Plans for federally controlled power lines to transmit solar power are moving ahead in the Southwest, but in the Northwest, lines to move wind power are being slowed while wind developments there are being re-evaluated. Photo courtesy of AP WIDEWORLD / Jae C. Hong MIXED MARKET Solar Southwest is strong, but the windy Northwest is weak. The Western Area Power Administration announced it will hire construction firms to upgrade and build parts of a $91-million transmission- line project in southern Arizona.The 109-mile Electrical District 5-to-Palo Verde transmission project includes a mix of new and upgraded WAPA-owned 230-kV lines as well
Plans for federally controlled power lines to transmit solar power are moving ahead in the Southwest, but in the Northwest, lines to move wind power are being slowed while wind developments there are being re-evaluated.Earlier this month, the Western Area Power Administration announced it will hire construction firms to upgrade and build parts of a $91-million transmission- line project in southern Arizona.The 109-mile Electrical District 5-to-Palo Verde transmission project includes a mix of new and upgraded WAPA-owned 230-kV lines as well as the acquisition of capacity on a 500-kV line that runs to the Palo Verde hub.The federal power marketer
In a move that business praised and environmentalists decried, President Obama told the Environmental Protection Agency on Sept. 2 to withdraw an ozone rule issued in July. He said the rule would harm the economy. The rule required utilities in 27 states to trim emissions or buy pollution allowances starting in 2012. Then, in 2014, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions would have needed to be cut by 73% and 54%, respectively, from 2005 levels.
Courtesy of Harmon Properties Harmon Corners, a retail property that topped out recently in Las Vegas, is financed with the developer's own money. Related Links: Video Interview with Barclays Analyst on Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities Tight-Fisted Banks Stall Development (ENR 2009) Goldman-Citi Offering Is Pulled Over Ratings The comeback of the commercial mortgage-backed securities sector, which reached a high of $230 billion in new issues in 2007 but then collapsed in the turmoil that hit financial markets in 2008, has run into big trouble."There are economic headwinds that are causing a slowdown in the pipeline,” says Steve Renna, chief executive officer
As the investigation and cleanup of the ExxonMobil oil spill in the Yellowstone River continues in Montana, plans for a much longer oil line are coming under scrutiny. The State Dept. says it will consider the recent leak from the ExxonMobil pipeline as part of its ongoing review of the international TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline, parts of which originate in Hardisty, Alberta, and cross through the same river in Montana on its way to oil terminals located in Texas. “Since we're in the decision process, of course we're looking at what's happened in the ExxonMobil case, and we're interested in
Even before the crisis at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors has ended, nuclear industry experts from the U. S. are making plans to analyze and apply “lessons learned” from the accident triggered by an earthquake and tsunami. Already, they are beginning to battle a backlash against nuclear power that threatens a revival of the nuclear industry: At least one U.S. company is facing serious questions over the feasibility of its nuclear project, politicians want a temporary moratorium on nuclear power, and financial analysts are downgrading prospects for firms with nuclear interests. Worldwide, most countries are saying they will review their
A second hydrogen blast occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in northern Japan at 11 a.m. local time March 13, but the explosion in the reactor building of Unit 3 left the primary containment vessel intact, says the the International Atomic Energy Agency. The unit’s control room remains operational, says the IAEA. A hydrogen gas blast at Unit 1 on Saturday destroyed that unit’s containment building’s outer shell but also did not damage the core reactor building, say Japanese officials. Late on March 13, officials of the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) were attempting to reduce the concentration of
The departments of Energy and the Interior plan to put areas in the Atlantic on a fast track for wind-power projects, spending $50 million over five years in offshore infrastructure and supply chains. DOE wants to develop 10 GW of offshore wind power by 2020. But because of high development costs and lengthy permitting, no offshore U.S. wind farms are yet under construction. Under a plan announced on Feb. 7, DOE and DOI aim to trim those costs by funding research and development in areas such as ports, marine systems engineering and turbine design. Interior also says it will speed
The Environmental Protection Agency’s recent announcement that it will move to develop a new drinking-water standard for perchlorate may well lead to more work for engineering and construction firms. In 2008, the Bush Administration concluded that perchlorate did not pose enough of a risk to compel a new water standard. But EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson told the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Feb. 2 that new data indicates a new perchlorate standard is warranted. Jackson also said EPA would take steps toward regulating hexavalent chromium, a carcinogen. The American Water Works Association will argue for higher, rather than
