With federal approval to build the first U.S. nuclear reactors in 30 years granted on Feb. 9, two units in the state of Georgia set to generate 2,200 MW of power will proceed. However, the nuclear industry sees future growth in a more scaled-down version known as the small modular reactor, or SMR. Firms already are developing SMRs, ranging in size from 45 MW to 300 MW.
A new study shows that physically blocking the Chicago Area Water System—the man-made connection between the Mississippi River basin and the Great Lakes—is a feasible solution to prevent Asian carp from infiltrating into Lake Michigan.
Photo Courtesy of ASHRAE An Oberlin College building, designed for net-zero energy use, has not performed as well as hoped. Green does not necessarily mean energy-efficient. "A lot of people think it does," said consulting engineer Lawrence G. Spielvogel at the ASHRAE winter conference last month. The veteran mechanical engineer then charged that the long-used energy standard for commercial building systems, ASHRAE 90.1, "provides and requires a variety of means to waste energy efficiently, which is why so many 'green' buildings have high energy use."Among many things, Spielvogel—a known gadfly—blames code-required control systems for waste. "Good mechanical engineers do not
The U.S. Supreme Court's unanimous Feb. 22 decision overturning a Montana court ruling that had allowed state and federal agencies to claim ownership and regulatory control of non-navigable stretches of riverbed lands was hailed by opponents of the lower court opinion as a boost to needed transportation and energy infrastructure improvements.
The Vancouver Airport Authority plans $1.8 billion in capital projects over the next 10 years, with a heavily front-loaded first four years that has the initial package of work already out for requests for proposals.Don Ehrenholz, YVR’s vice president of engineering, says the first RFP includes $213 million to rebuild the A-B Gate Area at the south end of the domestic terminal, which is outdated and under capacity. Crews will create new baggage and retail areas, renovate eight gates and add another. He expects the contract to be awarded within two months and work to then start immediately, finishing in
An extradosed bridge—often described as a hybrid of a cable-stayed and a box-girder structure—now stretches across the Quinnipiac River in New Haven, Conn., as the crown jewel of a $2-billion, 7.2-mile-long Interstate 95 improvement program. Project officials say the extradosed design, rare in the United States, offered a number of space- and cost-saving advantages for this particular location while satisfying the public desire for a signature bridge.
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey officials, stung by an audit detailing cost overruns at the World Trade Center, say they are pursuing increased private investment to recoup some of the burgeoning costs of rebuilding at Ground Zero.
New York state transportation officials and industry participants are scrambling to meet Gov. Andrew Cuomo's push to have work under way later this year on the $5-billion-plus replacement of the aging Tappan Zee Bridge.
As detailed engineering progresses, Canada's Imperial Oil is evaluating plant contractor bids following its decision to rekindle plans to construct a $2-billion expansion to its Cold Lake facility operation in northeastern Alberta's oil-sands region. The revised plan includes a 170-MW cogeneration facility and a bitumen-processing plant to go on line by the end of 2014.
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