CanAlaska Uranium Stakes Historical Uranium Showings

•  Project Acquisition
 
•  Uranium
 
•  Athabasca Basin

TSX.V: CVV
www.canalaska.com

Mr. Peter Dasler reports:

• Near 92 Energy and Baselode Energy Uranium Drillhole Intersections
• Six High-Priority Target Areas Identified Along Major Structures

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 14, 2021) - CanAlaska Uranium Ltd. (TSXV: CVV) (OTCQB: CVVUF) (FSE: DH7N) ("CanAlaska" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that compilation work on the Company's newly acquired Geikie project totalling 33,897 hectares in the eastern Athabasca Basin has identified six new uranium targets along 35 kilometres of major structures (figures 1 and 2). The targets are outlined by coincident magnetic breaks and prospective geology offsets just 10 kilometres from 92 Energy's Gemini mineralization (GM) and Baselode Energy's ACKIO and Beckett mineralization, and only 10 kilometres from a major highway.

Figure 1

CanAlaska's Geikie property straddles the extension of a fertile corridor of biotite gneisses hosting the Agip S high-grade uranium showing with up to 49% U and the recent Baselode Energy radioactive intersections near Beckett Lake on the Hook Lake property (Figure 2). The latter appears similar to 92 Energy's GM uranium zone near where Baselode has also intersected elevated radioactivity.

The presence of biotite gneiss, graphitic gneiss and calcsilicate (mafic gneiss) lithologies provides the contrast in rock strength and chemistry to create the pathway for structural disturbance together with the reducing conditions necessary to precipitate uranium. At least two large north-south trending Tabbernor faults interact with and displace these fertile uranium corridors creating ideal conditions for uranium deposits to form.

Figure 2

Several historical uranium showings occur on the property with grades as high as 0.225% U identified (Figure 2). The presence of Athabasca Group sandstone boulders in the project area demonstrates that the Athabasca Basin once covered this area indicating good potential for high-grade basement-hosted unconformity-related uranium deposits to form similar to NexGen's Arrow and Cameco's Eagle Point and Millennium uranium deposits.

CanAlaska CEO, Cory Belyk, comments, "CanAlaska continues to deploy its project generator model in the world's most prolific uranium district. Our team recognized the underexplored opportunity in this region of the eastern Athabasca Basin in conjunction with recent exploration success indicators, and acquired this very large contiguous land position just prior to the recent uranium staking rush. We look forward to working with a new joint venture partner to move this project forward."

Other News

The Company is currently drilling on its West McArthur Joint Venture Project in the 42 Zone discovery area, a joint venture with Cameco Corporation. The Company's other joint venture partner, Denison Mines, is currently drilling on the Moon Lake South project.

About CanAlaska Uranium

CanAlaska Uranium Ltd. (TSXV: CVV) (OTCQB: CVVUF) (FSE: DH7N) holds interests in approximately 300,000 hectares (750,000 acres), in Canada's Athabasca Basin - the "Saudi Arabia of Uranium." CanAlaska's strategic holdings have attracted major international mining companies. CanAlaska is currently working with Cameco and Denison at two of the Company's properties in the Eastern Athabasca Basin. CanAlaska is a project generator positioned for discovery success in the world's richest uranium district. The Company also holds properties prospective for nickel, copper, gold and diamonds. For further information visit www.canalaska.com.

The qualified technical person for this news release is Nathan Bridge, MSc., P.Geo., CanAlaska's Vice President, Exploration.

Knowledge theft in organizations ‘is not only happening; it’s happening a lot,’ University of Toronto research suggests


VIRGINIA GALT
SPECIAL TO THE GLOBE AND MAIL
PUBLISHED OCTOBER 15, 2021

Taking a serious academic look at what has long been grist for office gossip – the workplace idea thief – a team of University of Toronto researchers has found that knowledge theft in organizations “is not only happening; it’s happening a lot.”

Their high-profile paper on the issue, recently presented to the Academy of Management annual meeting, noted: “We have all worked with … [those] colleagues who get ahead by taking credit for another person’s work or who take our ideas and present them as their own.”

Victims of knowledge theft are less inclined to share their thoughts. Once burned, twice shy. They have lost out on recognition, rewards and promotion in some cases, say authors David Zweig, an associate professor of organizational behaviour and human resources management, and Alycia Damp, a PhD candidate at the university’s Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources.

Organizations that rely on innovation and collaboration to stand out – but dismiss such appropriation as competitive zeal or “the way we do things around here” – will find that the flow of ideas and knowledge transfer dries up, they said in interviews. It is premature to try to quantify the financial costs of such lost potential, but an initial survey – “our first crack at it” – found that knowledge theft is rampant in workplaces across all sectors, Mr. Zweig said in an interview.

“We surveyed 150 people and just asked them ‘Has this happened to you, have you seen it?’”

“Amazingly, 91 per cent of our sample either reported it had happened to them, or they had seen it happen to others. We even had people say that they did it to other people. So it’s not a low-base-rate kind of thing; it’s happening with great frequency in organizations,” Mr. Zweig said.

The topic resonated. When acquaintances got wind of their work, “everyone had a story to tell,” Ms. Damp said. The Academy of Management, a global association of management and organizational scholars, recognized their work as a “best paper” at its annual meeting.

One of the goals of the U of T research is to raise awareness of knowledge theft and help organizations understand, measure and mitigate the occurrence, “given the importance of effective knowledge management to the success of organizations,” Mr. Zweig said.

While some victims will deliberately withhold knowledge – or, less commonly, call out the knowledge thieves – others retreat into “defensive silence,” Ms. Damp added. “They are actually afraid to share knowledge because they anticipate they will be exploited again.”

Future research will probe the motives of the perpetrators and the strategies victims employ to protect ownership of their ideas, they said.

If the corporate culture is conducive to civilized resolution of such issues, it’s easier to take the high road by saying something along the lines of “I am so glad you were able to work with my idea,” says Eileen Chadnick, a Toronto-based management adviser and career coach.

In a cutthroat environment, Ms. Chadnick would advise the aggrieved party to weigh the options and proceed with caution. It’s important to assess the magnitude of the damage and the benefits of making a fuss. If a person’s reputation has been damaged by a colleague’s appropriation of their work, do they have to courage to confront the individual and set the record straight? Are there still opportunities that make it worth sticking around, or is it time to move on?

“Organizations that tolerate bad behaviours and unethical actions will lose their [high-potential employees],” Ms. Chadnick said in an interview.

One outcome Ms. Damp hopes will arise from the research is that leaders will become “more mindful of who is doing what.” It’s particularly galling to the victims of knowledge theft when the people who stole their ideas are promoted, the U of T researchers said.

Even when they move to organizations that value their work and treat everyone fairly, people who had their ideas pirated in the past can find it difficult to engage in free-wheeling knowledge sharing, Ms. Damp said. “I’ve had some individuals who shared stories about their knowledge theft experience from 10 or 20 years ago, and they are still more protective than they used to be.”

Climate crimes Climate crisis

A US small-town mayor sued the oil industry. Then Exxon went after him

Serge Dedina: ‘The only conspiracy is [that] a bunch of suits and fossil-fuel companies decided to pollute the earth and make climate change worse, and then lie about it.’ 

Photograph: John Francis Peters/The Guardian

The mayor of Imperial Beach, California, says big oil wants him to drop the lawsuit demanding the industry pay for the climate crisis

Supported by


Chris McGreal in Imperial Beach
Sat 16 Oct 2021 11.00 BST



Serge Dedina is a surfer, environmentalist and mayor of Imperial Beach, a small working-class city on the California coast.

He is also, if the fossil fuel industry is to be believed, at the heart of a conspiracy to shake down big oil for hundreds of millions of dollars.

ExxonMobil and its allies have accused Dedina of colluding with other public officials across California to extort money from the fossil-fuel industry. Lawyers even searched his phone and computer for evidence he plotted with officials from Santa Cruz, a city located nearly 500 miles north of Imperial Beach.

The problem is, Dedina had never heard of a Santa Cruz conspiracy. Few people had.

“The only thing from Santa Cruz on my phone was videos of my kids surfing there,” Dedina said. “I love the fact that some lawyer in a really expensive suit, sitting in some horrible office trying to find evidence that we were in some kind of conspiracy with Santa Cruz, had to look at videos of my kids surfing.”

That’s where the laughter stopped.

The lawyers found no evidence to back up their claim. But that did not stop the industry from continuing to use its legal muscle to try to intimidate Dedina, who leads one of the poorest small cities in the region.

The mayor became a target after Imperial Beach filed a lawsuit against ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP and more than 30 other fossil-fuel companies demanding they pay the huge costs of defending the city from rising seas caused by the climate crisis.

Homes along the final stretch of Imperial Beach coast before reaching the border with Mexico. 

Photograph: John Francis Peters/The Guardian

Imperial Beach’s lawsuit alleges the oil giants committed fraud by covering up research showing that burning fossil fuels destroys the environment. The industry then lied about the evidence for climate change for decades, deliberately delaying efforts to curb carbon emissions.

The city’s lawsuit was among the first of a wave of litigation filed by two dozen municipalities and states across the US that could cost the fossil-fuel industry billions of dollars in compensation for the environmental devastation and the deception.

Dedina says his minority majority community of about 27,000 cannot begin to afford the tens of millions of dollars it will cost to keep at bay the waters bordering three sides of his financially strapped city. The worst of recent storms have turned Imperial Beach into an island.

One assessment calculated that, without expensive mitigation measures, rising sea levels will eventually swamp some of the city’s neighbourhoods, routinely flood its two schools and overwhelm its drainage system.

Imperial Beach’s annual budget is $20m. Exxon’s chief executive, Darren Woods, was paid more than $15m last year.

“We don’t have a pot to piss in in this city. So why not go after the oil companies?” he said. “The lawsuit is a pragmatic approach to making the people that caused sea level rise pay for the impacts it has on our city.”

That’s not how Exxon, the US’s largest oil company, saw it. Its lawyers noted that Imperial Beach filed its case in July 2017, at the same time as two California counties, Marin and San Mateo. The county and city of Santa Cruz followed six months later with similar suits seeking compensation to cope with increasing wildfires and drought caused by global heating.

Exxon alleged that the sudden burst of litigation, and the fact that the municipalities shared a law firm specialising in environmental cases, Sher Edling, was evidence of collusion.

Exxon filed lawsuits claiming the municipalities conspired to extort money from the company by following a strategy developed during an environmental conference at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, 25 miles north of Imperial Beach, nine years ago.

The meeting, organised by the Climate Accountability Institute and the Union of Concerned Scientists, produced a report outlining how legal strategies used by US states against the tobacco industry in the 1990s could be applied to cases against fossil fuel companies.

Dedina was also targeted by one of the US’s biggest business groups at the forefront of industry resistance to increased regulation to reduce greenhouse gases, the National Association of Manufacturers, and a rightwing thinktank, the Energy & Environment Legal Institute.

Mayor Dedina looks out to sea. 

Photograph: John Francis Peters/The Guardian

The manufacturing trade group was behind the efforts to obtain data from Dedina’s phone and documents in 2018. In its public disclosure request to the mayor’s office, NAM called Imperial Beach’s lawsuit “litigation based on political or ideological objections more appropriately addressed through the political process”.

Exxon is attempting to use a Texas law that allows corporations to go on a fishing expedition for incriminating evidence by questioning individuals under oath even before any legal action is filed against them. The company is trying to force Dedina, two other members of Imperial Beach’s government, and officials from other jurisdictions, to submit to questioning on the grounds they were joined in a conspiracy against the oil industry.

“A collection of special interests and opportunistic politicians are abusing law enforcement authority and legal process to impose their viewpoint on climate change,” the oil firm claimed. “ExxonMobil finds itself directly in that conspiracy’s crosshairs.”

How cities and states could finally hold fossil fuel companies accountable

A Texas district judge approved the request to depose Dedina, but then a court of appeals overturned the decision last year. The state supreme court is considering whether to take up the case.

The target on Dedina is part of a wider pattern of retaliation against those suing Exxon and other oil companies.

In an unusual move in 2016, Exxon persuaded a Texas judge to order the attorney general of Massachusetts, Maura Healey, to travel to Dallas to be deposed about her motives for investigating the company for alleged fraud for suppressing evidence on climate change. The judge also ordered that New York’s attorney general, Eric Schneiderman, be “available” in Dallas on the same day in case Exxon wanted to question him about a similar investigation.

Healey accused Exxon of trying to “squash the prerogative of state attorneys general to do their jobs”. The judge reversed the deposition order a month later and Healey filed a lawsuit against the company in 2019, which is still awaiting trial.

But similar tactics persuaded the US Virgin Islands attorney general to shut down his investigation of the oil giant.

Patrick Parenteau, a law professor and former director of the Environmental Law Center at Vermont law school, said the attempt to question Dedina and other officials is part of a broader strategy by the oil industry to counter lawsuits with its own litigation.

“These cases are frivolous and vexatious. Intimidation is the goal. Just making it cost a lot and be painful to take on Exxon. They think that if they make the case painful enough, Imperial Beach will quit,” he said.

The city’s lawsuit claims it faces a ‘significant and dangerous sea-level rise’. 

Photograph: John Francis Peters/The Guardian

If the intent is to kill off the litigation against the oil industry, it’s not working. Officials from other municipalities have called Exxon’s move “repugnant”, “a sham” and “outrageous”, and have vowed to press on with their lawsuits.

Dedina described the action as a “bullying tactic” by the oil industry to avoid accountability.

“The only conspiracy is [that] a bunch of suits and fossil-fuel companies decided to pollute the earth and make climate change worse, and then lie about it,” he said. “They make more money than our entire city has in a year.”

The city’s lawsuit claims it faces a “significant and dangerous sea-level rise” through the rest of this century that threatens its existence. Imperial Beach commissioned an analysis of its vulnerability to rising sea levels which concluded that nearly 700 homes and businesses were threatened at a cost of more than $100m. It said that flooding will hit about 40% of the city’s roads, including some that will be under water for long periods. Two elementary schools will have to be moved. The city’s beach, regarded as one of the best sites for surfing on the California coast, is being eroded by about a foot a year.

Imperial Beach sits at the southern end of San Diego bay. Under one worst-case scenario, the bay could merge with the Tijuana River estuary to the south and permanently submerge much of the city’s housing and roads.

A view of the Tijuana River estuary.

 Photograph: John Francis Peters/The Guardian

The city has received some help with creating natural climate barriers. The Fish and Wildlife Service restored 400 acres of wetland next to the city as a national wildlife refuge which also acts as a barrier to flooding, and is expected to restore other wetlands together with the Port of San Diego. A grant is paying for improved equipment to warn of floods.

But that still leaves the huge costs of building new schools and drainage systems, and adapting other infrastructure. Dedina said that without the oil companies stumping up, it won’t happen.

“People ask, how did you go against the world’s largest fossil fuel companies? Isn’t that scary? No. What’s scary is coastal flooding and the idea that whole cities would be under water,” said the mayor.

“Honestly, bring it on. I can’t wait to make our case. I can’t wait to take the fight to them because we have nothing to lose.”

This story is published as part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of news outlets strengthening coverage of the climate story

NORTHERN ONTARIO

Forestry company filling skills gap, labour shortage through international recruitment

About 10 international workers have already arrived and more are expected over the winter
2 days ago By: Dariya Baiguzhiyeva

EACOM's sawmill in Gogama produces 110 million board feet of lumber annually, in addition to wood chips, sawdust and shavings.

Supplied photo

EACOM Timber Corp. is addressing the employment issue in the north through international recruitment.

The forestry company has been working with IVEY Group, a Sudbury-based international recruitment and consulting firm, to recruit and retain workers in northern communities.

The partnership has been ongoing for several years, according to Jean Brodeur, EACOM’s director of communications and government relations.

“Employment has been an issue for us in Northern Ontario or northern Quebec,” he said. “It’s isolated communities. If you look at Timmins or other sites we have, it’s very difficult to find employees available.”

According to Statistics Canada's recent job vacancy data, the labour shortage has affected multiple sectors of the economy.

EACOM hired IVEY to recruit international employees for the Gogama sawmill, said Anthony Lawley, the CEO and president of IVEY Group. The two companies do business on other sites as well, he said.

About 10 international workers from Ukraine, Mexico and Honduras have already arrived in Gogama. More employees are expected, including a group of six arriving in the winter, according to Brodeur.

EACOM also recently announced a $10-million investment to build a new 44-unit housing facility in Gogama over five years.

The housing complex will house new international employees and their families as well as corporate and regional employees who travel to the area on business.

“If you don’t have accommodation for them, then you have to essentially be on breaks in terms of recruitment because you don’t have a place to have them. That was becoming an outstanding issue for us, so we needed to find a solution,” Brodeur said about the housing project.

Hiring internationally has become essential due to the labour shortage and the skills gap, Lawley said.

“The other thing with Gogama is Côté Gold Project is hiring a ridiculous amount of people … and because of the industry, they’re able to pay a higher wage. So, people are quitting, going to work for the mining project,” he said noting people are also reluctant to move to Gogama because of its location. “People would rather live in Timmins or Sudbury than Gogama.”

Lawley said IVEY Group has partnership agreements with many various organizations outside of Canada. The firm recruits employees in Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Ukraine for its clients.

“It is extremely difficult today to find workers,” Lawley said. “It’s not stealing jobs from Canadians, it’s not importers trying to hire cheap labour … These people coming here for an opportunity to change their life for something better.”

– TimminsToday

 

Report: Decaying Yemeni FSO Threatens the Health of Millions of People

The FSO Safer in better days (Conflict Observatory)

PUBLISHED OCT 12, 2021 9:04 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

The abandoned FSO Safer continues to rot off Yemen’s Red Sea coast, threatening the region with environmental catastrophe. Although negotiations to offload the defunct vessel have been ongoing for months – and are now being led by the UNSC - there is no expected date for a resolution.

The FSO Safer has undergone no major maintenance since 2015, when it came under the control of Houthi rebels at the start of Yemen’s civil war. It poses a significant environmental threat to the biodiversity-rich Red Sea, and a potential oil spill would spell doom for the livelihoods of an estimated 28 million people in the region.

The vessel contains 1.1 million barrels of Marib light crude oil - about four times the 260,000 barrels that spilled from the Exxon Valdez in Alaska in 1989.

The UN Security Council blames Houthi rebels for delaying a technical assessment of the tanker that the body had deployed back in March. The Iran-aligned Houthis are in control of Yemen’s western Red Sea ports, where the tanker is moored.

A research paper released on Monday modeled the immense environmental and economic impacts of a potential spill by the rotting vessel. The team of researchers from Harvard, Stanford and UC Berkeley simulated the Safer oil spill over a variety of weather conditions, along with the expected spread in the Red Sea region.

The team found that all of Yemen’s fuel imported through its key Red Sea ports - Hudaydah and Salif - would be disrupted, in addition to 93-100 percent of Yemen’s Red Sea fisheries. A major oil spill would also threaten the clean water supply for about nine million people through contamination of desalinization plants.

“If the spill spreads unmitigated for three weeks, oil will probably impede passage throughout the Gulf of Aden and could reach ports as far as Eritrea and Saudi Arabia,” the authors wrote.

The authors estimate that for every month of Red Sea port closure, delivery of 200,000 tonnes of fuel for Yemen will be disrupted. This is equivalent to about 38 percent of the nation's fuel needs, and would create a fuel price spike that could worsen the nation's long-running humanitarian crisis.

In addition, port closures in the Red Sea would lead to severe food aid disruptions. This could affect the 5.7 million people in Yemen currently requiring food assistance.

The long-term and global impacts of a potential spill could be difficult to model. Ecological and environmental impacts through wildlife endangerment and coastline contamination can persist for years or decades. The spill could have a potential impact on the Red Sea coral reefs, which have been much-studied for their unique resilience to seawater warming.

The paper concludes by calling on the international community to find a long-term solution for the handling of the oil on board Safer.

 

First Submerged Wave Energy Technology Begins Trials off California

Wave energy prototype ie beginning a six-month trial in the ocean (CalWave)

PUBLISHED OCT 11, 2021 4:58 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

California’s first at-sea, long-duration wave energy pilot is getting underway with a unique fully submerged technology. Developed by CalWave Power Technologies, the system was deployed on September 16 off the coast of San Diego and will be tested for six months with the goal of validating the performance and reliability of the system in the open ocean.

Operating fully submerged, CalWave believes its xWave architecture has unique capabilities that will contribute to the commercialization of wave energy technologies. The company says that its system achieves high performance while being able to control structural loads in rare but destructive storms on all parts of the system. Further, because it sits below the surface the system eliminates visual impact.

“CalWave’s long-duration deployment is a novel open water demonstration of a wave energy technology with active load management features,” said Jennifer Garson, Acting Director of the Department of Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO). “WPTO is pleased to recognize this accomplishment as a major milestone for unlocking the potential of wave energy from our oceans and providing access to clean energy for the growing blue economy in the US.”

Wave energy devices work on the same principles as wind turbines or other hydro turbines the company explains. It’s a kinetic device that captures a renewable resource to produce electricity. Wave farms export power using the same electrical infrastructure as offshore wind farms. However, unlike conventional technologies that extract wave energy at the ocean surface, CalWave’s patented xWave architecture operates fully submerged at a range of different water depths and distances to shore. Its unique approach enables it to survive stormy seas and extreme conditions and allows for unique control of structural loads by eliminating excessive loads during storms. 

“Wave power is the largest unused renewable resource and the third-largest after wind and solar globally,” says Marcus Lehmann, CEO and Co-Founder of CalWave. “Wave power can provide power at night and during wintertime where other renewables can’t, and so far it is completely unused.”

The Department of Energy recently published a study including an updated resource assessment and found that wave power can provide up to 30 percent of the 2019 energy consumption in the US. CalWave believes that the wave energy industry is at an inflection point has the potential to complement existing renewable energy forms to provide reliable power when no other renewables are available.

Utility-scale units can be co-located with offshore wind farms using the same electrical export infrastructure and achieve a significantly higher joint capacity factor due to the complementary production profile of wind and wave power. According to the company, the CalWave x1 is well suited for the needs of end-users of the blue economy with applications in offshore inspection, aquaculture, ocean science, and others that require access to power and data offshore. 

Following the current demonstration, CalWave plans to prepare for the deployment of a larger unit at PacWave, the first commercial-scale, utility grid-connected wave energy test site in the US rated at 20 MW.

This project is supported by a US Department of Energy award. Partners including the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, DNV GL, and UC Berkeley have all collaborated with CalWave on the project.

 

 

 

 

 

(Photos courtesy of CalWave)

 'MAYBE' TECH

Plan to Transition Orkney Oil Facility to Green Hydrogen Production

Land alongside Orkney's Flotta terminal could be used for a hydrogen production facility (OWPL)

PUBLISHED OCT 12, 2021 5:56 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

One of the concepts that continues to draw attention for renewable energy is linking offshore wind energy generation with the production of hydrogen. Exploration has begun primarily along the North Sea where it is believed the combination could create new economic opportunities for the wind industry while creating a source of clean, renewable energy.
 
“We believe that green hydrogen could provide a critical alternative route to market for some of Scotland’s largest offshore wind projects and play a significant role in creating wider economic benefits as the North Sea goes through its energy transition,” explains Edward Northam, Head of Green Investment Group Europe.

A consortium formed by Macquarie’s Green Investment Group, TotalEnergies, and Scottish developer Renewable Infrastructure Development Group (RIDG) is studying the use of offshore wind to power the production of green hydrogen. They are exploring the opportunities to link with Scotland’s developing offshore wind farms to develop green hydrogen on an industrial scale. They are targeting the island of Flotta in Orkney, Scotland.  

“Flotta is an ideal location for green hydrogen production – it is surrounded by the best wind resource in Europe, it lies close to major shipping routes within the vast natural harbor of Scapa Flow. The time is right to maximize the incredible natural assets and geography of the Flow and Orkney to ensure a long-term sustainable, climate-friendly future for our communities,” said James Stockan, Leader of Orkney Islands Council.”

The Flotta Terminal has been in operation since 1976 serving as a crude oil reception, processing, storage, and export facility. Receiving oil, and previously natural gas, by pipeline, Flotta has a deep-water terminal for the export of the energy resources. Under the plan being proposed by the consortium, the Flotta terminal would be progressively transformed into a diversified energy hub where conventional oil and gas operations continue, alongside the development of a sustainable long-term green future for the facility.  

The Offshore Wind Power Limited consortium submitted a proposal to the Crown Estate Scotland’s offshore wind leasing round to develop a portion of the area west of Orkney. If successful, the proposal would develop renewable power and a green hydrogen production facility at the Flotta Terminal.?  

Plans to power the proposed Flotta Hydrogen Hub are being developed in partnership with Flotta Terminal’s owner Repsol Sinopec, and Uniper. 

“The production of green hydrogen is a hugely exciting opportunity for both offshore wind and the Scottish supply chain,” said Mike Hay, RIDG Commercial Director. “Projects with substantial capacity factors, such as the West of Orkney Windfarm, could deliver highly competitive power to facilities like the Flotta Hydrogen Hub which could, in turn, supply demand for hydrogen both nationally and internationally.”

The group believes the proposal provides a strong case repurposing the oil terminal facility to provide an additional 25 years or more of economic life to the aging facility. It would also position the region as a leader in the new green energy economy.

 'MAYBE' TECH

Hydrogen Fuels Could Enable Up to 80% Cut in Ship Emission by 2050

IRENA's roadmap focuses on green hydrogen and advanced biofuels to meet climate goals

PUBLISHED OCT 13, 2021 6:56 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

A rapid replacement of fossil fuels with renewable fuels based on green hydrogen along with advanced biofuels could enable to cut up to 80 percent of CO2 emissions by mid-century attributed to the international maritime sector. That is the assessment of a new report released by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), an intergovernmental agency focused on supporting countries in their transition to a sustainable energy future. By 2050, 

Decarbonizing global shipping is one of the most challenging sectors to address - and despite raised ambitions - current plans fall short of what is needed,” says Francesco La Camera, Director-General of IRENA. “Our outlook clearly shows that cutting CO2 emissions in such a strategic, hard to abate sector, is technically feasible through green hydrogen fuels.”

IRENA’s new report, A Pathway to Decarbonize the Shipping Sector by 2050, outlines a roadmap for the global shipping sector to be in line with global climate goals. The organization says that renewable fuels should contribute at least 70 percent of the sector’s energy mix in 2050 to achieve climate goals.

‘‘Taking early action is critical’, La Camera added. “May this report encourage policymakers, ship owners and operators, port authorities, renewable energy developers and utilities to work together towards common climate goals and show their ambition to world leaders at the UN climate conference COP26 in Glasgow.”

If the international shipping sector were a country, IRENA highlights that it would be the sixth- or seventh-largest CO2 emitter. IRENA’s decarbonization pathway is based on four key measures including indirect electrification by employing green hydrogen-based fuels, the inclusion of advanced biofuels, the improvement of vessels’ energy efficiency, and the reduction of sectoral activity due to systemic changes in global trade dynamics.

In the short term, IRENA believes that advanced biofuels will play a key role in cutting emissions, providing up to 10 percent of the sector’s total energy mix in 2050. In the medium and long-term green hydrogen-based fuels will be pivotal, making up 60 percent of the energy mix in 2050. E-methanol and e-ammonia are the most promising green hydrogen-based fuels says IRENA, with particularly e-ammonia set to be the backbone for the sector’s decarbonizing by 2050. 

IRENA’s report highlights that e-ammonia could represent as much as 43 percent of the sector’s energy needs in 2050, which would imply the use of about 183 million tons of renewable ammonia for international shipping, a comparable amount to today’s ammonia global production.

IRENA’s report also finds that the production costs of alternative fuels and their availability will ultimately dictate the actual employment of renewable fuels. 

Moving from nearly zero CO2 emissions to net-zero requires a 100 percent renewable energy mix by 2050. While renewable energy costs have been falling at an accelerated rate, further cost declines are needed for renewable energy-derived fuels to become the prime choice of propulsion. According to the report, climate goals and decarbonization ambition can be raised by adopting relevant and timely coordinated international policy measures. A realistic carbon levy will be critical, putting an adjustable carbon price on each fuel to prevent new fossil fuel investments and stranded assets.

Finally, the report calls on all stakeholders to develop broader business models and establish strategic partnerships involving energy-intensive industries, as well as power suppliers and the petrochemical sector. Stakeholders need to be fully mapped out and engaged, the various players need to work towards a common goal. Accordingly, governing bodies regulating the international shipping sector need to develop integral and participative planning exercises, establishing step-by-step actions for reaching zero emissions by 2050.

 

Ørsted to Build Offshore Wind Steel Fabrication Plant in Maryland

Steel fabrication plant will support Ørsted's wind farms in Maryland and New Jersey (Ørsted file photo)

PUBLISHED OCT 15, 2021 6:21 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

Construction will begin this month on Maryland’s first offshore wind steel fabrication center with Denmark’s Ørsted agreeing to make a financial investment with Crystal Steel Fabricators in Federalsburg, Maryland. With this step, Ørsted has completed another commitment it made as part of agreement to develop Maryland’s offshore wind farm and which will also provide broader support in the installation of wind farms along the U.S. East Coast. 

Crystal Steel will begin construction activity on the new facilities this month with the goal of suppling steel components that will be used to construct wind turbine foundations for Ørsted’s Mid-Atlantic projects, including the Skipjack Wind program in Maryland and Ocean Wind 1 and Ocean Wind 2 in New Jersey. As a result of the partnership with Ørsted, Crystal Steel will increase its workforce by nearly a third, hiring up to 50 new local welders, fitters, CNC machine operators, painters, and truck drivers. 

Crystal Steel’s workers will pre-fabricate, or manufacture, large-scale, steel components that are fundamental elements of the turbine foundations. These components, which range in size from 9 to 16 tons each and are as tall as 45 feet, will be used in the construction of the wind turbine foundation boat landings, ladders, internal and exterior platforms, railings, grating, and other items.  Final assembly of these component parts will be completed locally for each project.  For the Skipjack Wind program, components fabricated at Crystal Steel will be constructed at Tradepoint Atlantic, where Ørsted has invested in Maryland’s first offshore wind staging center. 

“Maryland’s Eastern Shore is an outstanding location for expanding offshore wind’s domestic supply chain,” said David Hardy, CEO of Ørsted Offshore North America. “For decades, offshore wind steel fabrication jobs were located overseas, so we are particularly excited to bring these sustainable, good-paying jobs here to America as part of our buildout of a new 21st century American industry. As builder, owner, and operator of Skipjack Wind 1, we are deeply committed to investing in Maryland and the Eastern Shore for decades to come.”

Awarded by the Public Service Commission in 2017, Ørsted’s lease to develop Maryland’s offshore wind farm also included provisions for the creation of onshore facilities to act as staging for the wind farm during assembly as well as creation of support facilities for the operations. Ørsted also committed to an investment to develop the necessary steel fabrication operations for the wind farm in the state of Maryland. 

Crystal Steel Fabricators purchased the facility located on the Delmarva Peninsula in Federalsburg, Maryland in 2016. The 96,000 sq. foot site provides structural steel fabrication with railway access, allowing us to receive extra-long raw materials. Current operations will be expanded to meet the demands from the wind farm industry.

This agreement marks Ørsted’s second economic commitment to Maryland’s Eastern Shore announced this month. Ørsted will also construct Maryland’s first offshore wind operations and maintenance facility in west Ocean City, in support of the Skipjack Wind program. The facility will serve as the wind turbine maintenance technicians, engineers, operations personnel, and other key roles.

Skipjack Wind 1 is a 120-megawatt offshore wind project under development 20 miles off the Maryland-Delaware coast. Commercial operations are expected to begin in the second half of 2026.

 

Longshoreman Survives 100-Foot Fall Into a Cargo Hold

Courtesy New Orleans Fire Department

PUBLISHED OCT 14, 2021 10:39 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

[Brief] On Tuesday, New Orleans firefighters rescued a longshoreman who survived a 60-100 foot fall into the hold of a cargo ship. 

At about 1730 hours Tuesday, New Orleans Emergency Medical Services and the New Orleans Fire Department were dispatched to a medical emergency at the port's Poland Avenue Wharf. A longshoreman who had been working on board the bulker St. George had reportedly tripped and fallen to the bottom of an open hold, which was about 60-100 feet down. Photos from the scene appear to show that the hold was partially filled with bundles of rebar. 

Astonishingly, the longshoreman survived the fall. EMS personnel arrived first and bandaged the victim's injuries, Fire Capt. Scott Chapuis told local media, but it was up to the fire department to get him out. Several firemen descended into the hold with a Stokes litter and secured the victim with straps. When ready, they used the ship's crane to fly him out of the hold and deliver him to safety. 

According to the fire department, the victim was conscious, alert and able to communicate with responders throughout this evolution. Despite the height of the fall - a distance that carries a very high rate of mortality - the only injury that was apparent at the scene was a broken arm. The victim was delivered to a nearby hospital for treatment.