Month: March 2025

Southern Company

Southern Company is proud to announce it is the first utility in the United States to secure a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 14 CFR Part 91 exemption for beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations using the SwissDrones unmanned aerial systems (UAS). Achieved through a strategic partnership with Phoenix Air Unmanned, this milestone positions Southern Company at the forefront of utility innovation, paving the way for broader adoption of BVLOS technology and setting a precedent for regulatory advancements in the energy sector.

The implementation of BVLOS operations aligns with Southern Company’s commitment to delivering clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy solutions to the communities it serves. By utilizing SwissDrones technology, Southern Company can efficiently monitor infrastructure, quickly assess storm damage and respond proactively to potential issues, significantly reducing downtime and improving service reliability for customers.

Leveraging SwissDrones under this exemption will provide efficiencies that will serve to benefit Southern Company System customers. By reducing the need for traditional inspection methods, such as helicopters or ground-based teams, the company minimizes disruptions to communities and delivers faster, more accurate assessments of infrastructure conditions.

“Our partnership with Phoenix Air Unmanned has been instrumental in achieving this regulatory milestone,” said Dean Barefield, Southern Company’s UAS program manager. “This collaboration combines their expertise in UAS operations with our vision for innovative solutions, enhancing our ability to inspect and maintain critical infrastructure safely and effectively while delivering measurable benefits to our customers.”

The Part 91 exemption represents a significant leap forward in drone operations, allowing Southern Company to operate SwissDrones advanced vertical takeoff and landing platforms without requiring a pilot or visual observer to maintain a direct line of sight. Southern Company’s successful petition for a Part 91 exemption underscores its leadership in advancing regulatory frameworks for UAS operations. The exemption sets a precedent for other industries seeking to adopt BVLOS technology, signaling the FAA’s growing support for integrating drones into national airspace for commercial and industrial purposes.

“This achievement is more than a technological milestone—it’s a testament to Southern Company’s role as a trailblazer in regulatory progress,” said Kevin Brown, Southern Company’s general manager of system aviation operations. “Our collaboration with Phoenix Air Unmanned not only enabled us to secure this exemption but also represents a significant step toward broader acceptance of BVLOS operations, fostering innovation and creating a safer, more efficient energy future.”

During the gold rush, hopeful prospectors flooded the west to make their fortunes in gold. Today, technology pioneers are looking to stake their claim in the realm of artificial intelligence (AI). Price Waterhouse Cooper (PWC) estimates that 45% of total global economic gains by 2030 will be driven by AI as more sectors embrace the productivity and product enhancement benefits of AI. PWC’s research further suggests that AI could add an additional $15.7 trillion to the global gross domestic profit (GDP), which amounts to an increase of roughly 14%. This era-defining economic opportunity is driving demand for computational power and power density past what current capacity can handle.

Whether it is supplying goods, services, and security to gold prospectors or housing servers, storage systems, networking equipment, and data storage for enterprises, infrastructure enables progress. As AI adoption increases, the demand for AI-ready compute, storage, and network capacity is already exceeding its availability. This era-defining economic opportunity is driving demand for computational power and power density past what current capacity can handle.

Global government and business leaders have their eyes cast towards the possibilities that artificial intelligence (AI) promises. Policy frameworks like the European Union’s AI Act and government investment schemes like the US CHIPS and Science Act provide frameworks and funding to stake their claims in the AI gold rush. Most recently, the newly inaugurated Trump administration announced the Stargate Project, a new company formed by OpenAI, Oracle, and Softbank that will invest $500 billion in building new AI infrastructure across the United States.

The private sector is also investing heavily in infrastructure to support future innovation. In November, Forbes estimated that AI spending from the Big Tech sector will exceed a quarter trillion dollars in 2025 with the bulk of that going towards infrastructure. Microsoft alone is on track to invest $80 billion this year to build out data centers with the power and speed necessary to train powerful AI models. While these numbers seem staggering, the investment is necessary to keep pace with demand for the computational capacity required to ensure that AI innovation does not stagnate.

Computational power: the modern world’s most precious resource

AI data centers enable AI innovation because they offer the immense data storage, lightning-fast networking, and high-performance computing (HPC) capabilities required for AI workloads. They also have sophisticated cooling and power management systems that address the challenges associated with the high-density power demands of AI hardware. Without these unique features, the pioneering innovation pushing AI to its limits today would not be possible. However, as more organizations look to capitalize on the potential of AI, AI data center designs — and the systems they employ — must evolve.

AI systems are rooted in machine learning (ML) and deep learning techniques, both of which are notorious for their computational intensity. AI models process vast quantities of data when they are being trained. They adapt and refine parameters throughout training to optimize performance. Even for basic models, this is a computationally intensive process.

In just a few short years, AI-based applications have advanced to a point that they’re subject to the law of diminishing returns. Increasingly complex models are needed to enhance existing use cases and to push the boundaries of emerging ones like generative AI. However, the computational power required to train advanced AI and ML algorithms increases by orders of magnitude as the models become more advanced and more demands are made of it. This magnitude can be illustrated by looking at OpenAI’s early generative AI (gen AI) machine models. Over the course of six years, the company’s machine learning models saw a staggering 300,000-fold increase in the computing power required to run their models.

Six years ago, OpenAI had little competition for the resources required to train the models that became ChatGPT. Now, there are significantly more players on the field training gen AI models – all vying for access to only modestly more resources. Computational power on the scale necessary to produce the next ChatGPT has become a precious, finite resource. Expanding access to this resource is a costly affair as evidenced by the size of investments being made to build them. With AI evolving at a breakneck speed, AI data center developers are looking for solutions to ensure that these critical innovation enablers can adapt and scale to meet future demand.

Planning for the unpredictable

Building a data center for the age of AI means ensuring that these facilities can accommodate the power consumption of large-scale GPU clusters, adapt to shifting balances between cloud and edge computing, and increase capacity to keep pace with rising demand without disruptions or downtime. In addition to increasing capacity by constructing new data centers, it is crucial to ensure they are reliable and secure. Currently, traditional data center testing solutions are used to design and test both the components and the systems comprising AI data centers. This approach has been pushed past its limits, necessitating a new approach.

AI data centers are comprised of intricate systems built from a complex web of individual components. A flaw in any one of these pieces weakens the infrastructure that enables the innovation and market capex it promises. An AI data center then, is only as reliable as its weakest link. On the cutting edge of performance, every chip, cable, interconnect, switch, server, and GPU represents both vast potential and equally steep risk. To mitigate this risk, each individual component must work independently and cohesively as a system – under relentless and growing demand.

Building networks capable of handling the crushing demands of AI workloads means validating every component, connection, and configuration. With the stakes and scale this high, even the smallest efficiency gain, operational improvement, or performance enhancement can push back against innovation’s diminishing returns. Staking a successful, profitable claim in this modern gold rush requires a new technology stack that can withstand whatever the future brings.

Future-Proofing AI Innovation

Meeting future demand for AI-ready networks, semiconductors, and data center equipment demands an AI-ready tech stack of test and simulation tools. This gold rush will see countless digital prospectors vying to strike a rich seam. AI-ready test and simulation tools will set the successful apart. Keysight is helping AI data center designers to future-proof designs and build out a robust tech stack of tools tailored to the dynamic needs of such complex environments. With a full-stack portfolio of simulators, emulators, and test hardware, Keysight solutions make it easy to emulate real-world AI workloads, validate network components, and optimize system-level performance across every layer from physical hardware to application-level behavior.

March 4, 2025 /3BL/ – World Wildlife Fund (WWF) today unveiled the Deforestation-Free Leather Fund, an opportunity for companies to financially support strategic initiatives to improve the sustainability of leather supply chains. Drawing on WWF’s 25+ years of experience helping companies work on sustainable supply chains, the fund will make investments to improve the traceability and resilience of leather supply chains.

The Deforestation-Free Leather Fund will target geographies with ecosystems at higher risk of environmental degradation and focus on solutions that accelerate deforestation- and conversion-free sourcing from those regions. The projects will initially include operations in Brazil, with the possibility of expanding to other beef-producing countries in South America in the near future.

“While leather is a byproduct of the beef and dairy industries, it still carries responsibility for embedded impacts and emissions in the supply chain,” said Fernando Bellese, Senior Director for Beef and Leather Supply Chains at WWF. “Companies that use leather, including those in the fashion, automotive, and furniture industries, have unique leverage within the supply chain to encourage and support more sustainable practices by influencing beef and tannery operations.”

Collective action increases the likelihood of success in addressing the environmental impacts of beef and leather production, and WWF will seek contributions to the fund from brands, retailers, leather processors, and manufacturers. The fund will help to accelerate supply-chain improvements, enabling companies to deliver their deforestation-free commitments, send strong market signals to cattle ranchers, beef producers, and leather producers, and contribute to more sustainable leather production.

Tapestry, Inc., a leading New York-based house of lifestyle brands including Coach and Kate Spade, is one of the first brands to make a financial commitment to the Deforestation-Free Leather Fund. That commitment is in addition to the Tapestry Foundation’s s $3 million philanthropic grant to WWF in 2022 to develop an innovative system to enhance traceability of the leather value chain in Brazil and convene the industry.

“Tapestry’s investment in the fund continues and expands the company’s commitment to addressing climate change through long-term sustainable solutions and immediate actions,” said Logan Duran, Vice President of ESG and Sustainability at Tapestry. “We believe strongly in the importance of sustainability in leather manufacturing, and this commitment reaffirms that belief. We invite other companies, both within and outside our industry, to join us in these efforts.”

The Deforestation-Free Leather Fund will support initiatives in the following areas:

Traceability systems to verify responsible sourcing: Extend existing initiatives and support new efforts to scale adoption and align effective systems that enable end-to-end traceability in cattle supply chains.Farm-level investments to promote the supply of deforestation-and conversion-free leather: Direct investments to address farm-level challenges and opportunities to improve cattle production.Farm regularization to support market access: Assist farmers and ranchers to formalize operations, rehabilitate degraded farmland, and establish pathways for continuous improvement.

The fund aims to support the ear-tagging and individual traceability of 1 million head of cattle in the first three years of activity, promoting the recovery of 45,000 hectares (111,200 acres) of degraded land in the same period.

WWF will oversee the governance and day-to-day management of the fund, aiming to collect $10 million from companies to cover the first three years of on-the-ground operations. For brands and retailers, contributions will be requested based on annual revenue. For leather processors and manufacturers, contributions will be requested based on the number of hides processed annually.

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Media Contacts

Susan McCarthy, Susan.McCarthy@wwfus.org

Lorin Hancock, Lorin.Hancock@wwfus.org

 

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About WWF

WWF is one of the world’s leading conservation organizations, working in nearly 100 countries for over half a century to help people and nature thrive. With the support of more than 5 million members worldwide, WWF is dedicated to delivering science-based solutions to preserve the diversity and abundance of life on Earth, halt the degradation of the environment and combat the climate crisis. Visit http://www.worldwildlife.org to learn more. Keep up with the latest conservation news by following @WWFNews on X and sign up for our press list and news alerts here. Also, sign up for ReThink Food, the weekly WWF newsletter that details emerging issues, trends, and tools in the food, agriculture and soft commodities world.

LONDON, March 4, 2025 /3BL/ – Leidos (NYSE: LDOS) announced a contract to deliver a new meteorological and oceanographic (MetOc) service for the Ministry of Defence (MOD) in support of the U.K.’s National Centre for Geospatial Intelligence. Under the seven-year contract, Leidos will work to deliver a scalable MetOc data and services capability — known as THOR — providing the MOD with enhanced environmental insights.

Jo Etheridge, vice president and managing director for national security and defence at Leidos U.K. & Europe, said: “Weather is a critical component in military activity, be that delivering effects in challenging conditions at sea, conducting continuous air operations or safeguarding troops in climatic extremes. Leidos is delighted to be working with the Ministry of Defence on developing this new service, enhancing our substantial contribution to Defence Intelligence.

“By leveraging our credentials in geospatial and mission software development from across the U.K., Australia and the U.S., and by collaborating with our specialist network of partners and subject matter experts, we will work to develop vital capabilities to collect and share information that is crucial for the U.K. and our allies’ military operations across the globe.

“Leidos has extensive experience in delivering innovative digital modernisation solutions that address some of the most complex challenges facing governments today, and we look forward to adding new value during our project with the MOD.”

Building upon the company’s current work in modernising the underpinning service management within the National Centre for Geospatial Intelligence, Leidos provides assured collection, processing and distribution of meteorological and oceanographic data and services. THOR’s contribution to the U.K.’s Geospatial Intelligence capability will support a range of vital activities, from tactical military deployments to broader strategic planning, giving U.K. personnel the edge in understanding and harnessing the environment on operations.

Under the contract, Leidos, in collaboration with the MOD’s internal service provider community, will use agile methodologies to focus on modernising infrastructure, storage and user access.

MOD Joint Operational Meteorology & Oceanography Centre (JOMOC) and IMAGE Delivery team said: “JOMOC are looking forward to working with Leidos in delivering this new vital meteorological and oceanographic capability to MOD. This comes at a point where demand for MetOc support in Defence is at a record high, and we are entering an unprecedented period of science and technological change in the next five to seven years, which THOR will form a critical part of this change.

“This is a very exciting time for Defence Digital with the beginning of this project marking an important step in the development and delivery of this new meteorological and oceanographic capability. THOR aligns to the principles of re-using Defence cloud technologies and developing future U.K. Defence MetOc integration with NATO and other allies. We are looking forward to working with Leidos in the coming years on the successful delivery of this crucial military service for the MOD.”

Notes to Editors

THOR will replace the current MetOc system that will be delivered and maintained by a service integrator as a managed service using Scaled Agile Framework. It will take information from providers including the Met Office and U.K. Hydrographic Office, which will be used to create MetOc information products for a range of end users through various channels.

About Leidos

Leidos is an industry and technology leader serving government and commercial customers with smarter, more efficient digital and mission innovations. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, with 48,000 global employees, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $15.4 billion for the fiscal year ended December 29, 2023. For more information, visit www.leidos.com.

As a pioneering force in advancing Indigenous economic sovereignty, the Wisconsin Indigenous Housing and Economic Development Corporation (WIHEDC) stands where sustainable development and cultural resilience meet. WIHEDC, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, partners with four Native Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) to catalyze economic transformation across Wisconsin’s Tribal communities. Together, these CDFIs – Cedar Growth, First American Capital Corp, Wisconsin Native Loan Fund, and Woodland Financial Partners – act as the pillars of WIHEDC’s mission to build financial sovereignty and homeownership for Native individuals, families, businesses, and Tribal enterprises.

WIHEDC’s unique leadership stems from its role as a coalition builder and advocate for community-led and empowered change. WIHEDC and the Native CDFIs are all Indigenous-led organizations. This leadership in itself demonstrates the wealth of understanding around the needs of Native communities. In addition to providing financial resources and technical assistance, WIHEDC orchestrates statewide initiatives such as Native Business Hubs, small business grants, and its Annual Housing and Economic Development Conference. These efforts underscore the organization’s commitment to fostering an ecosystem where Native-led enterprises can flourish, driving economic growth and self-determination for Wisconsin’s Indigenous peoples.

WIHEDC’s partnership with four Native CDFIs ensures Native entrepreneurs access tailored financial solutions, including microloans and business development support, creating scalable investment opportunities and ensuring that Native entrepreneurs have the resources needed to thrive. Their collective efforts empower communities to pursue diverse economic activities, reducing reliance on gaming and hospitality while fostering resilience.

Read the full article here – https://greenmoney.com/unleashing-potential-the-vision-of-wihedc-for-native-economic-development/

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