Latest news with #InLieu
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- Health
- South China Morning Post
‘Unpolluted, untouched': why In Lieu is sourcing ‘premium water' from Henan, explains start-up founder and CEO Joanne Zhou, offering Hong Kong consumers a more sustainable, healthy choice
'Tap water, purified water, distilled water – these are the most prevalent and common choices in Hong Kong,' says Joanne Zhou. Founder and CEO of start-up In Lieu, Zhou wants to supplement our shop-bought options with what she says is the city's first premium sustainable water brand. Having launched In Lieu in February, Zhou cites studies about the rising rates of chronic illnesses in young people as the main reason why we should start paying more attention to this humble yet vital elixir of life. 'People are shifting their behaviour,' says Zhou. 'Gen Z, millennials are embracing sobriety. The health and wellness trend is booming. And people started to realise they're getting sick easily, dealing with a lot of stress and looking for solutions.' 'They don't trust the current beverage industry,' she concludes. 'When your options are so narrow, people start to pay attention. What kind of water should I drink ? What kind of minerals, electrolytes will I get?' Advertisement In Lieu is a Hong Kong-based start-up offering an upmarket alternative to mineral water sold in plastic bottles. Photo: Handout In Lieu, which has a growing footprint with partnerships and placements at Art Central, as well as with the Midnight Runners community in Hong Kong, was born largely in response to these concerns. After working in the US – where water options are more plentiful, and even celebrities like Beyoncé and Jaden Smith have joined the business – Zhou came back to Hong Kong to find that much of the drinking water on our store shelves is distilled and therefore devoid of the naturally occurring minerals that make it good for you. Still other shop-bought water is 'mineralised' – distilled or otherwise purified, with certain minerals added. 'Some bottled waters don't differ too much from tap water,' Zhou says. 'For the two major brands we know from Hong Kong, they just source their water from the tap system everyone gets from home, which is Dongjiang East River water from China – then use their facility to process and bottle it.' A homonym of l'eau (French for 'water'), the Chinese word liu (meaning 'stream' or 'flow'; it's actually pronounced 'lyoh') provided inspiration for the brand's name. And since the phrase 'in lieu' means 'instead of', the brand's name serves as a succinct mission statement. As opposed to artificially processed options, Zhou hopes that today's more discerning, health-conscious consumers will opt for In Lieu's 'unpolluted, untouched' water sourced from an underground aquifer in China's Dabie Mountains, in Henan province. 'From source to bottling, no human touch, no nothing,' she says. Besides natural mineral water, In Lieu also sells a hydrogen-enriched product. Photo: Handout For something so universally available, it is surprising how variable even tap water is, with different natural sources meaning the minerals it contains can vary widely from place to place. Zhou says not all water is created equal. 'It's so easy for [European consumers] to get quality water,' she says. 'They can just [turn on] the tap. If you live in the Alps, the cleanest water comes out, versus here, [where] most of the water needs to be processed and people don't have the privilege to appreciate high-quality water.'
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Stonewall County approves 5,000-acre solar farm
STONEWALL COUNTY, Texas () – A million-dollar project is making its way to Stonewall County, bringing renewable resources on 5,000 acres of land, with the potential to help power the state's grid through solar energy. Stonewall County Judge Ronnie Moorhead said the project, led by Swenson Solar, will benefit the county, especially given the recent decrease in oil rigs in the area. 'They're going to be building a solar farm on about 5,000 acres. Should produce somewhere between 600 and 650 megawatts,' Moorhead said. 'Small counties like us are heavily dependent upon our mineral values, the oil industry in the county, and that's been declining significantly over the last few years. So, it's good to see we've got something else coming into the county to offset those losses.' 'We couldn't do it without them': Camp Able in need of volunteers for equine therapy The county commissioners voted to give the plant a 10-year tax abatement and use a PILOT, Payment In Lieu Of Taxes, plan. Moorhead explained how the county will benefit financially, in addition to potential employment opportunities for residents. 'We will be receiving $2,250 for each megawatt on the data plate for the first five years and then $2,500 for the second five years. So, it's a sizable amount that the county will be receiving from that,' Moorhead said. 'It'll help the county maintain our infrastructure. We've got the 330 miles of county road that we have to maintain, the courthouse, keeping the court systems going, and all the other functions that the county has to provide.' The energy converted could also potentially benefit the state's grid, which Moorhead told KTAB/KRBC he is excited to be a part of. 'We've got a closed system in Texas, and we've also seen that when we have severe winters or extremely hot summers, we see some rolling brownouts around the state. We're hoping that with these projects maybe they can eliminate that,' Moorhead said. Resident Stacey Godfrey said she sees the benefit that solar panels could bring. 'The oil and gas, it's always been up and down. It'll always continue to be,' Godfrey said. 'The solar panels, I think, will help boost our tax base and everything. So it should be good for the county. I don't particularly like driving down there, but that's okay too.' Solar farms are booming in the US and putting thousands of hungry sheep to work Resident Leslie Ward said that while she does not like the appearance of the plant, she hopes it helps the community. 'I think there will be more jobs offered. Some of the people around here can get a job, but I don't like the way they look. I feel like they take away from the land and the animals,' Ward said. They hope to start construction in late 2025 or early 2026 and complete it by late 2026 or early 2027. Beyond solar, the company is also considering developing a battery storage facility and potentially a data center. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
