After a handful of false starts and accidents, Shell’s multi-billion dollar bet on offshore Alaskan oil and gas exploration was put on hold for 2014. And now a Coast Guard report claims the oil major prioritized financial interests over safety with its fateful decision to tow a drilling rig to Seattle for repairs on New Year’s… Keep reading →
The Department of Defense is seeking ways to transition to more efficient and sustainable energy use to support operations, but a smaller pool of available funding is pitting these efforts against a range of other pressing national security interests. The nexus of energy, climate change and national security is an area that demands the US… Keep reading →
Shell spent billions of dollars and significant political capital to obtain the licenses and approvals required to explore for oil and gas off the coast of Alaska.
The company’s problems in the region were compounded when a drilling rig ran aground in rough seas on December 31st as it was being towed from Alaska to the port of Seattle, Washington for scheduled offseason maintenance – the rig was not drilling at the time. Although there does not appear to have been a petroleum release, the risks associated with operating in the Arctic have been highlighted by the incident. Keep reading →
Tidal energy and telecoms are proving testy neighbors in the Pacific Northwest.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is trying to broker a peace between Snohomish Public Utility District, which wants to install the first tidal energy turbines on the West Coast, and PC Landing, which operates a major telecommunication cable between Washington State and Japan. Keep reading →
