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Energy Supply Chain News

17 Mar 2024

Launch Ceremony Held for A-O-S' New Jones Act CTV Gripper

(Photo: American Offshore Services)

An official launch ceremony was held to celebrate the commissioning of a new Jones Act compliant crew transfer vessel (CTV) built for American Offshore Services (A-O-S)ā€”the company's first.Constructed by Blount Boats in Warren, R.I., the 100-foot-long aluminum catamaran is owned and operated by A-O-S, a joint venture formed in 2020 by leading European CTV operator Northern Offshore Services (N-O-S) and U.S.-based investment firm OIC.The vessel will support Ørsted and Eversourceā€™s portfolio of offshore wind farms in the Northeastā€¦

20 Dec 2023

Top 10 Things to Watch in Offshore Wind in '24

Copyright Infi Studio/AdobeStock

Despite short-term obstacles driven by high inflation and interest rates coupled with supply chain issues, we maintain that the foundations supporting long-term offshore wind activity remain solid. As we prepare for the new year, let us look at 10 factors that will shape the offshore wind sector in 2024.1. A Continuously Dynamic Energy TrilemmaThe dynamic relationship of the three key drivers of affordable energy, energy security and energy transition was clearly evident in 2023 as energy affordability and security were generally more prominent themes than the transition.

27 Nov 2023

Biden's Clean Energy Agenda Faces Mounting Headwinds

Credit: Dragon Claws/AdobeStock

Canceled offshore wind projects, imperiled solar factories, and fading demand for electric vehiclesA year after the passage of the largest climate change legislation in U.S. history, meant to touch off a boom in American clean energy development, economic realities are fraying President Joe Bidenā€™s agenda.Soaring financing and materials costs, unreliable supply chains, delayed rulemaking in Washington and sluggish permitting have wrought havoc ranging from offshore wind developer Orstedā€™s project cancellations in the U.S.

20 Sep 2023

Crowley and BWXT Working on Nuclear Power Generation Ships for Defense and Disaster Needs

Credit: Crowley

Shipping and energy supply chain firm Crowley has teamed with nuclear power specialist BWX Technologies through a memorandum of understanding for a ship concept that, the companies say, has the potential to generate alternative, zero-carbon emission energy for defense and disaster needs by including a microreactor on board.The two U.S.-based companies will jointly pursue and develop opportunities relative to the design, engineering, and development of new shallow-draft hull ships that will supply small-scale nuclear energy to shoreside locations.

06 Sep 2023

US Offshore Wind Projects Seek Looser Subsidy Rules in Fight for Survival

Ā©Cavan/AdobeStock

A fleet of U.S. offshore wind projects central to President Joe Biden's climate change agenda may not move forward unless his administration eases requirements for subsidies in the year-old Inflation Reduction Act, according to project developers.Norway's Equinor, France's Engie, Portugal's EDP Renewables, and trade groups representing other developers pursuing U.S. offshore wind projects told Reuters they are pressing officials to rewrite the requirements, and warning of lost jobs and investments otherwise."The components needed for our projects to progress simply do not exist in the U.S.

30 Aug 2023

DNV Grants Approval for Liquid Hydrogen Cargo Containment System

Source: Houlder

CB&I, McDermott's storage business, has received Approval in Principle (AiP) for its design of a liquid hydrogen (LH2) cargo containment system from DNV.CB&I collaborated with Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Limited to provide safe LH2 shipping solutions that enable hydrogen energy supply chains using gas carriers.The containment system design is based on CB&I's proven vacuum-insulated spherical technology for onshore LH2 storage. CB&I has designed and constructed more than 130 large, field-erected LH2 storage tanks worldwide over the past 60 years.

25 May 2023

First US-Built Offshore Wind Substation Sets Sail

Ā©Orsted

Offshore wind developers Ørsted and Eversource marked the sailaway of the first U.S.-built offshore wind substation, which departed a Texas fabrication facility Wednesday. The substation is transiting across the Gulf of Mexico and then up the East Coast for installation at the South Fork Wind project site in a few weeks.Kiewit Offshore Services, Ltd. (Kiewit), the largest offshore fabricator in the U.S., designed and built the substation, which will be deployed at Ørsted and Eversourceā€™s South Fork Wind project serving Long Islandā€¦

25 Jan 2023

Onshore Funding for US Offshore Wind

Ā© Ian Dyball / Adobe Stock

Most of the media coverage of offshore wind development in the United States focuses on the leases of the offshore areas where the wind turbines will be located. However, equally important is the landside dimension of these projects, including the manufacture, installation, maintenance and operation of the turbines. Several awards made in the last two rounds of funding under the Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) show how offshore wind now offers an additional direction of port development for which funding is available.

28 Jun 2022

Offshore Wind Vessels Get 'Vessel of National Interest' Designation by U.S. MARAD

Credit: twixter/AdobeStock

The U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) last Friday designated offshore wind vessels as vessels of national interest making them eligible for financial support through the Title XI Federal Ship Financing Program (Title XI). The Federal Ship Financing Program - commonly referred to as "Title XI" based on the part of the Merchant Marine Act of 1936 that established the program - provides for a full faith and credit guarantee by the United States Government to promote the growth and modernization of the U.S. merchant marine and U.S.

06 May 2022

Irish Port Eyes Offshore Wind Opportunities. Taps Bechtel for Assistance

Bechtel to deliver Shannon Foynes port masterplan to support Irelandā€™s emerging offshore wind industry - Credit. Becthel

Shannon Foynes Port Company has selected Bechtel to update its Vision 2041 master plan to accommodate offshore and onshore investment within and near its harbor in Ireland. Bechtel will support the company in considering how to deliver significant growth and expansion of the port, including how it can support the offshore wind industry and the production of alternative shipping fuels.Shannon Foynes Port is located in Ireland's deepest sheltered commercial harbor with jurisdiction over all marine activities on a 500-kilometer square area on the Shannon Estuaryā€¦

15 Feb 2022

From the Science Lab: Clean Energy Projects that Could Impact Maritime

Copyright Li Ding/AdobeStock

As part of a $175M grant for 68 novel clean energy technology projects from the U.S. Department of Energy, these four offer promise in helping the maritime industry meet its decarbonization goals.Makai Ocean Engineering ā€“ Waimanalo, HIRemotely Installed Anchorages for Floating Offshore Wind and Other Offshore Renewables Cost Reduction -$849,951The Makai Ocean Engineering (Makai) team will develop novel mooring and anchoring methods to reduce the costs of offshore renewable energy.

08 Feb 2022

Shell and GTT Partner on LH2 Carrier Design

(Image: GTT)

Energy giant Shell is partnering with French engineering firm GTT with the aim to develop "breakthrough, cutting-edge technologies" to enable maritime transport of liquid hydrogen (LH2).The cooperation agreement between Shell International Trading and Shipping Company and GTT is part of Shell's strategy to develop a hydrogen energy supply chain by creating scalable and safe liquefied hydrogen shipping technologies. This includes the development by GTT of a preliminary LH2 carrierā€¦

20 Jan 2022

Suiso Frontier: World's First Hydrogen Tanker to Ship Test Cargo from Australia to Japan

The Suiso Frontier. Photo courtesy of HySTRA (File photo)

Japanese-Australian venture producing hydrogen from brown coal is set to ship its maiden cargo on the world's first liquid hydrogen carrier from near Melbourne to Kobe on Friday, in a test delayed by nearly a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.The Suiso Frontier, built by Japan's Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI), arrived on Friday from Kobe, in southern Japan, following a longer trip than the expected 16 days as the owners sought to avoid bad weather and rough seas, said a spokesperson for the ventureā€¦

26 Apr 2021

Methods for Decreasing Future Fuel Uncertainty

Ā© moofushi / Adobe Stock

The marine fuel market is undergoing significant change. Following the implementation and impact of IMO 2020, weā€™re now seeing the focus shift to low and zero carbon fuels, and an expansion of other marine fuel options, predominantly driven by the International Maritime Organizationā€™s (IMO) impending 2030 and 2050 decarbonization targets. With heavy fuel oil (HFO) the dominant fuel type in the maritime sector since the 1960s, there is no question that such incredible change toā€¦

12 Dec 2019

KHI Intros World's First Liquefied Hydrogen Carrier

The worldā€™s first liquefied hydrogen carrier, built to ship large quantities cryogenically frozen H2 internationally, was launched by Japan's Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) at it's Kobe Works yard.The Suiso Frontier (ā€˜suisoā€™ means ā€˜hydrogenā€™ in Japanese) will play a key role in the Shell-backed HySTRA demonstration project (CO2-free Hydrogen Energy Supply-Chain Technology Research Association), which will see large quantities of H2 produced from brown coal in Australia and then shipped 9,000km to the city of Kobe in Japan.This vessel was developed to provide a means of transporting liquefied hydrogen at 1/800 of its original gas-state volumeā€¦

30 Oct 2019

OP/ED: Offshore Wind

Nicolette Nye, Vice President of Communications and Member Development of the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) in Washington, DC.

Set to Soar, Taking Offshore Support Industry With it.Offshore energy development is opening a new front in the United States -- the Atlantic seaboard, with strong winds, a shallow continental shelf and a proximity to dense population centers is driving strong interest in offshore wind development. The offshore oil and gas supply chain stands to benefit in a big way from billions in coming investment. In fact, it is already playing a role. Companies in the Gulf of Mexico, which traditionally support the offshore oil and gas sectorā€¦

24 Oct 2019

BLUE Acquires 20|20 Marine Energy Consultancy

Specialist maritime consultancy 20|20 Marine Energy (20|20) founded by bunker industry veteran Adrian Tolson has been acquired by UK-based BLUE, the business, brand and communications consultancy for the marine and energy markets.20|20 will be re-named BLUE Insight to provide commercial advisory and research services for key transformative areas within the maritime industry.The practice - which will be led by Adrian Tolson, 20|20ā€™s Senior Partner - provides BLUE with a physical presence in North America, as well as wider and deeper support to BLUEā€™s current clients.BLUE Insight will provide strategic commercial advisory services for business-critical areas that are fundamentally changing the marine and energy markets and evolving and disrupting traditional business models.

22 Jul 2019

Kawasaki Begins Hydrogen Project

Japanese public multinational corporation Kawasaki Heavy Industries and its subsidiary company based in Melbourne Hydrogen Engineering Australia announced commencement of construction work to build the Hydrogen Liquefaction and Loading Terminal for the Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain pilot project (Project).The facility will convert hydrogen gas into liquefied hydrogen, which will be stored and then loaded onto the worldā€™s first specialized marine carrier for transport to Japan. The Project will involve the production of hydrogen from Latrobe Valley brown coal.The Project will create a new innovative technical foundation for the developmentā€¦

12 May 2019

Offshore Wind: California's New Gold Rush

Alla Weinstein, CEO, Castle Wind, a joint venture with EnBW North America.

California Dreamin': In CA, offshore wind has unlimited potentialWhen it comes to States promoting renewable, non-fossil electricity generation, California surely leads the list, from utility-scale regional grids to individual rooftop solar panels.In fact, a December 2018 update from the California Energy Commission (CEC) estimates the state may already have exceeded an initial renewable generation goal of 33% by 2020. CEC estimates that in 2018 that generation number was already 34%.

30 Apr 2019

Exmar Orders Newbuild at Jiangnan

Exmar NV, a provider shipping and energy supply chain solutions worldwide, has ordered new carriers from China's Jiangnan Shipyard.The Belgian shipowner said in a press release that it  has entered into shipbuilding contracts with Jiangnan Shipyard for 2 LPG-fuelled 86,000 m³ gas carriers to transport LPG in an environment-friendly way.Both vessels are to be delivered ex yard respectively within the second and third quarter 2021 and will serve EXMARā€™s long-term commitments towards Equinor ASA of Norway for worldwide LPG transportation as announced on 20th December 2017.EXMAR manages a diversified fleet including VLGC's, Midsize and small LPG carriers, LNG Regasification vessels and LNG carriers, FPSO's, Accommodation barges and an FSRU.

14 Jun 2019

Renewable Energy Brings 11 Million Jobs

According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) eleven million people were employed in renewable energy worldwide in 2018. This compares with 10.3 million in 2017.As more and more countries manufacture, trade and install renewable energy technologies, the latest Renewable Energy and Jobs ā€“ Annual Review finds that renewables jobs grew to their highest level despite slower growth in key renewable energy markets including China.The diversification of the renewable energy supply chain is changing the sectorā€™s geographic footprint. Until now, renewable energy industries have remained relatively concentrated in a handful of major marketsā€¦

11 Mar 2019

EC Probes E.ON-Innogy Merger

The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation into German utility E.on's  takeover of certain assets from domestic Innogy, saying the transaction may lead to higher prices for consumers.The deal, which is worth a reported ā‚¬43 billion ($48 billion at today's conversion rate), includes Innogy's distribution and consumer solutions business, as well as certain electricity generation assets.The Commission has concerns that the proposed acquisition may reduce competition in retail markets for electricity and gas in several Member States.Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said: ā€œEuropean households and business customers should be able to buy electricity and gas at competitive prices.

17 Apr 2019

A New York State of Mind

New York Bight call areas.  "Call" is a short-hand term referring to calls for proposals or calls for interest in an area. (Image: BOEM)

ā€œA new industry is being established in New York, with the primary stimulus being a state-driven procurement process.ā€New York State Public Service Commission (PSC), July 12, 2018.To a great extent, this PSC comment provides direct insight into the dynamics behind New Yorkā€™s pace-setting moves to establish offshore wind. First, this new energy development is deliberate ā€“ not left to chance or laissez faire markets. Second, state officials are in control, from choosing a contractor to securing money for payment.