Consider Canada’s sprawling coastline—at approximately 243,041 kilometres (151,019 miles), it’s the longest on the planet. Along with expansive lake coverage (563 lakes exceeding 100 square kilometres or 38.6 square miles), you might assume that Canada is one of the largest producers of fish and seafood on the planet.

However, Canada’s current position may surprise you. It is behind first-ranked China, Indonesia, India, the United States, and even Norway, which produces 10 times more seafood than Canada with a fraction of the population and less than half the coastline. Yet there are many proud Canadian fish farmers working hard to advance this ranking through a competitive, sustainable and growing farm-raised seafood sector that harnesses Canada’s natural advantages to become a global aquaculture leader.

Headquartered in Ottawa, CAIA is a national industry association representing the interests of aquaculture operators, provincial and regional aquaculture associations, and suppliers and feed companies. The organization speaks on behalf of the nation’s seafood farmers and represents their interests to government and political leaders, policymakers and regulators—all the while working to ensure that Canadian seafood reaches the kitchen table and feeds families. CAIA’s membership embraces finfish and shellfish producers, aquatic plant farmers, and many more.

Championing the quality and sustainability of Canada’s farm-raised seafood, CAIA stands up for the many economic, public health, and environmental benefits the sector brings to Canadians.

The original smartfood
Regular servings of fish, rich in protein and packed with Vitamin D, iodine, Omega-3 fatty acids, and other essential nutrients, regular servings of fish are an important part of an ideal, heart-healthy diet. Linked to improvements in mental health, memory and vision, seafood is ideal for fast-to-prepare, delicious, and affordable meals.

Environmentally, Canada’s seafood industry is one of the most sustainable in the world and has one of the lowest carbon footprints of any high-protein food.

So why then do Canadians consume so little farm-raised seafood? According to Timothy J. Kennedy, President and CEO of CAIA, only about 1.6 percent of the Canadian diet is made up of seafood. Yet by simply doubling this to 3.2 percent, he adds, Canadians could experience tremendous benefits.

“Instead of having one seafood meal a week, you might have two,” says Kennedy. “What we’ve seen in terms of carbon emission reductions is the equivalent of three megatons of carbon dioxide emissions—the equivalent of about 650,000 cars off the road—by switching away from higher-carbon products in the food system. And of course, there are all sorts of health benefits from eating farm-raised seafood as well.”

As leader of the national alliance for the better part of six years, Kennedy has experienced the challenges faced by Canada’s relatively young aquaculture industry, which dates back only about 40 years. CAIA works assiduously to realize this by growing and promoting aquaculture in Canada, all in the best interests of farm-raised seafood companies and associated businesses. And while our seafood industry continues to make strides, there remains a hurdle in terms of convincing Canadians to enjoy this protein more often.

Promoting seafood
After conducting market research in 2019, CAIA released some interesting takeaways about the potential market’s lower-than-expected seafood consumption. One reason is the perceived cost of seafood, which is sometimes linked to a misunderstanding of portion size. “If you’re comparing portions of salmon to beef or pork, pork might be cheapest, but salmon might be similar to other meat products, so there’s a bit of a misconception about price,” says Kennedy.

Another factor is familiarity. With so many living in cities away from coastal areas, seafood isn’t as commonly enjoyed by some Canadians, compared to other proteins. The texture, smell and taste are also reasons some are hesitant to try it. In order to change these perceptions, the ‘Choose Canadian Seafood’ Task Force was created to promote national seafood consumption and address consumer questions. Led by CAIA and The Fisheries Council of Canada (FCC), the new campaign features a dynamic website (www.chooseseafood.ca) showcasing seafood’s versatility, including why Canadians should choose seafood, nutritional facts, and much else besides. The website—a collaborative effort, according to Kennedy, between the wild capture seafood sector, and the aquaculture sectors in Canada, funded by the federal government and the provinces—also offers consumers a generous selection of easy-to-prepare seafood recipes.

Along with the Choose Canadian Seafood site, CAIA is looking at how to make seafood more consumer-friendly by focusing on new approaches to packaging.

“If you think about food-to-go, most people don’t think of fish,” says Kennedy, “so there’s a considerable effort in this campaign to make the meals very simple, fast, and convenient. These recipes are great, fast and tasty, so we hope they’ll engage a bunch of people.”

In the coming months, the association will conduct follow-up research to gauge awareness of the campaign and to look at what resonated with Canadians on social media.

Recent developments in Canadian aquaculture
The most popular seafood among Canadians is salmon, followed by shrimp, tuna, cod, scallops, and other products. In fact, roughly 80 percent of families in Canada enjoy salmon at least once a month, so it makes good sense to continue nurturing the work of Canadian salmon farmers. At the end of June 2022, this was the case as Joyce Murray, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, extended most salmon farming licenses in British Columbia for two years—an important goal that CAIA had been working toward, since there were questions concerning the federal government’s support of B.C.’s salmon farming licenses.

In addition to the licensing progress, a new process was also announced by the federal government which would help develop a plan for transition, including how to deploy new technology and attract more investment to keep the sector flourishing. “That was a major decision and the culmination of a couple of years of uncertainty, so that was positive,” says Kennedy.

Along with provincial counterparts in B.C., CAIA has been vocal about the benefits of salmon farming to the province and the need to spread greater awareness—although salmon remains Canada’s top seafood choice (making up four out of every ten seafood meals), the public doesn’t know that 97 percent of salmon harvested in Canada are farm-raised. This led to the Love Salmon campaign, “an initiative to help educate Canadians and policymakers about the truth and facts of farm-raised salmon in Canada.”

Launched this past spring, LoveSalmon.ca highlights the many positives of farm-raised salmon, including nutritional value, and how farming helps meet a growing global demand for seafood while protecting oceans and coasts by easing the pressure on wild salmon.

The site also clears up the misinformation surrounding farm-raised salmon, much of it going back decades. “We knew it was important to have a new initiative to clear the air about this,” says Kennedy.

Sustainable seafood solutions
Initiatives such as Love Salmon underscore the importance of environmental responsibility and sustainability in aquaculture—including the ongoing protection of wild Pacific salmon. Minister Murray recently acknowledged the historic threats faced by the species, and how the government is acting “to protect and return wild salmon to abundance and ensure Canada is a global leader in sustainable aquaculture,” she says. “Working together with First Nations, the Province, industry, and British Columbians, we will transition the aquaculture industry to one which leads with new technology while reducing or eliminating interactions with wild Pacific salmon.

“We recognize the urgent need for ecologically sustainable aquaculture technology, and we’re prepared to work with all partners in a way that’s transparent and provides stability in this transition.”

Together with Minister Murray, other East Coast ministers have pledged their vigorous support for aquaculture development in Atlantic Canada.

Looking to the industry’s future
Along with CAIA encouraging greater consumption of seafood for the benefit of all and educating the public through the Choose Canadian Seafood and Love Salmon campaigns, many members are exploring new innovations as well.

Calgary-based Botaneco® Inc., which specializes in isolating natural ingredients from oilseeds, is examining ways to extract high-grade proteins from canola and sunflower oil, replacing fish meal. Elsewhere, researchers are looking at ways to trap fish waste from salmon farms and process it into high-grade fertilizer.

Amongst new approaches and changing consumer perspectives, growth also remains the focus of Canada’s seafood sector—currently employing 90,000 men and women and generating about $9 billion in gross domestic product, the industry has the potential to become a world leader. And with the greatest coastal capacity of any country, a clear, long-term message is needed from the government confirming Canada’s intentions.

“We need a signal from the federal government and other governments that they want to be world leaders—and Atlantic provincial ministers have already signalled that—but the federal government has not yet given that signal,” says Kennedy.

“So there’s been a lot of uncertainty. And basically, for the last 20 years, we have flatlined in volume growth. A country like Norway which has quite a bit less capacity is producing 10 times more than us. They have a goal by 2050 of increasing the value of their seafood sector by five times what it is today. Other countries have similar goals and targets, but in Canada we just do not have that. And we need it.”

The post Untapped Potential – Why Growing Canada’s Aquaculture Sector is Key to Achieving a Blue Economy<p class="company">Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance (CAIA)</p> appeared first on Resource In Focus.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, hydroelectricity accounted for about 6.3 percent of electricity generation and about 31.5 percent of total renewable electricity generation in 2021.

For a quick refresher on how hydroelectricity works, you need to begin with the water cycle. Water, for the most part, has spent all its time on the planet in the following way: it evaporates from the ground, then comes back down as rain or snow, and then makes its way to rivers, lakes, or oceans.

To make hydroelectric power, moving water is needed. The hydroelectric plants use pipes to force the water through turbines to generate electricity. Most of this is done by way of large dams, situated on major rivers bringing the water, where it evaporates and enters the cycle all over again.

Global hydroelectric power capacity comes in at 1,270 gigawatts (give or take). One gigawatt is equal to a billion watts, and just one gigawatt is enough to power 100 million LED lights, or about 2,000 Corvette Z06s (if you are a gearhead).

The top five hydroelectric-producing countries are China, the U.S., Brazil, Canada, and Russia. And it’s China that produces the most by a longshot; of the 1270 gigawatts produced worldwide, China generates more than a third at 341 gigawatts.

Hydroelectricity itself has become one of the most used sources of renewable energy around the world. The key to its success in many ways is that it is one of the most reliable and renewable sources of power.

There’s the advantage that hydroelectric plants convert 90 percent of energy into electricity. This compares to fossil fuel plants that top out at 60 percent efficiency.

Also, hydroelectric facilities last for a very long time. For example, the Chaudière Falls plant along the Ottawa River in Canada has been operating since 1891. Ultimately, with maintenance and updates, hydroelectric power can be extended practically indefinitely. That’s one of the reasons for Canada being one of the few countries in the world that’s a net exporter of hydroelectricity.

And while all this may sound utopic, there are, however, serious issues that are making some think twice about hydroelectric energy as a clean solution to power generation.

A growing threat to hydroelectricity generation is lack of rainfall and drought. In the U.K. and Europe, old villages are re-emerging that were once drowned by new dams and reservoirs. These falling water levels have reduced electricity generated to the tune of 20 percent, complicating Europe’s overall energy woes.

In a BBC article, Eddie Rich from the International Hydro Association commented on the seriousness of the situation: “We are going to face a problem this winter. And that should be a wake-up call to have more investment in infrastructure for the next few years.”

All of this, combined with the crisis in Ukraine, may add up to energy-use restrictions for people in Europe over winter.

The challenge for producing more hydroelectricity in developing countries is finding a suitable site to build a power plant. Since nations have been building power plants for about 140 years, it’s become harder to locate sites that are both stable and will not heavily impact the environment. This is leading would-be dam builders to search out more treacherous locations deeper into the Amazon and the Himalayas, locations that are often more treacherous.

In a Bloomberg article, Homero Paltán, a water and climate researcher at Oxford and the World Bank points out how environmental changes are making it harder to plan hydroelectric plants. “Hydroelectric projects are often planned according to a climate that is probably not relevant anymore,” says Paltán. “This is not well discussed, and it has repercussions for global energy markets.”

The scary data is that as much as 80 percent of planned hydroelectric sites are in areas where droughts are expected to become 10 percent longer. This will present challenges, especially in developing countries where clean and renewable sources of power are most needed.

And the big knock against hydroelectric power is what troubles most clean power generation—the sheer massiveness, in this case, of the dams.

The scale of some dams is mind-blowing. An example is the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River in China. This dam produces 22,500 megawatts of power (the most productive hydroelectric dam in the world) but it also displaced 3.67 million people. Likewise, projects in South America, Southeast Asia, and Ethiopia are exerting massive pressure on biodiversity and wildlife habitats.

You don’t have to go far to see the impact of damming rivers. The Grand Coulee Dam built on the Columbia River in Washington State is the biggest power producer in the country at 6,809 megawatts. But the cost includes disrupting salmon migrations and the displacement of native peoples during its construction in 1941. As a result, billions of dollars have been spent trying to solve the problems the dam caused, including $1 billion on saving salmon.

All of this leaves the question: is this form of hydroelectric power ultimately worth the true cost generated by these dams?

The good news is there are alternatives. One example is microgrids, which are small, decentralized power hubs that use local sources to produce energy. And while they have been around for some time, AI technology is helping them turn into low carbon emitting projects that also reduce the overall costs of power for communities.

Rotterdam in The Netherlands is Europe’s biggest port, handling 30,000 vessels a year. It’s also now the world’s first high-frequency, decentralized energy market. Port users are equipped with an AI application that uses blockchain technology to validate transactions, and energy prices fluctuate based on supply and demand.

Since the opening of the market, port users have enjoyed an 11 percent reduction in their costs, while producers have seen a 14 percent increase in revenues, all the while reducing wasteful excess energy.

James Rilett, Global Innovation Director at S&P Global Platts, one of the firms behind the AI application, says, “When we first met to discuss the project, the Dutch government was being sued by citizens for failing to meet its carbon emissions targets. The port is a state asset that accounts for a third of the country’s emissions, so people were very interested in the initiative.”

The goal is to ultimately save up to 30 million tons and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

There’s the somewhat staggering fact that tens of thousands of dams in the U.S. don’t produce power, so converting some into power plants could greatly benefit the country’s power grid.

Another alternative in use now is pumped-storage hydropower. This essentially means charging a big battery when plentiful power is available that then pumps water to a higher elevation (which is key to power production). The water can then be released to turn power turbines at any chosen time to feed into and stabilize the power grid.

Other concepts that are a little far out include wave and tidal energy. For tidal energy, a difference of 16 feet is required between low and high tides. Both the Pacific Northwest and the Atlantic Northeast are good candidates for this but work on developing tidal turbines is ongoing.

Like the tides, the waves of the oceans are also jampacked with potential energy. The waves have the potential to power everything from coastal cities to de-salinization plants (that remove salt from ocean water so that it’s drinkable) and even naval bases. But these are still in the future as research to make them cost-effective continues.

While it would be nice to say that hydroelectricity is a no-brainer in a greener power grid, there’s much to ponder when comparing what it offers to what it takes to set up. Ultimately, it may be a combination of the existing traditional sources of hydroelectric plants that are already in use—and could well remain in use for the foreseeable future—while looking to harness new sources of water to create green power.

The post From Rivers to Ocean Waves<p class="company">Is Water the Answer to Renewable Power?</p> appeared first on Resource In Focus.

The business partners knew something had to be done. So they set their sights on uncovering the cause of these outrageous costs and learning how to bring those costs down by creating homes that were more energy-efficient.

The concept quickly became a business. Elevation started with rooftop solar, then soon added energy efficiency services after the team recognized that energy-efficient homes require a reduction in the amount of energy used in addition to the use of clean energy. After acquiring Curb Energy in 2020, Elevation brought smart energy monitoring technology into the business as part of a Whole Home Solution, giving homeowners a complete package to meet all their energy-related needs, as described at www.poweredbyelevation.com.

Elevation has grown rapidly since its inception, becoming the biggest energy efficiency provider in the United States and the 14^th largest residential installer in the nation. Headquartered in Chandler, Arizona, the company operates throughout Arizona, California, Nevada, Texas, and Florida, and offers select services in other parts of the United States. Whatever the service or location, all work is handled in-house and comes with ongoing communication to ensure clients are informed throughout the process.

The first step toward what the company calls an ‘Elevated Home’ is a Building Performance institute (BPI)-Certified Energy Audit to seal the building in order to lower energy usage. The company’s Energy Efficiency Package includes assessing air leaks, checking insulation levels to identify areas that require sealing or insulating, and an overall evaluation of the home’s air quality, comfort, and energy efficiency. In addition to cutting heating and cooling costs, this process will eliminate hot and cold spots within the home and help to maintain the desired temperature throughout.

After eliminating energy leaks, a home may require up to five fewer solar panels, creating as much $1,000 in cost savings for the homeowner. When it comes to overall energy use, the audit may bring as much as ten percent savings for the homeowner.

Solar installation always includes high-quality premium solar panels, advanced microinverters, and a 25-year warranty on products and labor. In addition to long-term cost savings and increased home value, solar energy brings a wealth of environmental benefits including: freedom from nonrenewable resources; a reduction in air pollution; a reduction in hazardous waste; a reduction in the use of water; and more. Elevation’s solar-powered homes do remain connected to the grid and homeowners will still pay a monthly electric bill, but it will be reduced significantly. Solar tax credits can increase savings beyond what is saved on the monthly electric bill.

Elevation’s solar batteries let homeowners store solar energy, rather than letting that excess energy flow back into the grid, so they have access to clean energy even when the sun isn’t shining. That energy can be utilized as needed, rather than depending on—and paying for—energy from the grid.

The technology helps protect homeowners from the consequences of power outages, which have been on the rise in recent years. During a power outage, the solar battery will automatically disconnect from the electrical grid to make the home a self-sustaining, self-contained grid and keep essential appliances running. The typical home requires more energy than a single battery provides to be fully powered, so the team maps a homeowner’s battery to their most essential lights and appliances to keep them running no matter what.

Elevation’s patented Curb Energy Monitoring makes the flow of energy inside a home fully visible to the homeowner at any time, day or night. Miniature sensors attach to the home’s electrical panel and measure the exact amount that every major appliance consumes, so homeowners know exactly where they can save money and energy. The technology can process electricity data and detect trends on up to 18 different major appliances or zones within any given home. Examples include living room lights, washing machines, pool equipment, and dishwashers.

Curb optimizes a homeowner’s solar investment by showing dollar expenditures in real time, based on the home’s specific utility plan. In addition, the technology also gives homeowners tips on how to save money and energy. Users can also turn SmartThings IoT devices on or off using Curb Energy Monitoring.

Homeowners are not the only ones to benefit from Elevation’s services and expertise. The company offers renters access to clean energy and cost savings through a turnkey program designed to give property managers a wide range of benefits—including peace of mind. Elevation’s one-of-a-kind combination of energy solutions come together to create significant improvements in both GRESB and ESG scores throughout institutional portfolios, creating immediate cost savings for tenants.

After delivering clean energy to homes throughout the United States, the team wants to provide education to help even more people save energy. The company has partnered with the athletic department of Arizona State University—one of the largest public universities in the United States—giving Elevation the opportunity to promote home energy awareness and solutions to two million fans. The message will reach fans of the Sun Devils football team, basketball team, baseball team, and more, and will be communicated within the Arizona State University stadium and arena, as well as through field signage, game programs and websites, digital advertising, podcasts, radio broadcasts, email, and social media.

As the nation’s leading whole-home energy solutions provider in the residential market, Elevation has come a long way in a short period of time. After aiming to solve their own energy problems, the co-founders have enabled homeowners throughout the nation to solve their energy problems as well. And now, with the addition of an educational program via a major university sports program, the company is set to make an even deeper impact.

The post The Future of Energy<p class="company">Elevation</p> appeared first on Resource In Focus.

As an independent power producer, Greenwood is especially suited to exactly matching the needs of its clients with cleantech solar, wind, waste-to-energy, and natural gas solutions, while financing 100 percent of these projects. For clients, this means “significant energy savings from day one of operation, with no up-front cash outlay,” the company says.

“To achieve the highest standards in the development and operation of successful sustainable energy solutions, we put together a highly specialized team of professionals that can guarantee our clients the excellence that we’ve committed to delivering,” says Guido Patrignani, Chief Executive Officer at Greenwood Energy.

“We’re dedicated to project development, basic and detailed engineering, financial and legal structuring, and operations and maintenance. For the construction of our projects, we partner with top global engineering, procurement, and construction contractors who’re closely supervised by our engineering team.”

220 projects in six countries
Greenwood Energy is the renewable-energy subsidiary for Latin America of the privately owned international business Libra Group, which has diversified sectors and is involved in aviation, real estate, hotels and hospitality, and other areas in over 50 countries.

With GSI in the United States and EuroEnergy in Europe, the group has over 15 years of experience in the renewable energy sector, developing over 1,000 MW in these regions. At present, the Libra Group has more than 220 projects in six countries in various stages including under development, owned, or previously developed.

Highly experienced in the energy sector, Patrignani spend over a decade in Argentina’s Oil & Gas industry, where he acted as the Latin American representative agent of leading fiberglass manufacturers such as PPG Industries (NYSE: PPG) and Nippon Electric Glass (TYO: 5214) in product and client development of glass reinforced epoxy piping for hydrocarbon transportation.

In the renewable energy sector, he represented Urban Green Energy in Argentina for the development of distributed generation projects, and was the Chief Operating Officer of 2C Power LLC, a firm focused on the development of clean energy projects in Colombia.

In September 2020, 2C Power LLC was acquired by Greenwood Energy Latinoamerica, a renewable energy subsidiary of the Libra Group, consolidating Greenwood Energy as an innovative cleantech company dedicated to the development, construction, and operation of power plants in Panama and Colombia.

Solutions for South America
“This is the Libra Group’s first investment in Colombia and extends the group’s energy sector platform in the Americas to the South American continent,” says the company in its media release. “With its significantly expanded management team, Greenwood Energy will provide reliable and sustainable energy solutions that match the energy infrastructure needs and resources of the regions it serves across Latin America.

“The company points out that developing areas of Latin America operate with inadequate power-grid infrastructure, leading to an expensive, unreliable, and unpredictable power supply, hindering growth and competitiveness of local businesses.”

The company is currently advancing projects for 290 MW with extensive environmental and social impact in Colombia and Panama and will begin construction of the first 120 MW in Q1 2023. With corporate headquarters in Panama City and Barranquilla, Greenwood has a team of 19 executives in the areas of management, engineering, finance, and legal.

Financing, developing, installing, and operating in the cleantech space, Greenwood Energy focuses on providing sustainable, reliable energy solutions. These include the Terra Initiative, Alma Mater, and Hospital Chiriqui.

In Colombia, the Terra Initiative is a 144 MWp (Megawatts-peak) utility-scale solar project comprising six 24 MWp solar plants. It will sell its energy through long-term PPAs (power purchase agreements) to Colombia’s top commercialization companies.

Included in the project is the construction of three Indigenous towns for 150 Arhuaco families, Indigenous people of Colombia, and will share profits with the Indigenous community for the acquisition of preservation land. Each solar plant will be transferred to the Arhuaco community after 25 years of operation.

Combining profitability with sustainability, Greenwood Energy respects people and the environment and has a focus on engaging with local Indigenous groups for its projects.

Reimagining Development
At present, the company is developing a series of projects under the theme of ‘Reimagining Development’, including the newest, the Terra Initiative. The first project of its kind, the utility-scale solar project—developed in partnership with the Arhuaco Indigenous community of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia—will also see the preservation of almost 296,500 acres in what the International Union for Conservation of Nature has called the world’s ‘most irreplaceable nature reserve.’

“Reimagining Development means that environmental and social benefits are considered along with monetary returns,” says Patrignani. “Accordingly, the solar plants in the Terra Initiative will be built next to the Indigenous towns and we will train their inhabitants in the technical skills needed to operate and maintain the plants.

“This is not a giveaway or a social program, but a new way of structuring infrastructure projects.”

Announced in June, Panama’s Alma Mater is a 40 MWp grid-connected solar project that will power Universidad de Panama (UP), the largest university in the country, with over 90,000 students.

“Thanks to this project, UP will become the first public university in Latin America to be entirely powered by renewable energy sources,” says Patrignani. “This project will be paired with nearly $30 million in academic and technical support to the university for 20 years. After this period, the plant will be transferred to the educational institution.”

Another key project for Greenwood Energy is Hospital Chiriqui. A private hospital in the City of David, the capital of the province of Chiriqui, this 600 kWp photovoltaic (PV) project was inaugurated by Greenwood Energy in 2019. A fixed structure installed on the roof and garage of the hospital, this project saves the hospital almost 30 percent in monthly electricity bills, and it was designated as ‘self-consumption’ under the ASEP AN 5399-Elec. Program.

Sustainability and climate change
Currently active in Colombia and Panama, Greenwood Energy expects to see continued growth in those locations, along with the United States, largely because of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA).

Passed in mid-August 2022, the IRA has many objectives, from lowering prescription drug prices to reducing the deficit, raising $737 billion, and authorizing $369 billion for promoting clean energy and addressing climate change.

“Owing to the IRA, Greenwood Energy expects to see increased deployments of clean energy projects in the United States, especially in the type of projects Greenwood Energy is working on under the theme of Reimagining Development, where the community and the conservation of nature play a relevant role,” comments Patrignani.

“Therefore, we’ll work closely with our sister company in the U.S., Greenwood Sustainable Infrastructure (GSI), to explore different opportunities in which our experience can be harnessed for the greater good of the country, its communities, and its environment.”

According to Greenwood’s current schedule, 2023 will see the construction of the first 120 MW in Colombia and Panama, and completion of the licensing process of at least an additional 80 MW in Colombia.

Based on ongoing developments and conversations, Greenwood Energy also expects to expand the Reimagining Development business model even further in both countries, since it has been met with considerable interest from governments, educational institutions, and Indigenous communities.

With an executive team holding 800 MW of combined power generation experience across 90 projects in the U.S. and Latin America, Greenwood’s position as a leader in sustainable energy is assured.

“Greenwood’s mission is to provide energy solutions to a new world under pressure to reverse the catastrophic climate challenges global society is facing now,” says Patrignani. “Based on the feedback of our clients, governments, partners, and the public, we’re aware of the pressing need to take infrastructure projects to the next level.

“Historically, these projects have had a huge impact on communities and the environment. Through the Reimagining Development series, Greenwood is presenting an alternative to how infrastructure projects must be done.”

The post Reimagining Development with Cleantech<p class="company">Greenwood Energy</p> appeared first on Resource In Focus.

Building a team with years of experience in finance, operations, and technologies, GSI uses its energy industry knowledge to navigate and manage renewable and waste-to-energy projects throughout their entire asset lifetime.

GSI is member of the privately owned international business Libra Group, which has an extensive portfolio including grid-connected solar energy parks, and wind farms in the Americas and Europe. Companies in the Group are also involved with biogas production, biomass power generation, waste-to-energy based fuels, and cogeneration plants.

“The Libra Group is our parent company, a holding company of the family office,” explains Mazen Turk, GSI Chief Executive Officer, “and has about 30 different subsidiaries worldwide. These different subsidiaries are divided into sectors, and Libra focuses on five major sectors. One of those sectors is renewable energy.”

Within the sector, there are three subsidiaries. EuroEnergy handles solar, wind, and biomass projects in Europe. Greenwood Sustainable Infrastructure (GSI) manages all renewable investments in North America, and Greenwood Energy focuses on solar development in Latin America. “So, these are the three renewable energy arms that are subsidiaries of the Libra Group.”

Solar assets
Formed in 2010, GSI was previously known as Greenwood Energy (www.greenwood.energy), and co-developed about 100 MW worth of projects. After divesting about 60 MW which it co-developed, the company currently owns and operates about 40 MW of solar.

“We are typically long-term holders of assets,” says Turk. “We like to take a longer view on sustainable energy, so we did hang onto the 40 MW, and invested further in biomass and other areas.”

Holding a B.S. and a Master’s degree in civil engineering, Turk started his career as an engineer focused on large infrastructure projects, including highway design, pipe infrastructure, and transportation infrastructure works.

Moving on to renewable energy when he joined a subsidiary of the Libra Group about a decade ago, Turk was stationed overseas, where he became involved with solar and wind projects in Europe. Moving back to New York about five years ago, he was tasked with asset management at GSI and promoted to CEO about a year and a half ago.

“Renewable energy was a natural way for me to move away from large infrastructure projects to smaller projects that are sustainable and green in nature to support and advance the nation’s transition to a reliable, clean energy future. Sustainable energy is already playing an integral part of achieving a carbon neutral system across the U.S. and will continue to do so in the future. The goal of the renewable energy sector is to eliminate our reliance on burning of fossil fuels and to deploy clean sustainable renewable energy solutions to counter climate change—and we are laser focused on that strategy.”

With a team of about six ranging from engineers to finance professionals, GSI’s primary task is managing its solar portfolio, which it does through technical asset management. An engineer coordinates with O&M (operations and maintenance) to ensure all contractual obligations are met, and that projects are operating at their optimum levels, along with financial asset management as well.

In addition, the company has five full-time employees at its biomass facility in Michigan, who run the day-to-day management of the facility and are supported by union employees who run the plant 24/7.

The future of sustainability
The original 100 MW in solar energy generation capacity developed by GSI was composed of about 40 projects. GSI currently owns 15 of those solar projects which generate a combined output of 40 MW. Additionally, GSI owns and operates another 20 MW biomass facility.

With a total of over 130 MW DC developed and built, and more than 30 sustainable infrastructure projects in the U.S., GSI has expert knowledge of the industry and where it’s heading.

As Turk notes, solar facilities are relatively more straightforward than biomass plants. “At a biomass facility, you worry about a lot more moving parts and the supply chain—specifically the fuel supply chain—and the ability of the fuel to burn and produce steam versus solar, where you have an abundant source and it’s free,” says Turk, who sees the company shifting away from biomass toward solar.

As with the issue with biomass, GSI finds solar less complicated than wind, which also requires a much larger investment. “We like the utility scale space, and we feel we can add a lot of value to that market.”

The various technologies used in the renewable energy sector have created the ability to decentralize the power supply, now referred to as distributed generation. Distributed generation has many environmental advantages, and its use reduces the amount of electricity that must be generated. Distributed generation, however, does require a mix of local, state, and federal policies to compete with the traditional power plant.

Elizabeth Mine solar
One of the company’s key solar projects is Elizabeth Mine, an award-winning, 7,000 kW DC solar site in the rural Town of Strafford, Vermont. The project is notable for many reasons, including that it’s built on the site of an abandoned copper mine.

“That’s our flagship project, and we’re proud of it,” says Turk, detailing the extensive remediation work and phased clean-up that was required by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), including a tailings dam containing acids and metals and corroded piping.

The site of one of the oldest large-scale copper-mining operations in America, the deposit was discovered by accident in 1793 and had been actively mined since the War of 1812. According to the Elizabeth Mine Site Re-Use Plan (2004), the mine was closed in 1958 and later identified as a source of pollution to the Ompompanoosuc River.

In 2010, project development began under Wolfe Energy, later joined by Brightfields Development, who worked with the EPA and the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources to perform environmental remediation on the site. It proved to be the ideal place for a solar project.

In 2015, Greenwood Energy teamed up with Wolfe and Brightfields to complete development of the project. Construction started in late May 2017, with the ribbon-cutting taking place that October.

Since its opening, the 19,900 solar module Elizabeth Mine site has continuously benefited the community, adding power to the electrical grid. Providing sufficient electricity to power 1,333 average homes, its clean, renewable energy also offsets 7,136 tons of carbon dioxide every year.

“We are looking to keep adding to that project, and maybe having some battery storage to support the system as well,” says Turk. “As part of the plant, we had to upgrade a lot of the interconnections and the lines within the town. All these upgrades help with the resiliency of the local grid and provide clean energy to the homes nearby.”

In 2018, the Elizabeth Mine Solar Project was a winner at the American Council of Engineering Companies VT Engineering Excellence Awards Competition in the Special Projects category.

AquaSan
In March 2022, GSI announced a utility scale deal with AquaSan, which will see the provision of up to 233 MW in new solar capacity across five states. Formed in 1983 to provide the water infrastructure business with administrative and technical services, AquaSan grew its footprint to include the development of renewable energy projects, including 1,100 MW of natural gas power, 1,000 MW of wind, and 500 MW of solar.

The new arrangement—which will start with 40 MW of early-stage utility scale solar developments in Minnesota and expand to markets in Colorado, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Wisconsin—fits well for GSI, which is actively seeking co-development opportunities, especially in the utility scale solar side.

“With a company like AquaSan, we felt our team and theirs complement each other well. This will help us not only look into new geography but also expand the team’s ability to do even more development work. So that is the AquaSan model and we like it. We’ve both got a stake in the upside and the economics and feel we can do multiples of those partnerships.”

Acknowledging there are some challenges in the alternative energy sector, CEO Turk is optimistic about recent changes on the regulation and legislation side and advancements in technology, which will further reduce the price of solar and deploy more clean energy into the grid.

“I think we have a way to go until 2030, but I think if you keep doubling your deployment year-on-year to meet those goals—given the new legislation push—that’s going to be working in our favor.”

The post Developing, Managing, and Investing in Clean Energy<p class="company">Greenwood Sustainable Infrastructure</p> appeared first on Resource In Focus.

“Our specialty is facilities construction. That’s what we live by,” states Chief Executive Officer and Cofounder Diego Cardona. “We’ve done some big facilities, and we’ve done some small facilities. There’s nothing really out there that we haven’t done.”

Most of this work is performed in West Texas, specifically in the Permian and Delaware Basins. The Permian Basin contains massive oil and natural gas deposits, and the Delaware Basin is located inside the Permian Basin. To serve this region, Rogue keeps a corporate office in San Angelo, Texas and an equipment yard in Pecos, Texas. The company plans to establish a new yard in Carlsbad, New Mexico as part of its overall growth strategy.

While Rogue Energy Services has done some bitcoin mining projects, the amount of work in this sector is “very, very small compared to the oil and gas industry,” says Cardona, noting that oil and gas is “our expertise. It’s what we do.”

That expertise extends across a wide range of services. When it comes to pipeline construction, for example, Rogue can handle everything from design and engineering to surveying, excavation, and digging. The company likes to establish close working relationships with pipeline clients throughout the construction process.

It offers other oil field construction services, beyond pipelines. The company can dig and install tanks, do rough grading and maintenance on lease roads, and perform maintenance, repairs, and overhauls for compressor stations. Rogue designs and installs oil and gas production well solutions, handling everything from electrical work to instrumentation and controls. Fabrication and welding services are also available for oil field and pipeline clients.

Once a client’s infrastructure is up and running, it provides maintenance and service. The company monitors equipment for problems and performs emergency repairs as needed. Rogue applies protective coatings, stops pipeline leaks, and does sandblasting, mechanical troubleshooting, and facility integrity assessments as well.

The company has a fleet of vehicles to haul materials and equipment. Additional services include equipment rentals and mapping. While operations are currently centered in West Texas, Rogue promises it can do jobs anywhere.

Rogue Energy Services was officially launched in May 2017 by Cardona and Cofounder Alex Castillo, who now serves as the company’s chief operating officer. From humble beginnings, the firm grew quickly.

“We started off with only five employees,” says Cardona. “I think, as of last payroll, we hit 210 employees. We’ve had some big growth.”

As to what is driving that growth, he says it is “a lot of things: good management, good workers, good guys we have in the field… I’ve always been the kind of guy to say ‘Hey, if you give me your project, we’re going to get in and out. We’re not going to waste time.’ We know that time is crucial in getting these facilities up and running. So, we’re going to do what we have to do to make sure we hit our deadlines every time.”

Its customer-first ethos and emphasis on top-notch performance are matched by its devotion to innovation. This culture helps differentiate the company in an industry that tends to be conservative and somewhat tradition-bound. Determined to follow its own path, Rogue developed a unique software program called Field Ticket Manager. The program stores vast amounts of data that clients can easily access.

“I’ve been in this industry for a long time. I realized there’s not really a software program that can pinpoint every little thing I need for oil field construction. So, we went and met with a software designer, gave him ideas,” says Cardona. “We wanted to be able to track every little thing you can do.”

Field Ticket Manager was designed to be a technologically advanced solution for energy sector data management. “A lot of times, the customer calls and says, ‘What’s my total cost? What’re my total man-hours on this certain project?’ In the old days, you’d have to grab field tickets and go through them. Now, with this software, you’re able to click on their project, click on their name—boom! You pull up [the information], you’ve got all the hours. You can filter by days, weeks, months. Whatever you need,” he says.

Thanks to Field Ticket Manager, customers can receive daily invoices and reports. Clients can also monitor projects and keep a running tally of costs. While the program was developed for internal use, Rogue has started licensing Field Ticket Manager to other oil/gas construction firms.

The program is currently getting a bit of a facelift with the addition of some new features and a few other tweaks. Once the software has been updated, “We’re really going to push it hard. At the end of the day, this could benefit a lot of people, especially a lot of first-time business owners,” says Cardona.

Cutting-edge technology aside, Rogue has had to cope with some huge issues that have plagued businesses around the world. The advent of the COVID virus in early 2020 threatened to derail its upwards momentum. When the virus struck, the top priority was to protect staff. This meant protecting their livelihoods as well as their health.

“My job was to keep everyone employed. Keep them working. Try to get them their forty hours. Try to avoid any layoffs. We did well,” he recalls.

At the height of the pandemic, workers at Rogue “were hearing so many horror stories of other companies laying people off, and they were able to keep working,” he continues.

This dedication to employee wellbeing is further reflected in the company’s promise of safety. Rogue has a full-time health, safety, and environmental compliance manager and puts a great deal of emphasis on safety issues and training. It has also developed an operator qualification plan that adheres to Department of Transportation pipeline safety regulations. Safety meetings are held on a weekly and monthly basis, risk mitigation training is offered, and hazard risk assessments are regularly performed.

“The last thing I want to do is one day have to call up a family member and say: ‘Your husband or your son is not going to make it home tonight.’ Thank goodness I haven’t had to do that. If we can just stress [safety] daily, to where it becomes ingrained, then that’s what we ask for,” Cardona says.

Rogue’s assurance extends into environmental safety as well. The company follows all state and federal environmental regulations concerning oil and gas production and obtains all necessary work permits.

With the firm rapidly expanding, it is looking to hire. Cardona seeks certain traits in potential new hires, saying that the company prefers “guys who are willing to put in the hours… guys willing to go out there and make a name for themselves and grow with the company. That’s the people we’re looking for.”

Looking into the future, he recognizes that the company faces certain non-COVID-related challenges, including workforce recruitment. Finding good quality employees remains “a tough one.” This is particularly difficult, given Rogue’s speedy expansion. Indeed, Cardona cites “managing growth,” as another concern, although he is quick to add: “We have a very, very good staff and a great management team.”

Besides its website, Rogue promotes itself via a blog with topics like saltwater disposal during oil and natural gas production as featured in an article posted in late July 2022, as well as social media and sponsorships.

As a child, Cardona was impressed by how often oil field companies sponsored youth events and children’s athletic teams. Now that he’s become a successful entrepreneur, he is happy to offer sponsorships on behalf of the company. “If I can get Rogue’s name out and give kids the opportunity to play youth sports, that’s a big one with me,” he asserts.

In the long run, Cardona would love to see the company establish a national presence. “Over time, we plan on extending into other states… anywhere oil and gas plays, we want to be there,” he says. Rogue may eventually branch into other energy fields such as solar. For now, however, the company plans to concentrate on oil and gas-related work, as that is what it does best.

“We want to keep growing. This is what we love to do. This is what we want to keep doing. We just want to keep [growing into] new markets in different states. We want to just keep doing the same thing we’re doing here, but everywhere else,” he states.

The post Rapid Growth for This West Texas Construction Firm<p class="company">Rogue Energy Services</p> appeared first on Resource In Focus.

With the Company marking its fortieth anniversary this year, Black Gold has big plans to double revenue and expand. Its strategy is a winning formula that blends higher standards of design and manufacturing and builds with real-world industry knowledge and a strong commitment to customer needs.

“We’re problem solvers. If there’s a product that doesn’t exist, we can go in, find the root cause of failure, engineer a solution, and make a product designed for our customer’s needs,” states Vice President Ryan Bair, who is also the son of founder Mike Bair. Mike remains President today and owns one hundred percent of the Company.

Black Gold’s head office and manufacturing facility are located in Signal Hill, California. In addition, the Company maintains branches in Taft, California; Artesia, New Mexico; and Brisbane, Australia. Products are all made in Signal Hill and then distributed to these branches for assembly and inspection.

The manufacturing hub includes a busy machine shop stocked with computer numerical controlled (CNC) lathes and mills, among other machines. The Company manufactures its pumps and products; Black Gold uses manufacturing specifications from the American Petroleum Institute (API).

API provides “drawings, specifications, and we make [products] according to their tolerances. Some products we make to a much higher tolerance, aerospace tolerances,” explains Bair.

Using these specifications as a framework, Black Gold adds proprietary features to enhance its products. The Company boasts multiple industry certifications, including ISO 9001:2015, API monogram certification, and API 11AX which is similar to ISO 9001 but centered on oil and gas-related manufacturing. The monogram designation entitles the Company to use API symbols and logos on its products.

The Company makes insertable, tubing, and specialty pumps, as well as pump accessories and components, and downhole and production tools. It also provides engineering, failure analysis, well design and optimization, pump training, and machining services.

“Pretty much anything that has to do with sucker rod pumping and production wells, we have a product or a finger on the pulse,” Bair states. Sucker rod pumps produce fluid using mechanical properties to lift fluid to the surface.

He describes the Company’s hydraulic tubing anchor as one of its “most popular and unique products. It’s something that has grown our Company and allowed us to expand internationally and domestically.” A hydraulic tubing anchor “is a completely automatic tool that utilizes the weight of the fluid column in the tubing string to power the piston in the anchor,” according to the Black Gold website.

Hydraulic anchors made by Black Gold are easy to install and extract, do not require surface manipulation, and provide strong holding power for maximum pump efficiency.

Its products and services improve oilfield safety, says Bair. The Company’s product lines make downhole failures less likely, reducing the need for sometimes risky workover jobs, services, and environmental damages. The Company also offers clients production well analysis and pump failure analysis to eliminate failures in the future. These services are often complimentary for clients who purchase Black Gold pumps.

Black Gold sells through distributors and channel partners domestically and Internationally. The Company has established a strong presence in multiple states and around the world. “We pretty much do all the Latin American and South American region. We do work with all the oil producers there,” says Bair, noting the exception of Venezuela, a Latin American nation that might have vast amounts of oil but is also very politically unstable. “We’re also heavily involved in Australia and New Zealand,” he adds.

For now, everything the Company does is oil and gas related, although that might change down the road. Black Gold is looking into expanding into green energy sectors like wind, solar, hydroelectric, and geothermal, Bair says. Such a move would be part of a future manufacturing diversification strategy.

However, Black Gold has done extremely well by focusing solely on oil and gas. This year, the Company celebrated its fortieth anniversary. Decades ago, Mike Bair was working for a major oil manufacturing company when he sensed a growing need. At the time, manufacturers were unresponsive when clients complained about pump problems with their oil wells. Customers were frustrated, to say the least. With prompting from a few oil companies, Mike established Black Gold Pump & Supply. The Company, launched on April 1, 1982, soon proved a hit.

From the start, it aimed to provide solutions as well as pumps and related products. Customer concerns were taken seriously, and Black Gold was willing to design products specially to meet specific customer demands if necessary. This client-centric attitude was matched with a cautious but steady approach to doing business.

“Our business model is a little different than most. We’re not looking to get all your business right away. We always say, ‘Give us ten percent of your field.’ It’s easy to manage and show a cost analysis. It’s easy to see right away that ten percent of the field is doing better [so the client gives us] ten percent more,” explains Bair. The process continues, leading in some cases to Black Gold taking responsibility for most or all of a client’s wells.

Real-world industry knowledge has also been key to the Company’s success. Some Black Gold employees have firsthand experience working on oil rigs or for oil production companies. This experience, in turn, leads to more practical pump designs.

“We know the oilfield tolerances. We know well dynamics. Our customers feel confident because we do the homework,” states Bair. “We pride ourselves in knowing how to talk to an oil company because we understand how to run and manage an oil lease, which creates better customer service because we get the pains and struggles.”

He contrasts this approach with pump manufacturers that rely solely on computer models for design purposes and lab tests for quality assurance. “I don’t care if it worked in NASA’s lab. Does it work in a gassy, corrosive, sandy environment? Did you make a product that’s easy to install, easy to remove?” he says. “It’s hard to spend thousands of dollars on something that only works on a computer monitor.”

The pandemic presented a massive challenge to the Company. It was considered an essential business and allowed to stay open, but times were tough. “It was a struggle. Our sales dropped eighty-five percent for three to four months—from mid-March 2020, April, May, going into June,” Bair recalls. “We held our cards really tight. We have a really good crew—amazing people. It’s hard to get people like that back, so we said, let’s hold off [on eliminating positions] as long as we can. The business will slowly come back.”

By July 2020, Black Gold had kept its workforce intact, and business began returning to life. The temporary dip in sales gave it a chance to pause, reflect and refocus. Health and safety procedures were enhanced to keep workers virus-free. The Company also used the downtime to revamp its website and improve sales and shop processes.

Black Gold has thirty-five employees at present, an increase from about thirty-two this time last year, and did not have to lay anyone off because of COVID. “We take care of our employees, and when times are tough, they really take care of us. They understand the sacrifices we all have to make. [Getting through COVID] was a really a big team effort, not just management,” states Bair.

COVID continues to cause concerns, however, in the form of global supply chain disruptions. While work has increased dramatically since the early days of the pandemic, the Company could be even busier if only it could receive consistent deliveries of materials and parts, says Bair. Supply delays caused by the pandemic are not likely to be resolved any time soon either. He figures it will take about eighteen months for worldwide manufacturing and transportation operations to return to normal. The Company is, however, already planning for the day when supply chain woes cease.

Annoying as the supply issue might be, Bair is highly optimistic about the future. “The goal is, in five years, to double our revenue from where we are now. We’ve been planning our expansion process for the last four to five years. The more we expand, the more product lines we invent,” he states.

This process is shaped by Black Gold’s status as a family company. “We are a family-owned business. We don’t look for investors; we try to do everything internally. We give our employees good benefits and will grow our business in an organic process, not an irresponsible one where we’re bleeding cash,” says Bair.

The post Enhancing Oilfield Performance & Safety with Leading Pumps, Products, and Service<p class="company">Black Gold Pump & Supply</p> appeared first on Resource In Focus.

In the United States, close to 11 million jobs are linked to the gas and oil industry. With approximately 600 members, the American Petroleum Institute has represented this vital sector for over a century.

So important and effective are these standards that they’re not limited to use in just the U.S. With the goal of enhancing operational safety, sustainability and environmental protection industry-wide, API’s canon of standards is used worldwide.

Continually revised and updated with new editions, these standards and technical documents are developed by API and industry experts. API’s rigorous process is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)—meaning they abide by practices to enhance transparency and consensus, and use the best available science. Plus, documents undergo review at least every five years.

“We review our standards on a rolling basis to make sure they are still applicable and relevant for the industry,” says API’s Alexa Burr, Vice President, Standards and Segment Services in the Global Industry Services (GIS) Division. In her current role for over three years, Burr was previously the association’s Director of System Programs, GIS, and responsible for many assessment and safety-based programs, which draw upon API’s library of standards.

Prior to coming to the American Petroleum Institute, she spent seven years with the American Chemistry Council (ACC)—the nation’s oldest trade association—where she worked on global regulatory and technical issues, leading international advocacy efforts, and also the ACC’s Responsible Care® program, a voluntary initiative driving safe practices in chemical management and environmental health, safety, security and sustainability.

Also in Burr’s portfolio is the standards development department, responsible for developing and maintaining API’s portfolio of standards; the intellectual property and distribution group, who sell and distribute standards around the world; and work with the industry “to make sure we are digitizing our standards and meeting our members’ needs and how they receive our standards.”

Another key initiative of the API is its statistics group. Responsible for the collection of data relating to both safety performance and general industry performance, information is used to produce the Weekly Statistical Bulletin (WSB), which publishes accurate petroleum data every Tuesday afternoon and has existed since 1929. “Our goal is to enhance the industry operational performance through the use of API programs and standards around the world—helping the industry perform safely and sustainably,” says Burr, who also oversees the association’s global strategy.

The American Petroleum Institute was founded in 1919, just after World War I, and based in New York City before relocating to Washington, D.C. in 1969.

The pressures of the war itself were among the reasons for the organization focusing on developing industry standards, with the first being published in 1924. The American petroleum industry had put its considerable strength behind the war effort in Europe, but there were continual stoppages and slowdowns in vital operations at drilling sites because of equipment shortages and mismatches.

“There wasn’t a uniform standard for things like pipes, threads, and coupling,” says Burr, “so API took on the challenge of developing industry-wide standards for equipment, making sure equipment made in the U.S. could be used in Europe and vice versa, to help improve performance. That’s how we started as an actual standards-setting organization.”

And in the decades to come, API would develop hundreds and hundreds of standards and recommended practices for all segments of the industry, from upstream oil and gas exploration and production to midstream transportation, downstream petrochemicals and refining, and manufacturing and supply.

One of API’s recent initiatives on behalf of the petroleum sector was the release of its Climate Action Framework (www.api.org/climate) in 2021. The global need for more energy comes when the world’s population is growing—projected to rise to almost 10 billion by 2050—and the push toward a lower-carbon future is “massive, intertwined and fundamental,” according to the API.

Addressing the growing energy needs of the future and the need to simultaneously reduce carbon emissions, the API has created a five-point action plan.

This plan aims to accelerate technology and innovation to reduce emissions while meeting growing energy needs; further mitigate emissions from operations to advance additional environmental progress; endorse a carbon price policy by government to drive economy-wide, market-based solutions; advance cleaner fuels to provide lower-carbon choices for consumers; and drive climate reporting to provide consistency and transparency.

The plan’s focusing effect on the industry has come none too soon because it’s projected that, by 2040, natural gas and oil will still remain lead providers of the world’s energy with a share of 46 percent, followed by other renewables at 18 percent, then hydro (13 percent), coal (10 percent), nuclear (nine percent), and bioenergy (four percent).

“This is a robust, comprehensive policy framework that talks about what the industry and the government can do to address climate change while continuing to meet the growing energy needs of the world,” says Burr. “This is a significant step forward for the API and the industry.”

Another program that showcases the industry’s commitment to sustainability and safe operations is API Energy Excellence® (www.api.org/oil-and-natural-gas/api-energy-excellence).

Consisting of 13 core elements, including Leadership Commitment to Operational Integrity, Safe Work Management, and Stakeholder Engagement, the elements apply to members’ operations, and drive operational improvement, including safety, environmental protections, sustainability and security.

“It’s a management system framework that commits every single API member company to implementing and achieving progress against the 13 core elements of API Energy Excellence,” comments Burr. “We are building on our long history of standards development, and help the industry move forward with improvements in our operational integrity, as well as make progress against the challenge of climate change.”

Although many may think that the American Petroleum Institute’s 600-strong membership consists mainly of large, multi-national companies, most API members are small and medium-sized companies of about 50 to 250 employees, many of them in supply and manufacturing. These include inspection companies who perform audits on some larger operators, independent upstream companies, and multinationals, representing all segments of the industry.

Considering the global use of its standards and programs, API has been working to extend its partner networks globally. “We work closely with many other global partners, especially on the environment, health, and safety side of things,” says Burr.

However, to be eligible for API membership, companies must be based in North America, and have some relation to the oil and gas industry.

Despite the petroleum sector’s vital role in powering the world, misconceptions still exist. Some forget the contribution the industry makes to quality of life in the United States.

“Many countries around the world don’t have access to electricity and energy like we do,” says Burr. “In many developing countries around the world, if you talk about turning on the light switch, folks don’t necessarily know what that means.”

From providing the energy used to heat our homes and power our businesses to manufacturing everything from cosmetics to cars, petroleum continues to shape the world, and API continues to support its members who are the ones producing this vital energy and related products—delivering standards to enhance energy efficiency and operational efficiency, while protecting the environment and the health and safety of industry workers.

As the world moves toward low-carbon technologies, some API members are exploring low-carbon technologies and renewables to add to the energy mix.

“We know that going forward, oil and gas is going to be part of that energy mix,” comments Burr, “but we are going to have to add in other renewables and low-carbon technologies like hydrogen and CCUS [carbon capture, utilization and storage] to help meet the energy demands we are facing,” she says.

“The world population is growing at a very significant rate, and we need affordable energy to meet those population demands, many coming from emerging countries that don’t currently have the energy access they need to support their population.”

Looking at how the industry can help commercialize new technologies and accelerate technologies like hydrogen and low-carbon liquid CO₂, the API and its members are helping leverage the lessons learned from traditional oil and gas operations to new technologies that commercialize them.

On the wind front, the API is working with another association, the non-profit Offshore Operators Committee (OOC), to explore standards and offshore wind structures in the U.S., and how to develop and apply them to the industry.

With a long history of prioritizing safety and innovation throughout the petroleum industry, the API will continue supporting member efforts such as low-carbon emissions; advancing sustainability and safety initiatives in oil and gas operations; and ensuring members are diversifying their workforce throughout the industry.

This includes the development, in recent years, of programs to support the industry’s workforce. API has a program with minority-serving institutions where the association provides its full library of standards free of charge to help their engineering students become familiar with API standards even before they graduate, giving them a leg up when they enter the workforce.

With a century-long legacy, the American Petroleum Institute is known worldwide for its commitment to the industry, especially its many standards, and for prioritizing safety and environmental protection of workers and communities. By working with regional offices that have local connections, the API continues to educate and lead the global industry.

In schools, the association gets kids familiar with the industry and its benefits at an early age. And outside the U.S, the API partners with other industry trade associations to increase the use of API’s standards to help the global industry perform safely and sustainably.

“We’ve done a lot to broaden our global footprint and will continue to do that and advance our industry’s safety performance,” says Burr.

The post Setting the Standard<p class="company">American Petroleum Institute</p> appeared first on Resource In Focus.

It’s an insight that can be applied directly to aquaculture. After all, why catch just one fish, when you can raise and harvest entire farms, and even feed your whole community?

You may have heard the word ‘aquaculture’ more than a few times recently. Simply put, it’s the farming of ocean and freshwater denizens for—mainly—human consumption. This can include everything from clams, mussels, and shrimp to seaweed, salmon, black sea bass, yellowtail, catfish, freshwater trout, and other fish species.

Performed in fresh, salt, or brackish water, the big difference between traditional capture fisheries—where harvesting takes place in naturally occurring environments—and aquaculture is that the latter needs deliberate human intervention in semi-natural or controlled conditions. This can include stocking water with juvenile organisms (seed), feeding organisms, fertilizing of the water, maintenance of water quality, and more.

A rich and diverse sector, aquaculture encompasses not only food for people, but cultivating ornamental fish, algae for chemical extraction, and even oysters for their pearls. And although there are many differences from what we typically think of as farming—the land-based variety—aquaculture is still considered an agricultural activity, one producing mainly protein-rich crops, like fish.

Although some might think of aquaculture as a modern industry, it goes back thousands of years and, like other types of agriculture, has seen countless advances.

Developed over 2,000 years ago in China, Rome, Egypt, and later, Japan and Europe, early aquaculture saw wild-caught juvenile fish (fingerlings) caught and relocated to other bodies of water so they could grow under controlled conditions.

As the years went on, other countries made advances, including the technique of encouraging oyster spat (newly settled juveniles) to settle on upright bamboo stakes embedded in sea floors, and the addition of manure to water. This encouraged the growth of plankton and invertebrates, creating sustenance for fish.

In North America, one of the biggest advances to the industry came in 1871, when the United States Congress launched the National Fish Hatchery System (NFHS) to propagate anadromous fishes, like salmon, and some sturgeon, which are born and raised in freshwater, spend most of their lives in saltwater, then return to freshwater to spawn.

Years later, seafood-rich Japan established the first marine shrimp hatchery in 1959, which led to the commercial shrimp-culture industry.

Worldwide, aquaculture is an expanding sector, providing food and employment. In Canada, 45 species are commercially cultivated, with British Columbia leading the way with finfish production, and Prince Edward Island with shellfish.

According to research from the Library of Parliament, Canada’s aquaculture sector produced 187,026 tonnes of seafood in 2019, valued at over $1.2 billion, benefiting many small coastal communities. In the United States, aquaculture is estimated to be worth $2.7 billion US, making it a valuable contributor to the economy.

Although worldwide demand is projected to increase seven to nine percent every year (according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization), only three percent of human food comes from oceans. Considering that 71 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered by water, the amount is surprisingly low.

Approximately half of all global seafood production intended for human consumption is farmed, and this share is expected to rise to more than 60 percent by 2030.

This year saw the publication of The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022. Towards Blue Transformation, by the UN. A massive 266-page document, it covers important topics including aquaculture production, employment, adaptation to climate change, and consumption of aquatic foods in a world of increasing demand. (At present, the worldwide population is estimated at 7.79 billion people; by 2050, it is predicted there will be 9.8 billion of us, and 11.2 billion by 2100. That’s a lot of mouths to feed.)

Excluding algae, worldwide consumption of aquatic foods has steadily increased over the decades. According to the World Fisheries report, the amount of aquatic food consumed worldwide in 1961 was 28 million tonnes; in 2019, it reached 158 million tonnes.

Compared to other protein sources, seafood holds many benefits, the first of which is that it is more sustainable and better for the planet.

Cattle farming, for example, takes a huge toll on nature. Requiring large tracts of land for grazing, dairy cows and beef cattle for consumption need specialized (and expensive) veterinary care, feed lots, housing, genetic testing, and antibiotics.

While we may conjure pastoral images of cows luxuriating in rolling grassy fields and sunshine, factory farming often involves dirty and unhealthy living conditions for animals who consume enormous quantities of feed and water. Producing an estimated 81.5 pounds (180 pounds) of waste daily per cow—some of it polluting streams and rivers—the methane emissions of herds of cattle also contribute to climate change.

And then, of course, there are the health implications of beef consumption. While many of us enjoy a sizzling steak, eating excessive amounts of meat may be associated with an increase in deaths from cardiovascular disease and cancer.

And as the price of feed, care, and processing keeps increasing, these costs are passed onto the consumer, making beef unaffordable for some.

Compared to beef, fish and seafood may be healthier and often less expensive. An excellent source of high-quality protein and nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids, which benefit brain function, Vitamin D, and more. Unlike beef, which may increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes, fish is a heart-healthy food that may lower the risk of heart disease if eaten once or more per week.

Economically, aquaculture is also a job-creator, benefiting not only those directly involved in the industry but ancillary businesses, such as technology companies, and others selling feed and medicine.

As the global population grows, aquaculture will continue proving itself as an efficient way of providing the planet with stable, affordable sources of healthy protein, a source of income for farmers, and employment. If done responsibly, aquaculture and farmed seafood will meet our food demands in the years to come.

The post Fishing to Feed the World<p class="company">The Advantages of Aquaculture</p> appeared first on Resource In Focus.