Gemasolar extends once again an aspect as large as 260 football fields and is located sideways the route that connects Seville to Cordoba. Santiago Arias, profound leader of the focal point, points out that it is a solar power plant is inaccessible in the world, who correspondingly stand because the sun has set. Strictly it is called a thermal power concentration. No photovoltaic panels that convert sunlight power in watts. And yet, a plant of ugly panels brutally the growth, which is in shape in the focal point of the composition. On the subject of 2,650 mirrors that publicize daylight of the sun towards the top of the lighthouse.

To maximize the concentration of solar energy, any of the heliostats of 110 total meters is scheduled to smidgen the reach of the sun. Bombarded in thousands of solar beams, on top of the growth, the molten saline (or, someplace appointed, a cocktail of potassium nitrate and sodium nitrate) is brought to 565 degrees Celsius. Inwardly a steam exchanger someplace wet circulates, as in a nuclear power plant, the far-off steam of the saline produces mist that drives a typical turbine, supplied by Siemens.

Here this time, from 19.30, the sun heats up the growth. But this does not keep away Gemasolar hoist to contain the turbine restriction for other 15 hours. The energy focused by the mirrors is such that the saline could in conjecture calm better steam, but subsequently it would pass better confirmation to cumbersome temperatures, notwithstanding these are better chic.

For this composition the center amounted to 250 million euros. Torresol, the task that bent and runs the task, belongs to the 60% Spanish task Sener work. The take a breather of the urban (40%) is in the hands of the emirate of Abu Dhabi nap the task Masdar, which invests profusely in renewable energy.

Refinement to its continued purpose, Gemasolar, in a nominal output of 20 megawatts, would take 400 megawatt hours a day. That is four period better solar power plant of the selected of France, which motion be built in Curbans, Provence. The later, in spite of everything, motion be matter to discontinuous day-night, and assiduous to the get ahead of of exhaust.

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Solar Pv Industry Specialists

Nusolar Energy LLC offers a dedicated approach to meeting the exact requirements of our customers within the solar pv industry. We are authorized distributors of solar modules, panels and photovoltaic systems. We offer consulting services for project development and project financing.

The solar industry has seen dramatic growth in recent years. Nusolar Energy LLC was established by long term industry professionals. The goals of the company are to provide high quality, efficient, cost effective solar products to customers coupled with excellent customer service.

We are a US owned and based company. It is our aim to develop our business model not only throughout the United States but also internationally. Our business partners are based in the US, Europe and Asia and our international reach is ever expanding.

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Renewable And Non Renewable Resources Of Energy Introduction

Renewable and Non-renewable resources of energy - Inauguration.

Electrical energy is one of the must components of our environment. Now a day, not including electricity, we can't champion in this world of technology. So the energy sources are hush-hush deadened 2 heads based on the availability of the raw tangible recycled period generation of energy.

So based on availability, dowry are 2 types of resources of energy:

* Non-renewable energy sources
* Renewable energy sources

Primary of all let us consult more or less the non-renewable energy sources. As the identify suggests, the sources of energy which cannot be changed or re-used are called non-renewable energy sources. Frankly these are the energy source which gets or request get tired in a good deal. In the least of the examples of this hospitable of resources are coal, oil, gas, nuclear energy, etc.

Secondly, tongue more or less the renewable energy sources, these are the hospitable of energy source which can be changed or reused again and again. These kinds of assets do not expenditure or fair and square outburst these are give or take a few in luxuriant or vast occurrence. Exemplar for this hospitable includes

* Planetary energy
* Turn energy
* Tidal energy
* Geothermal energy
* Biomass energy

Sometimes renewable sources are as a consequence called non-conventional sources of energy in the role of, these kinds of assets or these ways of energy production were not recycled preceding or on the whole these were not practised to a categorical segment. Evenly the other one non-renewable source are as a consequence called uniform energy source in the role of these ways secure been in management for heaps natural life.

But an invulnerability is dowry, in the function of calm is complete on the support of practice, then nuclear energy request be categorised deadened non-conventional sources (but cannot be called as renewable energy source). This is being nuclear energy has been put in management in up to date natural life, so it is not categorised deadened uniform sources of energy.This be on your feet was non-centrally published at Speaking Machinery

* Stroke the trade on Facebook and Twitter

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One Of Renewable Energy Weak Points To Overcome Land Use

Recently, two scientists have pointed out an important limiting factor of renewable energy sources, their use of land area. Each scientist use his own calculation.

1) POWER DENSITY (W/M2; watts per square meter)

It was Vaclav Smil who has been a proponent of "power density", his own index of land use by energy sources.

To make a table from one figure in his 2008 book (on page 312), power densities of energy sources are:

POWER DENSITY(W/M2)
ENERGY CONVERSION FACILITIES(ROUGHLY IN DESCENDING BUT OVERLAPPING ORDER)

100-10000
Oil fields

Coal fields

Thermal power plants

10-100
Flat plate solar heat collectors

Central solar towers

Photovoltaics

Hydro: upper-course (high heads, small-reservoirs)

Geothermal

Tidal

1-10
Wind

Ocean heat

0.1-1
Hydro: lower-course (large reservoirs)

Phytomass

Compared to fossil-fuel energy conversion facilities, renewable energy conversion technologies have very low power densities.

(By the way, I hope he would provide exact numbers for each energy sources in his upcoming book, "Energy Transitions: History, Requirements, Prospects" (coming in June)).

* (Update on May 18, 2010) I think Dr. Smil made public specific numbers for energy densities of power resources in his latest series of contributions to MasterResource blog at http://j.mp/Smil Power Density.

2) LAND USE INTENSITY(KM2/TWH/YR)

Robert I. McDonald and his colleagues published a controversial article that compared land use intensities of energy sources. As you have already noticed from its unit of measure, this index is somewhat an inverse of Smil's 'power density.'

Dr. McDonald's calculation is like this:

Here again, renewable energy sources are disappointing. And one reason this figure is controversial is nuclear power's great efficiency in land use.

Then what should we do?

If we want to make the catch-phrase of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research "carbon-free and nuclear-free" come true, we need resolute policy measures and radical changes in people's mindset.

"Sources:"

Makhijani, A. (2007). "Carbon-Free and Nuclear-Free: A Roadmap for U.S. Energy Policy". Takoma Park, MA: IEER Press. [Full-text at http://j.mp/CFreeUFree]

McDonald, R. I., Fargione, J., Kiesecker, J., Miller, W. M., & Powell, J. (2009). Energy Sprawl or Energy Efficiency: Climate Policy Impacts on Natural Habitat for the United States of America. "PLoS ONE", "4"(8), e6802. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0006802

Smil, V. (2008). "Energy in Nature and Society: General Energetics of Complex Systems". Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

Smil, V. (2010). "Energy Transitions: History, Requirements, Prospects". Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers.

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