Industry News Briefs
September 11, 2008 Headlines
U.S. Agriculture Department Announces $547 Million for 232 Rural Water Projects
BIM Revolutionizing Stadium Construction
Second Natural Gas Boom Projected
Industry News
U.S. Agriculture Department Announces $547 Million for 232 Rural Water Projects
U.S. Department of Agriculture (08/15/08)
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced the award of a total of $547 million in loans and grants to provide potable water and improved wastewater treatment in rural areas in 46 states and Puerto Rico. "A majority of these half-billion dollars for investment in rural water systems is the result of USDA moving the 2008 farm bill funding out to communities in a timely manner," says Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer. "Maintaining quality of rural life with safe and reliable water systems is vital to the health of the surrounding agricultural community." The funding is made available through the USDA Rural Development's Water and Environmental Program and includes $356 million provided under the 2008 farm bill, also called the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008.
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BIM Revolutionizing Stadium Construction
Structural Engineer (08/08) Vol. 9, No. 7, P. 28; Squarzini, Mike; Tamaro, Mark; Kadakia, Anjana
Building information modeling (BIM) is proving its merit in several new sports venue projects, helping deliver complex and ambitious new structures on aggressive schedules while improving the ability of all the companies on a project team to coordinate work. Engineers today are making use of BIM for visualization, clash detection, and smart parametric changes, while contractors benefit from more informed bidding and understanding as well as 4-D (time-based) and 5-D (cost-based) scheduling. BIM proved a boon in the construction of the Washington Nationals' baseball stadium, which was finished on a very aggressive schedule despite funding delays and a complex design that arranged concourses and seating decks into different "neighborhoods." The stadium was divided into 10 segments to serve as separate work packages by structural engineers using a Tekla model, and the fabricator combined the parts into a master building information model. Aggressive BIM use has also benefited the construction of the new Yankee Stadium, where BIM has served to produce models for mechanical, electrical, and plumbing subcontractors, ordering steel, and creating bills of materials. Particularly important was the ability to accurately model the aesthetics and geometry of a steel frieze around the stadium canopy, created as a replica of the old Yankee Stadium's original copper frieze. Nearby, the new Meadowlands Stadium project has used BIM to manage complexity and productivity, enabling the steel detailer and fabricator to begin connection detailing as soon as members were released for mill order. In addition, the Brooklyn Nets Arena's Frank Gehry design lent itself well to BIM's strength in visualizing complex geometry and understanding the design intent.
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Second Natural Gas Boom Projected
Energy Tribune (08/08) P. 34; Thorn, Terence
With oil prices rising, natural gas has become the default fuel of choice. Nearly 90 percent of the U.S. power generation capacity added in the last 10 years has been natural-gas fired. A second natural gas boom is being predicted, only this time experts say the expansion will take place at a time when natural gas prices are rising. Fueling this speculation is the regulatory resistance to new coal and nuclear plant proposals and rising concern over toxic and environmental pollution. In the absence of coal and nuclear power, natural gas will fill the void. Federal and state programs to regulate carbon emissions will likely drive the demand, as will climate legislation. A federal bill introduced this year could create a 20 percent increase in gas consumption within the next 10 years. The back story to expected growth in the market is the cost of natural gas. Already high, natural gas prices are projected to rise by the end of the year, continuing through 2009. At the most, price models show natural gas hitting the $6 to $7 range.
North American Industrial Projects Under Construction Exceed $260 Billion
Market Wire (09/02/08)
The value of industrial projects currently under construction in North America is now more than $260 billion, according to a recent analysis of Industrial Info's North American Industrial Database. The large amount of industrial projects under construction in North America supports the fact that industrial construction is increasing, especially in the power, metals & minerals, pharma-biotech, refining and oil & gas industries in North America. The amount of activity currently under way is putting a strain on engineering and construction resources, labor, raw material supply and long-lead equipment delivery times -- in some cases, delaying project implementation. With 324 projects totaling more than $83 billion, the power Industry leads all industries in project construction.
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San Francisco Is Considering Congestion Fee
Bus & Motorcoach NEWS (09/01/08) P. 4
In an effort to reduce traffic, smog, and global-warming, San Francisco city officials are thinking about making their city the first in the nation to require drivers to pay a rush-hour congestion fee. Drivers could be asked to pay between $1 and $4. According to the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, which is conducting an 18-month study on congestion fees, such practices have lightened rush-hour traffic in London, Rome, Stockholm, and Singapore by 20 to 30 percent. "We're trying to manage a scare resource, our roads," says Tilly Chang, the deputy director for planning at the transportation authority. "There are power and gas rates that put a premium price on use during peak demand. Why not roads, too?" Options for deployment include the hiring of a contractor to collect fees through use of electronic tags in a four-square-mile area that includes the Financial District, Civic Center, and South of Market neighborhood; cars without the tag would be identified by a license plate photograph and billed by mail. Another option calls for fees to be collected as drivers enter the city at peak drive times. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors, which governs the authority, plans to make a decision by 2009.
Cracks in Sellwood Bridge Fixed With ... Glue
The Bee (09/03/08) Ashton, David F.
Contractors working on the Sellwood Bridge in Portland, Ore., recently cleaned 450 lineal feet of cracks and injected epoxy cement into them. "This process prevents water from corroding the steel rebar in the concrete, and slows the growth of cracks," says county spokesman Michael Pullen. A "mixing head" is used to mix the two-part epoxy. Before pumping the epoxy into the cracks, bridge crews clean out the fissures, and install "ports" that the epoxy mixture can be poured into. Tubes containing epoxy are then hooked to the ports, the glue is injected, and the ports are covered.
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Agency Fights Building Code Born of 9/11
New York Times (09/08/08) Lipton, Eric
The General Services Administration (GSA), the property manager for the federal government, opposes proposed safety requirements for new skyscrapers. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) made several recommendations after conducting a $16 million investigation into the collapse of the World Trade Center in 2001. The recommendations include improved fireproofing and an additional emergency stairwell in all non-residential skyscrapers taller than 40 stories. The World Trade Center study partially blamed dislodged fireproofing for the collapse of the twin towers. Firefighters also had difficulty reaching the upper floors of the building because the staircases were filled by fleeing office workers. The GSA and many real estate executives oppose the suggested safety standards because of the economic cost, with the new regulations estimated to cost developers up to $13 million for a new 42-story office building, plus about $600,000 in lost rent. Critics also fear that the additional costs will slow down skyscraper construction throughout the United States. Other recommendations would require buildings over 75-feet to apply glow-in-the-dark markings on all stairwells, which helped office workers find their way out of the twin towers after the lights were extinguished.
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Condo Trends: More Units in the Future
Realty Times (09/08/08) Carr, M. Anthony
The editors of Commercial Property News report that there is a growing need for more apartment and condominium development in the face of increasing single-family home foreclosures. The publication cites the swelling "echo boomers" population now launching their careers--and who eventually want to buy a home--as reason for the need. New multifamily housing development would help fill the need for the demographic, which numbers 7 million, according to the editors. Multifamily housing completions are on track this year to surpass last year's levels by more than 56,000 units, totaling nationwide construction of approximately 250,000 units--the highest in three years. In particular, many urban renewal programs are targeting new multifamily housing construction as a means of revitalizing downtown areas and creating affordable housing opportunities.
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Wind Power May Gain Footing Off Coast of U.S.
Wall Street Journal (09/03/08) Ball, Jeffrey
The U.S. Interior Department intends to lease large tracts of land on the outer continental shelf to wind farm developers. The public comment period for the planned program is scheduled to end Sept. 8. The department's Minerals Management Service expects to finalize the leasing rules by the end of 2008. The agency has already launched environmental assessments on 10 offshore parcels off the east coast that it may lease this autumn for wind initiatives. If the agency approves the leases, developers could then start examining the areas for potential wind-turbine sites. Some previously proposed offshore projects in the Northeast, such as those being planned in Delaware, New York, Rhode Island, and New Jersey, may require leases from the Interior Department because they involve federal waters. However, the tax incentives that help make wind power more competitive are slated to end on Dec. 31. Congress has allowed the tax credits to expire three times in the past, resulting in the suspension of wind power activities until they were extended again.
Building the Next Generation of Airport Systems
Bridge (08/08) Vol. 38, No. 2, de Neufville, Richard
The many changes wrought over the years on the airline and airport industries by deregulation, such as the addition of low-cost carriers, many more routes, and the relative ease of shifting routes and hubs between airports, necessitates a new approach to airport systems engineering. The traditional engineering approach, known as "master planning," encompasses two phases: determining the right forecast and choosing a single master plan most suitable for this forecast. Today, however, it does not make sense to design for just one set of requirements, but instead to plan for a range of scenarios and strategize how to deal with them as they might arise. An airport system for a deregulated environment must also address the system holistically, instead of looking only at components, including upgrading and creating components best suited for overall performance instead of just addressing the so-called "squeaky wheels" as they come. This includes finding ways to design for all the airports in a region, even those under different authorities, and ideally designing for all the airports in the entire nationwide network. Research is being conducted right now to find ways to change procedures, making it possible to identify potential favorable and unfavorable possibilities. Dealing with this will require the equivalent of financial options--metaphorically, "put options" against potential downsides and "call options" on potential upsides. This will help capture the sort of flexibility necessary to anticipate and deal with inherent uncertainty.
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Runoff Politics
Governing (08/08) Vol. 21, No. 11, P. 58; Arrandale, Tom
State pollution-control agencies across the nation are under court order to prepare plans for a total maximum daily limit (TMDL) and agree to a budget for curbing pollutants, such as bacteria, phosphorus, sediment, and metals, in streams and rivers. So far, the Environmental Protection Agency has approved nearly 40,000 TMDLs. The price tag for developing a TMDL for a big water body like the Chesapeake Bay and Puget Sound can exceed $20 million, so many states are adopting innovative methods for reducing pollutants. Virginia mandates that TMDLs incorporate enforceable cleanup plans. Regulators and municipal officials in Hutchinson, Kan., teamed up to construct a reverse-osmosis plant that will make drinking water out of the contaminated water. Some states, such as Montana, are working with county agricultural extension agents and state land-grant universities to collaborate with rural and urban landowners on executing best management practices that lower sediment, manage feedlot runoff and delay polluted runoff that eventually contaminates water that passes through metropolitan locations downstream. Some growing cities, including Boise, Idaho, and Portland, Ore., find it more cost-effective to compensate farmers who implement best agriculture practices than to improve sewage treatment plants. In 2007, the six New England states and New York's pollution-control regulators teamed up to establish a regional TMDL for toxic mercury found in lakes and streams. Regulators hope the effort will prompt the EPA to crack down on mercury emissions from coal-burning power plants in the Midwest that pollute air in the New England states.
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PV Rising: The Roofing Industry Incorporates Improvements In Photovoltaic Technology
Professional Roofing (08/08) Vol. 38, No. 8, P. 52; Hasan, Riaz
A white paper from Thomas Weisel Partners titled "A Primer on Energy Efficiency: Conservation Gets a New Name," reports that buildings make up 80 percent of total U.S. electricity expenditure and that a 5 percent boost in building efficiency from renewable energy could produce about $45 billion in savings. Rising energy costs are prompting many building owners and roofing contractors to use photovoltaic (PV) roofing options to save money and energy, and this is likely to become a more popular route that roofers will need to be familiar with in the future. The past 30 years have seen great technological advancement in the PV field, as well as support from the government through tax credits and programs like the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Technology Competitiveness Act and PV for Utility Scale Applications. The two main categories of PV roof systems are amorphous systems--which can be used with glass, membrane, and roof-mounted tile products or can be installed as thin film over a roof membrane, and offer 9 percent efficiency--and crystalline silicon systems, which boast 34 percent efficiency and can be installed easily on any low-slope roof systems. The most important element of a PV system is the inverter, which coverts DC to AC electricity and keeps complete records of time, day, and amount of energy produced versus total installed systems. Research from the Silicon Valley Leadership Group says that only 2 percent of the U.S. commercial roofing market today is made up of solar roofing, but rising utility costs and greater interests in green building can provide customers with enormous potential savings. This comes not only from lower energy costs but also from rebates and tax credits offered by the federal government and some states; in California, for example, rebates and depreciation will cut the cost of a $6.54 million 1-megawatt system to just $820,000. Before any PV system can be installed, it is important to consider how the PV system and the roof system will work together, including environmental and physical factors as well as the customer's ability to manage and maintain roof assets.
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The Challenge of Existing Buildings: Retrofitting Structures for Increased Energy Efficiency
Greener Buildings (08/28/08) Vanderpool, Cory
Buildings can enhance their energy efficiency if they are retrofitted with automation systems that leverage the ability to send information over the power line, known as Power Line Communications (PLC). Building automation systems can link contemporary appliances, lighting, and HVAC systems to a "smart" network backbone, while a computer network ties the controls of a facility's electrical and mechanical systems. No cabling is needed, which makes the technique cost effective. Building owners will likely spend a minimum of $1 to $2 for each square foot on a system with average energy savings of 20 to 40 percent. Payback periods in commercial facilities are based on the building's size, but typically range from three to five years. PLC works by quickly sending information over a power line and into a residence or building, enabling electronic devices to talk to one another over the existing alternating current. The expansion of communications standards has resulted in PLC devices with increased bandwidth. Since there are so many protocols and standards, a number of organizations are striving to endorse open source platforms to make sure systems can be used together.
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A Future Star Plugs Energy Shift
New West (08/25/08) Martin, Richard
Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers CEO Dave McCurdy and Green For All President Van Jones both appeared on the dais at "The Big Tent" during the recent Democratic National Convention in Denver. Jones pushed a "solarize America" agenda, urging the country to get more proactive in addressing the energy crisis and climate change. Both men are preaching a message that could underlie an Obama victory in November, namely shifting the U.S. economy away from fossil fuels towards renewables. Whether that is achievable in the sort of time frame that Jones and McCurdy envision is up for debate. Still, there is no question a climate-change program based solely on "saving the duckies and the fishies," as Jones put it, is not going to work. Green for All is an Oakland-based organization "dedicated to building an inclusive green economy."
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University of California, San Diego Forests Parking Areas With Solar Trees From Envision Solar
Forbes.com (09/05/08)
The University of California, San Diego has undertaken a forestation program on the roof of two of its parking garages. Steel components have already taken shape, forming the framework for Solar Trees that will soon be fitted with a canopy of Kyocera photovoltaic modules to provide clean energy for the campus, shade for vehicle parking, future infrastructure for electric vehicles, and a pleasant visual surprise on the top of the garage. The Solar Tree is the creation of Envision CEO Robert Noble, a sustainable architect who managed the project to transform an employee parking lot into a showpiece for its photovoltaic panels. Both the award-winning design of the Kyocera Solar Grove in Kearny Mesa and the UCSD Solar Grove are based on the principles of bio-mimicry, the discipline that takes concepts from nature and employs them in architecture. The design of the Solar Tree is based on natural trees, with trunks and branches supporting a shade canopy. "As sustainable architects, we at Envision Solar are committed to adding beauty and form to the functionality of solar power generation, and integrating it with the overall design of the site," says Noble. Each Solar Tree at UCSD will generate more than 17,000 hours of clean energy per year, which is enough to power more than four single-family homes. The Solar Tree design also offers the option to install an outlet for electric vehicle charging, meaning that, effectively, UCSD's rooftop Solar Groves will provide some of San Diego's first electric vehicle infrastructure. "This photovoltaic installation marks an historic event for a campus that has become a living laboratory for climate change solutions," says Steve Relyea, Vice Chancellor of Business Affairs.
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