Electricity Production News

My brother and I had a discussion about methanol where we concluded that methanol is a promising sustainable liquid fuel for transportation devices when batteries cannot do the job. While Methanol is initially not carbon zero, as long as we focus on developing zero carbon electrical energy, eventually we can produce zero carbon green methanol. Once there is plentiful green methanol, existing methanol vehicles will automatically become zero carbon transportation.The core argument…

Wind power production outpaced gas plants in Europe for the first time last year as fossil fuel electricity generation plummeted, cutting the region's carbon emissions, data from think-tank Ember showed.Europe is ramping up its renewable electricity generation as part of efforts to wean the bloc off Russian fuels and to help meet its climate goal of net zero emissions by 2050.Europe's fossil fuel power generation fell by a record 19% year-on-year in 2023, with gas-fired electricity production down 15% and coal electricity production down 26% the report by Ember showed.At the same time wind pow

Analysts and commentators are quick to point out that fossil fuels will power maritime equipment, and indeed dominate the fueling marketplace, well into the future. However, they will do so alongside new fuels, and new technologies, that will be introduced to the maritime sector in the coming years. In its September, 2023 report “Beyond the Horizon: View of the Emerging Energy Value Chains”, the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) explains that, “During the recent 80th meeting of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 80)…

“In the first 10 months of 2023, coal shipments to advanced economies fell by 17% y/y, as demand for electricity declined and the share of electricity produced using renewable energy rose. Also slowed economic activity and high energy prices affected electricity demand,” says Filipe Gouveia, Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.Between January and August, electricity production in advanced economies fell by 4% y/y, according to data from the International Energy Agency. In 2023, measures against high inflation slowed economic growth in advanced economies.

DNV has released the 7th edition of its Energy Transition Outlook highlighting that global energy-related emissions are still climbing and are only likely to peak in 2024. “The pace of the transition is far from fast enough for a net-zero energy system by 2050,” states the report.Over the last five years (2017–2022) renewables met 51% of new energy demand and fossil sources 49%. In absolute terms, fossil-fuel use is still growing.“Our prediction is that emissions from oil use will peak in 2025 and those from natural gas in 2027,” says Remi Eriksen, Group president and CEO.

During the first nine months of 2023, coal shipments to the world’s second-largest importer of seaborne coal, India, fell 9% y/y. A 12% y/y rise in domestic coal mining replaced imports and electricity production continued to rise despite lower production from hydropower. This is according to Filipe Gouveia, Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.To ensure energy supplies, India’s government has pushed for an increase in domestic coal mining. Indian coal imports peaked in 2019 and significantly fell during the Covid pandemic before partially recovering in 2022.

Norway-based Alma Clean Power announced it has successfully tested the world's first 6 kW direct ammonia fuel cell system.Alma Clean Power is working to develop modularized Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) systems for applications in the ocean space, and it says the the 6-kW unit is the first building block of a complete 100-kW SOFC module. The test validates the company’s design of a direct ammonia fuel cell (DAFC) system, delivering electrical efficiency of 61-67%.“I am very proud of the Alma team and their remarkable achievements in just over a year of system development.

“Despite China’s strategy of pursuing increased domestic coal production, which has meant that year-to-date production stands 5.8% higher than last year, its seaborne imports of coal have nevertheless surged 73% y/y so far,” said Niels Rasmussen, Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.The Chinese government target for domestic coal production is 4.6 billion tonnes in 2025, which is 2.5% higher than in 2022. As production year-to-date has already increased by 5.8% compared to 2022, Chinese…

Yaskawa Environmental Energy / The Switch shines a light on how to produce electricity efficiently on ships.A ship is like a floating city that needs electricity to power its operations and amenities on board. So how to generate that electricity while being mobile? That question has been challenging the shipping industry for more than 150 years, when exciting new technologies were being pioneered at the forefront of the new age of electricity. Fast forward to today, and the challenges surrounding the production of electricity on board vessels have been spurred again.

“Having narrowly avoided a recession in the fourth quarter of 2022, the Japanese economy appears to be recovering. However, Japan’s demand for steel remains weak and as a result, the country’s bulk imports are estimated to have fallen by 4% y/y in the first quarter of 2023,” says Filipe Gouveia, Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.The steel industry in Japan relies on iron ore and coking coal imports, which combined account for 41% of the country’s bulk imports. Due to lower steel production in Japan…

Houlder, the design and engineering consultancy, is collaborating with Blue Sea Power, an integrated energy solution provider as a gas-to-power company based in Athens, to develop three innovative floating LNG-to-power barges (FSRPs).According to the partners, the FSRP barges, which are set to be operational by 2025, will efficiently provide greener, lower emission baseload and peak power to the non-interconnected islands of Kos, Chios, and Lesvos. This power will be used when existing renewable solar and wind energy utilization reaches its technical limits.

Weak economic activity, a 10.5% increase in domestic coal mining, and a recovery in coal imports from Mongolia via rail alleviated coal shipments to China in 2022. However, the end of China’s zero Covid policy and an anticipated recovery of the Chinese economy have strengthened expectations for the country’s coal imports in 2023. A return of import tariffs, the end of China’s unofficial ban on Australian coal, and the energy transition in China could shape the coal shipment outlook.Coal shipments fell 12.2% in 2022…

Engineering firm TECO 2030 unveiled a new product concept for its containerized fuel cells, the TECO 2030 Power Barge, designed to serve as a scalable multimegawatt solution for electricity production for shore power from hydrogen.The solution comprises TECO 2030 fuel cell modules, batteries, power electronics, safety- and automation systems, hydrogen storage, and a refueling solution.“The floating and mobile solution for shore power in locations with insufficient electrical grid…

In November 2021, GTMaritime published a white paper: “Maritime Communications - A look over the horizon.” The report, available here, is built around three broad Sections – 1. “Basics of marine Communications;” 2. “The connected ship;” and 3. “Special services.”Then, each Section presents a closer look at various topics. The “Basics” section, for example, covers regulatory issues established by IMO treaties and national agencies. It presents the terms and concepts that define satellite systems and networks…

Port operations across the country are vital to America’s economy, often coming at a cost to health and welfare of neighboring communities—notably, by emitting harmful emissions and producing poor air quality.Incorporating propane can help ports support economic growth while safeguarding our environment.The loading and unloading of container ships at marine terminals requires a variety of cargo handling equipment, historically powered by diesel and gasoline. As the country seeks to reduce emissions and fight climate change…

A top U.S. official on Thursday challenged nations to join the United States in setting aggressive goals to expand electricity production from offshore wind.Interior Secretary Deb Haaland issued the call during an appearance at the United Nations climate change conference in Glasgow, Scotland.The administration of President Joe Biden has moved swiftly this year to support a nascent offshore wind industry in the United States, a key part of its plan to decarbonize the power sector…

Despite the very strong freight rates and the apparently tight market, the all-important driver for dry bulk shipping, China, has in fact seen imports of its two largest dry bulk commodities shrink year-on-year so far this year. The two largest imported commodities for China, iron ore and coal are however, interestingly on two different trajectories, as the latter could be ending the year with higher total volumes than in 2020.“The high freight rates that the dry bulk market is currently enjoying cannot directly be linked to higher volumes from the world’s largest dry bulk importer.

The Panama Canal has set out to decarbonize its operations, with a target to become carbon neutral by 2030.“We at the Panama Canal are committed to sustainability, and therefore are laying the foundation, creating the tools and identifying the changes needed to achieve efficiencies that will allow us as an organization to reach carbon neutrality. This is a fundamental strategy for the waterway's long-term operation and sustainability,” said Panama Canal Administrator Ricaurte Vásquez Morales.

It’s no secret that the U.S. offshore wind sector is finally about to burst into action after years of behind-the-scenes movement. With a new administration set to bolster the favorable political headwinds for the sector, establishing a strong domestic supply chain will be critical as the industry scales up.Offshore wind farm operators will need high-quality vessels ready to go, and crew transfer vessels (CTV) are vital when constructing and servicing new assets. Concurrently…

Swedish power firm Vattenfall has chosen Hvide Sande Harbour in Denmark as its service port for Vesterhav Syd and Nord wind farms in the Danish part of the North Sea. The move will create around 50 new jobs.Danish Energy Agency has approved Vattenfall's environmental assessment and construction plans for 350 MW offshore wind farms Vesterhav Syd and Nord in December 2020. "Hvide Sande will to be the service hub for Vattenfall’s Danish offshore wind operations in the northern part of the North Sea and benefit from the creation of about 50 jobs…

After several false starts, 2021 is the year when the U.S. offshore wind industry begins to realize its potential. This is according to Philip Lewis, Director of Research, World Energy Reports (WER).In an interview with Maritime Reporter TV's Greg Trauthwein, Lewis, whose WER is set to release an intelligence pack that presents a roadmap to the opportunities in the U.S. offshore wind space, says that at least 30 major offshore wind projects are forecast to be developed within this decade.

Denmark has reached a deal on the construction of the first of its kind wind energy hub in the North Sea that promises to produce yet unseen amounts of green electricity, in what has been described as the largest construction project in Danish history.The energy hub - an artificial island - will serve as an offshore power plant gathering and distributing green electricity from hundreds of wind turbines surrounding the island directly to consumers in countries surrounding the North Sea.

Offshore wind caught a favorable gust with the 2020 election of Joe Biden, and the following breeze from the early 2021 reconfiguration of the U.S. Senate toward Democrats. Though widely touted as a growth engine for maritime businesses (as well as shoreside trades), the latter years of the Trump administration seemed to see delay after delay.The class society DNV has been involved in offshore wind since its outset in the early 1990s, and now has 2,000 energy experts working in its efforts supporting this power source.