Offshore Wind – A Brief History
Happy 80th birthday Maritime Reporter & Engineering News! Eighty years is a significant publishing and business accomplishment!Birthdays always cause a look back. An 80-year review starts in 1939, the close of one very challenging decade, the start of events still reverberating today. History’s most important history is contained in the last 80 years.Energy dominated every one of those decades. Consider energy use, say, starting after World War II, from 1950 to 1975. There was power for everything, from seemingly endless sources of oil, gas and coal, and nuclear power was standing by.Next, recall energy from 1975 to 2000. Not so happy.
EPA Announces Funding to Reduce Diesel Emissions
Preference given to fleets in areas facing air quality challenges. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of grant funding to modernize the nation’s diesel fleet by retrofitting or replacing vehicles with cleaner, more efficient diesel engines. EPA anticipates awarding approximately $40 million in Diesel Emission Reduction Program (DERA) grant funding to eligible applicants, subject to the availability of funds. “These grants will incentivize improvements to aging diesel fleets and improve air quality throughout the country,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt.
Four Bunker Barges Seized in Singapore over Unpaid Debt
Singapore law firm asks for vessels to be arrested; bunker barges owned by Vermont UM Shipping. Four marine refuelling barges owned and operated by Vermont UM Shipping Pte Ltd were seized in Singapore on Monday night, according to the website of Singapore's Supreme Court. Singaporean law firm Rajah & Tann seized the vessels over unpaid claims on behalf of its client, Malayan Banking Berhad, or Maybank, said a source with direct knowledge of the matter who declined to be identified as the person is not authorised to speak to the media. The source declined to specify the amount of the claims against Vermont UM Shipping.
US Solar Industry's Growth Region: Trump Country
President Donald Trump's administration has vowed to revive the coal industry, challenged climate-change science and blasted renewable energy as expensive and dependent on government subsidies. And yet the solar power industry is booming across Trump country, fueled by falling development costs and those same subsidies, which many Republicans in Congress continue to support. Data provided to Reuters by GTM Research, a clean energy market information firm, shows that eight of the 10 fastest-growing U.S. solar markets between the second quarters of 2016 and 2017 were Western, Midwestern or Southern states that voted for Trump, with Alabama and Mississippi topping the list.
Three Mile Island to Close in 2019
Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island power plant will close in 2019, 40 years after the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history, as low natural gas prices make the costs of atomic energy uncompetitive, its owner said on Tuesday. The plant's name has been synonymous with public fears over the risks associated with nuclear power since the plant suffered a partial meltdown in 1979, sparking sweeping new rules for handling emergencies at nuclear sites. Exelon Corp, the U.S. power company that owns the Middletown, Pennsylvania, power plant said it will close by Sept. 30, 2019.
ESCO Acquires Renewable NRG Systems
ESCO Technologies Inc. announced it has acquired NRG Systems, Inc., doing business as Renewable NRG Systems, located in Hinesburg, Vermont. NRG, founded in 1982, is a designer and manufacturer of decision support tools for the renewable energy industry, primarily wind. NRG serves electric utilities, wind turbine manufacturers, renewable energy developers, research institutes, and government agencies in more than 150 countries. The business, which will join Doble Engineering as part of ESCO’s Utilities Solutions Group (USG) operating segment, has…
Russian hackers penetrated Vermont electric utility
A code associated with the Russian hacking operation dubbed Grizzly Steppe by the Obama administration has been detected within the system of a Vermont electric utility, The Washington Post reported on Friday, citing unnamed U.S. officials. The Russians did not actively use the code to disrupt operations of the utility, the officials told the Post, but penetration of the nation's electrical grid is significant because it represents a potentially serious vulnerability. Reuters could not independently confirm the story. On Thursday, President Barack…
CIMIC's Sedgman, Thiess Bag Contract Extensions
CIMIC Group’s mineral processing company, Sedgman, has been awarded a three-year contract extension by Red Mountain Joint Venture (RMJV) to continue operations at the RMJV’s coal handling and preparation plant (CHPP) in the Bowen Basin, Queensland. The contract, with revenue of $75 million, continues Sedgman’s operation and maintenance of the CHPP until June 2019, with the potential for an additional two years after the initial period. Separately, Thiess, CIMIC’s mining services provider, has expanded its mining services contract at the Lake Vermont Coal Mine in Queensland’s Bowen Basin…
U.S. States Sought to Keep Exxon Climate Probe Secret
A pact that 15 U.S. states signed to jointly investigate Exxon Mobil Corp for allegedly misleading the public about climate change sought to keep prosecutors' deliberations confidential and was broadly written so they could probe other fossil fuel companies. The "Climate Change Coalition Common Interest Agreement" was signed by state attorneys general in May, two months after they held a press conference to say they would go after Exxon, the world's largest publicly-traded oil and gas company, and possibly other companies. The signed agreement has not been made public until now, and Reuters reviewed a copy of it on Thursday.
Green Group's Unconventional Fracking Fight
The residents of Grant Township, Pennsylvania, were worried about Little Mahoning Creek, a picturesque trout stream best fished in the spring when the water runs fast. The Pennsylvania General Energy Company had acquired a federal permit to drill an injection well down 7,000 feet about seven miles from the creek to dispose of wastewater from its natural gas hydraulic fracturing operations. Fearing the operation would harm the Little Mahoning watershed, the town's supervisors last year passed a "community bill of rights" that blocked the well, stripped the company of its right to inject wastewater underground, and declared that the state had no jurisdiction in the matter.
U.S. Senators Urge Obama to Block Arctic Oil Drilling
A group of 18 mostly Democratic U.S. senators on Friday urged the Obama administration to stop Royal Dutch Shell's preparations for oil exploration in the Arctic, saying the region has a severely limited capacity to respond to accidents. The senators, from both coasts and several Midwestern states, sent a letter to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, urging her to retire Arctic leases in the Chukchi Sea. Jewell's department earlier this month conditionally approved Shell's exploration plan in the Arctic. The move means the company is likely to return to the Chukchi Sea this summer for the first time since a mishap-filled drilling season in 2012.
Brazil Climate Change Plan Backfires, Doubling Steel Emissions
A plan to reduce climate-changing emissions from Brazil's steel industry has failed, causing the amount of carbon pollution produced by the sector to double in less than a decade, researchers said. Brazilian steel producers switched their energy source from coal to charcoal from forests, causing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to rise to 182 million tonnes in 2007 from 91 million tonnes in 2000, according to a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change. "Increased global demand for steel, and a lack of available plantation forest in Brazil…
Winergy to Rebuild Turbine Gearboxes for First Wind
First Wind has contracted Winergy Drive Systems Corporation (WDSC) to rebuild gearboxes for some of its Clipper wind turbines for wind farms across the country, from Vermont to Hawaii. The multiyear contract sees WDSC expand its services to include remanufacturing of gearboxes built by competitors. WDSC will offer the ability to dissemble the 97,000-pound Clipper gearbox, replace parts with new components and complete a full-load test before returning it back to the customer. First Wind originally purchased the wind turbines from Clipper Windpower.
New England Power Grid Warns of Winter Natgas Constraints
New England should have enough electricity to meet demand this winter but the natural gas pipeline constraints that caused price spikes on the coldest days last winter will be a "concern" again this year, the region's power grid operator said Thursday. ISO New England, the grid operator, warned the region's dependence on gas puts it in a "vulnerable position" because current pipelines cannot deliver all the gas required for both heating and power generators, especially during cold weather. Last winter, gas demand and prices hit record highs because…
Natural Gas Can Keep Those Motors Running
Cheap natural gas is starting to revolutionise traffic on U.S. roads, cutting bills for some of the country's heaviest fuel users while reducing carbon emissions and other pollution. The revolution is still in its very early stages. Gas remains a niche vehicle fuel, with last year's nationwide consumption less than the amount of gasoline and diesel dispensed in the tiny state of Vermont. But gas consumption by motorists, taxis, refuse trucks, transit operators and logistics companies is growingly rapidly at a time when overall gasoline and diesel sales are flat. Like other bold gambles on new technology, there is no guarantee that this one will pay off.
VT Climate Change Report: Catastrophic Flood Risk
A warming world could pose a risk of more frequent catastrophic flooding but also be a long-term boon for Vermont farmers and a shorter-lived thrill for its skiers, according to a state report released on Tuesday. The Vermont Climate Assessment found that higher rates of precipitation expected to come with climate change could bring heavier winter snows over the next 25 years, good news for ski resorts until the state becomes too warm to sustain significant amounts of snow. It was the first state report to follow the model of the National Climate Assessment released last month by the White House, which was intended to help U.S.
U.S. Lawmakers Call Chinese Actions In South China Sea 'Troubling'
Six U.S. senators urged their colleagues on Friday to support legislation reaffirming U.S. support for freedom of navigation, saying they consider China's recent actions in the South China Sea troubling. China this week accused Vietnam of intentionally colliding with its ships in the South China Sea after Vietnam asserted that Chinese vessels used water cannon and rammed eight of its vessels during the weekend near an oil rig China deployed in a disputed area. "These actions threaten the free flow of global commerce in a vital region," Democratic Senators Robert Menendez of New Jersey…
U.S. Expects 10 % Drop in Nuclear Capacity By 2020
Lower natural gas prices and stagnant growth in electric demand will lead to the loss of 10,800 megawatts of U.S. nuclear generation, or around 10 percent of total capacity, by the end of the decade, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in a report issued on Monday. About 6,000 MW of nuclear capacity will shut by 2020 in addition to six reactors totaling 4,800 MW that have already shut or plan to shut in that time period, the EIA said in its 2014 annual electric output study. "Retirements often are the result of unique circumstances, but some owners of nuclear power plants have voiced concerns about the profitability of their units," the EIA said in its report.
Apache CEO, Vermont activist build alliance on climate issues
Steve Farris runs a $33 billion Texas oil and gas company and turns, for advice, to a bearded Vermont environmentalist. As other energy firms battled climate change and anti-pollution activists in recent years, the Apache Corp chief executive instead built an alliance with Steven Heim, managing director of Boston Common Asset Management, one of the better-known socially responsible investment firms. The relationship helped Apache side step time-consuming proxy fights that have plagued some of its peers, in exchange for changes like committing to protect the rights of native peoples living near remote gas projects…
Apache CEO, Vermont Activist Build Alliance
Steve Farris runs a $33 billion Texas oil and gas company and turns, for advice, to a bearded Vermont environmentalist. As other energy firms battled climate change and anti-pollution activists in recent years, the Apache Corp chief executive instead built an alliance with Steven Heim, managing director of Boston Common Asset Management, one of the better-known socially responsible investment firms. The relationship helped Apache sidestep time-consuming proxy fights that have plagued some of its peers, in exchange for changes like committing to protect the rights of native peoples living near remote gas projects…
