What is green hydrogen and why is it touted as a clean fuel?

An employee walks away from solar panels near a hydrogen plant at Oil India Limited in Jorhat, India, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. Green hydrogen is being touted around the world as a clean energy solution to take the carbon out of high-emitting sectors like transport and industrial manufacturing. But it's not green hydrogen unless the energy used to produce it is renewable, like solar or wind energy. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

SIBI ARASU
Tue, September 5, 2023 

BENGALURU, India (AP) — Green hydrogen is being touted around the world as a clean energy solution to take the carbon out of high-emitting sectors like transport and industrial manufacturing.

The India-led International Solar Alliance launched the Green Hydrogen Innovation Centre earlier this year, and India itself approved $2.3 billion for the production, use and export of green hydrogen. Global cooperation on green hydrogen manufacturing and supply is expected to be discussed by G-20 leaders at this week's summit in New Delhi.

WHAT IS GREEN HYDROGEN?

Hydrogen is produced by separating that element from others in molecules where hydrogen occurs. For example, water — well known by its chemical symbol of H20, or two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom — can be split into those component atoms through electrolysis.

Hydrogen has been produced and used at scale for over a century, primarily to make fertilizers and plastics and to refine oil. It has mostly been produced using fossil fuels, especially natural gas.

But when the production is powered by renewable energy, the resulting hydrogen is green hydrogen.

The global market for green hydrogen is expected to reach $410 billion by 2030, according to analysts, which would more than double its current market size.

However, critics say the fuel is not always viable at scale and its ‘green’ credentials are determined by the source of energy used to produce it.

WHAT CAN GREEN HYDROGEN BE USED FOR?

Green hydrogen can have a variety of uses in industries such as steelmaking, concrete production and manufacturing chemicals and fertilizers. It can also be used to generate electricity, as a fuel for transport and to heat homes and offices. Today, hydrogen is primarily used in refining petrol and manufacturing fertilizers. While petrol would have no use in a fossil fuel-free world, emissions from making fertilizer — essential to grow crops that feed the world — can be reduced by using green hydrogen.

Francisco Boshell, an energy analyst at the International Renewable Energy Agency in Abu Dhabi, is optimistic about green hydrogen’s role in the transition to clean energy, especially in cases where energy from renewables like solar and wind can't practically be stored and used via battery — like aviation, shipping and some industrial processes.

He said hydrogen's volatility — it's highly flammable and requires special pipelines for safe transport — means most green hydrogen will likely be used close to where it is made.

ARE THERE DOUBTS ABOUT GREEN HYDROGEN?

That flammability plus transport issues limit hydrogen's use in “dispersed applications” such as residential heating, according to a report by the Energy Transitions Commission, a coalition of energy leaders committed to net-zero emissions by 2050. It also is less efficient than direct electrification as some energy is lost when renewables are converted to hydrogen and then the hydrogen is converted again to power, the report said.

That report noted strong potential for hydrogen as an alternative to batteries for energy storage at large scale and for long periods.

Other studies have questioned the high cost of production, investment risks, greater need for water than other clean power and the lack of international standards that hinders a global market.

Robert Howarth, a professor of ecology and environmental biology at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, who also sits on New York's Climate Action Council, said green hydrogen is being oversold in part due to lobbying by the oil and gas industry.

Boshell, of the International Renewable Energy Agency, disagreed. His organization has projected hydrogen demand will grow to 550 million tons by 2050, up from the current 100 million tons.

The International Energy Agency says production of hydrogen is responsible for around 830 million tons of carbon dioxide per year. Boshell said just replacing this so-called gray hydrogen — hydrogen produced from fossil fuels — would ensure a long-term market for green hydrogen.

“The first thing we have to do is start replacing the existing demand for gray hydrogen. And then we can add additional demand and applications of green hydrogen as a fuel for industries, shipping and aviation,” he said.

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Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all conten

  

U$A
Landlords start nickel-and-diming tenants with fees

David Lazarus
Tue, September 5, 2023 

It’s already very expensive to rent in a hot housing market like Southern California. Now landlords have found a way to make things even worse.

A growing number of property owners and managers are hitting tenants with extra fees each month — a nickel-and-diming of people that the airlines, for one, have made a core aspect of their business model.

It’s been common for years for landlords to charge more for a parking space or having a pet.

The new fees being levied — which might run an additional $5 or $10 each — cover a wide range of once-gratis services, including trash pickup, pest control, use of a mailbox and routine maintenance requests.

“A lot of this stuff used to just be called ‘rent,'” Mike Vraa, a Minnesota tenant attorney, told the Wall Street Journal.

Now, apparently, it’s gravy.

Just as airlines once doled out pillows, blankets and other amenities as a free service, now these goodies are a revenue source.

Landlords, many of whom faced financial challenges during the pandemic, apparently think a few new revenue streams would work for them as well.

As a result, some now charge fees for moving in and moving out. Some have fees for “lease administration” (whatever that is). One Minnesota landlord collects a $100 “January fee” on the first month of the year.

A January fee!

In suburban Phoenix, a number of buildings are instructing tenants to leave their garbage near the front door and then slapping them with a $30 monthly fee for someone to schlep the garbage to a dumpster.

“I can carry the trash 50 feet to the dumpster,” tenant Debbie Giannecchini complained to the Journal. She said she moved out of a building that started imposing a valet fee for trash.

Rents rose by 25% from early 2021 to summer of 2022 as landlords sought to make up for pandemic losses.

For many people, therefore, added fees are just another kick in teeth.

An executive at one Midwest apartment company told the Journal that the firm more than doubled its income from fees at nearly two-dozen rental properties.

“People pay it,” the executive said.

That’s because people need a place to live.

It doesn’t justify the practice.

DESANTISLAND
Former State Attorney Monique Worrell sues Gov. DeSantis, asks Florida Supreme Court to reverse suspension

Amanda Rabines, Orlando Sentinel
Wed, September 6, 2023 

Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel/TNS

Monique Worrell, the former Orange-Osceola state attorney, has filed a lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, asking the Florida Supreme Court to reverse his order removing her from office.

Worrell is accusing DeSantis of citing vague allegations against her in his case for her suspension, which has rattled community organizers and people in the legal community who rallied Tuesday, calling the governor’s action “unconstitutional” at a series of press conferences in Orange County, Tampa and Miami.

DeSantis suspension of Worrell follows a string of criticism from law enforcement leaders accusing her of not prosecuting crime aggressively enough.

Filed Wednesday, the lawsuit claims the executive order fails to identify any conduct by Worrell that would support suspension and counters data cited in the executive order as evidence of “neglect of duty” or “incompetence” while she was serving at Ninth Judicial Circuit.

On Aug. 9, DeSantis replaced her with Orange County Judge Andrew Bain, who is a member of the Federalist Society, a conservative legal organization.

Worrell is the second Democratic state attorney suspended by DeSantis. Last summer, the governor suspended Andrew Warren, a twice-elected state attorney for Hillsborough County, who pledged not to prosecute doctors who provide abortions.

In the lawsuit, Worrell attempts to set her case apart from executive orders issued against Warren and her predecessor, Aramis Ayala, who in 2017 found herself in a feud with then-Gov. Rick Scott over her opposition to seeking the death penalty in all cases.

In Worrell’s case, the lawsuit says the governor has not alleged any practice or policy that could constitute a refusal to exercise prosecutorial discretion.

“The order vaguely refers to Ms. Worrell’s ‘practices and policies’ throughout but notably fails to identify a single, specific policy or practice, making the order distinguishable from recent cases involving other Florida state attorneys, where the executive orders identified specific policies alleged to constitute a neglect of duty,” the lawsuit reads.

Much of the scrutiny Worrell faced followed several high-profile shootings in Orange County, including one in Pine Hills that resulted in the killings of three people, including a child and a TV news reporter.

Brazil cyclone, Europe flooding, another Earth heat record: What to know in extreme weather now

The Associated Press
Wed, September 6, 2023 

Residents walks amid destroyed houses after floods caused by a deadly cyclone in Mucum, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. An extratropical cyclone in southern Brazil caused floods in several cities.

 (AP Photo/Wesley Santos)

Families perched atop houses pleading for help to escape the deadly flooding after a cyclone hammered southern Brazil, with the region's governor calling it “an absolutely out of the ordinary event.”

The world's latest extreme weather disaster killed at least 31 people and left at least 1,600 homeless, authorities said Wednesday. The scope of the damage was enormous: Rio Grande do Sol Gov. Eduardo Leite said it was his state's highest death toll from a climate event, with “entire cities that were completely compromised.”

The toll included at least 15 bodies in a single house.

Flooding also wracked Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria on Tuesday, fed by fierce rainstorms and killing at least seven people. The toll included at least two in Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, where streets and homes were flooded in two neighborhoods.

Here’s what else is happening related to extreme weather, climate and the environment right now:

—The World Meteorological Organization announced another heat record in a year full of them: Earth sweltered through its hottest Northern Hemisphere summer ever measured. Scientists blame human-caused climate change, along with the natural El Nino phenomenon.

— Tropical Storm Lee was moving through the open Atlantic and expected to become a hurricane as it nears the Caribbean. In the Pacific, Jova had grown into a Category 2 hurricane far off the southwest coast of Mexico.

—The first African Climate Summit ended Wednesday with a call for world leaders to rally behind a global carbon tax on fossil fuels, aviation and maritime transport, and it seeks reform of the world financial system that forces African nations to pay more to borrow money.

—In sub-Saharan Africa, clean electricity from solar is catching on in several large countries. Much of it is off the grid, meaning the solar powers a handful of buildings but isn't part of a larger system.

—Environmental groups are suing the state of Utah over management of the Great Salt Lake, saying officials have pushed it to the brink of collapse by allowing upstream water to be diverted to farmers for decades.

— Crab fishermen in Alaska have been scrambling to stay afloat after two years of the Bering Sea fishery being closed or severely curtailed due to plummeting crab numbers. And they’re concerned that more of the same awaits this October when officials decide on catch limits for the upcoming season.

—Good news for salmon lovers: The last wild Atlantic salmon that return to U.S. rivers have had their most productive year in more than a decade, according to a count in Maine, raising hopes they may be weathering several ecological threats.

—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is delaying plans to tighten air quality standards for ground-level ozone — better known as smog — despite a recommendation by a scientific advisory panel to lower air pollution limits to protect public health. The decision pushes an update of one of the agency's most important air quality regulations beyond the 2024 presidential election.

— Tennis players at the U.S. Open, where Wednesday's highs were expected near 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 Celsius) seek relief from heat via ice-stuffed bags or from cold air blown through tubes on the sideline. An Associated Press analysis found the average high temperatures felt during the U.S. Open and the three other major tennis tournaments steadily have gotten higher and more dangerous in recent decades, reflecting the climate change that created record heat waves around the globe this summer.

QUOTABLE:

“It does feel like and probably will continue to feel like we’re just hopping from one emergency to another based on climate change." — Jared Meyers, a resort owner whose locations include four in Florida. Meyers is among small business owners who have had to deal with extreme weather — and he fears hurricane intensities are getting worse.

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Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Vivek Ramaswamy's 'anti-woke' investment firm now manages assets worth more than $1 billion

Joseph Wilkins
Wed, September 6, 2023

Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy at a Fox News debate last month.

Morry Gash/AP

• Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is the cofounder of an "anti-woke" ETF firm. 

• The company was set up last year and now manages assets worth more than $1 billion. 

• Ramaswamy's firm is a riposte to the ESG-centric policies of some big investment firms.  

The anti-activism investment fund cofounded by Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy is now managing assets worth more than $1 billion.

Strive Asset Management was set up in 2022 as a riposte to big fund managers such as BlackRock that have increasingly pursued a strategy of environmental, social and governance-focused, or ESG, investing.

Its mantra of encouraging companies to "focus on excellence" over ESG concerns has struck a chord with some investors.

Ramaswamy's GOP bid is also bringing more funds to Strive, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.

The firm's most popular fund is the Strive US Energy ETF, which tracks the same portfolio as BlackRock's iShares US Energy ETF.

Strive aims to use its voting power to pressure the companies it invests in to "drill more and frack more," Ramaswamy said last August, per Bloomberg.

"It is a rare feat for any indie issuer to hit $1 billion in the first year, let alone one that is largely a pushback to ESG as many of those ETFs have flopped," said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas.

The milestone comes as two former Strive employees sue the cofounders, accusing Ramaswamy and Anson Frericks of mistreating staff and pressuring staff to break securities law.

Strive said in a statement to Bloomberg last month it would "vigorously defend itself" against the claims.

The company declined to comment further when approached by Insider.

It's not the first time Ramaswamy has taken aim at what he called the financial sector's "woke" agenda. Last month he said the "big three" investment firms – BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard – represented "arguably the most powerful cartel in human history."

"They're the largest shareholders of nearly every major public company (even of each other)," he wrote.

"And they use *your* own money to foist ESG agendas onto corporate boards - voting for "racial equity audits" & "Scope 3 emissions caps" that don't advance your best financial interests. This raises serious fiduciary, antitrust, and conflict-of-interest concerns."

Ramaswamy is vying with Florida governor Ron DeSantis for second place in opinion polls, but both lag some distance behind former President Donald Trump in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

Business Insider

Court orders Texas to remove anti-migrant Rio Grande barriers

Rafael Bernal
Wed, September 6, 2023 

RAZOR WIRE AND FLOATING BARRIER

A federal judge in Texas on Wednesday ordered the state to remove buoys it set up in the Rio Grande to deter migration as part of its Operation Lone Star.

The order came as part of a lawsuit filed by the Biden administration against Texas, arguing in large part that the state had no right to install structures in federal navigable waterways.

“Governor [Greg] Abbott [R] announced that he was not ‘asking for permission’ for Operation Lone Star, the anti-immigration program under which Texas constructed the floating barrier,” District Judge David Alan Ezra wrote.

“Unfortunately for Texas, permission is exactly what federal law requires before installing obstructions in the nation’s navigable waters.”

Texas is ordered to remove the buoys by Sept. 15, but Abbott indicated just minutes after the ruling that the state plans to appeal the decision and will continue to use other “strategic barriers.”

The floating buoys cover 1,000 feet in the Rio Grande with anchors in the riverbed. They are arranged in a chain stretching up- and down-river, each separated by a rounded blade with serrated edges similar to a circular saw.

The buoys were put in place around July 10, installed just days after four migrants, including an infant, drowned trying to cross the river.

The installation was one of several measures taken by Abbott as part of Operation Lone Star, but it has proven the most controversial, creating significant tensions with Mexico.

Ezra noted Mexico’s formal diplomatic complaints on the matter in his decision as a factor in establishing the harm caused to the plaintiff justifying an injunction.

The ruling was deeply critical of Texas’s arguments to defend the installation, in particular the idea that the state is allowed any means to respond to any act it considers an “invasion.”

“And all Texas’s new argument does is ask the Court to take the additional step — beyond the nonjusticiable question of whether the federal government has failed to protect Texas from invasion — of sanctioning Texas’s assertion of plenary power to declare and respond to ‘all types of invasions, including invasions from non-state or quasistate actors,'” Ezra wrote.

“Under this logic, once Texas decides, in its sole discretion, that it has been invaded, it is subject to no oversight of its ‘chosen means of waging war.’ Such a claim is breathtaking.”

Abbott said Wednesday Texas would continue to use other shows of force at the border and criticized President Biden, claiming, “Texas is rightfully stepping up to do the job that he should have been doing all along.”

“This ruling is incorrect and will be overturned on appeal. We will continue to utilize every strategy to secure the border, including deploying Texas National Guard soldiers and Department of Public Safety troopers and installing strategic barriers,” Abbott said.

“Our battle to defend Texas’ sovereign authority to protect lives from the chaos caused by President Biden’s open border policies has only begun. Texas is prepared to take this fight all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.”

The Department of Justice in late July had urged a judge to order the buoys removed within 10 days.

“Governor Abbott’s suggestion that Texas can violate the [Rivers and Harbors Act] in service of its own policy priorities inverts the Supremacy Clause and controverts Supreme Court precedent recognizing the federal government’s plenary power over immigration and foreign affairs,” the Justice Department wrote in the filing.

— Updated at 5:32 p.m.

Tourists swim with 2 humpbacks — then more join in. ‘How many whales can you count?’

Moira Ritter
Wed, September 6, 2023 

Photo by Ben Carless on Unsplash

A boat full of eager tourists was cruising through the waters of Western Australia in hopes of spotting some whales, and, if they were lucky, the opportunity to swim alongside the massive creatures.

That’s when the group spotted two humpbacks, according to an Aug. 31 Facebook post from Ningaloo Whaleshark Swim, the tour agency operating the boat. Equipped with fins and scuba gear, the tourists jumped in alongside the creatures.

Soon, the group was treated to another surprise as another group of whales joined them, bringing the total number of humpback to 15, the post said.

“The most mind-blowing encounter on our humpback whale interaction tour today,” the tour agency posted. “After jumping in with two humpback whales to begin with, they merged into a larger pod of humpback whales passing by and even picked up a few more stragglers along the way!”

A video shared by the agency on Instagram shows the whales swimming below and next to the tourists.

Jasmine O’Brien, an underwater photographer for the tour agency, was aboard the boat at the time of the encounter.

“How many whales can you count?” she wrote in a Facebook post. “I am absolutely shooketh by this insane encounter today! The sea was thick with whales, as our small pod suddenly turned into a super pod of 15 whales!”

“Unbelievable experience,” a passenger from the boat commented on Facebook. “Didn’t know where to look there were whales it seemed in every direction.”

Social media users shared their shock about the encounter.

“MAGIC!!!!” one person commented on Facebook.

“Mind blowing,” another Facebook user wrote.

“How beautiful,” another commenter said.

Russia in Africa: Prigozhin's death exposes Putin's real motives on the continent

Joseph Siegle, Director of Research, Africa Center for Strategic Studies, University of Maryland

THE CONVERSATION
Tue, September 5, 2023 

The apparent assassination of Yevgeny Prigozhin in the crash of his private jet between Moscow and St. Petersburg represents an inflection point in Russian-African relations. Prigozhin, as leader of the notorious Wagner Group, had been the point man for Russia in Africa since Wagner first began operations on the continent in 2017. More than a single entity, the Wagner Group is an amalgamation of shell companies deploying paramilitary forces, disinformation and political interference in Ukraine, Syria and Africa. Its leaders have been sanctioned by 30 countries for the group’s destabilising activities.

Prigozhin was believed to be living on borrowed time after he led a short-lived insurrection – part of a power struggle with the Russian military leadership – in June. While he quickly backed down, the action embarrassed Russian president Vladimir Putin and triggered chatter that Putin’s perceived weakness would embolden other challengers to his authority.

Prigozhin advanced Russian influence in Africa by propping up politically isolated and unpopular authoritarian leaders. As a result of Wagner’s support, these leaders were beholden to Russian interests. Wagner’s backing took a variety of irregular forms, like paramilitary forces, disinformation campaigns, election interference, intimidation of political opponents, and arms for resources deals. Prigozhin referred to this interlocking set of influence operations as “The Orchestra”, which he conducted.

Wagner deployed forces to Libya, the entral African Republic, Mali and Sudan. It has also been interfering in domestic politics and information narratives in some two dozen African countries.

I research the role of governance in advancing security and development as well as the influence of external actors in Africa, including Russia. Democratic transitions and institutions of democratic accountability are among my interests.

The breadth of Russian political interference in Africa points to Russia’s strategic objectives for the continent. It aims to secure a foothold in North Africa and the Red Sea, undermine western influence, normalise authoritarianism and displace the UN-based international system.

None of these objectives are about making Africa more prosperous or stable. Rather, the continent is primarily a theatre to advance Russia’s geostrategic interests.

Attempting to maintain the lucrative and influential operations of the Wagner Group in Africa after Prigozhin’s death will make it hard for Russia to deny that it uses irregular and illegal actions to extend its influence.

Maintaining Wagner without Prigozhin

The Wagner model has seen Russian influence expand rapidly in Africa. That’s despite Russia investing very little on the continent. Most of Wagner’s costs have been covered through cash and mineral concessions provided by host regimes. By some accounts revenues from mining operations in the Central African Republic and Sudan generate billions.

It is no surprise that Russia would want to keep the Wagner enterprise going. Tellingly, on the day of Prigozhin’s plane crash, deputy defence minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov was in Libya to reassure warlord Khalifa Haftar of Russia’s ongoing support. Yevkurov later visited the military juntas in Mali and Burkina Faso to deliver the same message.

The question will be whether the Russian military has the capacity. Russia needs soldiers in Ukraine. So, it may not have experienced fighters to spare in Africa. It is also an open question whether Wagner troops will agree to sign contracts with the Russian defence ministry, given the way their leader was dispatched.

The Russian government would also need to recreate the multidimensional dealings that made Wagner’s operations effective in shoring up client regimes. For years, Russia has promoted hybrid warfare – the fusion of conventional and subversive tools. Synchronising this across multiple African contexts will require greater dexterity than the Russian security bureaucracy is likely capable of, however.

Finally, Russia has benefited from the plausible deniability that Wagner has provided while doing Putin’s bidding. In every context in which Wagner forces have been deployed, they have been credibly accused of human rights abuses including rape, torture and extrajudicial killings. In Mali, Wagner is linked to more than 320 incidents of human rights abuses and hundreds of civilian deaths. Wagner has also been accused of driving away local communities where it has secured mining concessions, effectively annexing African territory.

By directly taking over the mantle of Wagner operations in Africa, the Russian government can no longer claim ignorance or impotence to do anything about these unlawful and destabilising actions. Russia has largely escaped serious reputational costs for Wagner’s thuggish activities in Africa. But this will change when it owns the repressive tactics Wagner has deployed.

Reassessments in Africa

What of Wagner’s African clients? Leaders of these regimes have come to power through extraconstitutional means. They restrict opposition voices and media. They are isolated internationally. Simply put, they cannot survive without Moscow’s support. So, we should not expect a change in receptivity from the military juntas in Mali, Sudan, Burkina Faso, the co-opted leadership in the Central African Republic, or the Libyan warlord, Haftar.

What will be telling is the reaction from other governments on the continent. Some will continue to see value in flirting with Russia as a way of hedging against international criticism.

Russia’s reach in Africa may be exceeding its grasp, however. There is a growing awakening on the continent of how little Russia actually brings to Africa in terms of investment, trade, jobs creation or security. Its deployment of mercenaries, disinformation, political interference and arms for resources deals mean it actually amplifies instability on the continent.

The symbolism of this was vividly brought home in the days before the Russia-Africa Summit at the end of July. Russia pulled out of the Black Sea grain deal that had enabled 33 million tonnes of grain to get from Ukraine to Africa and other parts of the world. The deal had eased supply chain restrictions caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Not only did Russia scuttle the deal: it bombed the Ukrainian ports that were exporting the grain, wasting 180,000 tonnes in the process. The contempt Putin showed for African interests by this action was hard to ignore.

This disregard, coupled with recognition that Russia offers relatively little to Africa, contributed to only 17 African heads of state attending the St. Petersburg summit. By comparison 43 African heads of state attended the Russia-Africa Summit in Sochi in 2019.

The way that Prigozhin was eliminated must also give African leaders pause.

Putin speaks often of his desire to create a new international order. Russia’s lawlessness at home and abroad is bringing into sharp focus what his world order would look like. And that’s not a vision many African leaders share.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. If you found it interesting, you could subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

It was written by: Joseph Siegle, University of Maryland.

Read more:


Ukraine recap: fallout from death of Yevgeny Prigozhin will be felt far beyond Moscow


Wagner Group: what Yevgeny Prigozhin’s death means for stability in Africa


Brics: African countries face opportunities and risks in alienating China or the US - an expert weighs in

‘There’s No Plan B’: Oil Chiefs Sound Alarm on Refining Woes

Elizabeth Low, Yongchang Chin and Sharon Cho
Wed, September 6, 2023 

(Bloomberg) -- An increasingly stretched global refining system means fuel-price volatility is set to become more common, according to top oil executives.

A lack of spare crude-processing capacity due to under-investment, and shutdowns happening more frequently with refiners ramping up on better margins and deferring planned work were common themes at the APPEC by S&P Global Insights conference in Singapore this week. That’s left fuels like diesel and gasoline vulnerable to sudden swings when there are unplanned outages.

There have been unplanned plant shutdowns almost every week or two in Europe, Frederic Lasserre, global head of research & analysis at Gunvor Group Ltd., said in an interview. Many refiners have postponed regular maintenance, leaving them open to technical issues that lead to surprise outages, he said.

“The market is overly sensitive to any unexpected supply disruption anywhere,” Lasserre said. “Everyone knows there’s no plan B. We have no stocks, and we have no excess capacity anywhere.”

The recent spate of unplanned outages and tightness in refining capacity highlight the challenges as the world transitions from fossil fuels to cleaner energy. In the US, gasoline is at the highest seasonal level in more than a decade, with the rise partially due to extreme heat limiting refinery output.

“Refining capacity is very tight,” Vitol Group Chief Executive Officer Russell Hardy said. A lot of plants closed during Covid-19 and Western markets are lacking sufficient oil products, he said.

The price of diesel — the fuel that powers the global economy — has outpaced the rise in crude after a slew of refinery outages partly due to excessive heat.

Read More: Diesel in Rare Summertime Rally Amid Heat Waves, Supply Crunch

Low stockpiles are driving an “incredibly strong” diesel structure, signaling market tightness, said Ben Luckock, co-head of oil trading at Trafigura Group.

It’s becoming more expensive to fund normal refining projects, Alex Grant, senior vice president for crude, products and liquids at Equinor SA, said in an interview. Existing refineries will operate at the highest rates they can, with refining margins staying high, he said.

The refining system is “crying out” for fresh investment with oil demand still growing, especially in Asia, said Sri Paravaikkarasu, director of market analysis at Phillips 66. Refiners need to cater to it, while also accounting for the green energy transition, she added.

 Bloomberg Businessweek

Aditya-L1: India's solar mission sends first photos on way to Sun

Geeta Pandey - BBC News, Delhi
Thu, September 7, 2023 

One photograph shows the Earth and the Moon in a single frame


The Indian space agency Isro has shared the first images sent by the country's solar observation mission as it makes its way towards the Sun.

Aditya-L1 lifted off on Saturday and is on a journey that will take it 1.5 million km (932,000 miles) from the Earth - 1% of the Earth-Sun distance.

It will take four months to reach its destination, Isro says.

India's maiden solar mission came just days after the country became the first to land near the Moon's south pole.

On Thursday morning, Isro shared two photographs taken on 4 September by a camera mounted on Aditya-L1.

One of the images shows the Earth and the Moon in one frame - while the Earth looms large, the Moon is a tiny speck in the distance. The second photograph is a "selfie" that shows two of the seven scientific instruments the solar mission is carrying.

India's first space-based mission to study the solar system's biggest object is named after Surya - the Hindu god of Sun who is also known as Aditya.

And L1 stands for Lagrange point 1 - the exact place between the Sun and Earth where the Indian spacecraft is heading.

According to the European Space Agency, a Lagrange point is a spot where the gravitational forces of two large objects - such as the Sun and the Earth - cancel each other out, allowing a spacecraft to "hover".

Once Aditya-L1 reaches this "parking spot", it would be able to orbit the Sun at the same rate as the Earth. This means the satellite will require very little fuel to operate.

A "selfie" taken by Aditya-L1 shows two of the scientific instruments the solar mission is carrying

Since its launch on Saturday, Aditya-L1 has already completed two manoeuvres around the Earth. After going around the Earth three more times, it will be launched towards L1.

From this vantage position, it will be able to watch the Sun constantly and carry out scientific studies.

Isro has not said how much the mission would cost, but reports in the Indian press put it at 3.78bn rupees ($46m; £36m).

Aditya-L1's trajectory

The orbiter carries seven scientific instruments that will observe and study the solar corona (the outermost layer); the photosphere (the Sun's surface or the part we see from the Earth) and the chromosphere (a thin layer of plasma that lies between the photosphere and the corona).

The studies will help scientists understand solar activity, such as the solar wind and solar flares, and their effect on Earth and near-space weather in real time.

Scientists say Aditya will help us better understand the star on which our lives depend.

Solar Orbiter: Sun mission blasts off

Probe makes historic pass through Sun's atmosphere

If Aditya-L1 is successful, India will join the select group of countries that are already studying the Sun.

US space agency Nasa has been watching the Sun since the 1960s; Japan launched its first mission in 1981 to study solar flares and the European Space Agency (ESA) has been observing the Sun since the 1990s.

In February 2020, Nasa and ESA jointly launched a Solar Orbiter that is studying the Sun from close quarters and gathering data that, scientists say, will help understand what drives its dynamic behaviour.

And in 2021, Nasa's newest spacecraft Parker Solar Probe made history by becoming the first to fly through the corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun.