To bring liquefied natural gas (LNG) to its marine and heavy-duty customers in North America, Shell is investing in two small-scale liquefaction units. A 0.25 million tons per year unit will be installed at the company’s Geismar Chemicals facility in Geismar, La., while the another unit of the same size will be installed at Shell’s Sarnia Manufacturing Centre in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. Related Links: Shell Global “The primary plant components will be prefabricated, however some supporting elements may be constructed on site,” says Shell’s Kayla Macke. “Construction and installation contracting will be conducted through Shell’s normal contracting and procurement processes.”According
The space shuttle may not lift off from Florida's "Space Coast" anymore, but an upcoming launch of new power-generation technology on a $970-million plant modernization near Cape Canaveral will raise the output of the state's largest electric utility while providing cleaner power, thanks to the first use of some of the world's most efficient gas turbines. Though set to go online June 1 as originally planned, construction of the 1,250-MW Florida Power & Light combined-cycle natural gas powerplant is running about six weeks ahead of schedule, despite serious labor shortages along the way. Related Links: Building Critical Biomass Imploding the
Gerald Seeber, the Tampa Bay Water general manager who urged the utility to pursue an expensive and as-yet unsuccessful lawsuit against HDR Engineering over cracking at its reservoir, has told the group he is seeking employment elsewhere. Photo courtesy Tampa Bay Water The $129-million renovation of Tampa Bay Water's 15.5-billion gallon reservoir in Lithia, Fla., kicked off Feb. 8. A few days later, it was announced that current general manager Gerald Seeber would be stepping down. Related Links: Tampa Bay Water General Manager Job Listing Facing New Sinkhole Concerns, Tampa Bay Water Cancels Reservoir Expansion Tampa Bay Water Opts for
A fter years of being "repurposed by attrition," as the project team puts it, a building in Plano, Texas, that has housed the city's government operations for 47 years is finally getting a real makeover. The much-needed $8-million face-lift and expansion of the facility, which now centralizes technology, communication and data services for the city's traffic, police, fire department and administration will now become the Plano Technology Services Center, a Tier 3 data center. Related Links: Alliance Architects, Inc. Turner Construction Co. In 2011, the City of Plano saw it had a need for a consolidated data center, says Jim
Bartlett Cocke General Contractors in San Antonio has elevated Harry Moeller to president. He has been with the company since 1985, most recently serving as executive vice president. In that role, he succeeds Randy Pawelek, who will transition to chairman while remaining CEO. Pawelek became president of the company in 2008. Related Links: Engineering News Record Kevin Byrd has been promoted to vice president of operations, Central Texas region. James Anderson has been promoted to South Texas regional manager. Mark Christensen has been promoted to East Texas regional manager.Roger Soto has joined Ziegler Cooper, a Houston architecture firm, as senior
Sundt Construction, Inc.’s Texas Division will construct a replacement terminal building at the Wichita Falls Municipal Airport. Photo courtesy of URS Airport Services A rendering of the replacement terminal that Sundt Construction will start building at the Wichita Falls Municipal Airport this summer. Related Links: Sundt Construction, Inc. Wichita Falls Municipal Airport For this project, Sundt has a local joint venture partner, contractor Trinity Hughes. The design architect is URS, teamed with local architect Bundy, Young, Sims & Potter.“The Wichita Falls Municipal Airport is a joint-use facility, located at Sheppard Air Force Base,” says Robert Schmidt, aviation engineering manager with URS
Last year, when single-handedly driving his motor coach across the country -- covering about 20,000 miles in the process -- to most of engineer Professional Service Industries' roughly 100 offices, the big danger Randy Larson faced wasn't the driving conditions. It was the possibility that the five-month outreach and team-building tour by the Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., firm's new president might become "The Larson Show." It was something "we really had to guard against," he says. Photo by Scott Judy Randy Larson, president of Professional Service Industries, hit the road in 2012 to visit as many of his new company's employees
Construction on the University of Houston’s new football stadium is now underway. Design firms PageSoutherlandPage and DLR Group, as well as contractor Manhattan Construction and university staffers celebrated the project’s groundbreaking February 8 near downtown Houston. Photo courtesy of PageSoutherlandPage The University of Houston hosted the groundbreaking of its new stadium February 8. Shown from left to right: Jonathan Thurston, Executive Director of UH Facilities Planning & Construction; Matt Doffing, Manhattan Construction; Duane Duffy, Manhattan Construction; David Quenemoen, PageSoutherlandPage; Rob Owens, PageSoutherlandPage; Don Barnum, DLR Group; Greg Garlock, DLR Group; Tony Levine, UH Football Coach; Mack Rhoades, UH Vice President
Utility Duke Energy announced on Feb. 5 that it is canceling previous plans to repair its damaged Crystal River nuclear plant in Citrus County, Fla. Instead, the company says it will build a new natural-gas powerplant elsewhere in the state to replace the retired 914-MW facility. Photo courtesy Duke Energy Progress Energy Florida initiated a project to replace generators at the Crystal River nuclear plant, but the work caused cracking in the containment dome. Attempts at repair failed. Related Links: Crystal River's Controversial Repairs Central to Duke Energy Hearings Duke Study: Crystal River Repairs Could Hit $3.4 Billion Does Ouster
A $53.25 million student housing project will break ground in in March 2013 at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD). Hill & Wilkinson has been awarded the contract on the new student housing living/learning center, a construction management-at-risk project that was designed by HKS Architects Inc. Rendering by HKS Architects A rendering of the new University of Texas at Dallas Student Living Learning Center, which is seeking LEED silver certification. Related Links: Hill & Wilkinson University of Texas at Dallas The student housing living/learning center is the fifth campus construction project awarded to Hill & Wilkinson by UTD. The