Photo Courtesy of Atikokan GS The contractor at a powerplant in Atikokan, Ontario, is erecting two 5,000-ton concrete silos for storage of white wood pellets, the new fuel source that will replace coal at the plant. Related Links: Biomass Plants Seek Toehold in U.S. Energy Market Utilities Repower Aging Coal Plants To Burn Biomass A $170-million retrofit at Atikokan Generating Station in Atikokan, Ontario, is transforming a 28-year- old coal plant to burn 100% biomass and represents a major trend in North American power engineering and construction efforts. "The Ontario Power Authority mandated that this facility be off coal by
Photo Courtesy of the Geothermal Energy Association Geothermal energy officials ring the opening NASDAQ bell during the U.S. and International Geothermal Energy Finance Forum in April. Related Links: Geothermal Power Grew 5% in 2012 California Sees Transmission As Key to Geothermal Buildup The U.S. geothermal energy industry—which grew by 5%, or 147.05 MW, for the year ending March 2013—is seeking more up-front private-equity financing. There are 175 geothermal power projects in development in California, Nevada and other western states. They would add some 620 MW of operational capacity by January 2016, reports the Geothermal Energy Association.Unlike solar or wind, geothermal
Rendering Courtesy of MGM Resorts An open-air entertainment promenade (rendered above) is part of MGM's over $500 million in upcoming Las Vegas projects. Related Links: Caesars to Renovate Las Vegas Strip Property into $185M Boutique Hotel/Casino MGM Resorts International is spending $100 million for an open-air entertainment promenade linking two of its Las Vegas Strip properties: New York-New York and Monte Carlo.Spread across 63 acres, the project will create park-like retail and dining spaces between the resorts for greater pedestrian interaction and interstitial visitor synergy. The neighboring hotel-casinos, which comprise 5,000 rooms, will be connected by a tree-dotted plaza lined
Related Links: ASCE Metrolpolitan Section City of Hoboken The mayor of Hoboken, N.J., supports region-wide storm-surge resistance in the long term but is pushing for added local protection in the short term. Experts at a recent forum on Superstorm Sandy's impact in the New York-New Jersey area agreed: Plan regionally but act now locally."There has to be protection on a local level plus a regional approach," said Dawn Zimmer, Hoboken's mayor since 2009, at the "Impact of Sandy's Storm Surge on NY/NJ Infrastructure" seminar, sponsored by the ASCE Metropolitan Section and held in Brooklyn, N.Y., on April 8-9.The densely populated
Related Links: Expert: Seam Failure May be to Blame for Mayflower Oil Spill INFOGRAPHIC 13 Oil Spills in 30 Days The ExxonMobil pipeline that ruptured in Mayflower, Ark., has now been removed and sent to an independent lab for third-party testing while cleanup of the 5,000-barrel spill continues.The 52-ft section of the Pegasus pipeline was lifted out April 15 but the cause of the spill remains under investigation, according to ExxonMobil. It is not known when the pipe testing will be completed.The pipeline had a 22-ft.-long, 2-in.-wide gash, according to Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel. His office has launched an
Photo Courtesy of NREL Building that will explore ways to integrate renewables into the grid is up and running. The Research Support Facility may soon produce as much power annually as it uses. Related Links: NREL Energy Systems Integration Facility NREL Research Support Facility 2011 Award of Excellence Winner: Jeffrey M. Baker: Conservation Crusader Though more than six months late, the U.S. Dept. of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo., flipped the switch earlier this month on the final section of its nearly 2.5-MW photovoltaic system to power DOE's ultra-energy-efficient Research Support Facility. Turning on the 1.1-MW PV
Image Courtesy of California High Speed Rail Authority Design and construction of the approximately 28-mi section of high-speed rail between Madera and Fresno is expected to begin this summer. Related Links: California Selects PCM for First High-Speed Rail Section Calif. High-Speed Rail Backers Push 'System Blend' The California High-Speed Rail Authority released bid results from five teams seeking to design and build the first section of the state’s high-speed rail line between Madera and Fresno. Proposals submitted in January for the approximately 28-mile segment were scored 70% on price and 30% on technical merit, with the team of Sylmar, Calif.-based
Related Links: NJ Design Firm Executives Face Pay-to-Play Charges Revised Tax Law Will Help Industry Firms, But Some Provisions Fall Short The 300 recently furloughed and unpaid employees of Birdsall Services Group, Inc., Eatontown, N.J., breathed a bit easier on April 15 as the engineering firm agreed to pay $3.6 million to settle criminal prosecution charges with the state. The action unfreezes assets of Birdsall, which still remains under indictment on corruption charges and is seeking bankruptcy protection, and allows the firm to operate and call employees back to work with pay. Birdsall, meanwhile, is in talks with a potential
Related Links: Tres Amigas to Link Major US Power Grids Texas Gears Up for Boom In High-Voltage Construction The planned completion this year of $6.8 billion in "competitive renewable energy zone" transmission lines in Texas is leading wind-power developers to shift wind-project planning into high gear.Kent Saathoff, executive advisor to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, says the build-out of some 2,300 miles of 345-kV CREZ lines will roughly double to approximately 18,000 MW—the amount of wind and other power that can be delivered from remote, sparsely populated areas in West Texas and the Texas Panhandle to population centers like
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