A surge of energy is flowing into energy storage. Tesla Motors' Sept. 4 announcement that named Nevada the winner of a five-state competition to host its planned gigafactory added momentum to a market for which Lux Research LLC forecasts 8% compounded annual growth, to a global value of $50 billion, by 2020. Tesla's $4-billion plant outside Reno will produce batteries for the automotive market and the grid. According to market research firm IHS, the 2013 energy-storage installation of 340 MW will grow to 6,000 MW by 2017 and to more than 40,000 MW by 2022.Tesla aims to produce 50,000 megawatt-hours

+ Image Source: South Florida Water Management District Many projects are planned to restore the Indian River Lagoon, but the C-44 reservoir system is the first. Related Links: Everglades Progress Report Shows Modest Improvements Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan Protecting one of the biologically most diverse estuary systems in the continental U.S. is the goal of a Florida project now in the earliest stage of development. On Aug. 14, Shoreline Foundation Inc., West Park, Fla., won the contract to construct the C-44 system discharge for the C-44 reservoir and stormwater treatment area in Martin County, Fla., a major component of the

Image Courtesy Environmental Defense Fund and Google Maps Methane leaks from natural-gas lines, such as these shown on a map of New York City's Staten Island (right), add to greenhouse gases. A cooperative effort between the Environmental Defense Fund and Google Earth Outreach aims to help utilities find them. Related Links: Environmental Defense Fund natural gas leak project EPA overview on greenhouse gases  Rapid and accurate detection of methane leaks is being offered to natural-gas utility companies following a successful pilot project led by the Environmental Defense Fund, in partnership with Google Earth Outreach.The program uses Google Street View cars

Rendering courtesy of Alaska Gasline Development Corp. BP, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, TransCanada and the State of Alaska are working together to progress the Alaska LNG project, shown here in a conceptual rendering. Rendering courtesy of Alaska Gasline Development Corp. The 800-mile pipeline would eventually deliver up to 3.5 billion cubic feet of gas per day. At peak of construction, the project is expected to create some 15,000 jobs, with 1,000 expected for pipeline operations. Design and engineering of a major new pipeline to deliver natural gas from Alaska’s North Slope to Alaskans and the export market is set to begin following

In its latest report on Everglades restoration, the National Research Council tempered mild praise for "fairly modest progress" in the $13.5-billion plan with its concerns over climate change, rising sea levels and the invasion of non-native plant and animal species. Photo courtesy South Florida Water Management District The report highlighted successes, such as the 85-percent completion of the Kissimmee River Restoration project, which undoes a 1960s channelization of the river. Related Links: NRC Fifth Everglades Quality Report Expected Court OK Will Launch $880M Worth of Everglades Work The fifth congressionally mandated biennial report on the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP),

Photos Courtesy of South Florida Water Management District Restoring Kissimmee River to its natural meander corrects a 1960s Corps project. + Image Click image to enlarge. Related Links: NRC Fifth Everglades Quality Report Expected Court OK Will Launch $880-Million Everglades Work In its latest report, the National Research Council tempered its mild praise for "fairly modest progress" in the $13.5-billion Everglades restoration plan with its concerns over climate change, rising sea levels and the invasion of non-native plant and animal species.The fifth congressionally mandated biennial report on the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), released on June 26 by a 14-member

Photo Courtesy Sunflower Electric Power Corp. Utility's proposal would add 895- MW unit to the 362-MW Holcomb station. Related Links: Kansas Power Operator Will Challenge Air-Quality Decision Kansas Governor Vetoes Project A coal-fired powerplant project in Kansas that had been curtailed because of environment-based opposition has received a renewed lease on life with approval by the state's top environmental regulator. But the plant's opponents are not discouraged and cite many obstacles the project must overcome before ground can be broken.On May 30, the Kansas Dept. of Health and Environment (KDHE) issued the air-quality-permit addendum for the 895-MW Holcomb 2 powerplant

Related Links: Windy St. Jude's Day Storm Fells London Tower Cranes Warning Signs Were Ignored in Fatal NYC Crawler-Crane Accident Investigators are trying to determine why a crane collapsed at the site of a South Florida residential construction project, killing a construction worker and damaging a neighboring house. Christopher J. Ricci, 27, of Sunrise, Fla., was struck by the crane's boom and died instantly in the June 12 accident, a police spokeswoman says.DLS Prestressed Inc., Pompano Beach, Fla., was using the lattice-boom truck crane, which was riding on rubber tires, to install piling for construction of a two-story, single-family home

Sunflower Electric Power Corp. Utility's proposal would add 895 MW to existing Holcomb 1 station, rated at 362 MW. Related Links: Kansas Power Operator Will Challenge Air-Quality Decision Kansas Governor Vetoes Project A coal-fired powerplant project in Kansas that has been repeatedly left for dead because of environment-based opposition has received a renewed lease on life from approval by the state’s top environmental regulator. But the plant’s opponents are not discouraged, and they cite many obstacles the project must overcome before ground can be broken.On May 30, the Kansas Dept. of Health and Environment (KDHE) issued the air quality permit

Photo Courtesy Black and Veatch Utilities, which based storage sites on national repository plan, are now adding capacity. Related Links: U.S. Nuclear Plants Provide Market Niche for Waste Disposal System Providers Cask Storage For Spent Fuel As the 21st century dawned, "nuclear renaissance" was a popular catchphrase. But current trends suggest that renaissance, if it occurs, will be in the market for engineers and contractors providing services to decommission nuclear powerplants and build storage for their spent fuel. In 2000, 104 power reactors were operating in the U.S., and new growth beckoned. In 2013, four of that fleet were retired,