Enbridge Inc. is “in full swing” on construction of its 326-mile-long Alberta Clipper pipeline in the U.S. and will not be deterred by a lawsuit filed Sept. 3 by two environmental groups and the Indigenous Environmental Network, says Denise Hamsher, Enbridge spokeswoman. The Sierra Club and Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy joined IEN in suing the U.S. State Dept. on the grounds that the permit was issued without impact assessments required by the National Environmental Policy Act and in violation of the Constitution’s assignment of environmental responsibility to Congress. Enbridge Energy Partners LP, Houston, began construction on the 36-in. pipeline

AltaRock Energy Inc., the Sausalito, Calif.-based firm trying to tap into geothermal energy by creating rock fissures in Geysers Geothermal Field in Lake County, Calif., suspended operations on Sept. 2 because of “physical difficulties” encountered when drilling the first 12,000-ft well. The project, funded by $6 million in federal funding along with private money, was controversial because of the possibility that the rock-drilling would trigger earthquakes. The engineered fissures are created by using a hydraulic pressure of up to 4,000 psi to “hydroshear” existing fractures, causing them to open slightly and slip.

Florida Power & Light, the Sunshine State’s largest utility, is in the midst of building a staggering 110 MW of solar generating capacity, the largest amount of utility-scale solar capacity ever planned outside the desert Southwest. The projects, which are valued at a total of more than $600 million, include conventional solar-photovoltaic facilities that will generate 25 MW and 10 MW, plus a 75-MW concentrating solar plant [CSP] in Martin County being built by Lauren Engineers & Constructors Inc. Photo: FPL Solar plant will supplement Florida gas-fired station. Related Links: Climate Change, Weak Economy Combine to Stymie Market Utility officials

Conservation will meet almost 60% of added energy demand over the next five years in the Pacific Northwest if a draft plan released on Sept. 4 by the Northwest Power and Conservation Council is adopted. Over the next 20 years, that figures jumps to 85%. The council devises a new plan every five years to guide power development in Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon. Each state’s governor appoints two members. Electricity demand will grow 2,058 MW between 2010 and 2014, says the plan. It suggests that 1,200 MW could come from conservation measures such as smart-grid energy management, power-storage improvements,

Uncertainty about the nation’s economic future and possible federal legislation on climate change and renewable energy is reshaping the market for building power-generation and transmission projects in the U.S., according to executives at some of the nation’s largest contractors. That uncertainty has led many coal-fired projects to be canceled or put on hold, several natural gas-fired projects to be delayed, and even some wind projects to be put on ice while utilities and independent power companies try to figure how long the recession will last and what Congress ultimately will agree to on a carbon cap-and-trade program and a renewable

Norway’s energy company, Statoil-Hydor, has launched a floating wind turbine, rated at 2.3 MW and claimed as the world’s first of its kind. In June, after assembly near Stavanger, the 65-meter-tall Hywind device with 80-m-dia blades was towed 10 km off Karmøy island for two years’ testing, beginning on Sept. 8. The 5,300-tonne unit, including a ballasted and anchored 100-m-deep supporting steel cylinder, is part of a $55-million research and development project. Photo: Statoil-Hydro

The typically methodical nature of oil and gas facility development could not fully insulate the sector’s construction activity from the economic roller coaster of the past 12 months, which saw commodity prices for crude oil skyrocket to $140 a barrel, than plummet just as quickly to the low $30s as motorists and industries around the world slashed consumption. Photo: Bechtel Work on Motiva’s Port Arthur refinery could ramp up by beginning of the new year. Photo: Bechtel Keystone pipeline will bring Canadian crude to the U.S. “The market downturn and financial crisis curbed everything,” says Peter Stalenhoef, president and COO

San Francisco-based Cleantech America started construction on Aug. 24 on what will be California’s largest solar photovoltaic farm, in Mendota. Quanta Service Inc., Houston, will provide engineering, procurement and construction services for the 5-MW solar farm that will cover about 50 acres. A spokesman for Cleantech, which is owned by New Zealand’s largest renewable electricity generator, Meridan Energy, would not reveal a cost for the project, only saying that it is a multimillion dollar project. The project is the first using solar photovoltaic technology to be approved under the state’s renewable portfolio standard. The farm is expected to be operational

A day after receiving a Presidential Permit, contractors for Enbridge Energy Partners LP, Houston, began work on the U.S. portion of a 992-mile pipeline. The Alberta Clipper will move 450,000 bbl per day from Canada’s oil sands in Alberta to Superior, Wis., with a planned capacity of up to 800,000 bpd. Photo: Enbridge Energy Partners LP Work is beginning in U.S. portion. More than 3,000 U.S. workers will be employed on the 326 miles of 36-in. pipeline, five tanks, three pumping stations and a companion 188-mile-long, 20-in. pipeline to carry diluents to Canada, says Jim Crawford, director of engineering and

An ambitious 2,500-kilometer-long “power highway” that will stretch across the breadth of Brazil has taken an important step forward with the awarding of a major subcontract to provide equipment and initial construction of the power line. Photo: C.J. Schexnayder / ENR Madeira River site is ideal for run-of-river hydro project. In late July, Zurich-based ABB snagged the $540-million contract to build a 600-kV portion of a power line that will connect two massive hydroelectric projects under construction on the Madeira River in the Brazilian Amazon Basin to the urban center of São Paulo. The job was awarded to two ABB