The European Wind Energy Association is forecasting that up to 1,500 MW of offshore wind power will be connected to European national grids this year, continuing the region’s growth trend in offshore wind-power installations. + Image The association says offshore wind-power installations grew 51% to 883 MW last year from 582 MW in 2009, even though onshore wind-power installations (8.4 GW) were down 13.9% compared to the same kind of installations (9.7 GW) in 2009. However, monopiles are considered suitable in water depths up to about 30 meters. As wind farms are sited farther from shore, new styles of foundations
The results of recent field trials of rechargeable community solar lighting kits for isolated villages now are being analyzed to help researchers in New York City turn their inventions into a sustainable business plan. Photo: Courtesy of the SociaLite Project Charging station does 13 LED lamps at once. The lighting kits contain the electronics to build 80 lanterns, but the rest of the materials are locally sourced. Lamp bases are made from used cans, gourds or sections of bamboo. Translucent plastic juice bottles provide the diffusers. “This is changing people’s lives,” says Toby Cumberbatch, a professor at the Cooper Union
A Nottingham, N.H., public works employee was gassing up his truck when he heard a noise and suddenly the roof of the town’s highway maintenance garage collapsed.
Two major stadium renovations at Washington state universities are aiming to attract more fans to college football and boost revenue. A $250-million upgrade at the University of Washington’s Husky Stadium, Seattle, and an estimated $70-million, smaller rehab of Washington State University’s Martin Stadium in Pullman are pitting rival schools against each other in the stadium upgrade race. Rendering: Courtesy of The University of Washington Husky Stadium, first built in 1920 for the University of Washington’s football team, is set for a $250-million makeover to improve sight lines, add some capacity and correct structural deficiencies. Renovations to Husky Stadium, a 90-year-old
The Minneapolis Metrodome, ripped and deflated after blizzard-like conditions in December, will be replaced after engineers questioned the safety of the entire fabric dome. The Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, which operates the 28-year-old Metrodome, is taking proposals for the job, which will cost an estimated $18.3 million. Offerings are due by Feb. 23, and the work is to be completed by Aug. 1. The dome, a two-layer fabric structure supported by fan-blown air and held in place with steel cables, has been under study since December after snow and ice ripped holes in the fabric and caused it to collapse.
After a lengthy delay in picking a site, plans to build a new $500-million Social Security Administration data center are moving ahead. Federal officials finally selected a site in Urbana, Md., in early February and a request for qualifications for a design-build team for the project is on the street. The 400,000-square-foot project is one of the largest new buildings funded by the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The stimulus act provided $400 million to cover the construction cost, plus $100 million to partially fund equipment for the new center. The project was the focus of a Feb. 11
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is seeking a contractor to replace the 85-year-old Calaveras Dam near Fremont and Sunol in the East Bay for a project estimated to cost $434 million. Photo: Courtesy of SFPUC The Calaveras Dam normally supplies nearly half the water to the Bay Area. Notice went out on Jan. 31, with a pre-bid meeting scheduled for Feb. 15 and contract award at the end of March. Construction, estimated to cost between $250 million to $300 million, is set to start in the summer. Prequalified prime contractors eligible to bid on the project include Dragados USA,
When Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard came into office in 2008, he inherited a wastewater treatment and sewer system that was averaging 7.8 billion gallons of overflow each year, according to federal officials. At the time, it was not unusual for as little as one-quarter to a half inch of rainfall to fill the combined sewers to capacity and flood raw sewage into local rivers and streams. Ballard also inherited a two-year-old consent decree with the U.S. Dept. of Justice to bring the city in compliance with the Clean Water Act as well as a project to expand its wastewater treatment
The Obama administration is proposing an additional $53 billion over the next six years to continue developing high-speed passenger rail. The plan, which Vice President Joe Biden announced on Feb. 8, would supplement $10.5 billion already appropriated for the rail program over the past two years. Congress will decide whether to provide the new funds. Biden said President Obama will seek $8 billion in his fiscal 2012 budget request. But House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) criticized the way the Dept. of Transportation has parceled out the $10.5 billion and said that adding $53 billion “is like
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