Cleaner Energy Sources News

Maritime services company Consulmar has performed a zero-emissions mooring service for a tanker, said to be the world’s first such operation.This operation took place at an offshore multiple buoy mooring site near the BP refinery, situated 2 miles from the Port of Castellón in Spain.Utilizing its electric line handling tug, CASTALIA, Consulmar towed the steel mooring lines from the vessel to each of the five mooring buoys, marking a significant advancement in the maritime industry towards more sustainable practices.The tanker vessel ARCHANGEL…

One of the largest port-infrastructure companies Euroports and Spanish offshore wind developer BlueFloat Energy have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to foster cooperation in supply chain and ports infrastructure for the delivery of offshore wind in Europe.The strategic alliance marks a significant step forward in building capabilities and infrastructure critical to establish an offshore wind energy sector.Euroports, with its distinguished reputation as a premier offshore wind port operator…

As the world looks to renewable energy sources to combat climate change and reduce reliance on fossil fuels, offshore wind has emerged as a promising frontier in the United States. A report by the University of California Berkeley released in August concluded that due to the nation’s long coastlines with sustained winds in many areas and falling turbine costs, offshore wind could feasibly supply between 10% and 25% of the country’s energy demand by 2050.While that may paint a rosy picture of a cleaner…

Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS) said it has secured a contract from U.S.-based Crowley for the charter of four dual fuel liquified natural gas (LNG) powered containership newbuilds.The 1,400-TEU vessels, which will be built by South Korea’s Hyundai Mipo Dockyard for delivery in 2025, will be deployed on Crowley’s U.S.-Central America trade connecting U.S. markets to Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. Each ship will feature 300 refrigerated unit plugs.Using LNG significantly lowers vessel greenhouse gas emissions…

Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS) announced it intends to order an ammonia dual-fuel gas carrier that will be built at South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) for delivery as early as 2025, as shipowners explore emissions-reducing alternative fuels on their path to decarbonization.At the Posidonia trade fair in Athens on Monday, the Singapore-headquartered shipowner signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with HHI, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) stating the dual fuel ammonia tanker—which could be midsize…

Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding announced it has started construction on the largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering barge ever built in the U.S.The newbuild, expected to be completed in late 2023, is being built for Crowley, the largest independent operator of tank vessels in the U.S., who will operate the vessel under a long-term charter with Shell NA LNG, LLC. Bay Shipbuilding announced it won the contract to build the barge in September.The 416-foot vessel, which will have the capacity for 12…

Malaysian oil and gas giant Petronas has awarded two Front End Engineering Design (FEED) contracts to a JGC Corporation-Samsung Heavy Industries consortium and to Saipem as part of an international dual FEED design competition for a nearshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Sabah. The project, with a minimum capacity of 2.0 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) is a first of its kind in Malaysia, Petronas said.The FEED design competition is expected to take place over the course of 10 months with the Final Investment Decision (FID) planned for end of 2022.Subject to FID…

Crowley Maritime Corporation and Massachusetts Maritime Academy (MMA) said Tuesday they'd create a first-of-its-kind training and workforce development program dedicated specifically to the New England region’s offshore wind energy industry.The program will be certified by the Global Wind Organisation (GWO), a non-profit that sets international standards for safety training. The academy will coordinate with Relyon Nutec, the world’s largest provider of specialized instruction for energy and industrial sectors…

The Canadian province of Quebec on Wednesday rejected a liquefied natural gas export project for the Port of Saguenay, citing environmental concerns, in the latest blow to North American LNG development.Quebec Environment Minister Benoit Charette said the proposed Énergie Saguenay project will not come to pass due to concerns over its emissions and would not support a transition to cleaner energy sources."This project has more disadvantages than advantages," Charette told reporters.The C$9 billion ($7.2 billion) project by privately held GNL Quebec had plans to export 11 million tonnes of LNG

Finnish ship technology and power-plant maker Wartsila said on Tuesday the coronavirus outbreak has caused the share of renewable energy in Europe's power production to increase rapidly.The pandemic has caused demand for electricity to fall across Europe, Wartsila said, according to data it collected and analysed.Countries such as Germany, Spain and Britain have had to temporarily shut down coal-fired power generation, causing the share of renewable energy to increase rapidly in the power mix."Take Germany last week, they actually had over 10 gigawatts of excess energy production because they were still running their coal-fired plants ...

US-based utility Evergy has announced plans to add 660MW of wind energy to its portfolio and reduce carbon emissions by 80% below 2005 levels by 2050. The addition will bring the total amount of wind serving Evergy customers to 4,535 megawatts, making Evergy one of the top five wind energy companies in the United States.The energy from these wind farms will be used to support and expand Evergy’s Direct Renewables Program, which allows Kansas companies to access clean wind energy to become more sustainable and reduce the overall cost of energy. Evergy plans to use the additional wind energy as an economic development tool to attract manufacturers and technology companies who are seeking cost-effective…

State-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corp signed a 15-year agreement with Qatar Petroleum to import three million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) each year starting from 2022.The agreement was signed by Dr. Khaled A. Al-Fadhel, the Minister of Oil and the Minister of Electricity & Water, the Chairman of the Board of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation and His Excellency Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, during a special ceremony held in Kuwait City.Under the 15-year agreement, LNG deliveries to Kuwait’s new world-class LNG receiving terminal at Al-Zour Port will commence in 2022 to support meeting Kuwait’s growing energy needs and demand…

South Korea's SK Chemicals Co has introduced a project to use bio heavy oil as vessel fuel amid rising demand for cleaner energy sources.The chemical and pharmaceutical unit under South Korean conglomerate SK Group has started safety and feasibility tests on bio heavy oil for powering large vessels like container ships, said a report in Pulse News.Bio heavy oil is environmentally-friendly fuel for power generation, made from animal fat, leftover cooking oil, and by-products of bio-diesel processing.According to the media outlet, SK Chemicals started bio heavy oil business in 2006.The company is the first in Korea to supply bio heavy oil to local power plants including state-run Korea Midland Power Co. in 2014.

A new study revealed that coal power is being replaced by cleaner energy sources in the US – primarily due to an abundance of cheap natural gas.According to Rystad Energy, new renewable energy capacity from solar and wind is on the rise in the US, and April 2019 marked the first month when more electricity was generated in the country from renewable sources than from coal.However, the growing renewable energy sector alone is not wholly responsible for the on-going retirement of coal-fired power plants and the essential moratorium on the construction of new coal plants.“The US thermal coal industry is in severe trouble. However, coal’s demise as the fuel of choice for power generators is primarily due to the upsurge of cheap natural gas and not renewable sources of power…

During the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2018, spot LNG rates reached record levels as market players were positioning themselves ahead of the winter season, said Flex LNG.According to the UK-based provider of LNG Shipping with a focus on LNG Carriers and FSRUs (Floating Storage Regasification Units), due to a combination of higher temperatures meaning fewer heating days, liquidation of approximately 30 vessels utilized for floating storage the freight rates for LNG has slumped during first quarter of 2019 and also resulting in lower general fleet utilization.However during 2019 the LNG market is expected to grow by an incremental 33 million tonnes thereby increasing demand for shipping.

Norwegian-born billionaire John Fredriksen-owned LNG shipper Flex LNG believes that the LNG market is in the early stages of a multi-year recovery.According to a report by Flex LNG, the market for seaborne transportation of LNG has improved significantly during the third quarter with the primary driver being the nearly 50 per cent year on year growth in imports to China.Additionally there is high demand growth in other more mature markets such as South Korea and Taiwan.Flex LNG pointed out that Bloomberg New Energy Finance estimate demand growth of approximately 8.5% in 2018, adding 24MMtpa to the global market which will reach a total…

Five global container port operators have jointly undertaken a week-long initiative to promote sustainable resource usage  in their respective port and facility networks through mass recycling.During the fifth annual Go Green Initiative, 8,332 employees of DP World, Hutchison Ports, PSA International, Port of Rotterdam and Shanghai International Port Group collected a total of 1,966 kg of aluminium cans and 2,227 mobile phones for recycling.The choice of two very different waste products for collection and recycling was intentional.Aluminium cans are one of the most recyclable waste items, while mobile phones are e-waste that contain…

The Finnish technology group Wärtsilä has signed an agreement with the Seabin Project to join their global pilot programme, which addresses the worldwide littering problem affecting our oceans. The project aims at approaching the challenge from multiple angles with a key emphasis on education, research and technology. Wärtsilä will work in cooperation with Seabin Project for the next three years and has sponsored both the city and port of Helsinki's involvement with the programme. The Wärtsilä - Seabin partnership aims at dynamic and versatile actions using Wärtsilä's experience, established technologies, and know-how in environmental product development. The partnership with Seabin is part of Wärtsilä Corporation's Finland 100 year centennial programme.

The market for LNG in Singapore is projected to grow at a CAGR 10.39% during 2016-2025, due to the push from Singapore government towards adoption of cleaner energy sources, capacity addition of natural gas / LNG based power plants and emergence of Singapore as a regional trading hub for LNG in Asia-Pacific. "Growing demand from power generation sector, favorable LNG prices and government initiatives to setup Singapore as LNG hub is expected to drive Singapore LNG market," says the report by TechSci Research. Pavilion Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pavilion Gas Pte Ltd. inked an agreement with BP in 2016, under which the British company would supply around 0.4 million tonnes per year of LNG for 20 years from 2019, thereby increasing the supply of LNG in the country.

China's imports of coal in 2014 are expected to remain at the same level as last year, with demand growth slowing and the domestic market already well-supplied, a senior energy official said on Thursday. China imported 267 million tonnes of coal for the whole of 2013, up 14 percent on the year, with many buyers seeking out cheaper overseas supplies. Ren Lixin, director of the coal department at the National Energy Administration (NEA), told an industry conference that oversupply also remains a problem for a sector struggling with slowing demand and a campaign by the government to switch to less polluting energies. Oversupply was reflected in China's coal inventories…