Plans for federally controlled power lines to transmit solar power are moving ahead in the Southwest, but in the Northwest, lines to move wind power are being slowed while wind developments there are being re-evaluated.Earlier this month, the Western Area Power Administration announced it will hire construction firms to upgrade and build parts of a $91-million transmission- line project in southern Arizona.The 109-mile Electrical District 5-to-Palo Verde transmission project includes a mix of new and upgraded WAPA-owned 230-kV lines as well as the acquisition of capacity on a 500-kV line that runs to the Palo Verde hub.The federal power marketer
MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company 2011 / Scott Sinklier RISING MARKET The production tax credit, set to expire in 2012, is spurring wind-farm construction. The expiration of the federal production tax credit for renewable energy, scheduled to take effect at the end of 2012, is spurring a boomlet in the construction of wind farms.The federal production tax credit (PTC), an important economic incentive for developers of renewable-energy facilities, provides wind-farm owners with a 2.2¢/kWh tax credit for wind power generated during the first 10 years of a facility's operation. However, the legislation under which the PTC was most recently extended—the American
Photo courtesy U.S. Coast Guard AFTER THE BLAST Federal review suggests changes, but new rules already are under way. Released on Sept. 13, a final federal report on the cause of the explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil platform did not immediately result in a rush to re-engineer wells, rigs or platforms, largely because new offshore regulations have been in development since the April 2010 blowout of BP's Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico.The report ties up more than a year of research and hearings into the well blowout that took 11 lives and resulted in a months-long oil
Map by Shem Oirere/ENR Art Department Parsons, a U.S. engineering firm, has been tasked with developing up to 1,000 kilometers of rural roads in Rwanda. A U.S. engineering firm has been tasked with developing up to 1,000 kilometers of rural roads in Rwanda, which represents eastern Africa's fastest-growing economy.Parsons Corp., Pasadena, Calif. won a contract from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to spearhead the new road system, which will help open up the country's agriculturally rich interior districts to crop and livestock markets.Parsons will make an inventory and assess the conditions of the roads as well as
Related Links: The Ten Most Noteworthy Rail Projects: Overview and Related Stories Project: Lanzhou-Chongqing Railway Cost: $11.3 billion Construction Period: 2008-14 Lanzhou is a city of heavy industry and petrochemicals, located on the south bank of the Yellow River in northwest China. With a population of 2.2 million, it is the capital and largest city in Gansu Province. About 800 kilometers to the south, Chongqing, a manufacturing center on the Yangtze River in Sichuan Province, is one of the largest municipalities in China, with a population of 30 million. The Qinling Mountains sit between the two. The Lanzhou-Chongqing Railway project
Related Links: The Ten Most Noteworthy Rail Projects: Overview and Related Stories Project: North-South RailwayCost: $3.5 billionConstruction period: 2007-2013Saudi Arabia, though late to adopt rail service, has embarked on an ambitious program that will feature both freight and passenger service.Its North-South Railway, a 2,400-kilometer-long branching system, will link Saudi Arabia’s northern mineral belt with smelters and a port on the Persian Gulf, enabling the country to better reach export markets. Further, passenger service will connect Riyadh with cities in the north and extend to the Jordanian border.The construction work has been divided into four phases. The Saudi Binladin Group, the
Russian State Railways (RZD) Rail network construction in Libya has been slowed by the rebellion. Related Links: Benguela Railway Promises To Open Angola's Interior China Offers To Build $2-Billion Iranian Rail Link Opening of Harbin-Dalian High-Speed-Rail Line Postponed Rail Network Construction in Libya Stalled by Rebellion Saudi Arabia's North-South Railway Will Upgrade Passenger and Freight $11.3-Billion China Rail Link Tunnels 63% of the Way Rail Megaproject: $11-Billion United Arab Emirates Network Central Asian Rail Link Will Redirect Export Paths Brazilian $3.21-Billion Rail Revitalization Project Tracks for 2012 Arrival India Moves Forward on $90-Billion Industrial Development Plan In 2008, American transportation
Related Links: The Ten Most Noteworthy Rail Projects: Overview and Related Stories Comprehensive National Rail NetworkCost: $5.6 billionConstruction period: 2008-12 (original estimate)Libya's civil war has halted an ambitious plan to build an extensive $5.6-billion rail system designed to bolster both passenger and freight service.The major east-west route would parallel the coast, ultimately stretching 2,300 kilometers from Ras Ejder on the border of Tunisia to Umm Sa’ad on the Egyptian border.The regime awarded separate contracts to Russian and Chinese contractors to complete certain segments. In 2008, crews from RZD, the Russian state railway, began building the 554-km Surt-to-Benghazi segment, which had
Israel is pushing through two new energy projects to meet expanding needs with limited resources.State-owned Israel Electric Corp. (IEC) is seeking a partner to build an additional co-generation plant, valued at between $500 million and $600 million, at a site in northern Israel. The 450-MW plant would be located at Alon Tavor, near Afula, next to an existing facility. A request for information (RFI), which was set to close on Oct. 1, says the investor would hold at least a 51% stake and possibly up to a 100% stake in the project. If the holding is less than 100%, IEC
chemicals-technology.com Island location near Singapore is close to Asian customers and has a deepwater port. chemicals-technology.com Facility will be sited on Jurong Island, already a major petrochemical complex in Singapore. On a 124-acre island site off the coast of Singpore, work has restarted on a $2.4-billion facility complex that could become one of the world's largest plants for producing aromatics, hydrocarbon products derived from crude oil.Originally set for completion this year, the Jurong Aromatics Complex (JAC) on Jurong Island has experienced setbacks caused by financial issues in the marketplace and among its investors, according to a published report. Singapore-based developer
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