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Ørsted Joins Efforts To Develop Offshore-Wind-to-Green-Hydrogen Tech

The Oyster project will look to answer some of the design and engineering questions posed by offshore hydrogen production. (Credit: Siemens Gamesa)

The Oyster project will look to answer some of the design and engineering questions posed by offshore hydrogen production. (Credit: Siemens Gamesa)

[Editor’s note: Ørsted is the Danish company that is developing the Ocean Wind energy wind farm some 15 miles off the coast of southern New Jersey. Construction is planned to start in the early 2020’s, with the wind farm operational in 2024. The New Jersey project will utilize conventional wind-energy technology not like what is described below]

BY JOHN PARNELL, greentechmedia 

Global offshore wind developer Ørsted has become the latest major player to pursue off-grid green hydrogen, a technology that could expand capacity for converting offshore wind power to zero-carbon energy.

The Danish firm is collaborating with ITM Power, Siemens Gamesa and Element Energy on the Oyster project. The consortium was awarded a €5 million grant by the European Commission on Friday.

Oyster is developing a desalination and electrolysis system that is fully “marinized,” that is, modified for marine use. The stated aim is to make green hydrogen cost-competitive as a replacement fuel for methane (which is the largest component of natural gas).

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ITM Power CEO Graham Cooley told GTM that the first challenge was integrating the power electronics of the electrolyzer and a wind turbine, and the second was to harden it to be able to stand up to the conditions it will have to withstand at sea.

A modified electrolyzer will be put through its paces in simulated offshore conditions.

“The other important aspect of it is water. […] If you’re offshore, you’ll be using desalinated seawater,” said Cooley. “So it is about combining all those things together. It’s the integration of the electrolyzer with the wind turbine, planning the ability to install offshore, and the use of seawater as the main source of water for the electrolyzer.”

Cooley points out that oil rigs have been using desalination equipment at sea for decades and have survived everything the North Sea can throw at them in the process.

Design work on Oyster will begin now, with the project running through 2024.

Pilots plan to answer islanded green hydrogen’s big questions

Plans to use offshore wind power and on-site electrolyzers to pump hydrogen instead of power back to shore are garnering more interest, with German utility RWE leading the most ambitious project, its 10 GW AquaVentus proposal, which has buy-in from Shell, Vestas, Siemens Energy and fellow utility Vattenfall. AquaVentus will start with pilot and demo phases before deploying in 2-gigawatt tranches and hitting 10 GW by 2035. 

Pilot projects like Oyster will help to answer some of the remaining key questions around the concept.  These include sizing electrolyzers to maximize utilization, a key factor in the cost of producing green hydrogen, when offshore wind capacity factors max out at around the 50 percent mark.

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New Jersey Highlands Development Credit Bank seeking proposals for real estate analysis

The New Jersey Highlands Development Credit Bank (“HDC Bank”) is soliciting proposals to perform a real estate analysis for the Highlands Region as part of the Highlands Region Transfer of Development Rights (“TDR”) program.

Specifically the HDC Bank seeks technical assistance related to the establishment of a “municipal average value,” as referenced at N.J.S.A. 4:1C-31.c and N.J.S.A. 40:55D-159.b. Proposals must be received no later than 11:00 a.m. on Friday, February 19, 2021.

Complete details here in the RFP.

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https://www.nj.gov/njhighlands/news/rfps/muniaverage/rfp_muniaverage.pdf

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Who is Charles Kushner? The disgraced N.J. developer was just pardoned by Trump

Charles Kushner
Charles Kushner arrives at the Kintock halfway house in Newark in 2006 photo. (NOAH K. MURRAY/THE STAR-LEDGER)

By Chris Sheldon and Ted Sherman | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com 

Charles Kushner, the father of President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared, who is a senior advisor to Trump, was granted a full pardon Wednesday night by the president.

Kushner was one of 26 people granted a full pardon by Trump, who also commuted part or all of the sentences of an additional three people.

Kushner’s history in the Garden State is long and involves a nearly two-year prison sentence for a bizarre tax fraud case.

A son of Holocaust survivors, Kushner grew up in an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood in Elizabeth, where his father Joseph worked as a carpenter and later as a builder who acquired and managed small properties.

A 1976 graduate of New York University, Kushner earned an MBA and law degree, and practiced law for four years before leaving to open a real estate business with his father and his wife’s brother.

Together, they built a sprawling real estate empire, with more than $3 billion in property in New Jersey and beyond. The business built itself mostly on acquisitions of existing properties, making money by renovating or improving the structures to generate higher rents.

But the structure of Kushner’s varied businesses and its Byzantine array of partnerships also turned out to be an efficient political fund-raising mechanism known as “bundling” that Kushner took to new levels, allowing him to use his real estate empire to fuel a political agenda on high octane.

He supported Gov. James McGreevey, Cory Booker in his first run against Newark Mayor Sharpe James, and the Bill Clinton campaign.

He was a player in state and national politics and would host fundraising events for President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore and Sen. Joseph Lieberman, who all paid calls to his offices in Florham Park, or his home in Livingston.

Kushner was the single largest campaign contributor to McGreevey when he ran in 2001 and was later named by the governor to become the powerful chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Charles Kushner
Charles Kushner in a 2002 photo. (WILLIAM PERLMAN | THE STAR-LEDGER)Star-Ledger file photo

What was Charles Kushner’s scandal?

Kushner came under federal investigation after a bitter family dispute with former partner and brother, Murray, over the accounting for campaign contributions in a case was pursued by then-U.S. Attorney Chris Christie.

Kushner later admitted to defrauding the IRS of between $200,000 and $325,000 by filing 16 tax returns that claimed those political contributions as “office expenses” and acknowledged that he lied to the Federal Election Commission when he reported $385,000 in political contributions from his business partners. The partners claimed they were unaware of the donations.

Authorities also charged that Kushner had paid $25,000 to arrange for a prostitute to seduce his brother-in-law, and then had the videotape of the motel tryst sent to his sister.

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Energy Department Awards $6 Million to Develop Training Programs for Professionals Working with New Energy Technologies

From EERE News

Today the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awarded approximately $6 million to five organizations that will develop training programs for emergency responders, building managers and owners, and other officials interacting with solar energy and storage systems, alternative-fuel vehicles and their chargers, and energy-efficient building technologies.

Led by or working with professional associations, work done through these projects could educate hundreds of thousands of U.S. safety and building workers. These professionals are at the front lines as more solar systems are built, more vehicles run on batteries and nontraditional fuels, and more buildings become “smarter” and more energy-efficient. A well-trained workforce familiar with clean energy will improve safety, expedite permitting, reduce liability and insurance costs, and increase consumer confidence.

“As advanced energy technologies are built across America, firefighters, building managers, mechanics, and other workers have new job responsibilities,” said Daniel R Simmons, Assistant Secretary of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). “These projects will help them work with new energy technologies safely and effectively.”

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Company plans national anaerobic digestion expansion. Unilever, Starbucks and Dairy Farmers of America sign on

Courtesy of Vanguard Renewables

By Cole Rosengren, WasteDive

Vanguard Renewables, a Massachusetts-based anaerobic digestion company, has launched the Farm Powered Strategic Alliance (FPSA) with the goal of rapidly scaling up organics recycling in the United States. Initial members include Unilever, Starbucks and Dairy Farmers of America (DFA).

The FPSA’s goal is to organize and advocate for best practices around reducing food waste, digesting “unavoidable waste” with animal waste at farm-based sites, and creating and utilizing biogas from the process. 

What is anaerobic digestion? Anaerobic digestion is a sequence of processes by which microorganisms break down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen.[1] The process is used for industrial or domestic purposes to manage waste or to produce fuels. — Wikipedia

“It’s a supply agreement and it’s an offtake agreement,” said CEO John Hanselman, noting members signed separate contracts with the company.

Vanguard has seven operational facilities in the Northeast, including a new depackaging facility in Massachusetts with 250 tons per day of capacity. More than 20 new facilities are also in development, with a near-term focus on metro areas around New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Atlanta.

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Vanguard has seen steady growth since it was founded in 2014, with a portfolio of sites across Massachusetts and Vermont, but this latest announcement is a sign of its ambition to have a national footprint.

“Our intent is to take our first mover advantage and really be the premier food waste recycler in the U.S.,” said Hanselman.

Vanguard’s existing operations have seen success by co-locating with farms in a symbiotic relationship. The company gets favorable terms on using the land for its facilities and a steady supply of animal waste to mix with inbound food scraps. The farms get free organic fertilizer and energy for their operations, with the resulting biogas also often being used by local communities in various ways.

While these facilities have become key elements of processing infrastructure in New England, a region known for an array of state and local policies mandating or encouraging organics recycling, Hanselman said there have been other factors limiting their scalability. In his view, separating organics at the generator level has still been viewed as too complicated or time-consuming even among companies that support the concept.

Vanguard’s recently opened depackaging facility in Agawam, Massachusetts – known as an ORF (organics recycling facility) – can handle just about any type of food product unless it’s packaged in glass. While the concept itself is not new, Hanselman described the ORF as an evolutionary step for the industry. Main features include a fully automated and contained process, with a complex air handling system to prevent odors. The ORF also allows Vanguard to create custom blends based on the needs of its digesters throughout the region.

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New York developer buys 67-acre, former Rohm and Haas chemical plant site in Philadelphia, plans $115M investment

The property at 5000 Richmond St. was put up for sale earlier this year by Dow Inc., CBRE

By Natalie Kostelni  – Reporter, Philadelphia Business Journal
Dec 18, 2020, 2:35pm EST

DH Property Holdings of New York has acquired 67 acres in Philadelphia and plans to develop 733,000 square feet of industrial space in a project that will represent a $115 million investment.

The property at 5000 Richmond St. in the city’s Bridesburg section was put up for sale earlier this year by Dow Inc. Forty-six acres of the property are paved and currently being used to store vehicles for Carvana and other users. The site is zoned industrial and sits in a Federal Opportunity Zone.

Other redevelopment news:
Developer proposes 1-million-square-foot warehouse in Bucks County
NorthPoint plans $1.5B redevelopment of U.S. Steel site in Bucks
Matrix plans $20M speculative distribution center in Camden
Logistics company leases 59,000 square feet in Salem County

The property’s proximity to I-95 and Center City was expected to attract developers of warehouse-distribution facilities. DH Property, which is run by Dov Hertz, plans to develop a two-building campus that will serve as last-mile distribution. One building will total 351,800 square feet and the other will total 382,000 square feet.

The property has industrial roots dating to the early 1700s, when tanneries relocated to the area from Center City, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, which had overseen remediation of the site. A chemical plant that was once on the site dated back to 1847, according to information provided by Dow. Rohm and Haas acquired the property in 1920 from Charles Lenning and Co., which was at the time one of the oldest chemical manufacturers in the country.

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Three former executives of Bucks County engineering firm arrested for allegedly thieving clients of more than $2 million

BY PAT RALPH
PhillyVoice Staff

Three former executives of Boucher & James, Inc., a Doylestown-based engineering firm, have been arrested after allegedly stealing approximately $2.1 million from clients across Pennsylvania.

The three defendants have been charged with Theft by Deception, Theft by Receiving Stolen Property, Deceptive Business Practices, Corrupt Organizations and Conspiracy, according to Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro.

Former owner and board member Ross Boucher, as well as former managing directors Mark Eisold and David Jones, allegedly repeatedly overbilled clients for time spent on the job, resulting in bonuses for the three individuals that they would not have earned otherwisenull

The fraud scheme was uncovered by another managing director in 2018, when it was discovered that Eisold had consistently put additional work hours into invoices. One such bill stated that one employee had worked 34 hours in a single day for a client.

The alleged scheme took place from 2009-2018, according to a review conducted by Shapiro’s office and forensic accountants. 

More than 100 entities across the state, several of which are located in the Philly region, suffered substantial financial losses. Among those to lose money included Lower Makefield Township, Springfield Township, the Richland Township Board of Supervisors, the Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority, Souderton Borough, Cheltenham Township and Ivyland Borough.

“These company executives took advantage of their municipal clients’ trust by routinely overbilling for work that never happened,” Shapiro said. 

“Let’s be clear about what this means: when you bill for time that you didn’t work, you are stealing — and these former Boucher & James executives will be held accountable for their crimes.”

As a result of the investigation, the three defendants have resigned from their positions at Boucher & James. The overbilling scheme has since ceased, and the company has agreed to repay more than $851,000 in funds to clients dating back to 2015. The company itself is not being charged with any crimes.

https://www.phillyvoice.com/bucks-county-engineering-firm-theft-pennsylvania-attorney-general/

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U.S. imposes sanctions on two Iranians for abduction and probable death of former FBI agent Robert Levinson

An FBI poster shows a composite image of former FBI agent Robert Levinson, who disappeared in 2007 from Kish Island, a tourist spot off the coast of Iran. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)

By Carol Morelo, Washington Post

The Trump administration imposed sanctions Monday on two Iranian intelligence officials it holds responsible for the abduction, detention and probable death of Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent who disappeared in Iran almost 14 years ago.

Senior U.S. officials provided no evidence for their claims, so as not to compromise intelligence sources. The two officials designated are high-ranking officers in the Ministry of Intelligence and Security, the Iranian equivalent of the CIA.

The U.S. officials said the decision to publicly assign blame in Levinson’s disappearance now, in the final weeks of President Trump’s time in office, was related to new information and the lengthy process of getting government lawyers to approve the decision.

But the timing also appears to be an attempt to narrow the parameters of any potential negotiations if President-elect Joe Biden seeks to rejoin the nuclear agreement with Iran that Trump abandoned in 2018. At least three Americans are currently detained in Iran.

[Biden has vowed to quickly restore the Iran nuclear deal, but that may be easier said than done]

“There should be no agreement negotiated with Iran ever again that doesn’t free Americans who are unjustly detained in that country,” said one of the senior U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of confidentiality in a briefing call with reporters. “We all expect negotiations next year. That negotiation must include the return home of all the Americans unjustly detained in that country.”

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EPA extends public review time to January 20 for Newark (NJ) Superfund site

From the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

NEWARK, N.J. (December 14, 2020) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has extended the public comment period to January 20, 2021 on its proposed cleanup plan for the Riverside Industrial Park Superfund site on the bank of the Passaic River in Newark. The proposed plan includes a combination of technologies and methods to address the cleanup of contaminated soil, soil gas (gas trapped in the soil), groundwater, sewer water and waste at the site.

The Riverside Industrial Park Superfund site is located on a 7.6-acre active industrial property that includes both current and former manufacturing and packaging facilities. Beginning in 1903, industrial operations started at the site that included the manufacturing of paint, varnish, linseed oil and resins. After 1971, the site was subdivided into 15 lots, some of which have ongoing business operations. The sources of soil and groundwater contamination include historic site operations, accidental spills, illegal dumping, improper handling of raw materials and/or improper waste disposal.

In 2009, at the request of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, EPA responded to an oil spill into the Passaic River that was eventually traced to two basement storage tanks in a vacant building on the site. The state and the City of Newark requested EPA’s help in assessing the contamination at the site and performing emergency actions to identify and stop the source of the spill. EPA investigated and discovered that chemicals including benzene, mercury, chromium and arsenic were improperly stored at the site. EPA took immediate actions to prevent further release of these chemicals into the river in the short-term. The site was added to the Superfund National Priorities List of the country’s most hazardous waste sites in 2013, and in 2014 an agreement was signed with PPG Industries, Inc., to perform the study of the site.

EPA held a virtual public meeting to explain and receive comments on the proposed plan on August 5, 2020 at 7:00 pm.

Written comments on EPA’s proposed plan may be mailed or emailed until January 20, 2021 to: Josh Smeraldi, Remedial Project Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 290 Broadway, 18th Floor, New York, New York 10007-1866 or smeraldi.josh@epa.gov.

To view EPA’s proposed plan for the site or for more information, please visit www.epa.gov/superfund/riverside-industrial

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NJ industry needs tighter regulation to prevent chemical leaks, water watchdog says

Warning comes as water quality panel weighs new standards for pollutants

File photo: Testing water after a chemical spill

BY JON HURDLE, CONTRIBUTING WRITER, NJ SPOTLIGHT

The head of New Jersey’s drinking water watchdog said Thursday that industry should be required to take responsibility for any contamination of air and water that’s linked to its operations.

Dr. Keith Cooper, chairman of the Drinking Water Quality Institute, said existing regulations have not done enough to prevent pollution by industry, and they may now need to be strengthened so that corporations do more to ensure contaminants do not escape their plants.

“If you can instill within the industries themselves that if they are required to maintain their chemical footprint within their own industry, within their controlled environment, then you will have their responsibility for maintaining that,” Cooper said during a public meeting of the panel of scientists and water company executives that advises the state Department of Environmental Protection on safe levels of certain chemicals in drinking water.

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“But unfortunately, historically, we have not put that requirement,” he said, offering his personal opinion. “We have allowed the chemicals to escape off of sites either through gas or the utilization of wastewater treatment plants, and I think that in the future, we have to start looking at putting the onus back on industry.”

Environmental regulators are faced with a need to set health standards for a range of chemicals, some of which were listed by the water quality panel on Thursday for possible investigation. They include cyanotoxins, which have led to harmful algal blooms (HABs) at many New Jersey lakes over the last two summers, and radon, which is linked to cancer.

The list also includes replacements for the toxic PFAS (Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl substances) family, also known as “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down in the environment even after their use or manufacture has ended.

New-generation chemicals may be just as toxic

Scientists have warned for years that the unregulated replacement chemicals may be just as toxic as the compounds they are designed to replace, some of which are now subject to strict health limits set by states including New Jersey.

Concern about the risks of the new generation of chemicals grew in recent months with reports from two national scientific journals that Solvay Specialty Polymers, a chemical company in Gloucester County, has been using a substitute for PFNA (perfluorononanoic acid), a type of PFAS chemical that is now regulated by New Jersey. The company confirmed that it has been using a substitute for PFNA as a “process aid.”

In late November, Consumer Reports said it had obtained documents from the DEP and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency showing that the replacement chemicals were found in the blood of Solvay workers, and that the company had known about the chemicals’ health risks for at least 15 years.

Last month, New Jersey sued Solvay, accusing it of discharging both the old and new chemicals into the environment for years, and not doing enough to clean them up.

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