title: Pat Connaughton

text: Connaughton only allowed himself one luxury with his signing bonus, buying a new Jeep Wrangler. He told Goodman, "The signing bonus is a ton of money, especially for a 21-year-old. But I'm not going to live off that money. At some point, I'm going to live off a college degree."


title: Pat Connaughton

text: Connaughton is the president of a development firm. In March 2020, Connaughton and the firm drew criticism for razing a historic building in order to make way for a new apartment complex in Milwaukee. He is also a landlord, and has invested in Bitcoin.


title: Solar inverter

text: A solar inverter or photovoltaic (PV) inverter is a type of power inverter which converts the variable direct current (DC) output of a photovoltaic solar panel into a utility frequency alternating current (AC) that can be fed into a commercial electrical grid or used by a local, off-grid electrical network. It is a critical balance of system (BOS)–component in a photovoltaic system, allowing the use of ordinary AC-powered equipment. Solar power inverters have special functions adapted for use with photovoltaic arrays, including maximum power point tracking and anti-islanding protection.


title: Solar inverter

text: Solar inverters use "maximum power point tracking" (MPPT) to get the maximum possible power from the PV array. Solar cells have a complex relationship between solar irradiation, temperature and total resistance that produces a non-linear output efficiency known as the "I-V curve". It is the purpose of the MPPT system to sample the output of the cells and determine a resistance (load) to obtain maximum power for any given environmental conditions.


title: Solar inverter

text: The fill factor, more commonly known by its abbreviation "FF", is a parameter which, in conjunction with the open circuit voltage (V) and short circuit current (I) of the panel, determines the maximum power from a solar cell. Fill factor is defined as the ratio of the maximum power from the solar cell to the product of V and I.


title: Solar inverter

text: There are three main types of MPPT algorithms: perturb-and-observe, incremental conductance and constant voltage. The first two methods are often referred to as "hill climbing" methods; they rely on the curve of power plotted against voltage rising to the left of the maximum power point, and falling on the right.


title: Solar inverter

text: The key role of the grid-interactive or synchronous inverters or simply the grid-tie inverter (GTI) is to synchronize the phase, voltage, and frequency of the power line with


title: Solar inverter

text: that of the grid. Solar grid-tie inverters are designed to quickly disconnect from the grid if the utility grid goes down. This is an NEC requirement that ensures that in the event of a blackout, the grid tie inverter will shut down to prevent the energy it produces from harming any line workers who are sent to fix the power grid.


title: Solar inverter

text: Grid-tie inverters that are available on the market today use a number of different technologies. The inverters may use the newer high-frequency transformers, conventional low-frequency transformers, or no transformer. Instead of converting direct current directly to 120 or 240 volts AC, high-frequency transformers employ a computerized multi-step process that involves converting the power to high-frequency AC and then back to DC and then to the final AC output voltage.


title: Solar inverter

text: Historically, there have been concerns about having transformerless electrical systems feed into the public utility grid. The concerns stem from the fact that there is a lack of galvanic isolation between the DC and AC circuits, which could allow the passage of dangerous DC faults to the AC side. Since 2005, the NFPA's NEC allows transformer-less (or non-galvanically) inverters. The VDE 0126-1-1 and IEC 6210 also have been amended to allow and define the safety mechanisms needed for such systems. Primarily, residual or ground current detection is used to detect possible fault conditions. Also isolation tests are performed to ensure DC to AC separation.


title: Solar inverter

text: Many solar inverters are designed to be connected to a utility grid, and will not operate when they do not detect the presence of the grid. They contain special circuitry to precisely match the voltage, frequency and phase of the grid.


title: Solar inverter

text: Advanced solar pumping inverters convert DC voltage from the solar array into AC voltage to drive submersible pumps directly without the need for batteries or other energy storage devices. By utilizing MPPT (maximum power point tracking), solar pumping inverters regulate output frequency to control the speed of the pumps in order to save the pump motor from damage.


title: Solar inverter

text: Solar pumping inverters usually have multiple ports to allow the input of DC current generated by PV arrays, one port to allow the output of AC voltage, and a further port for input from a water-level sensor.


title: Solar inverter

text: As of 2019, conversion efficiency for state-of-the-art solar converters reached more than 98 percent. While string inverters are used in residential to medium-sized commercial PV systems, central inverters cover the large commercial and utility-scale market. Market-share for central and string inverters are about 36 percent and 61 percent, respectively, leaving less than 2 percent to micro-inverters.


title: Solar inverter

text: A three-phase-inverter is a type of solar microinverter specifically design to supply three-phase electric power. In conventional microinverter designs that work with one-phase power, the energy from the panel must be stored during the period where the voltage is passing through zero, which it does twice per cycle (at 50 or 60 Hz). In a three phase system, throughout the cycle, one of the three wires has a positive (or negative) voltage, so the need for storage can be greatly reduced by transferring the output of the panel to different wires during each cycle. The reduction in energy storage significantly lowers the price and complexity of the converter hardware, as well as potentially increasing its expected lifetime.


title: Solar inverter

text: Conventional alternating current power is a sinusoidal voltage pattern that repeats over a defined period. That means that during a single cycle, the voltage passes through zero two times. In European systems the voltage at the plug has a maximum of 230 V and cycles 50 times a second, meaning that there are 100 times a second where the voltage is zero, while North American derived systems are 120 V 60  Hz, or 120 zero voltages a second.


title: Solar inverter

text: Inexpensive inverters can convert DC power to AC by simply turning the DC side of the power on and off 120 times a second, inverting the voltage every other cycle. The result is a square-wave that is close enough to AC power for many devices. However, this sort of solution is not useful in the solar power case, where the goal is to convert as much of the power from the solar power into AC as possible. If one uses these inexpensive types of inverters, all of the power generated during the time that the DC side is turned off is simply lost, and this represents a significant amount of each cycle.


title: Solar inverter

text: To address this, solar inverters use some form of energy storage to buffer the panel's power during those zero-crossing periods. When the voltage of the AC goes above the voltage in the storage, it is dumped into the output along with any energy being developed by the panel at that instant. In this way, the energy produced by the panel through the entire cycle is eventually sent into the output.


title: Solar inverter

text: The problem with this approach is that the amount of energy storage needed when connected to a typical modern solar panel can only economically be provided through the use of electrolytic capacitors. These are relatively inexpensive but have well-known degradation modes that mean they have lifetime expectancy on the order of a decade. This has led to a great debate in the industry over whether or not microinverters are a good idea, because when these capacitors start to fail at the end of their expected life, replacing them will require the panels to be removed, often on the roof.


title: Solar inverter

text: In comparison to normal household current on two wires, current on the delivery side of the power grid uses three wires and phases. At any given instant, the sum of those three is always positive (or negative). So while any given wire in a three-phase system undergoes zero-crossing events in exactly the same fashion as household current, the system as a whole does not, it simply fluctuates between the maximum and a slightly lower value.


title: Solar inverter

text: A microinverter designed specifically for three-phase supply can eliminate much of the required storage by simply selecting which wire is closest to its own operating voltage at any given instant. A simple system could simply select the wire that is closest to the maximum voltage, switching to the next line when that begins to approach the maximum. In this case, the system only has to store the amount of energy from the peak to the minimum of the cycle as a whole, which is much smaller both in voltage difference and time.


title: Solar inverter

text: This can be further improved further by selecting the wire that is closest to its own DC voltage at any given instant, instead of switching from one to the other purely on a timer. At any given instant two of the three wires will have a positive (or negative) voltage and using the one closer to the DC side will take advantage of slight efficiency improvements in the conversion hardware.


title: Solar inverter

text: The reduction, or outright elimination, of energy storage requirements, simplifies the device and eliminates the one component that is expected to define its lifetime. Instead of a decade, a three-phase microinverter could be built to last for the lifetime of the panel. Such a device would also be less expensive and less complex, although at the cost of requiring each inverter to connect to all three lines, which possibly leads to more wiring.


title: Solar inverter

text: The primary disadvantage of the three-phase inverter concept is that the only sites with three-phase power than can take advantage of these systems. Three-phase is easily available at utility-scale and commercial sites, and it was to these markets that the systems were aimed. However, the main advantages of the microinverter concept involve issues of shading and panel orientation, and in the case of large systems, these are easily addressed by simply moving the panels around, the benefits of the three-phase micro are very limited compared to the residential case with limited space to work in.


title: Solar inverter

text: As of 2014, observers believed that three-phase micros had not yet managed to reach the price point where their advantages appeared worthwhile. Moreover, the wiring costs for three-phase microinverters is expected to be higher.


title: Solar inverter

text: It is important to contrast a native three-phase inverter with three single-phase micro-inverters wired to output in three-phase. The latter is a relatively common feature of most inverter designs, allowing you to connect three identical inverters together, each across a pair of wires in a three-phase circuit. The result is three-phase power, but each inverter in the system is outputting a single phase. These sorts of solutions do not take advantage of the reduced energy storage needs outlined above.


title: Solar inverter

text: An intelligent hybrid inverter or smart grid inverter is a solar power inverter which also connects to battery storage.


title: Solar inverter

text: Intelligent hybrid inverters are usually used in solar power applications using renewable energy for home consumption, especially for solar photovoltaic installations. Electricity from solar panels is generated only during the day, with peak generation around midday. Generation fluctuates and may not be synchronized with a load's electricity consumption. To overcome this gap between what is produced and what is consumed during the evening, when there is no solar electricity production, it is necessary to store energy for later use and manage energy storage and consumption with an intelligent hybrid (smart grid) inverter.


title: Solar inverter

text: Some see this as a new technology, however in some parts of the world the application of such products has been around since the 1990s. With the development of systems that include renewable energy sources and variable electricity prices, private companies and research laboratories have developed smart inverters for synchronizing energy production and consumption.


title: Solar inverter

text: Hybrid inverters can be used for either off-grid or on-grid applications. For on-grid applications the inverter can select between battery, solar or grid power dynamically for running the local loads, and must make decisions about when to charge the battery.


title: Solar inverter

text: The function of a (smart-grid) is enabling selection and orientation of renewable energy, energy from the grid and energy storage based on consumption.


title: Solar inverter

text: Unlike conventional inverters, rather than systematically storing energy in batteries (with significant loss of yield >20%), hybrid inverters store energy only when necessary, e.g. when there is more production than consumption.


title: Solar inverter

text: This system also allows choosing whether electricity from photovoltaic panels should be stored or consumed through an internal intelligent apparatus control unit.


title: Solar inverter

text: This is possible through a technique that adds different energy sources (phase coupling: on-grid or grid-tie techniques) and the management of stored electricity in the battery (off grid technology). Hybrid inverters therefore operate on grid (grid-tie) as well as off-grid, hybrid (both on-grid and off-grid at the same time) and Backup (in case of a black out).


title: Solar inverter

text: According to the E.R.D.F. (French Electric Network) smart inverters are the future of photovoltaic solar panel installations dedicated to energy self-use, or auto-consumption of energy.


title: Solar inverter

text: Hybrid Inverters come in varying styles, ratings, functionalities and build qualities to suit different applications. Knowing the application is vital when selecting a Hybrid or Inverter. The technology is being developed from two directions:


title: Solar inverter

text: The IMEON hybrid inverter, manufactured by IMEON in France is an example of solar hybrid inverter with Artificial intelligence.


title: Solar inverter

text: The Pika Energy Island, manufactured by Pika Energy is an example of a commercially available intelligent hybrid inverter system.


title: Solar inverter

text: HBD Series Hybrid Inverter, manufactured by Statcon Energiaa is an example of a commercially available Solar Hybrid Inverter with active front end interface


title: Solar inverter

text: Solar micro-inverter is an inverter designed to operate with a single PV module. The micro-inverter converts the direct current output from each panel into alternating current. Its design allows parallel connection of multiple, independent units in a modular way.


title: Solar inverter

text: Micro-inverter advantages include single panel power optimization, independent operation of each panel, plug-and play installation, improved installation and fire safety, minimized costs with system design and stock minimization.


title: Solar inverter

text: A 2011 study at Appalachian State University reports that individual integrated inverter setup yielded about 20% more power in unshaded conditions and 27% more power in shaded conditions compared to string connected setup using one inverter. Both setups used identical solar panels.


title: Solar inverter

text: A solar micro-inverter, or simply microinverter, is a plug-and-play device used in photovoltaics that converts direct current (DC) generated by a single solar module to alternating current (AC). Microinverters contrast with conventional string and central solar inverters, in which a single inverter is connected to multiple solar panels. The output from several microinverters can be combined and often fed to the electrical grid.


title: Solar inverter

text: Microinverters have several advantages over conventional inverters. The main advantage is that they electrically isolate the panels from one another, so small amounts of shading, debris or snow lines on any one solar module, or even a complete module failure, do not disproportionately reduce the output of the entire array. Each microinverter harvests optimum power by performing maximum power point tracking (MPPT) for its connected module. Simplicity in system design, lower amperage wires, simplified stock management, and added safety are other factors introduced with the microinverter solution.


title: Solar inverter

text: The primary disadvantages of a microinverter include a higher initial equipment cost per peak watt than the equivalent power of a central inverter since each inverter needs to be installed adjacent to a panel (usually on a roof). This also makes them harder to maintain and more costly to remove and replace. Some manufacturers have addressed these issues with panels with built-in microinverters. A microinverter has often a longer lifespan than a central inverter, which will need replacement during the lifespan of the solar panels. Therefore, the financial disadvantage at first may become an advantage in the long term.


title: Solar inverter

text: A power optimizer is a type of technology similar to a microinverter and also does panel-level maximum power point tracking, but does not convert to AC per module.


title: Solar inverter

text: Solar panels produce direct current at a voltage that depends on module design and lighting conditions. Modern modules using 6-inch cells typically contain 60 cells and produce a nominal 24-30 V. (so inverters are ready for 24-50 V).


title: Solar inverter

text: For conversion into AC, panels may be connected in series to produce an array that is effectively a single large panel with a nominal rating of 300 to 600 VDC. The power then runs to an inverter, which converts it into standard AC voltage, typically 230 VAC / 50 Hz or 240 VAC / 60 Hz.


title: Solar inverter

text: The main problem with the string inverter approach is the string of panels acts as if it were a single larger panel with a max current rating equivalent to the poorest performer in the string. For example, if one panel in a string has 5% higher resistance due to a minor manufacturing defect, the entire string suffers a 5% performance loss. This situation is dynamic. If a panel is shaded its output drops dramatically, affecting the output of the string, even if the other panels are not shaded. Even slight changes in orientation can cause output loss in this fashion. In the industry, this is known as the "Christmas-lights effect", referring to the way an entire string of series-strung Christmas tree lights will fail if a single bulb fails. However, this effect is not entirely accurate and ignores the complex interaction between modern string inverter maximum power point tracking and even module bypass diodes. Shade studies by major microinverter and DC optimizer companies show small yearly gains in light, medium and heavy shaded conditions – 2%, 5% and 8% respectively – over an older string inverter


title: Solar inverter

text: Additionally, the efficiency of a panel's output is strongly affected by the load the inverter places on it. To maximize production, inverters use a technique called maximum power point tracking to ensure optimal energy harvest by adjusting the applied load. However, the same issues that cause output to vary from panel to panel, affect the proper load that the MPPT system should apply. If a single panel operates at a different point, a string inverter can only see the overall change, and moves the MPPT point to match. This results in not just losses from the shadowed panel, but the other panels too. Shading of as little as 9% of the surface of an array can, in some circumstances, reduce system-wide power as much as 54%. However, as stated above, these yearly yield losses are relatively small and newer technologies allow some string inverters to significantly reduce the effects of partial shading.


title: Solar inverter

text: Another issue, though minor, is that string inverters are available in a limited selection of power ratings. This means that a given array normally up-sizes the inverter to the next-largest model over the rating of the panel array. For instance, a 10-panel array of 2300 W might have to use a 2500 or even 3000 W inverter, paying for conversion capability it cannot use. This same issue makes it difficult to change array size over time, adding power when funds are available (modularity). If the customer originally purchased a 2500 W inverter for their 2300 W of panels, they cannot add even a single panel without over-driving the inverter. However, this over sizing is considered common practice in today's industry (sometimes as high as 20% over inverter nameplate rating) to account for module degradation, higher performance during winter months or to achieve higher sell back to the utility.


title: Solar inverter

text: Other challenges associated with centralized inverters include the space required to locate the device, as well as heat dissipation requirements. Large central inverters are typically actively cooled. Cooling fans make noise, so location of the inverter relative to offices and occupied areas must be considered. And because cooling fans have moving parts, dirt, dust, and moisture can negatively affect their performance over time. String inverters are quieter but might produce a humming noise in late afternoon when inverter power is low.


title: Solar inverter

text: Microinverters are small inverters rated to handle the output of a single panel or a pair of panels. Grid-tie panels are normally rated between 225 and 275 W, but rarely produce this in practice, so microinverters are typically rated between 190 and 220 W (sometimes, 100 W). Because it is operated at this lower power point, many design issues inherent to larger designs simply go away; the need for a large transformer is generally eliminated, large electrolytic capacitors can be replaced by more reliable thin-film capacitors, and cooling loads are reduced so no fans are needed. Mean time between failures (MTBF) are quoted in hundreds of years.


title: Solar inverter

text: A microinverter attached to a single panel allows it to isolate and tune the output of that panel. Any panel that is under-performing has no effect on panels around it. In that case, the array as a whole produces as much as 5% more power than it would with a string inverter. When shadowing is factored in, if present, these gains can become considerable, with manufacturers generally claiming 5% better output at a minimum, and up to 25% better in some cases. Furthermore, a single model can be used with a wide variety of panels, new panels can be added to an array at any time, and do not have to have the same rating as existing panels.


title: Solar inverter

text: Microinverters produce grid-matching AC power directly at the back of each solar panel. Arrays of panels are connected in parallel to each other, and then to the grid. This has the major advantage that a single failing panel or inverter cannot take the entire string offline. Combined with the lower power and heat loads, and improved MTBF, some suggest that overall array reliability of a microinverter-based system is significantly greater than a string inverter-based one. This assertion is supported by longer warranties, typically 15 to 25 years, compared with 5 or 10-year warranties that are more typical for string inverters. Additionally, when faults occur, they are identifiable to a single point, as opposed to an entire string. This not only makes fault isolation easier, but unmasks minor problems that might not otherwise become visible – a single under-performing panel may not affect a long string's output enough to be noticed.


title: Solar inverter

text: The main disadvantage of the microinverter concept has, until recently, been cost. Because each microinverter has to duplicate much of the complexity of a string inverter but spread that out over a smaller power rating, costs on a per-watt basis are greater. This offsets any advantage in terms of simplification of individual components. As of February 2018, a central inverter costs approximately $0.13 per watt, whereas a microinverter costs approximately $0.34 per watt. Like string inverters, economic considerations force manufacturers to limit the number of models they produce. Most produce a single model that may be over or undersize when matched with a specific panel.


title: Solar inverter

text: In many cases the packaging can have a significant effect on price. With a central inverter you may have only one set of panel connections for dozens of panels, a single AC output, and one box. Microinverter installations larger than about 15 panels may require a roof mounted "combiner" breaker box as well. This can add to the overall price-per-watt.


title: Solar inverter

text: To further reduce costs, some models control two or three panels from an inverter, reducing the packaging and associated costs. Some systems place two entire micros in a single box, while others duplicate only the MPPT section of the system and use a single DC-to-AC stage for further cost reductions. Some have suggested that this approach will make microinverters comparable in cost with those using string inverters. With steadily decreasing prices, the introduction of dual microinverters and the advent of wider model selections to match PV module output more closely, cost is less of an obstacle.


title: Solar inverter

text: Microinverters have become common where array sizes are small and maximizing performance from every panel is a concern. In these cases, the differential in price-per-watt is minimized due to the small number of panels, and has little effect on overall system cost. The improvement in energy harvest given a fixed size array can offset this difference in cost. For this reason, microinverters have been most successful in the residential market, where limited space for panels constrains array size, and shading from nearby trees or other objects is often an issue. Microinverter manufacturers list many installations, some as small as a single panel and the majority under 50.


title: Solar inverter

text: An often overlooked disadvantage of micro inverters is the future operation and maintenance costs associated with them. While the technology has improved over the years the fact remains that the devices will eventually either fail or wear out. The installer must balance these replacement costs (around $400 per truck roll), increased safety risks to personnel, equipment and module racking against the profit margins for the installation. For homeowners, the eventual wear out or premature device failures will introduce potential damage to the roof tiles or shingles, property damage and other nuisances.


title: Solar inverter

text: While microinverters generally have a lower efficiency than string inverters, the overall efficiency is increased due to the fact that every inverter / panel unit acts independently. In a string configuration, when a panel on a string is shaded, the output of the entire string of panels is reduced to the output of the lowest producing panel. This is not the case with micro inverters.


title: Solar inverter

text: A further advantage is found in the panel output quality. The rated output of any two panels in the same production run can vary by as much as 10% or more. This is mitigated with a microinverter configuration but not so in a string configuration. The result is maximum power harvesting from a microinverter array.


title: Solar inverter

text: Systems with microinverters also can be changed easier, when power demands grow, or decrease over time. As every solarpanel and microinverter is a small system of its own, it acts to a certain extent independent. This means that adding one or more panels will just provide more energy, as long as the fused electricity group in a house or building is not exceeding its limits. In contrary, with string based inverters, the inverter size need to be in accordance with the amount of panels or the amount of peak power. Choosing an oversized string-inverter is possible, when future extension is foreseen, but such a provision for an uncertain future increases the costs in any case.


title: Solar inverter

text: Monitoring and maintenance is also easier as many microinverter producers provide apps or websites to monitor the power output of their units. In many cases, these are proprietary; however this is not always the case. Following the demise of Enecsys, and the subsequent closure of their site; a number of private sites such as Enecsys-Monitoring sprung up to enable owners to continue to monitor their systems.


title: Solar inverter

text: Efficient conversion of DC power to AC requires the inverter to store energy from the panel while the grid's AC voltage is near zero, and then release it again when it rises. This requires considerable amounts of energy storage in a small package. The lowest-cost option for the required amount of storage is the electrolytic capacitor, but these have relatively short lifetimes normally measured in years, and those lifetimes are shorter when operated hot, like on a rooftop solar panel. This has led to considerable development effort on the part of microinverter developers, who have introduced a variety of conversion topologies with lowered storage requirements, some using the much less capable but far longer lived thin film capacitors where possible.


title: Solar inverter

text: Three-phase electric power represents another solution to the problem. In a three-phase circuit, the power does not vary between (say) +120 to -120 V between two lines, but instead varies between 60 and +120 or -60 and -120 V, and the periods of variation are much shorter. Inverters designed to operate on three phase systems require much less storage. A three-phase micro using zero-voltage switching can also offer higher circuit density and lower cost components, while improving conversion efficiency to over 98%, better than the typical one-phase peak around 96%.


title: Solar inverter

text: Three-phase systems, however, are generally only seen in industrial and commercial settings. These markets normally install larger arrays, where price sensitivity is the highest. Uptake of three-phase micros, in spite of any theoretical advantages, appears to be very low.


title: Solar inverter

text: Foldable solar panel with AC microinverters can be used to recharge laptops and some electric vehicles.


title: Solar inverter

text: The microinverter concept has been in the solar industry since its inception. However, flat costs in manufacturing, like the cost of the transformer or enclosure, scaled favorably with size, and meant that larger devices were inherently less expensive in terms of price per watt. Small inverters were available from companies like ExelTech and others, but these were simply small versions of larger designs with poor price performance, and were aimed at niche markets.


title: Solar inverter

text: In 1991 the US company Ascension Technology started work on what was essentially a shrunken version of a traditional inverter, intended to be mounted on a panel to form an "AC panel". This design was based on the conventional linear regulator, which is not particularly efficient and dissipates considerable heat. In 1994 they sent an example to Sandia Labs for testing. In 1997, Ascension partnered with US panel company ASE Americas to introduce the 300 W SunSine panel.


title: Solar inverter

text: Design of, what would today be recognized as a "true" microinverter, traces its history to late 1980s work by Werner Kleinkauf at the ISET ("Institut für Solare Energieversorgungstechnik"), now Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology. These designs were based on modern high-frequency switching power supply technology, which is much more efficient. His work on "module integrated converters" was highly influential, especially in Europe.


title: Solar inverter

text: In 1993 Mastervolt introduced their first grid-tie inverter, the Sunmaster 130S, based on a collaborative effort between Shell Solar, Ecofys and ECN. The 130 was designed to mount directly to the back of the panel, connecting both AC and DC lines with compression fittings. In 2000, the 130 was replaced by the Soladin 120, a microinverter in the form of an AC adapter that allows panels to be connected simply by plugging them into any wall socket.


title: Solar inverter

text: In 1995, OKE-Services designed a new high-frequency version with improved efficiency, which was introduced commercially as the OK4-100 in 1995 by NKF Kabel, and re-branded for US sales as the Trace Microsine. A new version, the OK4All, improved efficiency and had wider operating ranges.


title: Solar inverter

text: In spite of this promising start, by 2003 most of these projects had ended. Ascension Technology was purchased by Applied Power Corporation, a large integrator. APC was in turn purchased by Schott in 2002, and SunSine production was canceled in favor of Schott's existing designs. NKF ended production of the OK4 series in 2003 when a subsidy program ended. Mastervolt has moved on to a line of "mini-inverters" combining the ease-of-use of the 120 in a system designed to support up to 600 W of panels.


title: Solar inverter

text: In the aftermath of the 2001 Telecoms crash, Martin Fornage of Cerent Corporation was looking for new projects. When he saw the low performance of the string inverter for the solar array on his ranch, he found the project he was looking for. In 2006 he formed Enphase Energy with another Cerent engineer, Raghu Belur, and they spent the next year applying their telecommunications design expertise to the inverter problem.


title: Solar inverter

text: Released in 2008, the Enphase M175 model was the first commercially successful microinverter. A successor, the M190, was introduced in 2009, and the latest model, the M215, in 2011. Backed by $100 million in private equity, Enphase quickly grew to 13% marketshare by mid-2010, aiming for 20% by year-end. They shipped their 500,000th inverter in early 2011, and their 1,000,000th in September of the same year. In early 2011, they announced that re-branded versions of the new design will be sold by Siemens directly to electrical contractors for widespread distribution.


title: Solar inverter

text: Enphase's success did not go unnoticed, and since 2010 a host of competitors came and largely left the space. Many of the products were identical to the M190 in specs, and even in the casing and mounting details. Some differentiate by competing head-to-head with Enphase in terms of price or performance, while others are attacking niche markets.


title: Solar inverter

text: OKE-Services updated OK4-All product was bought by SMA in 2009 and released as the SunnyBoy 240 after an extended gestation period, while Power-One has introduced the AURORA 250 and 300. Other major players around 2010 included Enecsys and SolarBridge Technologies, especially outside the North American market. In 2021, the only microinverter made in the USA is from Chilicon Power. Since 2009, several companies from Europe to China, including major central inverter manufacturers, have launched microinverters—validating the microinverter as an established technology and one of the biggest technology shifts in the PV industry in recent years.


title: Solar inverter

text: APsystems is marketing inverters for up to four solar modules a microinverters, including the three-phase YC1000 with an AC output of up to 1130 Watt.


title: Solar inverter

text: The number of manufacturers has dwindled over the years, both by attrition and consolidation. In 2019, the few remaining include Enphase which purchased SolarBridge in 2021, Omnik Solar and Chilicon Power (acquired by Generac in July 2021).


title: Solar inverter

text: In July 2021 the list of big name PV companies who have partnered with microinverter companies to produce and sell AC solar panels include Siemens, Trina Solar, BenQ, LG, Canadian Solar, Suntech, SunPower, NESL, Hanwha SolarOne, Sharp.


title: Solar inverter

text: The period between 2009 and 2012 included unprecedented downward price movement in the PV market. At the beginning of this period, wholesale pricing for panels was generally around $2.00 to $2.50/W, and inverters around 50 to 65 cents/W. By the end of 2012, panels were widely available in wholesale at 65 to 70 cents, and string inverters around 30 to 35 cents/W. In comparison, microinverters have proven relatively immune to these same sorts of price declines, moving from about 65 cents/W to 50 to 55 once cabling is factored in. This could lead to widening losses as the suppliers attempt to remain competitive.


title: Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses

text: The Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses is the ruling council of Jehovah's Witnesses, based in the denomination's Warwick, New York, headquarters. The body formulates doctrines, oversees the production of written material for publications and conventions, and administers the denomination's worldwide operations. Official publications refer to members of the Governing Body as followers of Christ rather than religious leaders.


title: Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses

text: Its size has varied, from seven (2014–2018) to eighteen (1974–1980) members. New members of the Governing Body are selected by existing members.


title: Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses

text: Since its incorporation in 1884, the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania has been directed by a president and board of directors. Until January 1976, the president exercised complete control of doctrines, publications and activities of the Watch Tower Society and the religious denominations with which it was connected—the Bible Students and Jehovah's Witnesses. When the Society's second president, J. F. Rutherford, encountered opposition from directors in 1917, he dismissed them. In 1925, he overruled the Watch Tower Society's editorial committee when it opposed publication of an article about disputed doctrines regarding the year 1914. In 1931, the editorial committee was dissolved.


title: Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses

text: In 1943, "The Watchtower" described the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society as the "legal governing body" of anointed Jehovah's Witnesses. A year later, in an article opposing the democratic election of congregation elders, the magazine said the appointment of such ones was the duty of "a visible governing body under Jehovah God and his Christ". For several years, the role and specific identity of the governing body remained otherwise undefined. A 1955 organizational handbook stated that "the visible governing body has been closely identified with the board of directors of this corporation." Referring to events related to their 1957 convention, a 1959 publication said "the spiritual governing body of Jehovah's witnesses watched the developments [then] the president of the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society [acted]." The 1970 "Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses" noted that the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania was the organization used to plan the activity of Jehovah's Witnesses and provide them with "spiritual food", then declared: "So really the governing body of Jehovah's Witnesses is the board of directors of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania."


title: Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses

text: On October 1, 1971, Watch Tower Society vice-president Frederick Franz addressed the annual meeting of the Pennsylvania corporation in Buckingham, Pennsylvania, stating that the legal corporation of the Watch Tower Society was an "agency" or "temporary instrument" used by the Governing Body on behalf of the "faithful and discreet slave". Three weeks later, on October 20, four additional men joined the seven members of the Society's board of directors on what became known as a separate, expanded Governing Body. The board of directors had until then met only sporadically, usually to discuss the purchase of property or new equipment, leaving decisions about Watch Tower Society literature to the president and vice-president, Nathan Knorr and Fred Franz. "The Watchtower" of December 15, 1971, was the first to unambiguously capitalize the term "Governing Body of Jehovah's witnesses" as the defined group leading the denomination, with a series of articles explaining its role and its relationship with the Watch Tower Society.


title: Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses

text: The focus on the new concept of "theocratic" leadership was accompanied by statements that the structure was not actually new: "The Watch Tower" declared that "a governing body made its appearance" some time after the formation of Zion's Watch Tower Society in 1884, though it had not been referred to as such at the time. The article stated that Watch Tower Society president Charles Taze Russell had been a member of the governing body. The "1972 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses" stated that following Rutherford's death in 1942 "one of the first things that the governing body decided upon was the inauguration of the Theocratic Ministry School" and added that the "governing body" had published millions of books and Bibles in the previous thirty years. Former member of the Governing Body, Raymond Franz, stated that the actions of presidents Russell, Rutherford and Knorr in overriding and failing to consult with directors proved the Bible Students and Jehovah's Witnesses had been under a monarchical rule until 1976, leaving no decisions to any "governing body".


title: Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses

text: In 1972, a "Question From Readers" article in "The Watchtower" further reinforced the concept of the "Governing Body"; the magazine said the term referred to an agency that administers policy and provides organizational direction, guidance and regulation and was therefore "appropriate, fitting and Scriptural". Organizational changes at the highest levels of the Watch Tower Society in 1976 significantly increased the powers and authority of the Governing Body. The body has never had a legal corporate existence and operates through the Watch Tower Society and its board of directors.


title: Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses

text: After its formal establishment in 1971, the Governing Body met regularly but, according to Raymond Franz, only briefly; Franz claims meetings were sometimes as short as seven minutes, to make decisions about branch appointments and conduct that should be considered disfellowshipping offenses. Franz claims that in 1971 and again in 1975, the Governing Body debated the extent of the authority it should be given. The Governing Body voted in December 1975 to establish six operating committees to oversee the various administrative requirements of the organization's worldwide activities that formerly had been under the direction of the president; furthermore, each branch overseer was to be replaced by a branch committee of at least three members. The change, which took effect on January 1, 1976, was described in the Watch Tower Society's 1993 history book, "Jehovah's Witnesses—Proclaimers of God's Kingdom", as "one of the most significant organizational readjustments in the modern-day history of Jehovah's Witnesses".


title: Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses

text: In 1980, dissent arose among members of the Governing Body regarding the significance of 1914 in Jehovah's Witnesses' doctrines. According to former Witnesses James Penton and Heather and Gary Botting, internal dissatisfaction with official doctrines continued to grow, leading to a series of secret investigations and judicial hearings. Consequently, dissenting members were expelled from the Brooklyn headquarters staff in the same year. Raymond Franz claimed he was forced to resign from the Governing Body, and he was later disfellowshipped from the group.


title: Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses

text: The Watch Tower Society responded to the dissent with a more severe attitude regarding the treatment of expelled Witnesses. In his 1997 study of the denomination, Penton concluded that since Raymond Franz's expulsion in 1980, the Governing Body displayed an increased level of conservatism, sturdy resistance to changes of policy and doctrines, and an increased tendency to isolate dissidents within the organization by means of disfellowshipping.


title: Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses

text: The April 15, 1992, issue of "The Watchtower" carried an article entitled "Jehovah's Provision, the "Given Ones"" which drew a parallel between ancient non-Israelites who had been assigned temple duties (the "Nethinim" and "sons of the servants of Solomon") and Witness elders in positions of responsibility immediately under the oversight of the Governing Body who did not profess to be "anointed".


title: Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses

text: Both that issue of "The Watchtower" and the "1993 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses" carried the same announcement:


title: Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses

text: In view of the tremendous increase worldwide, it seems appropriate at this time to provide the Governing Body with some additional assistance. Therefore it has been decided to invite several helpers, mainly from among the great crowd, to share in the meetings of each of the Governing Body Committees, that is, the Personnel, Publishing, Service, Teaching, and Writing Committees. Thus, the number attending the meetings of each of these committees will be increased to seven or eight. Under the direction of the Governing Body committee members, these assistants will take part in discussions and will carry out various assignments given them by the committee. This new arrangement goes into effect May 1, 1992. For many years now, the number of the remnant of anointed Witnesses has been decreasing, while the number of the great crowd has increased beyond our grandest expectations.


title: Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses

text: Each of the current Governing Body members served as a committee "helper" before being appointed to the Governing Body itself. The appointment of helpers to the Governing Body committees was described in 2006 as "still another refinement".


title: Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses

text: Until 2000, the directors and officers of the Watch Tower Society were members of the Governing Body. Since then, members of the ecclesiastical Governing Body have not served as directors of any of the various corporations used by Jehovah's Witnesses, and the Governing Body has delegated such administrative responsibilities to other members of the group.


title: Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses

text: The Governing Body functions by means of its six committees, which carry out various administrative functions. Each committee is assisted by "helpers", who do not necessarily profess to be "anointed". Governing Body meetings are held weekly in closed session. According to Raymond Franz, decisions of the body were required to be unanimous until 1975, after which a two-thirds majority of the full body was required, regardless of the number present.


title: Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses

text: Initially, the Governing Body directly appointed all congregation elders. By 1975, the appointment of elders and ministerial servants was said to be "made directly by a governing body of spirit-anointed elders or by them through other elders representing this body." In 2001, "The Watchtower", stated that recommendations for such appointments were submitted to branch offices. As of September 2014, circuit overseers appoint elders and ministerial servants after discussion with congregation elders, without consulting with the branch office.


title: Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses

text: The Governing Body continues to directly appoint branch office committee members and traveling overseers, and only such direct appointees are described as "representatives of the Governing Body".


title: Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses

text: The Governing Body is said to provide "spiritual food" for Jehovah's Witnesses worldwide. Until late 2012, the Governing Body described itself as the representative and "spokesman" for God's "faithful and discreet slave class" (Jehovah's Witnesses who profess to be anointed) who are collectively said to be God's "prophet" and "channel for new spiritual light". The Governing Body does not consult with the other anointed Witnesses whom it was said to represent when formulating policy and doctrines or approving material for publications and conventions; the authority of the Governing Body was presumed to be analogous to that of the older men of Jerusalem in cases such as the first-century circumcision issue. The majority of Witnesses who profess to be anointed have no authority to contribute to the development or change of doctrines. Anointed Witnesses are instructed to remain modest and avoid "wildly speculating about things that are still unclear", instead waiting for God to reveal his purposes in "The Watchtower".


title: Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses

text: In 2009, "The Watchtower" indicated that the dissemination of "new spiritual light" is the responsibility of only "a limited number" of the "slave class", asking: "Are all these anointed ones throughout the earth part of a global network that is somehow involved in revealing new spiritual truths? No." In 2010 the society said that "deep truths" were discerned by "responsible representatives" of the "faithful and discreet slave class" at the group's headquarters, and then considered by the entire Governing Body before making doctrinal decisions. In August 2011, the Governing Body stated that "we have no way of knowing the exact number of anointed ones on earth; nor do we need to know", and that it "does not maintain a global network of anointed ones". At the 2012 Annual Meeting of the Watch Tower Society, the "faithful and discreet slave" was redefined as referring to the Governing Body only and the terms are now synonymous.


title: Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses

text: The following people are members of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses (year appointed in parentheses):


title: Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses

text: Prior to 1971, various Watch Tower Society directors were informally identified as members of the "governing body". Jehovah's Witnesses publications began capitalizing "Governing Body" as a proper noun in 1971; "The Watchtower" that year announced "The present Governing Body comprises eleven anointed witnesses of Jehovah." These eleven members are indicated in italics in the list below. Years active are shown in parentheses. All members served until their deaths unless specified.


title: Collision

text: In physics, a collision is any event in which two or more bodies exert forces on each other in a relatively short time. Although the most common use of the word "collision" refers to incidents in which two or more objects collide with great force, the scientific use of the term implies nothing about the magnitude of the force.


title: Collision

text: In physics, collisions can be classified by the change in the total kinetic energy of the system before and after the collision:


title: Collision

text: Collision is short-duration interaction between two bodies or more than two bodies simultaneously causing change in motion of bodies involved due to internal forces acted between them during this. Collisions involve forces (there is a change in velocity). The magnitude of the velocity difference just before impact is called the closing speed. All collisions conserve momentum. What distinguishes different types of collisions is whether they also conserve kinetic energy. The line of impact is the line that is collinear to the common normal of the surfaces that are closest or in contact during impact. This is the line along which internal force of collision acts during impact, and Newton's coefficient of restitution is defined only along this line. Collisions are of three types:


title: Collision

text: Specifically, collisions can either be "elastic," meaning they conserve both momentum and kinetic energy, or "inelastic," meaning they conserve momentum but not kinetic energy.


title: Collision

text: An inelastic collision is sometimes also called a "plastic collision." A "perfectly inelastic" collision (also called a "perfectly plastic" collision) is a limiting case of inelastic collision in which the two bodies coalesce after impact.


title: Collision

text: The degree to which a collision is elastic or inelastic is quantified by the coefficient of restitution, a value that generally ranges between zero and one. A perfectly elastic collision has a coefficient of restitution of one; a perfectly inelastic collision has a coefficient of restitution of zero.


title: Collision

text: There are two types of collisions between two bodies - 1) Head-on collisions or one-dimensional collisions - where the velocity of each body just before impact is along the line of impact, and 2) Non-head-on collisions, oblique collisions or two-dimensional collisions - where the velocity of each body just before impact is not along the line of impact.


title: Collision

text: According to the coefficient of restitution, there are two special cases of any collision as written below:


title: Collision

text: In any type of collision there is a phase when for a moment colliding bodies have the same velocity along the line of impact. Then the kinetic energy of bodies reduces to its minimum during this phase and may be called a maximum deformation phase for which momentarily the coefficient of restitution becomes one.


title: Collision

text: Collisions in ideal gases approach perfectly elastic collisions, as do scattering interactions of sub-atomic particles which are deflected by the electromagnetic force. Some large-scale interactions like the slingshot type gravitational interactions between satellites and planets are almost perfectly elastic.


title: Collision

text: Collisions between hard spheres may be nearly elastic, so it is useful to calculate the limiting case of an elastic collision. The assumption of conservation of momentum as well as the conservation of kinetic energy makes possible the calculation of the final velocities in two-body collisions.


title: Collision

text: In maritime law, it is occasionally desirable to distinguish between the situation of a vessel striking a moving object, and that of it striking a stationary object. The word "allision" is then used to mean the striking of a stationary object, while "collision" is used to mean the striking of a moving object. Thus, when two vessels run against each other, courts typically use the term collision whereas when one vessel runs against another, they typically use the term allision. The fixed object could also be a bridge or dock. While there is no great difference between the two terms and often they are even used interchangeably, determining the difference helps clarify the circumstances of emergencies and adapt accordingly. In the case of "Vane Line Bunkering, Inc. v. Natalie D M/V," it was established that there was the presumption that the moving vessel is at fault, stating that "presumption derives from the common-sense observation that moving vessels do not usually collide with stationary objects unless the [moving] vessel is mishandled in some way". This is also referred to as "The Oregon Rule."


title: Collision

text: Relatively few problems involving collisions can be solved analytically; the remainder require numerical methods. An important problem in simulating collisions is determining whether two objects have in fact collided. This problem is called collision detection.


title: Collision

text: Collisions play an important role in cue sports. Because the collisions between billiard balls are nearly elastic, and the balls roll on a surface that produces low rolling friction, their behavior is often used to illustrate Newton's laws of motion. After a zero-friction collision of a moving ball with a stationary one of equal mass, the angle between the directions of the two balls is 90 degrees. This is an important fact that professional billiards players take into account, although it assumes the ball is moving without any impact of friction across the table rather than rolling with friction.


title: Collision

text: Consider an elastic collision in two dimensions of any two masses "m" and "m", with respective initial velocities u and u where u = 0, and final velocities V and V.


title: Collision

text: Taking the dot product of each side of the former equation with itself, |u| = u•u = |V| + |V| + 2V•V. Comparing this with the latter equation gives V•V = 0, so they are perpendicular unless V is the zero vector (which occurs if and only if the collision is head-on).


title: Collision

text: In a perfect inelastic collision, i.e., a zero coefficient of restitution, the colliding particles coalesce. It is necessary to consider conservation of momentum:


title: Collision

text: The reduction of total kinetic energy is equal to the total kinetic energy before the collision in a center of momentum frame with respect to the system of two particles, because in such a frame the kinetic energy after the collision is zero. In this frame most of the kinetic energy before the collision is that of the particle with the smaller mass. In another frame, in addition to the reduction of kinetic energy there may be a transfer of kinetic energy from one particle to the other; the fact that this depends on the frame shows how relative this is.


title: Collision

text: With time reversed we have the situation of two objects pushed away from each other, e.g. shooting a projectile, or a rocket applying thrust (compare the derivation of the Tsiolkovsky rocket equation).


title: Collision

text: Collisions of an animal's foot or paw with the underlying substrate are generally termed ground reaction forces. These collisions are inelastic, as kinetic energy is not conserved. An important research topic in prosthetics is quantifying the forces generated during the foot-ground collisions associated with both disabled and non-disabled gait. This quantification typically requires subjects to walk across a force platform (sometimes called a "force plate") as well as detailed kinematic and dynamic (sometimes termed kinetic) analysis.


title: Collision

text: Collisions can be used as an experimental technique to study material properties of objects and other physical phenomena.


title: Collision

text: An object may deliberately be made to crash-land on another celestial body, to do measurements and send them to Earth before being destroyed, or to allow instruments elsewhere to observe the effect. See e.g.:


title: Collision

text: Let the linear, angular and internal momenta of a molecule be given by the set of "r" variables { "p" }. The state of a molecule may then be described by the range "δw" = δ"p"δ"p"δ"p" ... δ"p". There are many such ranges corresponding to different states; a specific state may be denoted by the index "i". Two molecules undergoing a collision can thus be denoted by ("i", "j") (Such an ordered pair is sometimes known as a "constellation".)


title: Collision

text: It is convenient to suppose that two molecules exert a negligible effect on each other unless their center of gravity approach within a critical distance "b". A collision therefore begins when the respective centers of gravity arrive at this critical distance, and is completed when they again reach this critical distance on their way apart. Under this model, a collision is completely described by the matrix formula_3, which refers to the constellation ("i", "j") before the collision, and the (in general different) constellation ("k", "l") after the collision.


title: Flapjack (oat bar)

text: A flapjack (also known as a cereal bar, oat bar or oat slice) is a baked bar, cooked in a flat oven tin and cut into squares or rectangles, made from rolled oats, fat (typically butter), brown sugar and usually golden syrup.


title: Flapjack (oat bar)

text: As well as being baked at home, they are widely available in shops, ready-packaged, often with extra ingredients such as chocolate, dried fruit such as glace cherries, nuts, yoghurt and toffee pieces or coatings, either as individual servings or full unsliced trayfuls. A variant of such available in shops in the United Kingdom is known as the "Bakewell flapjack". Some flapjacks may contain maple syrup. They are usually an alternative to a biscuit (cookie) or cake, and textures range from soft and moist to dry and crisp. Because of the high levels of fat and calories in traditional recipes, some "diet" versions are available with lower fat and calorie content.


title: Flapjack (oat bar)

text: The "Oxford English Dictionary" records the word "flapjack" being used as early as the beginning of the 16th century, although at this time it seems to have been a flat tart. Shakespeare refers to "flap-jacks" in "Pericles, Prince of Tyre", but this is one of the many anachronisms in his historical plays and does not suggest that he thought it was a middle eastern dish, merely a common English dessert of the time:


title: Flapjack (oat bar)

text: Later, flapjack would be used to describe something similar to an apple flan, but it is not until 1935 that the word is first used to describe a food made of oats. In the UK, this usage has mostly superseded earlier recipes.


title: Flapjack (oat bar)

text: The food is called a flapjack in the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, Ireland, and Newfoundland. In other English-speaking countries, the same item is called by different names, such as cereal bar, oat bar or (in Australia and New Zealand) oat slice.


title: Jacques Demy

text: Jacques Demy (; 5 June 1931 – 27 October 1990) was a French director, lyricist, and screenwriter. He appeared at the height of the French New Wave alongside contemporaries like Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut. Demy's films are celebrated for their visual style, which drew upon diverse sources such as classic Hollywood musicals, the plein-air realism of his French New Wave colleagues, fairy tales, jazz, Japanese manga, and the opera. His films contain overlapping continuity (i.e., characters cross over from film to film), lush musical scores (typically composed by Michel Legrand) and motifs like teenage love, labor rights, chance encounters, incest, and the intersection between dreams and reality. He was married to Agnès Varda, another prominent director of the French New Wave. Demy is best known for the two musicals he directed in the mid-1960s: "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" (1964) and "The Young Girls of Rochefort" (1967).


title: Jacques Demy

text: After working with the animator Paul Grimault and the filmmaker Georges Rouquier, Demy directed "Lola", his first feature film, in 1961, with Anouk Aimée playing the eponymous cabaret singer. The Demy universe emerges here: Characters burst into song (courtesy of composer and lifelong Demy-collaborator Michel Legrand); iconic Hollywood imagery is appropriated, as in the opening scene with the man in a white Stetson in the Cadillac; plot is dictated by the director's fascination with fate and stock themes of chance encounters and long-lost love; and the setting, as with many of Demy's films, is the French Atlantic coast of his childhood, specifically the seaport town of Nantes.


title: Jacques Demy

text: "La Baie des Anges" ("The Bay of Angels", 1963), starring Jeanne Moreau, took the theme of fate further, with its story of love at the roulette tables.


title: Jacques Demy

text: Demy is perhaps best known for his original musical "Les Parapluies de Cherbourg" ("The Umbrellas of Cherbourg", 1964), with a score by Legrand. The whimsical concept of singing all the dialogue sets the tone for this tragedy of the everyday. The film also sees the emergence of Demy's trademark visual style, shot in saturated supercolour, with every detail—neckties, wallpaper, Catherine Deneuve's bleached-blonde hair—selected for visual impact. Roland Cassard, the young man from "Lola" (Marc Michel) reappears here, marrying Deneuve's character. Such reappearances are typical of Demy's work. Kurt Vonnegut was a huge fan of "Les Parapluies", writing in private correspondence: "I saw "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg", which I took very hard. To an unmoored, middle-aged man like myself, it was heart-breaking. That's all right. I like to have my heart broken."


title: Jacques Demy

text: Demy's subsequent films never quite captured audience and critical acclaim the way "Les Parapluies" did, although he continued to make ambitious and original dramas and musicals. "Les Demoiselles de Rochefort" (1967), another whimsical-yet-melancholic musical, features Deneuve and her sister Françoise Dorléac as sisters living in the seaside town of Rochefort, daughters of Danielle Darrieux. It was shot in color widescreen CinemaScope and featured an Oscar-nominated musical score as well as dance appearances by Gene Kelly and "West Side Story"'s George Chakiris.


title: Jacques Demy

text: In 1968, after Columbia Pictures gave Demy a lucrative offer to shoot his first film in America, he and his wife, film director Agnès Varda, moved to Los Angeles briefly. Demy's movie was a naturalistic drama: 1969's "Model Shop". Lola (Anouk Aimée) reappears, her dreams shattered, her life having taken a turn for the worse. Abandoned by her husband Michel for a female gambler named Jackie Demaistre (Jeanne Moreau's character from "Bay of Angels"), Lola is scrounging to make enough money to return to France and her child by working as a nude model in a backdoor model-shop on the Sunset Strip. She runs into an aimless, young architect (Gary Lockwood), who navigates the streets of Los Angeles; like Lola, he is looking for love and meaning in life. "Model Shop" is a time capsule of late-1960s Los Angeles and documents the death of the hippie movement, the Vietnam draft, and the ennui and misery that results from broken relationships. This bleakness and decided lack of whimsy—uncharacteristic for Demy—had a large amount to do with "Model Shop"'s critical and commercial failure.


title: Jacques Demy

text: "Peau d'Âne" ("Donkey Skin", 1970) was a step in the opposite direction as a visually extravagant musical interpretation of a classic French fairy tale which highlights the tale's incestuous overtones, starring Deneuve, Jean Marais, and Delphine Seyrig. It was Demy's first foray into the world of fairy tales and historical fantasia, which he explored in "The Pied Piper" and "Lady Oscar."


title: Jacques Demy

text: Although none of Demy's subsequent films captured the contemporary success of his earlier work, some have been reappraised: David Thomson wrote about "the fascinating application of the operatic technique to an unusually dark story" in "Une chambre en ville" ("A Room in Town", 1982). "L'événement le plus important depuis que l'homme a marché sur la lune (1973) ("A Slightly Pregnant Man")" is a look back at the pressures of second-wave feminism in France and the fears it elicited in men. "Lady Oscar" (1979), based on the Japanese manga series "The Rose of Versailles", has been discussed and analyzed for its queer and political subtext (the title character is born female, her father raises her as a male so she can get ahead in 18th-century French aristocracy, and she eventually falls in love with her surrogate brother, a working-class revolutionary).


title: Jacques Demy

text: "Parapluies de Cherbourg" has been color-restored twice from original prints by Demy. In 2014, The Criterion Collection released a boxed set of Demy's "essential" work, with hours of supplements, essays, and restored image and sound. The films include "Lola", "Bay of Angels", "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg", "The Young Girls of Rochefort", "Donkey Skin", and "Une Chambre en Ville" as well as most of Demy's early short films.


title: Jacques Demy

text: As a student, Demy did not learn any foreign languages. In the 1960s, with the help of some classes, internships, and spending some time in the United States, he learned English. At the time of the Anouchka project, which took many years to complete, he also learned Russian.


title: Jacques Demy

text: In the early 1970s, taking after the example of Michel Legrand, he earned his private pilot's license for passenger planes.


title: Jacques Demy

text: In 1958, Jacques Demy and Agnès Varda met at a short film festival in Tours. The two married in 1962. They had a son together, Mathieu Demy (born 1972), and Demy also adopted Varda's daughter, Rosalie Varda (born 1958), whom she had with Antoine Bourseiller in a previous relationship. Together, Demy and Varda owned a home in Paris and another property with an old mill on the Noirmoutier Island in Vendée, where the shots of Demy on a beach in "Jacquot de Nantes (1991)" were taken. The film is a version of Demy's autobiographical notebooks, an account of Demy's childhood and his lifelong love of theatre and cinema. Varda paid homage to her husband in "Jacquot de Nantes", "Les demoiselles ont eu 25 ans" (1993), and "L’Univers de Jacques Demy" (1995).


title: Jacques Demy

text: Demy died on October 27, 1990 at the age of 59. Originally, it was reported that he died of cancer, but in 2008 Varda revealed that Demy died of HIV/AIDS. He was buried at the Montparnasse Cemetery in Paris.


title: John Vijay

text: John Vijay (born 20 November 1976) is an Indian actor who plays supporting roles in Tamil films. He has also worked in a few Malayalam, Telugu, Hindi and Kannada films.


title: John Vijay

text: John Vijay did his M.Sc. in Visual Communication from Loyola College, Chennai. Vijay also works as the head programme director of Radio One FM. John is the chief of 'H2O', an advertising agency with its office at Nungambakkam.


title: John Vijay

text: Pushkar and Gayatri, who were his juniors in the Visual Communications course in Loyola College, offered him a role in their directorial debut "Oram Po". His performance as "Sun of Gun" in the film was described by critics as "scene stealer, his antics bring the house down". He played a friend of Rajinikanth in "Kabali" (2016).


title: House of Khalifa

text: The House of Khalifa () is the ruling family of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The Al Khalifas profess Sunni Islam and belong to the Anizah tribe, some members of this tribe joined the Utub alliance which migrated from Central Arabia to Kuwait, then ruled all of Qatar, more specifically Al Zubarah, which they built and ruled over before settling in Bahrain in the early 17th century. The current head of the family is Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, who became the Emir of Bahrain in 1999 and proclaimed himself King of Bahrain in 2002, in fact becoming a constitutional monarch.


title: House of Khalifa

text: As of 2010, roughly half of the serving cabinet ministers of Bahrain were members of the Al Khalifa royal family, while the country's Prime Minister, Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, is also from the Al Khalifa family and is the son of the current King.


title: House of Khalifa

text: Bahrain fell under the control of Ahmed ibn Muhammad ibn Khalifa in 1783, following the defeat of Nasr Al-Madhkur who ruled the archipelago as a dependency of Persia (see Bani Utbah invasion of Bahrain). Ahmed ruled Bahrain as hakim until 1796, but was based in Zubarah (in modern-day Qatar) and spent summers in Bahrain. Ahmed was the first hakim of Bahrain and the progenitor of the ruling Al Khalifa family of Bahrain. All of the Al Khalifa rulers of Bahrain are his descendants.


title: House of Khalifa

text: Ahmed had four children. Following his death in 1796, two of Ahmed's sons Salman and Abdulla moved to Bahrain, and co-ruled it as feudal estates and imposed taxes on the indigenous Baharnah population. Salman settled in Bahrain Island and Abdulla in Muharraq Island, each ruling independently. The Al Khalifa soon became split into two branches, Al-Abdulla and Al-Salman that engaged in open conflict between 1842 and 1846. Al-Salman branch was victorious and enjoyed complete rule of Bahrain. Until 1869, Bahrain was under threat of occupation by various external powers including the Wahhabis, Omanis, Ottomans, Egyptians and Persians, yet the Al Khalifa managed to keep it under their control. The Al-Abdulla branch continued to be a cause of threat until 1895. Today, Abdulla ibn Ahmad Al Khalifa descendants live in Qatar, while Salman ibn Ahmad Al Khalifa's descendants live in Bahrain.


title: House of Khalifa

text: Decisions pertaining to the Al Khalifa family, as well as disputes between family members are arbitrated by the Ruling Family Council (). The council attends to internal family disputes particularly those related to appropriation of land, sale of real estate and other properties. Members of the ruling family are not allowed to refer these or other disputes to ordinary law courts.


title: House of Khalifa

text: Relations between the political leadership and the rest of the "rank and file" members of the Al Khalifa ruling family have been formally managed by the council since 1932. However, on the eve of the 1973 parliamentary elections, then the Amir Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa issued a decree restructuring the Ruling Family Council to become a formal organ of the state, and giving the administrative head of the council the rank of minister.


title: House of Khalifa

text: The Ruling Family Council is chaired by King Hamad, its deputy chairman is Mohammed bin Khalifa bin Hamad Al Khalifa, and the director general is Ibrahim bin Khalid bin Mohammed Al Khalifa.


title: House of Khalifa

text: The King appoints the members of the board of the Ruling Family Council as recognised representatives of various kingship lines and factional alliances within the Al Khalifa family.


title: House of Khalifa

text: "Al Khalifa" is commonly mistranscribed "al-Khalifa". The "Al" (آل) written with the long ("madda") alif is unconnected to the following word and means "house", in the sense of "family" or "dynasty", and is not the definite article particle "al-" 'Al' can also mean 'of'.


title: House of Khalifa

text: As of 2010, roughly half of the serving cabinet ministers of Bahrain were members of the Al Khalifa royal family.


title: House of Khalifa

text: The King of Bahrain, King Al Khalifa was responsible for attacks on protesters during the Arab Spring. He and the Bahraini government were condemned both locally and overseas. He later enlisted the help of nearby Saudi Arabia and the UAE.


title: John Melendez

text: John Edward Melendez (born October 4, 1965), also known as Stuttering John, is an American radio personality, comedian, singer, actor, television writer, announcer, and podcast host.


title: John Melendez

text: He is best known for being on "The Howard Stern Show" from 1988 to 2004. Initially working as an intern, Melendez became known for asking celebrities impertinent questions at events and press conferences with his stuttering. He left the show to become the announcer on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and also worked on Leno's later shows. In April 2018, he launched "The Stuttering John Podcast".


title: John Melendez

text: Melendez grew up in Massapequa, New York on Long Island and attended Plainedge High School. Melendez was born to a Puerto Rican father and a Danish mother. According to Melendez, he began to stutter when he was in the second grade as a result of psychological mistreatment from his father after he witnessed an argument between his parents. He attended Plainedge High School, where he was picked on by the neighborhood bullies because of his stuttering.


title: John Melendez

text: In 1988, Melendez attended New York University's film school and belonged to a band called "Rock Slide." His college roommate, comedian Mitch Fatel, was on the verge of quitting his internship with "The Howard Stern Show", when Melendez asked him for a recommendation for an internship there. The show's producer, Gary Dell'Abate, mentioned Melendez's stuttering to Howard Stern who, without seeing him and even before he was interviewed, told the producer to hire him.


title: John Melendez

text: On Stern's show, Melendez's primary role was answering phones and screening listener calls before they were allowed on the air. At the time of his joining, the show had just added Washington, D.C., as its third market in addition to New York City and Philadelphia.


title: John Melendez

text: Over time, Melendez became known for segments in which he asked celebrities confrontational questions at red carpet events, functions, promotional appearances, and press conferences. The puerile questions—written by Howard Stern, Fred Norris, and Jackie Martling—centered around a given celebrity's private life and were premised on the idea that they would not want to look bad by refusing an interview from someone who stuttered. Melendez sported long hair and metal T-shirts, asking questions by reading them from a sheet of paper. As he became better known, he occasionally wore a disguise consisting of an overcoat, fedora, and fake mustache. His interviews were characterized by punchline-free "joke" questions, such as asking actress Melanie Griffith how her father, Andy, was.


title: John Melendez

text: The absurdity of the questions Melendez asked was often amplified by the fact that he himself appeared to lack common pop culture knowledge and often did not even seem to know who the subjects of his interview were or why they were famous. Melendez would thus frequently be unaware of why his questions would provoke such angry reactions, such as when he asked Ally Sheedy if she had vomited lately, unaware that the actress suffered from bulimia. Some celebrities were a personal target of Stern's, such as Ted Williams, who was interviewed by Melendez because Stern disapproved of athletes charging money for autographs. Celebrities would often react angrily, but other times, they would take the questions in good humor.


title: John Melendez

text: Melendez notably interviewed Gennifer Flowers, Ringo Starr, and the Dalai Lama. At Gennifer Flowers' news conference playing the 'Clinton Tapes', he asked her if she planned to sleep with any other candidates before the election, to which she reacted by laughing. He asked the Dalai Lama if anyone ever greeted him with "Hello Dalai!", in a joking reference to the play and movie; the Dalai Lama's translator whispered the translation to the Dalai Lama, who chuckled. Another time Melendez interviewed Debbie Gibson about losing an award to Wilson Phillips, to which she jokingly agreed with his idea that "the fat one would eat the statue." Melendez also provided comic interest with his misadventures, poor grammar, and sloppy pronunciation.


title: John Melendez

text: Melendez started receiving national exposure in the early 1990s as Stern's syndicated morning radio show acquired more markets (including Los Angeles and Cleveland) and particularly from June 1994 when its condensed version began airing nightly on E!: Entertainment Television, a basic cable network with national coverage in the United States. In 1994, Melendez signed a record contract with Atlantic Records and released his self-titled album with a music video broadcast on MTV's "Headbangers Ball". That year, he was being paid $20,000 annually by the Stern show, which had 15 million listeners.


title: John Melendez

text: During his 15-year run as Stern's employee, Melendez also starred in the Off-Broadway show "Tony n' Tina's Wedding" where he met his future wife, Suzanna. He appeared in such films as "Airheads", "Meet Wally Sparks", "Dude, Where's My Car?", and "Osmosis Jones", as well as Howard Stern's film "Private Parts". He has also appeared on television in episodes of "Wings", "Baywatch Nights", and the 2003 United States version of the reality series "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!".


title: John Melendez

text: Melendez was also the protagonist of some of the show's more outrageous moments. In 2001, during A.J. Benza's appearance, Melendez got slapped in the face by Benza who did not appreciate the incessant lampooning of his failed late-night show, seeing Melendez as the main culprit. The on-air slap prompted an extended fracas and resulted in Benza being permanently banned from Stern's show.


title: John Melendez

text: Throughout the early part of 2002, Melendez and WXRK afternoon deejay Lee Mroszak (aka "Crazy Cabbie") had numerous on-air spats, which were used by Stern as fodder for multiple segments on the show. Their feud eventually culminated in a boxing match scheduled for Friday morning May 31, 2002, at Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City and was promoted on the show as "The Flunky versus the Junkie" with 2,500 tickets going on sale for $100 each. The 7 a.m. fight, essentially an extended segment on the show which itself was broadcast from around the ring that morning, was set for five two-minute rounds with a two-minute break in between each round. It went the distance, with the 175 lb Melendez winning over the 262 lb Cabbie by unanimous decision.


title: John Melendez

text: Following a guest appearance on "The Tonight Show" to promote "I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!" in 2003, Melendez received an offer from Jay Leno to become the late-night show's New York 'correspondent' who would ask celebrities questions on the red carpet, similar to one of his roles on the Stern show. Melendez claimed that he turned down the offer because he could not get a private conversation with Stern to ask him about it. Stern later claimed how "lame" an idea it was for Leno to reuse Melendez the way Leno wanted to (in a less edgy way).


title: John Melendez

text: In parallel with his duties on the Stern show in the morning, Melendez got a daily afternoon show on New York City's WXRK ("The Howard Stern Show" flagship station) from noon to 1 pm called "Out to Lunch", consisting mostly of taking musical requests by e-mail and playing them. The show was canceled on August 21, 2003, with Stern turning the announced cancellation into a 45-minute segment at the end of his live broadcast that day by having WXRK program director Robert Cross (aka Chuck Roast) come in and break the bad news on the air to Melendez.


title: John Melendez

text: In February 2004, the "New York Post" revealed that Melendez had been offered the announcer position on "The Tonight Show" while Stern's show was on vacation. Many perceived the move as an attempt by Leno to attract a younger demographic. Melendez's offer, which was made without Stern's knowledge, prompted a rift between Stern and Leno. Stern berated Leno on his show for weeks on end, with insults such as "To an 18- to 25-year-old male, Jay Leno is gay. He might as well put a dress on," as well as accusations that Leno was "ripping him off."


title: John Melendez

text: Following Melendez's departure, Stern organized an on-air contest to find his replacement. Billed as "Win John's Job" (much like "Win Jackie's Money" after writer Jackie Martling walked out), the contest resulted in the hiring of Sal Governale (aka "Sal the Stockbroker") and Richard Christy, although for several years, L.A. radio disc-jockey "Scary Gary" (from 97.1 KSLX, which played Stern's radio show in Southern California) did Stuttering John style interviews that Stern would play on his show. Also, in his latter years on the Stern show, John had become too recognizable for the type of celebrity interviews for which he became niche-famous.


title: John Melendez

text: On February 27, 2008, more than four years removed from his time on "The Howard Stern Show", Melendez was interviewed over the phone by Adam Carolla on his radio show with discussion of Melendez's 15 years as Stern's employee dominating the conversation. Carolla brought up the fact that on-air personnel on radio shows, even long-running hit shows, earn very low salaries compared to the show's host and wondered what kind of money Melendez made considering he was down in the show's pecking order, behind Stern, Robin Quivers, Fred, Jackie, and Gary. Melendez revealed that his first salary on "The Howard Stern Show" in 1990 was $10,000 per year, before adding that, much to his disappointment, he only got an additional $10,000 per year once the show began to be broadcast on E! in 1994.


title: John Melendez

text: Asked explicitly by Carolla if, considering that the station manager Tom Chiusano would not increase his salary, he ever thought, hoped, or expected that Stern (who earned more than $20 million per year) would "kick something down to [him]," Melendez answered:


title: John Melendez

text: In response, Stern devoted a 30-minute tirade to Melendez's comments with Carolla, calling the former employee a "no-talent ingrate" who should stick to holding up the mug on "The Tonight Show". Stern commented, "I didn't have a beef with him before, but I do now. He's delusional. He can go fuck himself. I officially want nothing more to do with John. I've had it with him, and he's a talentless fuck. All he did was stutter. He just asked questions that we wrote for him."


title: John Melendez

text: Commenting on Melendez's claim that Stern did not like him doing side gigs away from Howard's show such as stand-up, rock music, and writing books, Stern retorted, "That's because they were horrible, and he was slapping my name on them." He also touched on the fact that Melendez's then-wife Suzanna and Stern's then-fiancée Beth are friends by saying he does not want them phoning each other anymore: "I'm going to have a talk with Beth about that." Stern also had choice words for Carolla over what he saw as a fellow radio host's attempt to get Melendez riled up: "He calls me 'Stern,' and I'm not sure what that's about".


title: John Melendez

text: Melendez debuted on "The Tonight Show" on March 29, 2004, taking over for Edd Hall. On the show, he was identified simply as "John Melendez" as opposed to "Stuttering John."


title: John Melendez

text: In late September 2004, only six months after Melendez joined the show, NBC announced that Leno would be succeeded by Conan O'Brien in 2009. Throughout his first run on the "Tonight Show", Melendez regularly appeared in the show's comedy sketches and did correspondent pieces.


title: John Melendez

text: In September 2009, Melendez reunited with Leno and former "Tonight" bandleader Kevin Eubanks as a member of the writing staff on "The Jay Leno Show". Confirmation of his status on Leno's new prime time show came later than that of Eubanks, weeks after the end of Leno's tenure on "The Tonight Show", which led to speculation that Melendez would not appear at all. Melendez's ambiguous job status prompted a sarcastic job offer from his former boss Stern.


title: John Melendez

text: When asked about Melendez's new role, Leno stated that Melendez would appear in comedy segments during the show and that the new show would not have a studio announcer (though Wally Wingert would later serve as show announcer). On "The Tonight Show", Leno described his interplay with Melendez as "awkward," saying "I'd throw to Kevin Eubanks, and I'd throw to John, and I realized that my guy is Eubanks."


title: John Melendez

text: With the return of Leno's "The Tonight Show" in March 2010, Melendez continued in the writing role, which he had previously performed on "The Jay Leno Show". Melendez did not return as an announcer on the second incarnation of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (the job went to Wally Wingert), but instead was employed as a staff writer and occasional on-air segment host until Leno's departure from "The Tonight Show" on February 6, 2014.


title: John Melendez

text: On November 4, 2015, Melendez announced that he had become the executive producer and an on-air contributor to "The Stephanie Miller Show", a progressive radio talk show. His role was later reduced to one hour per week on Fridays, and as of fall 2016, he is no longer part of the show.


title: John Melendez

text: Melendez announced in 2017 that he would be running for U.S. Senate for California against incumbent Dianne Feinstein for the 2018 election. It was later reported that he had withdrawn.


title: John Melendez

text: In April 2018, he launched his new podcast, "The Stuttering John Podcast". During Melendez's podcast on June 28, 2018, he prank-called the White House by pretending to be an assistant to Senator from New Jersey, Bob Menendez. Melendez ultimately received a call back from President Donald Trump as he was traveling on Air Force One. Melendez then impersonated Senator Menendez and had a four-minute conversation focusing on immigration reform and the Supreme Court vacancy. Notably, President Trump was congratulatory regarding the outcome of Senator Menendez's ethics lawsuit. The White House has confirmed the security breach.


title: John Melendez

text: On July 2, 2018, Melendez announced that he had retained lawyer Michael Avenatti to represent him in relation to the prank call after being visited by Secret Service agents over the previous weekend.


title: John Melendez

text: After moving to California in 2004 to work on "The Tonight Show", Melendez lived in Calabasas with his wife Suzanna Keller and their three children. The couple filed for separation in October 2011 and divorced in 2012.


title: Paddy Power

text: Paddy Power is an Irish gambling company founded in 1988. Its product offering includes sports betting, online casino, online poker, and online bingo. The business is split into two divisions, UK Ireland (UKI) and International. UKI operations are conducted from its headquarters in Dublin, while its international business operates from its overseas hub in Malta. In February 2016, Paddy Power merged with Betfair to create Flutter Entertainment.


title: Paddy Power

text: Paddy Power was founded in 1988 by a merger of the forty shops of three Irish bookmakers: Stewart Kenny, David Power, and John Corcoran. Stewart Kenny and Vincent O'Reilly had sold Kenny O'Reilly Bookmakers to Coral in 1986, and then opened ten shops of their own by 1988; Kenny was group CEO from 1988 to 2002, and chairman from 2002 to 2003. John Corcoran's shops had traded as Patrick Corcoran. David Power was a son of Richard Power and one of several inheritors trading under the Richard Power name. The Power name was considered the strongest brand among the merged shops, while the "Paddy" name and green colouring emphasised the chain's Irishness at a time when the fragmented Irish industry was facing competition from British betting chains entering the market in response to changes in the Irish tax code. David Power's son, whose name happens to be Paddy Power (b. 1974/5), is a marketing spokesman for the company.


title: Paddy Power

text: Paddy Power had an aggressive expansion strategy involving opening prominent shops in most Irish towns, rather than side streets previously favoured. The firm's novelty bets broadened its media coverage beyond the horseracing news. Its share of the Irish off-course betting market grew from 8% in 1988 to 33% in 2001.


title: Paddy Power

text: Power Lesiure - the parent company of Paddy Power PLC - listed on the London Stock Exchange in December 2000, to fund an expansion in the UK.


title: Paddy Power

text: At the end of 2005, Paddy Power operated 195 outlets (150 in Ireland and 45 in the UK). The total number of employees was 1,374. On 27 May 2008, it acquired the Northern Irish independent bookmaker McGranaghan Racing, bringing its shop count to 191 in Ireland. In February 2010, the chain had 356 shops with 209 in Ireland, 8 in Northern Ireland and 139 in Great Britain.


title: Paddy Power

text: The bookmaker is known for offering odds on controversial markets in order to garner publicity, e.g., in November 2008, 16–1 was laid that United States President Barack Obama 'would not finish' his first term (this was widely interpreted as his odds of assassination).


title: Paddy Power

text: After English Premier League new entrants Stoke City lost their opening game of the 2008–09 season 3–1 to Bolton Wanderers, Paddy Power controversially paid out on bets on them being relegated. When the club finished in mid-table at the end of the season the company took out a full page advert in "The Sentinel" apologising to the club and its supporters.


title: Paddy Power

text: In July 2010, the company took the unusual step of refunding bets placed on Felipe Massa to win the 2010 Germany Grand Prix following the notorious "team orders" incident, which led to Fernando Alonso being allowed to win the race, despite Massa's clear lead.


title: Paddy Power

text: In October 2011, the company paid out early on New Zealand winning the 2011 Rugby World Cup, four days before the final against France on 23 October 2011. The All Blacks were Paddy Power's 4/6 tournament favourites and were 1/9 odds on to win the final, with France at 13/2. The company boss said: 'New Zealand have left all of their opposition so far feeling black and blue and it's inevitable us bookies will be taking a hammering from them on Sunday too, so punters might as well collect now.' New Zealand did indeed go on to win the match.


title: Paddy Power

text: As of November 2011, Paddy Power was the largest bookmaker in Europe by total share value. Its group income was €444m in 2010.


title: Paddy Power

text: Paddy Power was placed 6th in the 2011 "Management Today" list of "Britain's Most Admired Companies".


title: Paddy Power

text: Paddy Power and British rival Betfair agreed terms for a merger in September 2015. The transaction was structured as an acquisition of Betfair by Paddy Power and the enlarged entity, named Paddy Power Betfair, is based in Dublin. The merger was completed in February 2016.


title: Paddy Power

text: Paddy Power CEO Andy McCue became COO of Paddy Power Betfair, with Breon Corcoran, CEO of Betfair, becoming CEO of the combined group and Paddy Power's Gary McGann becoming chairman. Andy McCue left the company in April 2016 to pursue other opportunities.


title: Paddy Power

text: In February 2020, Paddy Power won the GGA London "Betting Shop Operator of the Year" award. In July 2021, it won for a second consecutive year.


title: Paddy Power

text: June 2022 saw the launch of the Paddy Power Games vertical which replaced the online casino and live casino properties in a bid to soften the image of playing online casinos in-line with UKGC regulations.


title: Paddy Power

text: Paddy Power has drawn criticism in the past for offering controversial markets, such as odds on the first species to be driven to extinction by the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, on a prospective assassination of United States President Barack Obama, and on the potential extinction of the polar bear in December 2009.


title: Paddy Power

text: Paddy Power's advertising campaigns have also been criticised. One showed sight-impaired footballers kicking a cat, for which the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received 400 complaints. Another involved the model Imogen Thomas alongside a tagline using a double entendre. Paddy Power also received hundreds of complaints in February 2012 when the company released an advertising campaign to distinguish "the stallions from the mares" by placing transgender women in the crowds at the Cheltenham Festival. The ASA ruled that the advert could not be broadcast in the United Kingdom.


title: Paddy Power

text: Additionally, the company has been criticised for not paying out on bets with large odds. In May 2009, when Shane Lowry won the Irish Open, it stated that it would not pay out on the 3000/1 odds which had mistakenly been offered and instead reached 'an arrangement' with those involved.


title: Paddy Power

text: During a UEFA Euro 2012 match between Denmark and Portugal on 13 June 2012, Danish forward Nicklas Bendtner celebrated his second goal by lowering his shorts and lifting his shirt to reveal a pair of Paddy Power underpants, to the disgust of the national team's sponsor Ladbrokes and tournament organisers UEFA. Bendtner was fined €100,000 by UEFA and banned for one game. He later described his actions as being regrettable and not premeditated.


title: Paddy Power

text: In early March 2014, 5,525 complaints, the most ever in history, were made to the United Kingdom Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) via an online petition launched for Paddy Power to withdraw an offer for betting on the outcome of the South African trial of Oscar Pistorius for murder of his girlfriend. On 19 March 2014, the ASA upheld all 5,525 complaints that the advertisement was insensitive, made light of disability, the death of a woman and a murder trial, and brought advertising itself into disrepute. The advert was discussed on an episode of "The Last Leg", where Adam Hills made an impassioned speech condemning it.


title: Paddy Power

text: Prior to the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Paddy Power posted a photo on its Twitter account, sourced from Reddit, allegedly showing an overhead view of a Brazilian rainforest with the message "C'MON ENGLAND PP" spelled out by the former locations of trees that had been cut down. Following major criticisms over the advert from users, it was revealed on 8 June 2014 that the images were fake, and part of a campaign by Paddy Power to promote its anti-deforestation charity effort. The company stated that "we knew we’d drop off a fair few Christmas card lists yesterday, but we couldn’t resist a bit of fake twitter mischief to highlight an important issue to football fans as our World Cup warm up. At least it gave people something to get animated about during last night’s England–Honduras bore fest."


title: Paddy Power

text: In July 2014, Paddy Power was criticised by the Information Commissioner's Office for its response to an incident in 2010, where a hacker was able to obtain personal information of more than 649,000 people from its website. The data included addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth and security questions and answers. Paddy Power did not inform the Information Commissioner's Office until four years later.