Department Of Energy News

This week at Singapore Maritime Week, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is advancing ambitious decarbonization targets for the maritime transportation sector, both domestically and internationally.DOE is teaming with over 15 government and industry partners in Singapore to foster partnerships and collaborate on clean energy solutions aimed at achieving net zero-emissions in the maritime sector by 2050. Domestically, DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is joining with ABS to create opportunities for data and information sharing to strengthen U.S. shipping. The U.S.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have launched an 18-month initiative to gather extensive weather, ocean, and wildlife data near the sites of active offshore wind farms and lease areas off the coast of the Northeast United States.This effort, which is part of the third phase of the Wind Forecast Improvement Project (WFIP3), seeks to gather high-quality data to improve the design and operation of offshore wind turbines and wind farms.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has set out plans to invest $4.75 million to establish a new national center of excellence to accelerate offshore wind deployment across the United States.The Academic Center for Reliability and Resilience of Offshore Wind (ARROW), led by the University of Massachusetts Amherst with approximately 40 partners, will focus on workforce development, targeted research, and partnerships and strategies to advance offshore wind development.As offshore…

President Joe Biden paused pending approvals of exports from new liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects on Friday, a move cheered by climate activists that could delay decisions on new plants until after the November 5 election.The Department of Energy (DOE) will conduct a review during the pause that will look at the economic and environmental impacts of projects seeking approval to export LNG to Europe and Asia where the fuel is in hot demand.The review will take months and then will be open to public comment which will take further time…

The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries have released a final joint strategy to protect and promote the recovery of endangered North Atlantic right whales while responsibly developing offshore wind energy.The strategy builds on existing mitigation measures to protect North Atlantic right whales from the potential impacts of offshore wind development and was developed to support the Biden-Harris administration's goal of deploying 30GW of offshore wind by 2030.North Atlantic right whales are approaching extinction.

Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island extended on Thursday the date bids are due in the states' next offshore wind solicitations from Jan. 31 to March 27.Offshore wind is expected to play a critical role in U.S. President Joe Biden's and several states' plans to decarbonize the power grid and combat climate change.But offshore wind industry had a tough time in 2023 with some developers cancelling contracts to sell power in several states because their proposed projects were no longer economic due to soaring inflation…

Seattle shipyard Snow & Company has launched a new 15-meter hybrid catamaran research vessel that will be operated by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.The plug-in hybrid research vessel, Resilience, will be delivered to the Department of Energy's (DOE) PNNL-Sequim marine research facility in 2024.The Incat Crowther designed vessel, equipped with both standard diesel engines and electric motors, will be the first hybrid vessel in the DOE fleet. The vessel will be powered by an advanced parallel hybrid-electric propulsion system…

A collaboration between Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Caterpillar Inc. will investigate using methanol as an alternative fuel source for marine vessels.Members of the research team kicked off the project with the installation of a 6-cylinder engine at the Department of Energy’s National Transportation Research Center at ORNL.The ORNL and Caterpillar collaboration focuses on a four-stroke internal combustion marine engine that will be modified to run on methanol.Although methanol has many advantages, it is more difficult to ignite than diesel.

U.S. Department of Energy reviews for liquefied natural gas (LNG) export permits have lengthened under President Joe Biden's administration to 11 months or more, from seven weeks, according to government data.The delay could mean nearly completed LNG projects may not being able to supply big European buyers because of a lack of the permit. Increasing LNG exports is opposed by some U.S. industries who fear it could raise domestic prices, while environmental groups have raised concerns about continued expansion of a fossil fuel industry.Big swaths of U.S.

Shipping and energy logistics company Crowley said Tuesday it is proceeding with plans to provide liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering services on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal, under the first permit issued by the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP) for the provision of such services.Crowley’s advanced energy group will operate the service to manage the ship-to-ship LNG transfer services. With a potential start date in 2024, Crowley is preparing to provide bunkering and related…

Considerable private investment is required to scale up the low-carbon hydrogen economy in the United States by 2030, a report by consultancy Wood Mackenzie said on Tuesday, adding that the $7 billion allotted by the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) to regional hubs was a significant step.Last week, the Biden administration announced seven proposed "hydrogen hubs" over 16 states would share $7 billion in federal grants. The two largest projects include $1.2 billion each for Texas…

Hornblower Energy LLC, in partnership with the Port of San Franciso, the U.S. Department of Energy and six corporate partners, including Air Liquide and Glosten, is leading a project to demonstrate the feasibility and viability of using hydrogen (H2) as a maritime fuel.The project is located at Pier 68 in San Francisco. DOE selected the project for funding in 2020. It’s supposed to be completed in 2025 but there are important decision dates before then. So far, project activities have concentrated on planning and modeling.

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.

President Joe Biden’s goal to deploy 30,000 megawatts of offshore wind along U.S. coastlines this decade to fight climate change may be unattainable due to soaring costs and supply chain delays, according to forecasters and industry insiders.The 2030 target, unveiled shortly after Biden took office, is central to Biden's broader plan to decarbonize the U.S. economy by 2050. It is also crucial to targets of Northeast states hoping wind will help them move away from fossil fuel…

The U.S. regained its crown as the world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the first six months of this year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA).US exports of the superchilled gas, particularly to Europe, have jumped in the last year as buyers looked for alternatives to Russian gas imports and to fill Europe's storage inventories, the EIA said.An average 11.6 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) of the superchilled gas was exported through June, up 4% from the same period a year-earlier, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) said.The increase in U.S.

Much has been written recently about the challenges facing U.S. offshore wind projects, resulting in requests to terminate or renegotiate contracts to sell power to states. Examples of these challenges can be found from Massachusetts to Virginia. Coming on top of last week’s somewhat disappointing events of the Gulf of Mexico lease auction, speculation has mounted around the longer-term prospects for U.S. wind. But how serious is this problem, and what does it mean to the longer-term goals of the federal administration to deploy 30 GW of offshore wind by 203 and 110 GW by 2050?Below…

In its recently published white paper, ammonia-to-power technology company Amogy calls for policy makers to provide clear incentives for the uptake of ammonia as a shipping fuel.The paper Ammonia as an Essential Energy Carrier for the Energy Transition states that shipowners currently lack investment support for zero carbon propulsion systems and technologies.In the US, strong progress is being made on clean ammonia production. According to International Energy Agency project data…

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced nearly $10 million for seven projects that will accelerate development and testing of marine energy technologies. These investments advance research on wave-powered technology for use in seawater desalination and support a feasibility study for a potential ocean current test facility. “Marine energy technologies have incredible potential to provide clean electricity as well as clean water,” said Alejandro Moreno, Acting Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

New research explores how nuclear propulsion could transform the design, operation and emissions output of vessels in the commercial maritime industry.Classification society ABS said it commissioned Herbert Engineering Corp. (HEC) to carry out the study to examine the potential of advanced modern reactor technology for commercial marine propulsion. The study is designed to help industry better understand the feasibility and safety implications of nuclear propulsion and to support future development projects.The study…

Jen Armstrong joins Waterways Council, Inc. as Director, Government Relations.She joins Dustin Davidson in this role for WCI.Armstrong was most recently Director of Navigation Policy and Legislation for the American Association of Port of Authorities (AAPA).Prior to that, she was Republican Staff Director/Clerk for the Senate Energy and Water (E&W) Appropriations Committee, representing Senate Republican interests in the development of the annual $52 billion Energy and Water Development (E&WD) Appropriations bill which funds the Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works mission…

In Cape Cod Bay, 10-year-old Pilgrim and her calf skim the water's glassy surface alongside the Shearwater research vessel to feed on tiny crustaceans.The two are among the last surviving 340 or so North Atlantic right whales left migrating along the U.S. East Coast – down from 480 right whales in 2010.The biggest threats they face include being struck by passing ships or getting entangled in ropes used for lobster fishing off the U.S. East Coast - scientists have recorded 98 such injuries or deaths of whales since 2017.Now, the whales face another threat as the U.S.

A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday rejected a lawsuit filed by environmental groups challenging federal approvals needed to construct a $39 billion project that would move natural gas from Alaska’s North Slope across the state.A three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's review of plans for the state-run Alaska Gasline Development Corp's project satisfied the National Environmental Policy Act requirements to take a hard look at environmental impacts of major proposals…

The U.S. Department of Energy's refusal to grant export permit extensions to liquefied natural gas (LNG) developers that fail to meet a construction deadline poses a new hurdle for greenfield plants, analysts said on Thursday.The DOE last month said it would grant future extensions solely on extenuating circumstances and rejected an extension for Energy Transfer's proposed Lake Charles LNG project.The change will fall heavily on firms without a track record and available financing, analysts said.Around a dozen LNG projects in the U.S.