In a sign that the sun may finally be shining on solar energy, an administrative law judge in Minnesota has found that a plan to build distributed solar arrays and supply renewable-energy credits delivers life-cycle value superior to rival proposals to build combustion-turbine plants. He recommends the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission select the solar developer's proposal.Geronimo Energy, Edina, Minn., was the lone developer offering solar energy in response to a call from Xcel Energy Inc. for 150 MW of capacity by 2017 and possibly 500 MW by 2019. Geronimo proposed a ground-mounted single-tracker system of photovoltaic panels with 130 MW
Related Links: Production Tax Credit Extension Boosts Wind Sector Is Energy Tax Policy the Way to Drive the U.S. Climate Change Fight? Once again, uncertainty reigns over whether the federal production tax credit (PTC), which expired on Dec. 31 for wind and several other alternative energy industries, will be renewed.The credit, which has a long history of being temporarily renewed after expiration, pays 2.3¢ per kilowatt hour of generation to wind, geothermal and cloosed-loop biomass energy companies, and 1.1¢/kWh to municipal solid-waste and certain other alternative power firms. The payment period generally applies to the first 10 years of operation.
Rendering Courtesy of Knesset Planned 4,650-sq-meter solar-panel array atop the 1960s-era Knesset building, seen in this rendering, is a major part of Israel's $2-million sustainability investment. Related Links: Rooftop Solar Set to Soar Stanford University Researchers Build Prototype of Passive Solar Cooler to Test Revolutionary Concept Israel has launched a two-year program to make its Jerusalem parliament building, known as the Knesset, the world's greenest with a host of new sustainability measures that include the installation of a 4,650-sq-meter rooftop solar-panel array.Samuel Chayen, a government spokesman, said in a press report that the solar field will be larger than the
Related Links: Steel Pipe Found Stuck in Bertha's Cutterhead When North America's largest tunnel-boring machine pushed a 50-ft-long, 8-in.-dia steel pipe seven feet out of the ground on Dec. 3, joint-venture contractor Seattle Tunnel Partners and Washington State Dept. of Transportation officials didn't think much of it."Bertha," the 57.5-ft-dia machine, kept churning its state Route 99 tunnel path below Seattle at faster-than-predicted paces. But only for three more days.Now, that pipe—a well casing put in place in 2002 to measure groundwater movement following the 2001 Nisqually earthquake, the very same earthquake that serves as the catalyst for Bertha boring a
Related Links: African Airport Work Poised for Takeoff Court Ruling Endangers Start of Stalled 53-km Serengeti Road Project More than a year after its originally planned start of construction, Kenyan officials broke ground this past November on the $650-million Greenfield Terminal project at Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi, Kenya. Two Chinese contractors, Anhui Civil Engineering Group (ACEG) and China Aero Technology Engineering International Corp., will lead the construction of the 178,000-sq-meter terminal, designed by Pascall+Watson of London.Lucy Mbugua, acting managing director with project owner Kenya Airports Authority (KAA), said the new terminal will "increase the [airport's] suppressed
Hydropower produces 16% of the world’s electricity and plays a strong role in satisfying the national energy needs of certain countries. Paraguay produces all of its electricity from hydropower, while exporting most of its excess supply to neighboring Brazil and Argentina. Albania, Bhutan and Lesotho also depend exclusively on hydroelectricity. Norway produces more than 98% of its electricity from hydropower, Brazil draws upon it for 85%, Iceland for 80%, Venezuela for 69%, Colombia for 65% and Canada for 61%. Austria (60%), Switzerland (56%) and New Zealand (53%) are other countries that generate the majority of their electricity from hydro sources.
Related Links: Home Crises Drive More Spanish Contractors Abroad Australia Boosts Infrastructure As Mining Sector Loses Steam A highway project in one of Australia's fastest-growing regions has broken tunneling speed records, excavating up to 163 ft in a day. The $1.33-billion Legacy Way project (formerly known as Northern Link) in Brisbane is currently running six months ahead of its scheduled mid-2015 completion, say officials.To build the 2.9-mile-long parallel tunnels between Brisbane's Toowong and Kelvin Grove, the two 41-ft-diameter, 361-ft-long Herrenknecht double-shield pair of tunnel boring machines (TBMs) excavated more than 35.3 million cu ft of spoil, consisting predominantly of Neranleigh
Photo Courtesy of Acciona Two of four tunnel boring machines arrived in Brazil in November. Photo Courtesy of Acciona 210-ft-long earth pressure balance TBMs will dig new subway route. Related Links: Two Years To World Cup Kickoff For Brazilian Stadiums Architects, Commerce Dept. Embark On Trade Mission To Brazil As demonstrated by this summer's fare-increase riots—which caused an estimated 1 million protesters in São Paolo and other Brazilian cities to take to the streets—public transportation is a crucial issue for the burgeoning country. Next year's World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games will add tremendous strain on the country's infrastructure.
Photo Courtesy of CMRL TBMs may or may not be culprits in building damage. Photo Courtesy of CMRL Related Links: Fatal Pier Collapse Mars India Metro India Chips Away At Massive Urbanization Ills An investigation is pending into cracks detected in more than 200 buildings in Chennai, India. While they are attributed to the construction of the first phase of the 90-kilometer-long, $3-billion Chennai Metro project, it is not clear whether the tunnel boring machines (TBMs) are the direct cause.Administered by Chennai Metro Rail Ltd (CMRL), a joint venture between the Indian government and the southern state of Tamil Nadu,
The construction of the first phase of a major metro project in Chennai, India, may be causing cracks in more than 200 buildings in the city, and the buildings’ owners are calling for a formal investigation. Federal Minister for Urban Development Kamal Nath recently stated that as part of precautionary measures, strengthening and even temporary evacuation was being conducted for structurally weak buildings to ensure safety. “In the event of significant impact on any building, the repair works are undertaken based on the recommendations given by the experts from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Chennai,” Nath said.Some residents have
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