PORT MACQUARIE, Australia, Jan. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Sungrow, the leading global PV inverter and energy storage system provider, has supported the delivery of a 300kW commercial solar upgrade at Saint Columba Anglican School (SCAS) in Port Macquarie. Delivered in partnership with local installer MNC Solar Power, the project replaced an ageing 100kW system with a high-capacity solar solution designed to reduce electricity costs, improve energy efficiency, and strengthen the school’s long-term sustainability commitments.

• Four-Year Payback: Sungrow Delivers Long-Term Solution for SCAS

Schools like SCAS face increasing energy demands and rising electricity costs. As a large educational campus with multiple buildings and high daytime energy demand, SCAS required a scalable and efficient solar solution capable of maximising on-site energy consumption. The upgrade enables the school to significantly offset grid electricity use and achieve long-term operational savings, with an estimated payback period of approximately four years.

“We’ll be able to offset the upfront capital costs within around four years. That means ongoing savings for the school, which helps take pressure off our operating expenses and allows us to continue delivering a great education for our students without rising electricity costs,” said Steve Mitchell, Business Manager, Saint Columba Anglican School.

• Sungrow Technology Leads with Intelligent, Distance–Free Solar Networking

The newly installed system integrates three Sungrow 110 kW commercial inverters with 708 high–efficiency Canadian Solar 440 W panels.

“While using Modbus as the protocol, the system employs a logger-based wireless casading technology, the inverters will be connected via the school’s existing wireless network, enabling intelligent load sharing across multiple buildings without the distance limitations or complexity of traditional cabling.” said Young, Technical Service Manager, Sungrow.

This advanced system architecture enables more than 300 kW of solar generation to be dynamically balanced across distribution boards, ensuring optimal energy utilisation, enhanced system flexibility, and significantly reduced reliance on grid power.

• Real-Time Monitoring and Educational Opportunities for Students

Aside from system flexibility, the upgrade also provides SCAS with real–time energy monitoring through the iSolarCloud platform. Steve Mitchell highlights the immediate benefit: “We’ve now got data at our fingertips. We can log into the dashboard and see how much electricity the panels are generating, what we’re consuming, and what’s being exported to the grid.” The platform serves as a valuable educational tool, giving students and teachers real–world insights into energy generation and consumption.

• A Seamless and Safe Installation Experience

The successful delivery of the project reflects the strong collaboration between Sungrow and MNC Solar Power, a trusted Mid North Coast installer with more than 30 years of industry experience. Sungrow’s direct technical support ensured a smooth and safe installation process during the school holiday period, with no disruptions to school operations.

This project demonstrates how Sungrow’s leading commercial inverter solutions, combined with strong local partnerships, can deliver reliable and scalable solar systems for complex environments such as educational campuses. By enabling smarter energy management and real-time performance insights, Sungrow continues to support educational institutions and business in accelerating their transition to clean, efficient, and cost-effective energy.

About MNC Solar Power

MNC Solar Power is a Port Macquarie based solar battery specialist with over 30 years of combined industry experience. Serving Port Macquarie, Taree, and Kempsey, MNC Solar Power understands Mid–North Coast conditions and designs residential and commercial systems for maximum performance and long–term savings. With a strong focus on customer service, MNC Solar Power provides clear guidance from consultation to ongoing support. They install only premium products, including CanadianSolar panels and Sungrow inverters, ensuring durable, high–output systems built to last 20+ years.

About Sungrow

Sungrow, a global leader in renewable energy technology, has pioneered sustainable power solutions for over 28 years. As of June 2025, Sungrow has installed 870 GW of power electronic converters worldwide. The Company is recognized as the world’s most bankable PV inverter and energy storage company (BloombergNEF). Its innovations power clean energy projects across the globe, supported by a network of 520 service outlets guaranteeing excellent customer experience. At Sungrow, we’re committed to bridging to a sustainable future through cutting-edge technology and unparalleled service. For more information, please visit: www.sungrowpower.com/en.

Media Contact: Luly Wang, luly.wang@sungrow-hq.com

LONDON, Jan. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Markel Insurance, the insurance operation within Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL), today announced the promotion of Ben House to Director – Energy & Power, effective immediately.

Ben House, Director of Energy & Power at Markel International

In his newly expanded role, House will oversee Markel’s Renewable Energy and Power portfolio across the organisation’s International division, alongside his existing responsibilities as head of Markel’s Upstream, Midstream and Downstream Energy team. This strategic move unites these areas under a single Energy & Power team, enhancing ease of trading for customers through a more holistic underwriting approach.

Leading this newly unified team, House will focus on managing an integrated group of experienced underwriters, analysts and risk engineers – driving product innovation, nurturing long-term customer relationships and optimising underwriting processes.

The convergence of Markel’s Energy teams reflects the organisation’s commitment to supporting energy clients with tailored coverage and providing more effective identification, mitigation and transfer of risks throughout the entire value chain – from production and transportation through to processing, generation and distribution.

House is based in London and will report to Rohan Davies, Managing Director – London Market.

Davies commented: “The global power sector is experiencing significant growth, primarily driven by renewables and the rising electricity demand, which is expected to increase by 25% by 2030. Concurrently, heightened geopolitical risks – from trade wars to advanced cyber-attacks – threaten critical infrastructure, further underscores the important role of insurance in helping these businesses transfer and mitigate the associated risks.

“Our clients’ risks, capital structures and technologies are increasingly converging. Combining Energy and Power will allow us to underwrite portfolios more holistically, use our specialist expertise more efficiently and provide a simpler service, more coordinated experience for brokers and clients – all while better positioning us to support the energy transition across the value chain.”

He continued: “Ben’s experience of delivering bespoke solutions for clients across the energy sector, together with his strong track record of leading global underwriting teams, makes him ideally suited for this consolidated role. His expertise will play an important part in helping to elevate our leadership profile across the renewable, traditional energy and power generation sectors.”

House said: “I’m delighted to step into my new position as Director of Energy & Power at Markel International. Bringing together our Energy and Power underwriters, analysts and risk engineers will further strengthen our technical underwriting capabilities, enhance innovation and enable us to make even more effective and empowered underwriting decisions – reaffirming clarity of coverage, particularly for complex risks.”

House started his career at Markel as an upstream underwriter in the Marine & Energy Division, progressing into new energy markets and providing lead capabilities across the upstream and midstream market. In 2018, he was promoted to Head of Upstream – a position he held for five years – before progressing to Director of Energy in 2023. In the latter position, House has played a leading role in developing bespoke energy insurance solutions for clients and building a strong-performing global P&L across multiple international underwriting teams.

About Markel Insurance
We are Markel Insurance, a leading global specialty insurer with a truly people-first approach. As the insurance operations within the Markel Group Inc. (NYSE: MKL), we leverage a broad array of capabilities and expertise to create intelligent solutions for the most complex specialty insurance needs. However, it is our people – and the deep, valued relationships they develop with colleagues, brokers and clients – that differentiates us worldwide. 

Medical AI Made Easy—From Lab to Real-World Training & Practical Use

CHEROKEE, Texas, Jan. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — MediCapture Inc., a global leader in medical imaging systems, today announced the launch of aiScope™, software that runs Vision AI models in real-time, locally on MediCapture’s MTRs and selected MVR imaging systems. First aiScope™ pilot deployment will be in veterinary science.

The technology will be demonstrated live at VMX 2026 in Orlando, Florida, working on MediCapture’s VUEES™ University Edition and on portable VUEES™ Mobility platforms. (abbreviated as Veterinary Ultrasound and Endoscopy Education Systems).

Medical AI Made Easy
iScope™ enables real-time object detection, image classification, and AI-assisted video analysis directly on medically certified MediCapture MTR and MVR devices — eliminating the need for external PCs, GPUs, or complex proprietary systems in the operating room or in the field.

“By embedding AI Vision at the point of care, aiScope™ solves the long-standing “last-mile problem” that has prevented many research AI models from being used in real-world clinical and teaching environments”, says Bernd Jotzat, Senior Product Manager at MediCapture.

Powerful data collection engine for your Vision AI datasets  
MediCapture MTRs and MVR with aiScope™ turn your surgical camera into a powerful vision data capture device, enabling classification or detection in real-time.

Using custom models, aiScope™ analyses captured images and automatically generates bounding boxes and labels. Future updates will add auto-annotation and pre-annotated exports, cutting manual review and labelling time.

Vendor Neutral and Open Source
aiScope™ is vendor-neutral and operates with an MTR or MVR to run Vision AI applications across endoscopic, microscopic, and surgical camera systems. It supports open source models and training, conversion and deployment of publicly available models, and integration of community-developed models.

First Deployment in Veterinary Education 
The aiScope™ pilot launches on January 15 during VetExpo Europe in Leipzig, Germany, and this Saturday, January 17 at the VMX Expo in Orlando, USA. It will run through the spring, then extend to data collection programs for veterinary universities and research centers for the remainder of 2026.

Medical AI in the Field with VUEES™ Mobility
MediCapture’s MTR with aiScope™ can fit easily into a case the size of a carry-on. Using under 20 watts of power, an MTR can run aiScope for 8+ hours on a quality power bank. MediCapture will demonstrate aiScope on VUEES Mobility™ at VMX 2026 in Orlando, USA, on January 17.

MediCapture President and CEO Michael Bishop explained the company’s decision to begin in veterinary science: 
“Veterinary medicine spans more than 65,000 vertebrate species. That’s where science begins. That’s how discovery accelerates. aiScope™ is portable, allowing us to bring AI-driven imaging to every corner of the earth.”

Availability 
aiScope™ planned availability for university pilot participants is in March, 2026 with broader commercial availability on select MediCapture systems early this summer.

About MediCapture  
MediCapture Inc. designs and manufactures innovative imaging, recording, and archiving solutions for medical use in surgery, endoscopy, ultrasound, and clinical education. With a strong focus on vendor-neutral devices, OR integration tools, smart workflow engines, and Vision AI technology, MediCapture empowers human healthcare professionals and veterinary professionals worldwide to capture more, understand more, and teach more. For more information, visit medicapture.com or contact sales@medicapture.com

For Media Inquiries:
Global Marketing Communications Department
marketing@medicapture.com 
MediCapture Inc. – All Rights Reserved 2026

Battle of the Purple Champions marks a milestone celebration of movement, community, and the kampong spirit as the brand reaches 150 clubs islandwide

SINGAPORE, Jan. 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — This 31st January 2026, OCBC Square will turn purple as Anytime Fitness, the world’s largest 24-hour fitness brand, rallies Singapore to move together at its first-ever fitness festival: Battle of the Purple Champions (BOPC), powered by Skechers.

More than just a competition, BOPC is a celebration of the people and community that have powered Anytime Fitness’ growth to 150 clubs across Singapore. The one-day festival embodies the brand’s belief that fitness is better when experienced together, and reflects the kampong spirit that continues to unite members across neighbourhoods islandwide.

“With the opening of our 150th club, we wanted to celebrate how far we’ve come, and who we’ve built this for. Battle of the Purple Champions is our way of bringing that kampong spirit to life, uniting members and non-members alike through shared strength and purpose,” says Ryan Cheal, Group Chief Operating Officer of Inspire Brands Asia, Exclusive Master Franchisee of Anytime Fitness across Singapore.

Train For Your Life: Starting the Year with Purpose

Anchored in Anytime Fitness’ regional Train For Your Life campaign, BOPC invites everyone, from seasoned gym-goers to first-time movers to approach fitness with intention rather than perfection.

Designed as a powerful way to kickstart the new year, the festival encourages participants to build everyday resilience through consistency, connection, and enjoyment. Each challenge reflects real-life movements that support strength beyond the gym.

The Challenge: Four Stations, One Goal

Teams of four (2 Male & 2 Female) will tackle four functional stations inspired by real-life movement and teamwork:

• Moving Day – Teamwork meets coordination as participants rearrange furniture to match a given layout.
• Sandbag Shuffle – Lift, load and push sandbags on a “sled car” in perfect alignment.
• Bike Race – All team members ride 2km each with added resistance, synchronising pace and power.
• Champion’s Climb – A stair-climbing finale with kettlebells (16kg each for female and 24kg each for male) — the ultimate test of grit and unity.

Together, the stations bring the Train For Your Life philosophy to life where fitness that prepares you for every challenge, in and out of the gym.

Beyond the Arena

Besides just being a fitness festival, it is also a vibrant and family-friendly celebration designed for everyone. Whether you are cheering from the sidelines or pushing through the fitness stations, expect exciting carnival games and delicious bites to enjoy together. From the first whistle to the final cheer, there will be complimentary refreshments sponsored by Elite Supplements will be provided for participants and spectators all day long.

The festival grounds will also feature mini fitness stations, live demonstrations, and quick-hit challenges that invite spectators to get moving alongside competitors. A curated lineup of wellness and lifestyle vendors will offer wholesome bites, recovery experiences, and interactive “fitness-for-life” activities with prizes and giveaways. Among them, Elite Supplements will host a sampling booth where visitors can try three different flavours of its products, while at the Skechers booth, attendees will be able to check out the latest Skechers Aero collection for themselves and even win prizes on-site.

All participants and spectators who sign up for an Anytime Fitness membership on event day will enjoy a sure-win lucky draw, with prizes including a 1-year Anytime Fitness membership, a Nintendo Switch, or the latest iPhone 17.

Registration Opens from 24^th November 2025

• Team entry: $120 (per team of 4; 2 male & 2 females)
• Early bird: $100 for the first 20 teams
• Prizes: Prizes worth over $10,000 are up for grabs, including a cash pool of up to $7,000, along with 12-month memberships and sponsor rewards featuring Elite Supplements and Skechers. Top-performing teams will be rewarded with Elite Supplements products valued at $600 for first place, $400 for second place, and $200 for third place, while Skechers, the Official Footwear Partner, will outfit winners with four pairs of footwear for first place, performance T-shirts and bottoms for second place, and caps for third place.

Participants will receive a Champion Kit filled with goodies from sponsors – a BOPC-branded water bottle and towel, a limited-edition Comeback Apparel X BOPC tee, Elite Supplement’s samples, Skechers sponsored challenge tee, headband, socks and a commemorative medal.

Come for the challenge, stay for the community, and start the year stronger, together. Because when you Train For Your Life, every rep, every stride, every drop of sweat counts.

For more information, visit https://www.anytimefitness.sg/battle-of-the-purple-champions/ or follow @afsingapore_ on Instagram.

High-res images are available here.

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About Inspire Brands Asia

Headquartered in the Philippines & Singapore, Inspire Brands Asia (IBA) is a multi-award winning consortium of Anytime Fitness Asia’s top sub-master franchisees. IBA acquired the Master Franchisee licence to the nine countries and territories of Anytime Fitness in Asia in 2020 and has since then grown the network to over 550 Anytime Fitness clubs in Asia. From one gym to the largest regional network of franchisees, IBA began as a business opportunity that has since grown into a platform for changing lives.

For more information on Inspire Brands Asia and its various franchise opportunities, please visit https://www.inspirebrandsasia.com/ or email franchise@inspirebrandsasia.com.

About Anytime Fitness

Anytime Fitness is the largest and fastest-growing fitness brand in the world, averaging 300 new clubs per year while serving over 5 million members at almost 6,000 clubs in 42 countries and territories on all seven continents.

Open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, Anytime Fitness delivers personalised and affordable health and wellness training, coaching, nutrition, and recovery guidance for our members – in the club, in their homes, in their pockets, wherever they are and anytime they need it. All franchised clubs are individually owned and operated, and members have access to any Anytime Fitness club worldwide. For more information, visit www.anytimefitness.com.