Sweden's North frets about financial risks as the green boom stumbles
Sweden's local governments, frightened by Northvolt's struggle for survival and its potential impact on taxpayers, have asked the central government to increase financial support for Sweden's transition towards green industry. Last month, Europe's leading electric vehicle battery manufacturer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States with $5.8 billion of debts. The EU's energy transformation is failing, and shockwaves were sent through Skelleftea, northern Sweden, where its Northvolt Ett plant is located. Sweden is leading Europe in its efforts to switch from fossil fuel based industries to nonpolluting energy.
Contracts Awarded for Poland's First Offshore Wind Farm
SeaRenergy Group was awarded a Marine Coordination Services contract by Baltic Power for the construction phase of the Baltic Power offshore wind farm.The services will be kicked off with the preparatory phase in summer, with operations starting in the last quarter of 2024.SeaRenergy’s comprehensive Marine Coordination Service involves ship registration, personnel registration and check-in, inspection, and construction site monitoring based on an innovative Vessel Traffic Management and Maritime Surveillance Systems provided by experienced long-term partner Vissim AS.
Acteon Inks Deal to Support Philippines LNG Import and Regasification Terminal
Acteon secured an integrated project with Atlantic, Gulf & Pacific Company (AG&P) for the development of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import and regasification terminal in Batangas Bay, called Philippines LNG (PLNG). The contract was signed and will be managed by the Acteon Integrated Solutions (AIS) team.The project scope for AIS includes the local transportation and installation of jacket structures to form the LNG berth; these structures will vary across the construction site and will include approach trestles, mooring and berthing dolphins, and associated furniture such as walkways, fenders and mooring hooks.
Orsted Breaks Ground for Taiwan OWP
Construction of Taiwan's Formosa 2, an offshore wind power (OWP) development project, officially broke ground in Miaoli County.Orsted Taiwan said in a statement that it held a ground-breaking ceremony for the onshore substation works for the 900MW Greater Changhua 1&2a offshore wind farm off Taiwan.Ørsted awarded an onshore substation EPC contract to TCC last November. TCC will build two onshore substations, cable corridors, and transition joint bays for the first 900MW Greater Changhua projects. The contract, with an amount over NTD 7bn, is being now executed by Star Energy Corporation (SEC)…
Port of Johnstown to Receive 12 Shiploads of Wind Turbines
The Port of Johnstown will be a busy port over the next several months as vessels are delivering ENERCON turbine components for the Nation Rise Wind Farm project.The cargo represents a major business win for the Port, which completed a multi-million-dollar infrastructure project in 2016 that included several acres of laydown space to be able to accommodate this type of heavy-lift cargo.The first vessel, the BBC Kurt Paul, arrived August 13, 2019. In total, 12 vessels are expected to arrive over a 10 to 12 week period to deliver the components for this wind energy project.Located approximately 40 kilometers southeast of Ottawa…
Kvaerner to Study Floating Wind Structures
Norway based Kvaerner said it has signed a contract with Norwegian energy company Equinor to study how floating concrete substructures for offshore wind turbines can be designed and constructed for the planned Hywind Tampen project in the North Sea.The objectives of the front-end engineering and design (FEED) assignment are to further mature the design of the concrete substructures, to identify appropriate construction site(s), and to develop a plan for construction, method and cost for production of 11 floating concrete substructures, Kvaerner…
Deutsche Bucht Completes Offshore Wind Foundations
Northland Deutsche Bucht has completed the installation of all 31 foundations for its offshore wind farm project in the North Sea.The Canadian power producer of Northland Power's third offshore wind farm which is about 95 kilometres to the northwet of the North Sea island of Borkum in Germany’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), pointed out that this successfully concludes the first phase of construction within the planned timeframe.Jens Poulsen, Project Director of Northland Deutsche Bucht GmbH, says: “Installation work on the construction site, which is more than 100 kilometers off the coast, is a real challenge in the winter months.
Gazprom 95% Completes TurkStream Gas Pipeline's Offshore Section
Russian oil and gas giant Gazprom is progressing a number of gas pipeline stretching across the Black Sea projects with three major projects already 95.5 percent complete, the company claimed.The TurkStream will soon see the completion of its offshore section, bringing closer a consistent the supply of Russian gas to Turkey and its neighbours."The Company continues to pursue the extensive Eastern Gas Program and to build facilities associated with supplying gas to domestic consumers and to China. In particular, 127 producing gas wells were drilled at the Chayandinskoye field, the linchpin of the Yakutia gas production center.
MagnaDense Aggregate Keeps Hywind Wind Turbines Floating Upright
LKAB Minerals supplied high density MagnaDense for Hywind Scotland, the first commercial floating wind park. The design concept is based on a floating spar-type platform which is anchored to the seabed. The floating spar’s turbine is much taller than the hull and has a moving rotor that harnesses the strong offshore winds in the North Sea. The waves, currents and winds are strong external forces and keeping the very heavy and tall floating wind turbines upright in open sea is a big challenge. A lot of weight is needed to achieve a low center of gravity in the structure. This solution involved the use of LKAB Minerals MagnaDense as a loose ballast.
Dakota Pipeline Gets Regulatory Approvals
Army cancels environmental study on pipeline impact and will grant permit to complete $3.8 bln line. The U.S. Army will grant the final permit for the controversial Dakota Access oil pipeline after an order from President Donald Trump to expedite the project despite opposition from Native American tribes and climate activists. In a court filing on Tuesday, the Army said that it would allow the final section of the line to tunnel under North Dakota's Lake Oahe, part of the Missouri River system. This could enable the $3.8 billion pipeline to begin operation as soon as June.
Five Arrested for Trespassing at Dakota Pipeline Site
Protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline flared briefly for the first time since the federal government ruled against the project last month, law enforcement said on Wednesday, as five demonstrators were arrested and less-than-lethal rounds were fired by authorities. The construction site of the $3.8 billion project had been the scene of fierce demonstrations by Native Americans and environmentalists for months. But in early December the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers denied a key easement needed to allow the pipeline to run under Lake Oahe, a reservoir formed by a dam on the Missouri River.
Protesters Block Work yard at North Dakota Pipeline
Protesters against the Dakota Access oil pipeline briefly blocked two entrances to a pipeline work yard in a rural North Dakota town early on Saturday morning, causing workers to leave the area, police said. Morton County Sheriff's Department spokesman Rob Keller said law enforcement received a call at around 9 a.m. (CST) telling them a caravan of between 130 and 150 cars, each carrying three to four people, left the protest camps and headed north to the city of Mandan where equipment is located. "They went west for a few miles (from there), they turned on that road that leads to the Mandan landfill and that's where the North Dakota pipeline have equipment," Keller said.
Demonstrators Arrested at North Dakota Pipeline
Around 80 protesters were arrested on Saturday for trespassing and rioting near a pipeline construction site in North Dakota, according to the local sheriff's department, who said pepper spray was used on some demonstrators. Rob Keller, a spokesman for the Morton County Sheriff's Department said by telephone that the department responded early in the morning to a group of around 200 to 300 protesters near the site of the Dakota Access pipeline. Police used pepper spray to subdue some protesters and a section of a state highway was shut down because of the demonstration, but had since reopened, Keller said.
Stein Faces Probe Over N. Dakota Pipeline Protest
Authorities in North Dakota are investigating possible charges against U.S. Green Party presidential candidate for allegedly damaging equipment during protests on Tuesday over construction of an oil pipeline in the state. Jill Stein allegedly was part of a group protesting the building of the Dakota Access pipeline and spray painted construction equipment, Morton County Sheriff's Department said. Protesters also attached themselves to bulldozers and broke a fence, the department said. No arrests were made, Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier said in excerpts of a news conference posted to the department's Facebook page.
James Fisher Secures £25 Mln Wind Farm Project
James Fisher and Sons plc has been awarded a marine services and support contract by Galloper Wind Farm Limited (GWFL) during the construction of the 336-megawatt Galloper offshore wind farm some 27 kilometers off the coast of Suffolk, U.K. The contract, worth in excess of £25 million, means that James Fisher will be responsible for providing key elements of marine services and support to the Galloper team during the construction phase of the wind farm including; construction site set-up, marine co-ordination, OWMS marine management system, crew transfer vessels, vessel refueling and emergency response services.
EnBW Wins Contract for Iberdrola Offshore Wind Park
EnBW, Germany's No.3 utility, has won a services contract for Iberdrola's offshore wind park Wikinger, banking on its track record in building and operating renewable assets as it shifts away from fossil-fuel power generation. Under the two-year contract, EnBW will handle the "coordination of shipping traffic, health and safety and environmental protection" at the construction site of the park, which Iberdrola said will cost 1.4 billion euros ($1.6 billion). To be located in the German Baltic Sea, Wikinger will comprise 70 wind turbines with a total output of 350 megawatts (MW), enough to power more than 350,000 households.
Enseda Shipbuilding & Surviving the Petrobras Crisis
Enseada Shipbuilding was established to build deepwater drillships for Petrobras. Seventy percent of the company is owned by a consortium composed of Brazilian companies, Odebrecht (50 percent), OAS (25 percent), UTC (25 percent), with the remaining 30 percent belonging to Japanese shipbuilding giant, Kawasaki Heavy Industry (KHI). With all the Brazilian shareholders involved in the Car Wash “Lava Jato” operation, investigating corruption and embezzlement schemes with Petrobras, Kawasaki is a key partner, as is it not only responsible for technology…
"Tens" killed in Nigeria Gas Plant Explosion
Tens of people were killed in an explosion at a gas plant in southern Nigeria, the presidency said on Friday, with one journalist putting the death toll at 100. The blast occurred on Thursday when a truck was discharging butane gas at the facility in Nnewi town in Anambra state as a crowd of customers refilled gas bottles on Christmas Eve, residents said. President Muhammadu Buhari's office said "tens of people" who had been looking forward to their Christmas celebrations had been killed, without giving a precise toll. Most of the dead were customers at the plant or people who lived nearby, he added.
Power Development Begins for Johan Sverdrup
The mayor from the municipality of Tysvær in Rogaland, Sigmund Lier, pushed the button to set off one of the explosive charges at Haugsneset yesterday at an event held to mark the start of construction work for the power-from-shore solution. This is an important milestone in the development of the giant Johan Sverdrup field that will be powered from shore, when it starts production in late 2019. The work is done by principal supplier Aibel, and subsuppliers Veidekke and Vassbakk & Stol. At peak between 100 and 120 construction workers will be working at the construction site, 2 kilometers east of Kårstø.
Statoil Taps Aibel for Johan Sverdrup Construction Contract
Statoil has, on behalf of the Johan Sverdrup partners, awarded Aibel in Norway the contract for construction of the converter station at Haugsneset and required construction site work for land-based power supply to the field. This is an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract covering engineering, procurement, construction site work, building of a converter station and installation of converter equipment. The contract also includes trenching and laying of two sets of 300kV alternating-current cables from Kårstø to Haugsneset for both phases of the field development.
