The Interior Dept. and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management breathed new life into offshore wind-farm leases on Feb. 2 by decreeing that in-depth environmental reviews are not needed before leasing can begin off the coasts of Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and Delaware.
After the Tennessee Valley Authority successfully completed a lease-purchase agreement in mid-January that infused it with $1 billion to spend on capital construction, the federal power producer expects to begin working on a second transaction this spring.
After reaching an agreement with the Sierra Club in mid-December, LS Power has canceled its 1,200-MW Longleaf coal project in Washington County, Ga., and delayed by at least five years development of its 665-MW Plum Point 2 coal project near Osceola, Ark.
Score another small victory for more-constructible high-rises, especially in seismic zones. Results of recent load tests on a "sandwich" shear-wall assembly, designed to simplify and speed construction of core shear walls surrounded by steel frames, are equal to or better than anticipated, say researchers.The sandwich, called a dual-plate composite shear wall because its steel- plate walls are filled with lightly reinforced concrete, is not for use only in seismic zones. "It is a great system for multihazard mitigation because it is good for seismic, wind and gravity loads as well as blast resistance," says Ron Klemencic, president of Seattle-based structural
The first new nuclear plant in the United States in more than 30 years got the final green light on Feb. 9, as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission authorized its staff to issue a construction and operating license for Georgia Power’s new nuclear units, Vogtle 3 & 4, near Waynesboro, Ga.
New York state transportation agencies have qualified four of five design-build teams that sought places on the short-list to build the estimated $5-billion-plus replacement of the aging Tappan Zee bridge across the Hudson River, north of New York City.
Although the Obama administration is not planning on releasing its fiscal 2013 budget proposal until Feb. 13, some details about the planned cuts to Dept. of Defense spending have been trickling out.Perhaps of most interest to construction and engineering firms, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has said that the president will ask Congress to reinstate another round of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) program.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers let contracts to repair two major breaches in Missouri River levees in late October, but it will be February before contracts go out for work with a four-month completion estimate on eight other jobs in higher life-safety risk areas.
Expected to open in June, Berlin Brandenburg International Airport, a single new, robust air hub for Germany's capital, is nearing completion. Located 18 kilometers southeast of the city center, it will incorporate one runway from Schonefeld Airport, the smaller of Berlin’s two existing airports.
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