Industry News Briefs
June 16, 2010
Energy DOE Announces Nearly $1 Billion Public-Private Investment in Industrial Carbon Capture and StorageMinnesota Fertilizer Plant Will Use Wind Power to be Carbon-Free
Land/Buildings Federal Grants Considered to Make Cities More Livable
Green Roofing Installations up 35% as Concept Enters the Mainstream
Water United States Faces Serious Water Infrastructure Challenges over Next 20 Years
Transportation Smart Work Zones Improve Safety, Speed Construction in Highway Projects
Rising Challenges Threaten to Knock California's High-Speed Rail Initiative Off Track
Energy
DOE Announces Nearly $1 Billion Public-Private Investment in Industrial Carbon Capture and Storage
U.S. Department of Energy (06/10/10)
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu has announced that a trio of projects have been chosen to receive up to $612 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, matched by $368 million in private funding, to demonstrate large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) from industrial sources. Following the successful conclusion of their Phase 1 activities, these three projects—located in Illinois, Louisiana, and Texas—were recognized as the most promising industrial CCS projects through a competitive process and will now enter into Phase 2 with additional funding to commence design, construction, and operation. It is a goal of the Obama administration to develop cost-effective CCS implementation within a decade, with an objective of bringing five to 10 commercial demonstration projects online by 2016. "Capturing carbon emissions and storing them underground is a crucial technology as we build a clean energy future and address the threat of climate change," declared Chu. "These investments will create jobs and help ensure that America can lead the world in the clean energy economy." The selections are anticipated to capture and store 6.5 million tons of carbon dioxide annually and boost domestic oil production by over 10 million barrels per year by the end of the demonstration period in September 2015. Announced projects include large-scale industrial CCS efforts that capture CO2 emissions from industrial sources and store the gas in either a deep saline formation or through enhanced oil recovery.
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Minnesota Fertilizer Plant Will Use Wind Power to be Carbon-Free
Associated Press (06/09/10) Lammers, Dirk
Minnesota researchers are designing a $3.75 million system that emits no carbon and uses wind power from a turbine to produce anhydrous ammonia, a nitrogen-based fertilizer. The substance works well because the region has plenty of wind and U.S. farmers use millions of tons of fertilizer. The test plant will produce fertilizer for university farm land, but a similar system in which fertilizer is produced and sold nearby could help the economy. It also would utilize the wind potential in the area without the need for transmission lines to move electricity to urban areas. "Rather than put that investment in transmission lines, why don't we put that investment into an energy intense industry in rural areas where this renewable energy is at?" asks Michael Reese with the University of Minnesota Renewable Energy Center. "It seems like kind of a no-brainer to me." Construction on the Morris plant began this week, and fertilizer should be produced by the end of the year. The system creates fertilizer by using an air separation unit to pull nitrogen from the air while the turbine uses electrolyzers that separate water into hydrogen and oxygen, which is then synthesized into anhydrous ammonia. The wind helps to make the process carbon-free. It is difficult to tell whether the fertilizer will compete on the market because of current prices, but if they increase, it could work. Transportation and the electrolyzers are also expensive, so it is difficult to determine whether the fertilizer will be practical.
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Gas Well Explosion Prompts More Scrutiny of Extraction Regulations
CQ Today (06/08/10) Wolfe, Kathryn
Lawmakers are seeking greater oversight of gas wells that use the "hydraulic fracturing" drilling method, partly in response to a Pennsylvania gas well that recently exploded and spewed polluted drilling water for hours. Early reports suggest that the blown well, which gushed gas and water for 16 hours before it was capped, might have been caused by a failed blowout preventer - the same sort of mechanism that failed on BP's Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Senator Bob Casey (D-Pa.) says the incident highlights the need for new regulations "to ensure that [natural gas] drilling is done in a way that provides greater protection." The blowout occurred at a natural gas well that uses an extraction process known as hydraulic fracturing, or “hydro-fracking,” which allows the gas to be harvested from shale deposits that previously were too difficult to reach. The Marcellus shale formation, which stretches from New York state through Pennsylvania into Ohio and West Virginia, may hold 168 trillion to 516 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, geologists estimate. New techniques such as hydraulic fracturing make that supply of gas accessible. Meanwhile, Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.), who is running for the Senate in Pennsylvania, wrote to EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson on June 7, calling for the agency to step up its oversight of hydraulic fracturing operations in the state under the agency's existing legal authority.
Obama to Reopen Oil Drilling
Wall Street Journal (06/08/10) Meckler, Laura; Weisman, Jonathan
The Obama administration said on June 7 that it would move quickly to release new safety requirements that would allow the reopening of offshore oil and gas exploration in shallow waters. Residents along the Gulf of Mexico - along with political leaders and industry officials - said delays in releasing the new rules, along with the administration's six-month halt on deepwater drilling threatened thousands of jobs. The oil industry is awaiting new safety regulations from the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service, which canceled some offshore drilling permits last week and has had others on hold since early May. Administration officials say new rules for shallow water oil and gas drilling could be released as soon as June 8. The White House also said on June 7 that it supported lifting the cap on liability damages altogether for any oil companies drilling offshore. The cap is $75 million unless the government can show criminal negligence. Some Republicans and industry groups have cautioned that putting the liability cap too high could make it tough for smaller companies to drill offshore. The new drilling regulations are expected to require drillers to have independent operators certify that the blowout preventers work as designed to shut off the flow of oil; that independent operators certify the well design plan is adequate, including proper casing, or cement lining; that the driller certifies it is in compliance with all regulations and have done all needed tests.
Land/Buildings
Federal Grants Considered to Make Cities More Livable
Reuters (06/09/10) Lambert, Lisa
Congress is working on a concept to make "livable communities" a part of national law, potentially providing federal grants to help local governments implement comprehensive city planning. A bill by Sen. Chris Dodd, the Banking Committee chairman from Conn., proposing giving livability grants to metropolitan organizations and creating an interagency office on sustainable communities within the executive branch. Dodd describes the bill as combining housing development, public transit, infrastructure, and land-use planning into comprehensive city development. "Our nation is facing a number of significant problems, including a struggling economy, an explosion in home foreclosures, the looming threat of climate change, an increasingly worrisome dependence on foreign oil, deteriorating infrastructure, and, yes, worsening traffic congestion," says Dodd. Some senators argue that the bill will reduce the rates of asthma in children, draw younger people back to abandoned areas, reduce obesity by promoting walking and cycling, and help workers arrive at work on time. Critics say that the bill is vague, extends the reach of federal government into local government too much, and is too expensive. The Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Transportation are now working together to better coordinate their livability programs, with their leaders spending much of the winter discussing livability at national conferences. "Rural, suburban and urban counties have been pursuing local strategies to create livable communities and implement sustainable development for decades," says Maryland county commissioner Julia Gouge, representing the National Association of Counties. The Ford Foundation recently announced a five-year $200 million plan to promote a new metropolitan approach that combines housing, transportation, and land-use policy to drive greater economic growth.
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Green Roofing Installations up 35% as Concept Enters the Mainstream
Sustainable Engineering (Quarter 2, 2010) Vol. 1, No. 1, P. 22; Harper, Charlene; Lanier, Lugay
There is an explosion in green roofing, with 35 percent market growth recorded in 2008 by Green Roofs for Healthy Cities. As a member of the design team, the civil engineer has a responsibility to maximize the green roof investment by integrating the beneficial impact of vegetated roofs into a project's stormwater masterplan. Green roofs lower and delay stormwater volumes and flows through evapotranspiration, media storage, and higher times of concentration. Water is stored in the vegetative medium and is absorbed by the plant materials, leading to decreased runoff curve numbers and substantially increased concentration times. Green roofs are particularly impactful in urban or high-density districts where land is at a premium and installation costs are offset by mitigation or removal of traditional stormwater BMP. Design team collaboration is a crucial element in the success of a vegetated roof design, and much of the growing popularity of green roofs in the United States can be attributed to the USGBC LEED Rating System. Green roofs can affect open space credits in urban districts, shrink heat island effects, and offer significant energy and tax credit savings to clients. Green roof studies point to lower runoff volumes and temperatures, less noise and smog, and even acid rain neutralization.
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Energy Efficient Cladding Can Reduce Heating, Cooling Loads
Building Operating Management (05/01/10) Vol. 57, No. 5, P. 10; Koepke, Kristina
One technique for lowering a building's heating and cooling loads is the installation of energy efficient cladding systems, which boast a higher thermal resistance and fewer thermal breaks than typical cladding systems. This means that less energy is consumed to heat and cool the building. Two of the most common energy efficient cladding systems currently on the market are exterior insulation and finish systems and insulated metal wall panels, and the former are comprised of expanded polystyrene foam insulation installed with mechanical fasteners or adhesives to the substrate, a water-resistant base coat applied to the top of the insulation, glass fiber or expanded metal reinforcing mesh, and a finish coat. Insulated metal wall panels are made up of a pair of prefabricated metal panels with a polyurethane and polyisocyanurate foam core. The panels are directly affixed to the building's supporting structure, and the system is contingent upon the metal's impermeability to prevent water intrusion. Both systems have insulation within the cladding system, which supplies a continuous insulated barrier around the outside of the building that boosts the wall system's ability to prevent heat transfer and lowers the building's thermal energy load. Factors that must be weighed when planning to employ an energy efficient cladding system include selection of a qualified installer, a holistic assessment of the building, and the systems' maintenance requirements.
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Here Comes the Neighborhood
The Atlantic (06/10) Leinberger, Christopher B.
Walkable neighborhoods are the neighborhoods of the future, with their connections by train and biking trails. The recent housing decline serves to demonstrate this point, according to Zillow chief economist Stan Humphries, who indicates that the outlying areas experienced sharper declines in house values than urban centers. For example, in Washington, D.C., suburban fringe neighborhoods saw house values decline nearly 50 percent since the peak, compared to a 20 percent decrease in walkable, urban neighborhoods like Arlington, Virginia. As demand shifts away from suburban, single-family houses to urban, multifamily dwellings and Americans move from the suburbs to walkable communities where transportation costs are lower, experts say a surplus of 22 million large-lot, single-family houses will be on the market by 2025.
Young people and Baby Boomers are looking for communities in urban areas with a variety of transportation options, and to ensure these new neighborhoods have the desirable amenities, developers need to come together with partners and fund rail and other transportation infrastructure, particularly now that many state budgets are strapped for cash. Another option is for communities to fund transportation projects by imposing a one-time assessment or a higher property-tax in their "special" district for a certain number of years. Experts also indicate that revisions to federal transportation laws could speed up the funding allocation process for projects, which would lower costs and quicken the pace of development.
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Hospital Owner's Digital Mandate Gives Builders a Dose of Reality
Engineering News-Record (06/09/10) Van Hampton, Tudor
Contractors are building one of the largest and tallest pediatric research hospitals on a tiny site in Chicago. The contractors say they are several months ahead of schedule, partially because of the owner's requirement that designers and contractors collaborate using building information modeling (BIM), a digital tool that helps prevent errors. On the job site, construction managers can use laser scanners to compare BIMs to what was built. These scans will significantly help determine what is and what is not creating value. Despite the success of digital technology, project participants admit that the BIM system is not being used to its full potential. Field crews are building from 2D paper plans, which are still the official contract documents. Design and construction models are also still segregated for liability reasons. The owner doubts that the project will be able to achieve what some call BIM's Holy Grail, using the data for facility management. "We teed it up to knock it out of the park, and yet we still have a ways to go in the industry," says Peter Rumpf, senior integrated construction coordinator for Mortenson. The lasers are being used to help close the digital divide. Mortenson and other partners are using them to audit contractors' work, and research BIM. Firms involved in the project were asked to share digital models, but would not vouch for model accuracy because existing insurance products did not cover any problems arising from digital sharing. The hospital is an example of how the construction industry continues to struggle to embrace a technology that will enable participants to work together better, though the project also demonstrates how far the industry has come.
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Water
United States Faces Serious Water Infrastructure Challenges over Next 20 Years
Urban Land Magazine (06/10) Vol. 69, No. 6, P. 74; Miller, Jonathan D.
The challenge of sustaining water infrastructure extends to all U.S. metropolitan regions, and states and urban areas are getting more engaged in the integration of watershed policies with local land use decisions, and are weighing the restriction of new projects in regions without abundant future water resources. There are four fundamental scenarios threatening to undermine U.S. water infrastructure, including rusting and dilapidated pipes. Another factor is the inability of water supplies in the country's fastest-growing metropolitan areas to keep up with current land use patterns or water use practices. There also is the threat of drinking water contamination from industrial chemicals and agricultural runoff, while a failure to conserve is one the biggest dangers. Mitigating these threats demands immense investment, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that close to $400 billion will need to be spent over the 2001-2020 period to update and replace existing systems and construct new facilities to accommodate growing populations. However, the EPA also anticipates a 20-year funding shortage of $122 billion for clean water capital costs and $102 billion for needed drinking water projects. Steps that communities in dry regions are taking to deal with such challenges include a requirement that developments incorporate recycling and rainwater capture systems, which can be employed for landscape irrigation. Studies also indicate how subdivision development on large lots makes stormwater runoff worse, damages water quality, and ruins local environments. These reports demonstrate that focusing more homes on single lots safeguards watersheds better and permits greater groundwater retention and recharge.
High-Tech Flood Control
Point of Beginning (06/10) Legleiter, Kenny
Despite the complex levee system in the area the connects the Arkansas and Little Arkansas River Valleys, storms can still have a heavy impact on the area. In 1998, a flood of the Cowskin Creek in western Wichita, Kan., due to extensive rainfall, caused millions of dollars in damages. The USGS Water-Resources Investigation Report states that emergency management personnel and flood mitigation teams had difficulty efficiently identifying areas affected by the flooding, and no warning was given to area residents because flood-information was not available. Following that flood, the USGS, the City of Wichita, and the National Weather Service developed a publicly accessible Web site to enable residents along the creek to see in advance the expected flooding, and have since continued to improve such systems. When reviewing options for collecting topographic data for levee assessments, Wichita and federal partners decided that LiDAR was the best way to collect high-fidelity elevation data, to more accurately define watershed boundaries and address stormwater issues and continued urban growth. Merrick & Company used an airplane to collect simultaneous LiDAR data and color digital aerial imagery through the use of co-mounted LiDAR and aerial photography sensors, collecting more than 1,000 square miles, and focusing on a 33-mile stretch of the Arkansas River. Using LiDAR decreased the amount of time needed to collect data while providing substantially more data at a lower cost. As a result of the LiDAR data collection, levees can be more accurately recertified, future flooding risks can be identified, and structures can be designed to mitigate future flooding.
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Transportation
Smart Work Zones Improve Safety, Speed Construction in Highway Projects
ITE Journal (05/10) Vol. 80, No. 5, P. 26; Jackson, Jeremy
Construction in highway work zones gives rise to constantly fluctuating traffic conditions that require real-time traffic data to keep motorists up to speed on conditions ahead. Safety can be enhanced and delays minimized with smart work zones, which also can facilitate the collection of traffic data for the purpose of aiding decision-making by construction personnel. The Oregon Bridge Delivery Partners, in partnership with the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), have been assessing the use of traffic data collected via smart work zone technology and its potential uses during a project's design and construction stages. The employment of smart work zone technology to accommodate mobility is a key component of ODOT's agenda to maintain the movement of freight and traffic through an unprecedented volume of bridge construction on Oregon's highways. The single most crucial goal of work zone traffic analysis is preserving highway safety, and ascertaining acceptable windows of time in which a lane can be safely closed requires a calculation of the amount of traffic throughout construction and a limit for maintaining stable and efficient traffic operations. Smart work zones frequently utilize side-fire radar and other sensor technology to identify the presence and speed of vehicles approaching a work zone, and the real-time data collected by a smart work zone system is employed to display critical messages on one or more variable message signs. In the course of the design process, historic traffic data can assist in the creation of lane closure charts. Such data can be valuable in the management of work zone construction activities by aiding in the evaluation of mobility goals and the measurement of traffic management strategies' effectiveness.
Rising Challenges Threaten to Knock California's High-Speed Rail Initiative Off Track
Governing (05/10) Goodman, Josh
California is rushing to break ground on the nation's most ambitious high-speed rail project, but some are urging the state to slow down for a variety of reasons. For example, the planned rail would run right next to El Palo Alto, a 1,070 year old redwood tree that is inspiration for Stanford University's tree mascot and most likely where the name for Palo Alto, Calif, comes from. Rail officials are aware of El Palo Alto's significance and are hopeful they can design the track to avoid harming the tree, but Palo Alto arborist and environmental planner Dave Dockter says it is inconceivable to follow through on this project without creating serious risks for the tree. Other reasons to slow the project down include questions surrounding who will pay for the project, who will operate the rail, where to put tracks and stations, and how to minimize disruptions to the environment and communities that will suddenly have trains speeding through at up to 220 mph. Proponents of high-speed rail say it is an environmentally friendly way to relieve congested highways and airports. Opponents say it is an expensive mistake. Palo Alto was once largely in favor of high-speed rail, but support has mostly waned, and the debate is now between people who only want rail if it is in a tunnel and those who say even a tunnel is not enough. Ultimately, one knows for certain how high-speed rail would affect Palo Alto's schools, homes, roads, parks and trees, but if California is to move ahead with high speed rail it must do so quick, as federal funds must be used on projects that break ground by September 2012.
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Dept. of Transportation Tests Greener Asphalt
NY1 News (06/10/10) Milburn, Ty
In New York, the Department of Transportation is using a new kind of asphalt that is much better for people and the environment. Traditional asphalt has to be heated to 300 degrees before it can be deployed, but the new asphalt can be laid down at just 200 degrees due to a chemical called evo-therm. Reducing the temperature allows the DOT to reduce its energy consumption when using asphalt by a third. "This shows great promise. It's certainly the future of resurfacing in this country," says Galileo Orlando from the DOT. DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan says the product is proving to be so environmentally beneficial that instead of calling it blacktop, she calls it "Greentop." "We're looking to incorporate innovative ways to be green and be more environmentally sound," says Sadik-Khan. "That means re-engineering our streets differently and it also means looking at the materials we put on our streets to make sure they are as green and effective as they can be." The improved asphalt also allows the agency to extend the paving season so more streets can be repaired and more pot holes can be filled. DOT officials say that they will take a year to examine the effectiveness of the "greentop," and if it proves to be durable they will start to use it throughout New York City.
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Hundreds of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Planned for California
Los Angeles Times (06/08/10) Hsu, Tiffany
Coulomb Technologies plans to install 4,600 electric vehicle charging stations for free around the country, with about a third of those located in California. The company will immediately start setting up public and private stations in Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Jose, and the San Francisco Bay Area. The stations will also go up in Austin, Texas; Detroit; New York; Orlando, Fla.; Redmond, Wash.; and Washington. More than 1,000 stations are scheduled to be installed by December, with the rest in place by September 2011. Partnerships with major automakers mean that charging stations will be available in metropolitan areas where electric vehicles including the Chevrolet Volt, the Ford Transit Connect, the Ford Focus, and the Smart Fortwo from Daimler will be sold. A wide network of charging stations is expected to help quell fears that future electric car owners won't be able to drive far beyond their home charging base. The installations are part of a $37-million project called ChargePoint America, funded partly by a $15-million stimulus grant administered by the Department of Energy through the Transportation Electrification Initiative. Once the stations are in place, Purdue University and Idaho National Labs will analyze data about vehicle use and charging patterns.
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