Monthly Archives: April 2017

Common Dreams

The Energy Lobbyists Linked to Trump's Offshore Drilling Plans Common Dreams Last week U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced that President Trump plans to issue an executive order expanding offshore drilling in areas now off limits, including the Atlantic Ocean and parts of the Arctic. Trump's order would amend the Obama ...

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The Energy Lobbyists Linked to Trump's Offshore Drilling Plans - Common Dreams

New York Times

Germany Strikes Offshore Wind Deals, Subsidy Not Included New York Times LONDON European governments have spent large sums of money in recent years subsidizing giant offshore wind projects in hopes of creating a clean source of energy that could eventually pay for itself. Now that moment may be here and a lot sooner ... Germany Trumpets First Subsidy-Free Offshore Wind FarmGCaptain Dong Energy breaks subsidy link with new offshore wind farmsFinancial Times German offshore wind park to be built without subsidiesDeutsche Welle CleanTechnica -KSBY San Luis Obispo News -SouthCoastToday.com all 27 news articles »

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Germany Strikes Offshore Wind Deals, Subsidy Not Included - New York Times

The San Luis Obispo Tribune

Offshore wind could generate an onshore economic boom for the ... The San Luis Obispo Tribune Ocean winds that whip the Central Coast could be turned into an economic boom in the form of offshore wind turbines. But development of a floating wind ... and more »

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Offshore wind could generate an onshore economic boom for the ... - The San Luis Obispo Tribune

In Cheyenne, Wyoming, a small brick-faced house sits between a Greek Orthodox Church and a tired-looking barbershop. The structure does not stand out. Yet, according to court documents from several years ago, the innocuous-looking house once served as the fulcrum of a kleptocratic scheme. (Photo courtesy of Google)

In Cheyenne, Wyoming, a small brick-faced house sits between a Greek Orthodox Church and a tired-looking barbershop. The structure does not stand out. Yet, according to court documents from several years ago, the innocuous-looking house once served as the fulcrum of a kleptocratic scheme. A news story about the case described the Cheyenne house as a little Cayman Island on the Great Plains. The house, documents showed, hosted a shell company that purportedly owned $72 million in Ukrainian real estate. These properties were but a portion of the assets connected to Pavlo Lazarenko, who served as prime minister of Ukraine in 1996-97, and who was once characterized by the watchdog group Transparency International (TI) as one of the worlds top 10 kleptocrats. TI estimated that Lazarenko stole $200 million during his time in office. The Cheyenne address highlights an often overlooked link between post-Soviet kleptocrats and American entities one that has been only reinforced by actions of American officials in Washington and many state houses. The ugly truth is that many federal and state entities in the United States have made it easy for foreigners (and American citizens alike) to set up shell companies, or use other vehicles that can hide illicitly obtained assets. This puts the United States in an awkward position: some federal agencies have emerged as leaders in a global effort to uncover and recover dark money, while other federal and state entities have made it easy for dark money to flow into the United States. Washington has pushed for some highly successful international anti-kleptocracy initiatives including those focused on Central Asia in the past decade. One recent example is the case against Gulnara Karimova, the daughter of Uzbekistans former dictator. Yet all the while, internal actions of American officials make it easy for these same kleptocrats to stash funds in the United States, if they so choose. The dark money flowing into the United States comes from around the globe, yet many prominent cases that have come to light recently can be traced back to Eurasia. Apart from Lazarenko and Karimova, they include the case connected to the arms dealer Viktor Bout. The post-Soviet region also featured prominently in a 2015 risk assessment prepared by the US Justice Department on money laundering. The report estimated that some $300 billion is generated annually in illicit proceeds in the United States, going on to single out Eurasian organized crime groups as a particular concern. In accessing the American offshore industry, the report noted, Eurasian groups make systemic use of sophisticated schemes using US banking institutions and US-incorporated shell companies. The paper added that US-based suspected shell companies have moved billions of dollars globally from foreign accounts, especially from countries like Russia and Latvia. The American offshore industrys rise owes to two realities, one related to flaws in federal regulations, and the other connected to individual states. First, federal officials have shown little interest in implementing a key proposed reform: establishing a national registry that would identify people who benefit from setting up shell companies in the United States. A database of this kind could become a primary tool to rein in these entities, many of them outwardly legal. A World Bank report noted that although the United States sees 10 times more legal entities formed annually than 41 global tax havens combined, it is impossible to distinguish shell companies from operational firms. Second, state-level officials have largely turned a blind eye to the problem. The revenue generated under the status quo appears to outweigh other considerations. Not only in Wyoming, but also in states such as Delaware, Nevada, and South Dakota, officials have stonewalled moves to encourage financial transparency. A common line of reasoning used to resist reform was mentioned in a recent statement from the Wyoming Secretary of States office: The release of the Panama Papers has led to some renewed calls for transparency and the revealing of beneficial ownership information for entities registered not just in Wyoming, but across the United States. Such a move would increase red tape and limit business formation and innovation in Wyoming We are not naive as to the importance of the release of these Panama Papers, but we will not compromise the privacy of our customers. Whereas officials in Europe have promoted greater oversight in certain offshore areas, their American counterparts have stalled any significant changes. Even the release of the Panama Papers, which last year shed light on the finances of ruling families in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, did little to generate momentum for reform in the United States. Buttressed by strong secrecy provisions and independent court systems, the United States has joined the likes of Switzerland and the British Virgin Islands as a leading money haven. As the Cambridge University scholar J.C. Sharman wrote in his book Despots Guide to Wealth Management, there is strong reason to think that the United States is the worst in the world when it comes to regulating shell companies.

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The US Offshore Industry and the Eurasian Connection - EurasiaNet - EurasiaNet

The Ontario government says it has paid a $28-million award that a NAFTA tribunal ruled was owed to a wind power company over a provincial offshore wind moratorium.

Windstream Energy had a 300-megawatt project planned in eastern Ontario when the provincial government abruptly enacted the moratorium in February 2011.

The company took its complaint to a NAFTA tribunal that partially ruled in Windstream's favour, awarding it about $25 million in damages for unfair and inequitable treatment as well as about $3 million in legal fees.

Payment was due within 30 days of the Sept. 30 ruling and Windstream went to court in February to ask it to enforce the award.

Windstream was also seeking the interest it was awarded 2.7 per cent, compounded annually, from Nov. 1, 2016 until the date of payment.

The total paid was $28,095,332, which includes about $240,000 in interest, according to a spokesman for Energy Minister Glenn Thibeault.

Thibeault defended the moratorium despite that cost.

"Part of that is making sure that we get things right and that's why we're asking the (Ministry of the Environment) to further study some implications that are relating to offshore wind," he said. "We don't want to have (offshore wind turbines) up and then realize that there's something that we would have to do to take these down that has even bigger complications."

Five government-commissioned studies have been completed since 2011 on impacts on fish, other environmental impacts, sound and decommissioning requirements. The Liberal government is now looking to an Ohio-based offshore wind project in the Great Lakes for more data.

Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown said he's concerned taxpayers are footing the bill for government errors.

"If you look at all the staff time, legal costs that went into this, the bill could be much larger, so it's just another example of a government that has their mistakes, their miscalculations everyone else in Ontario is paying for it," he said.

NDP deputy leader Jagmeet Singh said provinces should, in general, have the autonomy to make policy decisions, but this one could have been handled better.

"With this government we've seen opportunities where the government could have saved taxpayers from spending enormous amounts of money like the gas plant scandals," he said.

The government's decision to cancel two gas plants prior to the 2011 election came at a cost of up to $1.1 billion.

Trillium Power Wind also had an offshore wind project in the works at the time of the moratorium, and that company has sued the Ontario government for $500 million for misfeasance in public office.

The Liberal government is also under criminal investigation stemming from Trillium's claim. The company alleged in the lawsuit that government officials destroyed documents after the company sued over the government's cancellation of a Lake Ontario wind project and the provincial police are investigating.

None of Trillium's allegations have been proven in court.

In its statement of defence, the government says it was a coincidence that the moratorium and cancellations were issued just before Trillium's financing was set to close.

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Ontario pays $28-million awarded to wind company over offshore wind moratorium - National Observer