Environment & Safety
Siemens completes wind turbine project in Iowa
Siemens Energy, Mortenson Construction, and MidAmerican Energy Company have completed the expansion of MidAmerican Energy's wind project near Pomeroy, Iowa. Thirteen Siemens wind turbines were erected at the site, creating an additional 29.9 megawatts of generation capacity.
GTC licenses sulfur recovery technology from R&D firm TDA Research
GTC Technology, a licensor of process technologies mass transfer solutions, announced a global technology licensing agreement with TDA Research for sulfur recovery from hydrogen sulfide through catalytic direct oxidation.
Foster Wheeler wins supply deals in Spain for solar steam generators
Foster Wheeler has been awarded contracts to supply solar steam generator systems to two separate solar projects in Spain. The company has received full notices to proceed on both contracts.
US DOE pushes for widespread electric vehicle use
The US Department of Energy (DOE) launched two online tools designed to help communities better prepare for widespread adoption of plug-in electric vehicles (EVs). The DOE said it developed a template to help local governments design permits for residential EV charger installations and accelerate the approval process.
Hurricane Irene forms in Atlantic, may hit Carolina polymer sites by weekend
Hurricane Irene formed early Monday near Puerto Rico, making it the first such storm of the 2011 Atlantic tropical season, according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC). Irene is expected to strike the southeastern US coast near South Carolina or North Carolina over the upcoming weekend as a major hurricane, with winds of at least 115 miles/hour.
Valero restarting Memphis refinery after recent fire
US refiner Valero is restarting units at its Memphis refinery in Tennessee, which was shut down on Aug. 5 due to a fire in a crude distillation unit. The restart will begin with one of the crude distillation units, FCC, and other key units, the company said.
Dow Corning starts production of monosilane gas for use as solar feedstock
Dow Corning said on Wednesday that it has begun production of high-purity monosilane gas - a key material used as an anti-reflective solar cell coating and as a feedstock for photovoltaics.
US business groups urge Obama to halt EPA's reconsideration of ozone regs
The American Petroleum Institute (API), along with more than 170 businesses and business groups that employ American workers, sent a letter to President Obama urging him to stop the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) voluntary reconsideration of new National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ground-level ozone.
Foster Wheeler wins six awards in Singapore for safety performance
Foster Wheeler announced that its Singapore subsidiary, Foster Wheeler Asia Pacific, won six workplace safety and health (WSH) awards in Singapore for performance in 2010. The awards are presented annually by the WSH Council, in collaboration with Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower.
US hikes storm forecast as Gulf season nears peak
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) elevated its forecast on Friday for the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season, raising the number of expected named storms from its preseason outlook and potentially threatening refining and petrochemical operations along the US Gulf coast and eastern seaboard.
- CNOOC completes construction on $2.9-B, 1.8-MMtpy integrated complex in east China 8/22
- bp's Whiting refinery (U.S.) continues to flare days after severe thunderstorm 8/22
- Bachmann introduces latest version M-Target for Simulink 8/22
- U.S. to rule on biofuel waivers, but big oil refiners may need to wait 8/22
- Chinese independent refiner Hongrun buys Canadian, Brazilian crude 8/22
- Ukrainian attack suspends Russian oil flows to Hungary, Slovakia 8/22
