Site Selection News

A public-private partnership between the state of Louisiana, the Port of New Orleans and two global maritime industry leaders will build a $1.8 billion container facility on the Lower Mississippi River, Gov. John Bel Edwards announced.The new Louisiana International Terminal (LIT) in St. Bernard Parish will be able to serve vessels of all sizes, increasing Louisiana’s import and export capacity and stimulating the creation of more than 17,000 new jobs statewide by 2050, Port NOLA estimates.New Jersey-based Ports America…

New federal money promises dramatic impacts throughout the United States’ inland waterways system in 2022 and beyond. This report focuses on America’s central rivers; the Western rivers will be covered in a future report. These central rivers reach 11,000 miles, from Pennsylvania to Florida and from Texas to South Dakota.Consider the money within the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers “Civil Works Program Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), 2022 Construction Spend Plan.”In Arkansas…

APM Terminals has announced orders for 12 remote-controlled Ship-to-Shore (STS) cranes and 32 Automated Rail-Mounted Gantry Cranes (ARMGs) to equip the new five million TEU* APM Terminals MedPort Tangier facility now under construction at the Tanger-Med II port complex. The container terminal will be the second operated by APM Terminals at the Tanger-Med port complex designed to serve the newest Ultra-Large Container Ships (ULCS) with capacities up to 20,000 TEUs. APM Terminals MedPort Tangier will have up to 2,000 meters of quay length and increase the Tanger-Med complex’s overall capacity to over nine million TEUs. The facility complements APM Terminals Tangier which handled 1.7 million TEUs in 2015.

NuBlu Energy has begun the construction of a natural gas liquefaction plant in Port Allen, LA, strategically located along the Mississippi River. NuBlu’s facility will support the region’s high-horsepower fueling applications such as rail, marine, long haul transportation, power generation, gas interruption, asphalt and other energy markets. The facility is slated to be operational and producing high-quality liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the second quarter of 2017. Total planned capacity of the facility is 90,000 gallons per day with an initial start-up capacity of 30,000 GPD. “This project represents the inauguration of a new direction for the LNG energy market.

Duke Energy Indiana has selected a 140-acre parcel of land inside the Port of Indiana-Jeffersonville in Clark County for the utility's 2015 Site Readiness Program. A key component of Duke Energy's economic development model, the Site Readiness Program identifies, evaluates and improves sites in the company's service territory for potential industrial development. "We see distinct potential for this site to attract businesses that can bring economic growth to this area," said Lisa Huber, Duke Energy Indiana community relations manager for Clark County. As part of Duke Energy's evaluation of the Clark County property, site-selection consultant McCallum Sweeney Consulting will conduct a comprehensive assessment.

The  International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh are jointly implementing a project entitled “Safe and Environmentally Sound Ship Recycling in Bangladesh – Phase I” (in short SENSREC Project – Bangladesh). - Recommendations on strengthening the Government’s One-Stop Service, in which all the various ministries with a responsibility for ship recycling (e.g. - The development of a detailed project document for a possible follow-up project to implement the recommendations of phase I. In the long term, the project will assist the industry to eventually meet the requirements of the Hong Kong International Convention on the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships…

Foster Wheeler AG announced today that a subsidiary of its Global Engineering and Construction Group has entered into a Collaboration Agreement with ZeoGas LLC. In the first instance, Foster Wheeler will support ZeoGas’ final site selection and project planning towards the development of ZeoGas’ first fuels manufacturing plant, to be located on the US Gulf Coast. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed, and the contract value for an initial release of work related to the development of a cost estimate and assistance in final site selection and due diligence will be included in the company’s third-quarter 2014 bookings. Further bookings will be made as work is released by ZeoGas.

Organizers of Jacksonville Port Authority's (JAXPORT) biennial 'Logistics & Intermodal Conference' have released the list of panel topics for discussion at the upcoming 2015 conference. The overall theme for 2015 is "Challenges Facing Shippers in South Atlantic Ports,” and the conference will feature five panel discussions sharing insights, solutions and successes. Panelists will be announced soon and will include senior executives from major ocean carriers, railroads, shippers and service providers. JAXPORT’s conference is designed for senior level executives in logistics and transportation, offering a unique opportunity to network with industry leaders and hear speakers from around the country discussing topics of interest to decision makers.

A primer for those interested in Artificial Reefs as a way to dispose of old offshore structures, rigs and ships. The quandary of what to do with a non-productive well and the associated rig structures has always plagued offshore operators. As federal and state regulations begin to tighten in terms of what has to be done, and when, oil and gas principals are taking a new look at alternatives to removal. Hence, when an operator is looking at options for decommissioning, reefing should be one of the first considerations.

Ferus Natural Gas Fuels and ENN Canada Corporation announced a Joint Venture to construct, own and operate two LNG liquefaction plants in Canada. The plants will be strategically located in Vancouver, British Columbia and Edmonton, Alberta to service the on-road trucking market as well as other high-horsepower applications including marine, rail, mining and oil and gas exploration. “The benefits of fueling with natural gas are significant”, said Henry Cai, CEO of ENN Canada. "These projects will help build the market for clean burning natural gas as a transportation fuel,” said Ken Hughes, Alberta’s Energy Minister. The partnership brings together two major players in the North American natural gas fueling market.

ExxonMobil , BP, ConocoPhillips and TransCanada have selected a site in the Nikiski area on the Kenai Peninsula as the lead site for the proposed Alaska LNG project’s natural gas liquefaction plant and terminal. The consortium states that more than 20 locations were evaluated based on conditions related to the environment, socioeconomics, cost, and other project and technical issues. “This is a step forward for the Alaska LNG project and shows continued progress toward building Alaska’s energy future,” said Steve Butt, senior project manager.

There is alarm amongst port authorities about the prospect of Marine Conservation Zones being designated either within or near to port areas when decisions are announced later this year on which sites will receive formal designation. There are currently 31 sites on which a decision will be taken over the coming months, some of which could have a major influence on port traffic. There are further  sites, not due for designation in this first round, but which could be designated at a later date.

Early booking advised for the 2-week offshore renewable energy summer school (part of IDCORE 2013) aimed to expand & sustain a community of high-quality staff for the UK offshore renewable energy industry. The summer school (22, July – 2, August 2013 at HR Wallingford, Howbery Park, Wallingford, Oxfordshire OX10 8BA, United Kingdom
) uses taught sessions, case studies and hands-on activities delivered by industry experts. Participants will also gain practical experience in HR Wallingford's modelling hall and navigation simulator. Week one outlines site selection procedures, wave and tide theory, computational modelling (TELEMAC and SWAN), types of coastal structures and methods for determining forces on coastal and offshore structures.

The Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) and HR Wallingford launched a tidal energy modeling tool for use by tidal energy developers to identify the most efficient sites for tidal energy converters, tidal arrays or tidal barrage schemes around the U.K. and French coastlines. The computer program, SMARTtide (Simulated Marine Array Resource Testing), incorporates a 2D hydrodynamic model of the U.K.’s continental shelf and the north-west European coastline. The software will be available to the public from May 21 as a fee-for-service via a portal on HR Wallingford’s website.

American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC), a global power technologies company, announced that Daniel P. McGahn has been promoted to the position of President and Chief Operating Officer. In this role, McGahn will be responsible for AMSC’s day-to-day global operations. He will continue to report to AMSC founder and Chief Executive Officer Greg Yurek. McGahn joined AMSC in December 2006 as Vice President, Strategic Planning and Corporate Development. His primary initial objective was to set up and operate AMSC China. McGahn hired and developed the core AMSC China team, including AMSC China’s general manager, drove a strategic site selection process based on customer and supply chain requirements…

Louisiana Economic Development (LED) has launched an integrated marketing campaign designed to focus business leaders around the globe on the unprecedented opportunity for investment in Louisiana. The campaign, dubbed “clean sheet,” features the most aggressive business incentives package in U.S. history, now available to businesses expanding, rebuilding or relocating in Louisiana. “At no time in history has a state experienced such an unparalleled opportunity to remake itself,” says LED Secretary Michael J. Olivier. “We want to urge businesses that have the capacity and the mettle to invest in Louisiana to take a closer look at what we have to offer. Nearly anywhere you look in our state, multiple progressive incentives can be applied to a growing business.

When Austal Ltd. of Henderson, Western Australia, started looking last year for a CEO to lead its U.S.-based operations, the job description must have been daunting. They wanted a leader to take the helm of their newly built shipyard in Mobile, Ala., and turn it into a major contractor for both military and commercial vessels in the United States. Austal had recently entered the U.S. market for the first time, intent on competing with higher-profile rivals such as Incat/Bollinger, Derecktor Shipyards and Kvaerner. The company settled on Alan Lerchbacker, 50, an energetic former Navy Aquanaut with a business background, who took the position in February 2002. Lerchbacker had never heard of Austal until a headhunter contacted him.