Related Links: Calif. High-Speed Rail Moves Forward, Slowly California Selects PCM for First High-Speed Rail Section Opponents of California’s high-speed rail project have managed to stop the state from selling at least $8 billion in bonds to fund the initial construction phase after a California Superior judge made several rulings in their favor Nov. 25, but the High-Speed Rail Authority remains confident that the project will eventually be completed.“The Authority intends to comply with the rulings as directed. No one said this would be easy. [As with] all transformative projects, we knew there would be challenges. But the bottom line
Courtesy of CHS Inc. Minnesotas CHS Inc., the nations largest agricultural cooperative, has a plant under construction in Shelby, Mont., above, and another under development near Spiritwood, N.D. Related Links: Texas town sues fertilizer supplier after blast Over the past 18 months, an abundance of natural gas and record-breaking commodities prices brightened prospects for engineers and contractors involved in the business of building new fertilizer manufacturing capacity. NPK Fertilizer Advisory Service, St. Louis, recalls dozens of announcements for new plants and capacity expansion during this time, but the market has cooled a bit and industry newcomers could find margins very
State regulators in New Jersey and Maryland are appealing federal court decisions that have challenged the constitutional authority of the states to subsidize the construction of new power generation in their jurisdictions.The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) appealed on Nov. 20 to a federal appellate court in Philadelphia an October district court ruling that had deemed unconstitutional a New Jersey law that allowed the state to subsidize construction of 2,000 MW of natural gas-fired power plants.Board President Robert Hanna would not comment on the appeal because the agency does not comment on pending litigation, said Greg Reinert, a
Related Links: Green Bay Span Shored Up as WisDOT Seeks Long-Term Fix Engineers Puzzle Over Cause, Fixes for Sagging Wisconsin Bridge Repairs on the sagging Leo Frigo Bridge on Interstate 43 in Green Bay, Wis., are expected to be completed in mid-January after workers add 20 drilled shafts at the bases of five piers.Zenith Tech of Waukesha, Wis., won the $7.7-million repair contract and will run two crews on 12-hour shifts, seven days a week, until the work is completed, according to the Wisconsin Dept. of Transportation. Work started in mid-November.The 20- to 24-person crews will add 60-in. concrete shafts
+ Image Click to Enlarge. Related Links: International Coalition Launched to Promote Greener Schools The 20-year-old U.S. Green Building Council, which launched its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design green building rating system in 2000, estimates that more than 4.3 million people live and work in LEED-certified buildings. There are more than 59,000 commercial LEED-registered and -certified projects globally, says the USGBC. And there are 10.6 billion sq ft of LEED-registered and -certified projects in the U.S. alone.USGBC currently has 77 chapters and 13,000 member companies and organizations. About 40% of LEED-registered projects are outside the U.S. There are World
Related Links: Desalination Advocates Are Pinning Hopes on Carlsbad Project Poseidon Water's Huntington Beach Project Details on Huntington Beach Project Backers of a proposed 50 million-gallon-a day (mgd), $900-million desalination plant on the Pacific Coast in Huntington Beach, Calif., suffered a setback on Nov. 13 when the California Coastal Commission delayed a vote to approve the project.The project is the second major desalination plant being planned in the state by Poseidon Water, Boston. The first, in Carlsbad, is a 54 mgd plant that is currently under construction (ENR Oct. 21 p.32) and expected to be completed in 2015.The coastal commissioners
Phto by AP Wideworld The days may be numbered for coal-fired powerplants, such as the Falkirk plant in Underwood, N.D. Low-cost natural gas and tighter emissions regulations mean future plants will be fired by other fuels. Related Links: Biomass Gaining a Niche as Coal-fired Plants Converted In Finalized Clean Air Rules, EPA Clamps Down on Coal-fired Powerplant Emissions Tightening federal environmental rules and low natural-gas prices are combining to spur the biggest boom in gas-fired powerplant construction in a decade. Scores of utilities and independent power companies across the U.S. are either building or planning new gas-fired units, most of
Public Citizen, a citizens advocacy group, has raised questions about the quality of the construction on the southern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline, which runs from Cushing, Okla., to refineries along the Gulf Coast of Texas. The segment is expected to begin operating by the end of the year.
Related Links: Shale Plays Pump Up Pipeline Sector The US Shale Boom Is Termed Globally Unique, But With Worldwide Impacts Shale-gas Project Boom Drives Solutions to Shortfalls in Craft, Tech and Management Jobs The U.S. shale oil and natural-gas development boom is spurring tens of billions of dollars in design and construction work, speakers and panelists told attendees at the ENR Energy Construction Summit in Houston on Nov. 15.John Chevrette, president of the management consulting division at Black & Veatch, in his morning keynote address, said the shale boom is already creating large volumes of work for engineers and contractors
photo by AP/wideworld Fatal San Bruno blast in 2010 and the proliferation of large-diameter, high-pressure natural-gas gathering lines in shale-play regions may boost oversight of a largely unregulated industry segment. Related Links: Pipeline Specialists Profit From Safety, Not Shale Boom House Passes Bill to Speed Approval of Natural Gas Pipelines, But Measure Likely Dead in Senate Natural Gas Boom Drives Pipeline Upgrades San Bruno Fire May Cost California Utility More Than $4 Billion Report Cites Problems on Keystone Pipeline Southern Leg As Congress weighs expedited construction of large-diameter natural-gas transmission pipelines, federal and state officials are considering more oversight of
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