Duke Energy's efforts to remove a portion of an estimated 39,000 tons of coal ash spilled in February into the Dan River could signal the start of new responsibilities for North Carolina utilities in managing waste from coal-fired powerplants. Photo courtesy of Duke Energy Contractor Phillips & Jordan is performing vacuum dredging of the Dan River near Danville, Va. Related Links: Subpoenas Issued in North Carolina Coal Ash Spill Duke signed an "enforceable" agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on May 22 to clean up affected sites in the state and in Virginia about two weeks after its cleanup
AM Agrigen Industries is exploring the potential of developing a $1.2 billion plant to manufacture granulated urea, a widely used fertilizer, in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana.The firm is conducting feasibility studies on the project and the prospective site, and the company expects to make a final investment decision in the first quarter of 2015.This move by AM Agrigen could potentially create 150 new direct jobs, and the project could result in an additional 1,025 new indirect jobs, for a total of 1,175 new jobs in the state, according to estimates by Louisiana Economic Development.Construction would begin in mid-2015, with the
Related Links: Pod Pack International Louisiana Economic Development Pod Pack International, a manufacturer of coffee and tea products for roasters and distributors in North America and Central America, has announced a $10.1 million, 75,000-sq-ft expansion at the company’s manufacturing facility in Baton Rouge.According to the firm, the facility expansion and installation of new equipment will allow further expansion of the company’s output to meet the needs of recently secured client contracts. In 2013, Pod Pack produced approximately 100 million pods.“We considered other alternative locations, but we are truly happy we chose Louisiana,” Tom Martin, executive vice president and COO of
Duke Energy says it will build a $1.5-billion, 1,640-MW natural gas-fired powerplant on a Citrus County, Fla., site adjacent to its damaged Crystal River nuclear facility that the utility officially shuttered 15 months ago. Image courtesy Duke Energy Duke Energy announced plans to locate a $1.5-billion, 1,640-megawatt natural gas-fired powerplant on a site adjacent to its Crystal River complex in Citrus County, Fla. Related Links: Duke Decides to Shutter Damaged Crystal River Nuke Plant Duke Study: Crystal River Nuke Plant Repairs Could Hit $3.4B The Charlotte, N.C.-based utility stated that, after “a months-long request-for-proposals process,” it has decided its "self-build"
The general contractor of a partially complete, abandoned high-rise building in Jacksonville, Fla., is seeking a buyer for the property it recently acquired by foreclosure. When the developer defaulted on a $12.4-million civil award due the contractor for nonpayment and breach of contract, the court cleared the way for Choate Construction Co. to seize the project. Photo courtesy Choate Construction Co. The Berkman Plaza II project in Jacksonville, Fla., has been stalled since December 2007. Image courtesy Choate Construction A digital rendering of the Berkman Plaza II project. Related Links: Contractor: Panel Rejects Claims of Collapse Liability Dynamic Deeds Build
Builders of a glass-sheathed Florida college building—topped by a 250-ft-long skylight shading system with 94 louvered arms that raise and lower to track the sun—say they could not have successfully executed the unusual design without intense consultant-contractor cross-pollination. The $60-million building nearing completion in Lakeland, designed by architect Santiago Calatrava, is on time and on budget thanks to the teamwork, they say. Related Links: As Design Activity Picks Up, Industry Sentiment Follows Commentary: Give Calatrava a Chance Designed as the signature element of Florida Polytechnic University's still-emerging campus, the 162,000-sq-ft Innovation, Science and Technology Building (IST) stretched the team's envelope
With a few exceptions, construction activity in the four-state Southeast region remains less robust than many builders would like. But the region's design firms are starting to sense a change in the market. Related Links: ENR's Top 500 Design Firms Overview: A Recovery in Need of Speed Southeast Top Starts Ranking Reveals Stop-and-Go Recovery Responses to ENR Southeast's annual survey of Top Design Firms, which generates the ranking published here, increased significantly from a year ago, as did the firms' collective revenue. And industry sentiment appears to be on the rise."We're feeling much better and seeing much stronger activity in
TOWNSENDPamela Townsend has joined the Raleigh offices of Dewberry as senior vice president and director of Southeast strategic planning and growth. Townsend comes to Dewberry from AECOM, where she served as a senior vice president. She has nearly 30 years of experience in the consulting engineering business. Related Links: Designer of the Year LS3P Plans a Transformation As Design Activity Picks Up, Industry Sentiment Follows Robert "Skip" Notte was promoted to the position of vice president in Dewberry's Charlotte, N.C., office. He has more than 17 years of industry experience.Ken Hartmann has joined HNTB Corp.'s Tampa office as vice
Designing the 60,000-sq-ft Center for Emerging Technologies and a 1,200-space AutoPark Structure for the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) near Greenville, S.C., proved no easy drive through the park. Related Links: As Design Activity Picks Up, Industry Sentiment Follows ENR Southeast's Top Lists CU-ICAR, reflecting the changing nature of the Southeast design market, required exacting specifications within a limited budget. The center's design had to support academic research on a variety of advanced automotive technologies—which in turn support and influence powerhouses like BMW, whose nearby plant will soon produce nearly 500,000 vehicles a year."Our campus is unlike
Biofuel company Cool Planet Energy Systems recently held a symbolic groundbreaking on a biorefinery in Alexandria, La. Related Links: Cool Planet Energy Systems Dubbed "Project Genesis," the facility will be constructed on a 28-acre site on the Red River Waterway in central Louisiana. It is the first of three biorefineries that Cool Planet will build with a $168 million capital investment in the state to commercialize the company's renewable gasoline blendstocks.Cool Planet Energy Systems Vice President of Business Development Mike Rocke says the refinery will be designed to produce 10 million gallons per year of high-octane, renewable gasoline blends. The
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