The switch barely has been flipped on the flow of stimulus-related electricity projects across the nation. Most contractors say that 2010 marks the beginning of a three-year push to construct transmission lines to carry—and smart-grid technology to manage—renewable power. Related Links: As Federal Dollars Pour Out, A Second Stimulus Plan Grows Transport Sector Sets Rapid Pace Water, Cleanup Sectors See Mixed ARRA Prognosis Buildings Project List Still Long “What we have seen is a lot of projects out there that are getting into the funnel, and there’s an effort to push them out and get them going,” says Tim Gelbar,

The Los Angeles Dept. of Water and Power is developing a plan to turn the dusty dry lake bed of Owens Valley, Calif., into an 80-sq-mi, 5-GW solar park. The sea of photovoltaic cells could serve a double purpose, also helping the agency’s efforts to mitigate dust and alkalinity problems. Since 2000, DWP has spent more than $500 million trying to comply with federal clean-air standards to calm the dust from the dry lake bed, which is stirred by local wind conditions that can reach up to 60 mph. Some think the low, densely spaced solar panels could act as

Six marine energy developers in the U.K. have been allocated $35 million of government funding to accelerate prototype production of offshore devices used to convert waves or currents to energy by the not-for-profit company Carbon Trust. Photo: Courtesy of Aquamarine Power A quarter of the world’s wave and tidal technologies are being developed in the U.K. By reducing marine energy costs closer to wind-power levels, “thousands” of devices could be operational around the U.K. by 2020, say CT officials. “Getting the first commercial projects in the water is critical to ‘de-risk’ the technology and attract the necessary private sector investment,”

Federal and contractor management failures are to blame for delays and cost overruns on a $300-million powerplant project in Afghanistan, says a new report by the U.S. Special Inspector General of Afghanistan Reconstruction. The 105-megawatt, dual-fuel Tarakhil Power Plant near Kabul was supposed to be finished by last April. It is now expected to be completed by March 31, a year late and about $40 million over budget. The Jan. 20 report blames the U. S. Agency for International Development and lead contractor Black & Veatch Corp., Overland Park, Kansas. It notes that, “under pressure of political urgency,” the original

Samsung C&T, Korean Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) and the province of Ontario announced on Jan. 21 a $6.6-billion deal—the largest of its kind, they claim—to build, own and operate facilities in the province to produce 500 MW of solar power and 2,000 MW of wind power by 2016. Samsung also will build four manufacturing plants for wind- and solar-energy parts by 2016 and oversee all facility and equipment engineering, construction, procurement and financing. KEPCO will design and connect facilities to the transmission and distribution systems and operate them. Ontario will help procure land. An Ontario Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure

Florida’s transition to more efficient and clean energy production hit a speed bump last month when Juno Beach, Fla.-based FPL Group said it would immediately halt work on approved nuclear and modernization projects that collectively totaled as much as $20 billion. The sudden move came on the heels of the state Public Service Commission rejecting FPL’s requests for rate hikes totaling more than $1 billion. FPL Group Chairman and CEO Lew Hay cited the decision as evidence of a deteriorating regulatory climate in Florida that “is increasingly hostile to investment.” The largest projects are two additional nuclear units at the

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has proposed a $35,000 civil penalty against the Babcock & Wilcox Facility in Lynchburg, Va., claiming the facilities staff failed to declare an alert emergency classification in a timely manner as required by their emergency plan. On July 15, 2009, the firm “failed to declare an emergency for more than two hours after they discovered a band-saw-cooling reservoir did not have the proper criticality controls,” says NRC. While the event posed no threat outside the facility, “the results could have been significant under different circumstances,” says NRC.

The British government this month awarded exclusive development rights for nine offshore wind farms. The combined potential 32,000-MW capacity of the awarded zones would increase the country’s wind-energy generation by nearly 47 times today’s installed capacity of 688 MW, although development is expected to play out over two decades. + Image Map: Crown Estate Offshore Wind Zones Industry appetite for offshore wind led The Crown Estate, which is responsible for coastal waters, to raise the scope of the nine sites from the 25,000 MW originally proposed, says a spokesman. East Anglia Offshore Wind Ltd., a Spanish-Swedish joint venture, won the

A new law went into effect on Jan. 1 in Washington, D.C. requiring building owners to begin measuring the energy use of new and existing commercial buildings using the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star Portfolio Manager tool. The law, approved and signed in 2008, is the first in the nation to require building owners to publicly disclose their energy ratings to prospective tenants and buyers. Building owners must begin revealing their energy ratings beginning on Jan. 1, 2012. You can’t manage what you don’t measure,” says Cliff Majersik, executive director of the Institute for Market Transformation, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit

U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said on Jan. 4 he would meet with stakeholders on the future of the planned $1-billion Cape Wind wind farm in Nantucket Sound after the National Park Service ruled that its planned site is eligible for listing as a national historic site because of cultural significance to two local Native American tribes. The project, located off the Massachusetts coast, would be the country’s first offshore wind farm. It would involve construction of 130 turbines, each 440 ft high, and other structures. Environmentalists and other opponents claim the project, being developed by Cape Wind Associates LLC,