Monthly Archives: June 2017

Offshore wind advocates cheered recently at news that a German wind farm is going to be built entirely without government subsidy. That said, however, it seems likely that government supportwhether in the form of direct subsidies or more generally favorable policy/planning policiesis likely to be a major factor in the success (or not) of offshore wind for some time to come.

That's why it's encouraging to hear from Steve Hanley over at Cleantechnica that three nationsGermany, Denmark and Belgiumhave signed on to an agreement to support a 5-fold increase in installed offshore wind capacity in the next decade. They're not just talking about their own capacity eitherthe target is a global one, meaning an increase of capacity from today's 13.8 gigawatts to more than 60 gigawatts.

Just imagine what would happen if every nation with suitable shoreline made a similar commitment. (I'm looking at you, USA.)

According to Steve, there's hope that the agreement will eventually be signed on to by a broader coalition of ten nations who had previously pledged their support for offshore wind energy expansion. At least one of those nations, Great Britain, is currently in a state of political and environmental uncertainty as the world waits to see what its surprise election results really mean for government policy.

Either way, with China and India making more progress on emissions reductions than originally expected, France jockeying hard to seize climate leadership and large swathes of the United States still pledging to honor the Paris Agreement, this is one more encouraging sign among many that a coalition of the willing could keep climate action well on track, even if there are efforts to sabotage progress in other parts of the world.

Read more from the original source:

Three nations plan 500% increase in global offshore wind - Treehugger

Three workers died of burn injuries received after a Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PBR) offshore drill rig explosion Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The Brazilian state-run oil company's unions said the accident, which is the worst since 2015, is proof that recent layoffs and cost cuts aimed at reducing Petrobras' heavy debt load have impacted safety.

Petrobras hasn't commented on the cause of the explosion. A commission has been formed to investigate.

Petrobras stock traded down over 1% in early afternoon trading.

What's Hot on TheStreet

Apple and all of tech remains in focus: European tech shares such as SAP SE (SAP) , Infineon Technologies AG (IFNNY) and ASML NV (ASML) fell sharply on Monday after last week's late Nasdaq rout. Not helping matters was a rare downgrade on Apple AAPL on Sunday on fears the stock may be too richly valued.

Walmart is under siege from a German rival: Aldi is coming after Walmart's (WMT) grocery market share, as the German discount retailer says it will invest $3.4 billion to expand its U.S. presence. The privately-held German grocery store said it plans to increase its store base to 2,500 by 2022. Aldi currently operates 1,600 U.S. stores.

GE's CEO is stepping aside: Industrial conglomerate General Electric (GE) said Jeffrey Immelt, chairman and CEO, plans to step down. Immelt has been with GE since 1982 and has served as chairman and CEO since September 2001. John Flannery, the current president and CEO of GE Healthcare, was named chairman and CEO. He will become CEO effective Aug. 1, and also take over the chairman role effective Jan. 1, 2018, a day after Immelt officially retires.

TheStreet reported last week that General Electric may sell additional businesses as investor Trian Partners pressured Immelt to meet aggressive performance targets.

Apple and General Electric are holdings in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. Want to be alerted before Cramer buys or sells AAPL and GE? Learn more now .

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Three Petrobras Workers Die After Offshore Explosion - TheStreet.com

Published on June 12th, 2017 | by Joshua S Hill

June 12th, 2017 by Joshua S Hill

Up to a quarter of the European Unions electricity demand could be met by onshore wind energy at an average of 54 per megawatt-hour in the most favorable locations, according to a new report published this month, which also suggests offshore wind could generate between 2,600 to 6,000 terawatt-hours per year.

These are the key findings from a new report published this month by renewable energy consultancy BVG Associates, for WindEurope, the wind energy trade body for the European Union. Specifically, the report looked at the economically attractive resource potential of offshore wind in the EU as well as the location for lowest cost resource, assessing them on two policy scenarios a baseline scenario based on current frameworks and assumptions, and an upside scenario based on what could happen if governments responded positively to cost reductions, as well as if there are positive developments on grid access, market support mechanisms, site development and supply chain development.

The report found that offshore wind could, in theory, generate anywhere between 2,600 and 6,000 terawatt-hours (TWh) per year at a competitive cost of65 per megawatt-hour (MWh) or below, including grid connection, based on the use of technologies that will have been developed by 2030 technologies such as 13 MW wind turbines (as compared to the largest currently ready for manufacturing, 9.5 MW). Amazingly, this would represent between 80% (for the baseline scenario) and 180% (for the upside scenario) of the EUs total electricity demand.

Further, focusing solely on the most favorable locations, 25% of the EUs electricity demand could be met by offshore wind energy at an average of 54/MWh. This assumes seabed-fixed foundations and includes grid connection, and in the baseline scenario would see development focused inUK, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, and France. Meanwhile, in the upside scenario, additional offshore wind capacity could also be added in Ireland, Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania.

Installed capacity in the baseline scenario to the end of 2030 for the EU member states in all sea basins

Installed capacity in the upside scenario to the end of 2030 for the EU member states in all sea basins

However, these are the best-case scenarios we could hope for, and WindEurope is currently focusing simply on EU governments working to see offshore wind account for between 7% to 11% of the EUs electricity demand by 2030. To hit this target, the authors of the new report are calling on EU governments to:

The report has been welcomed by wind energy advocates across the EU, especially in the (Brexiting) UK. The report specifically highlighted that the UK could install a total of 25 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy by 2030, which is enough to power 75% of all UK households. Meanwhile, the report predicts that Germany could install up to 14 GW of new offshore wind capacity by the same time.

Cumulative installed capacity by country by the end of 2030

This report shows what our innovative offshore wind industry can deliver in the years ahead, securing economic growth and cheaper electricity, said Emma Pinchbeck, RenewableUKs Executive Director, in response to the reports findings. The Government can help us by continuing to hold fiercely competitive auctions for financial support, as well as putting offshore wind at the heart of its upcoming Industrial Strategy. Clear, bold, modern energy policy will attract billions of pounds of investment.

The report confirms that the cost reduction seen in offshore wind over the last two years could translate into significant volumes of clean, competitive and reliable power for the UK by 2030, added Giles Dickson, CEO WindEurope. The UK should factor this into their long-term energy planning. We need to see a deployment of at least 4 GW per year in Europe for offshore wind to maintain its cost reduction trend. This would allow offshore wind to be competitive with conventional power before very long.

The new report was accompanied by a WindEurope report which highlighted the fact that floating offshore wind energy technology is no longer a demonstration technology, and is ready for the big time. Specifically, the report highlighted a current pipeline of floating offshore projects totaling nearly 350 MW, and an estimated European potential of 4,000 GW.

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Tags: BVG Associates, Denmark, EU, EU offshore wind, europe offshore wind, European offshore wind, European Union, France, Germany, ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Netherlands, UK

Joshua S Hill I'm a Christian, a nerd, a geek, and I believe that we're pretty quickly directing planet-Earth into hell in a handbasket! I also write for Fantasy Book Review (.co.uk), and can be found writing articles for a variety of other sites. Check me out at about.me for more.

Continued here:

A Quarter Of EU's Electricity Demand Could Be Met By Offshore Wind At 54/MWh - CleanTechnica

The government today said that the mines ministry is closely working with its law counterpart to evolve an enabling framework which would result in auction of offshore mineral blocks quickly.

"We are working with the Law Ministry to work on what enabling framework can be quickly brought up by which we can quickly start that auction," Mines Minister Piyush Goyal said while addressing a press conference here.

As far as the current law is concerned, Goyal said, there are some restraints because of which the mines ministry is not able to auction these offshore mineral blocks.

These offshore blocks contain minerals such as zirconium, titanium, thorium, tungsten and rare earth elements.

"The current law as it stands, I will have to give it out on a literally first come first serve basis which you know is not in my scheme of things. So the department (mines ministry) is working with the law ministry to see how we can make requisite legal framework because I would like to start that auction quickly," the minister said.

The government had said in January that it will soon come out with redrafted rules with regard to exploration and mining in offshore mineral blocks and allot 60 blocks under auction route in first phase.

Offshore Areas Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act, 2002 will be redrafted soon, the government had said.

Once the Act is redrafted, the allotment of offshore mineral blocks would be done through auction route.

In the present Act, there is no provision for auction of offshore mineral blocks. Earlier, the offshore mineral blocks were given through allotment route. Applications were invited and allotment of blocks was done which was not transparent.

The Geological Survey of India (GSI) carries out surveys in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and Territorial Waters (TW) of India to assess the offshore mineral resources.

TW is the belt of coastal water that extends up to 12 nautical miles (around 22 km) from the coast of a country.

EEZ is a sea zone on which a country has special rights regarding exploration as well as the use of marine resources, including energy production from water and wind.

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Govt working on legal framework for quick offshore auction - Business Standard