A Dept. of Energy Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory report released in December shows that, after remaining virtually unchanged from 2008 to 2009, the price of installed solar photovoltaic (PV) power systems in the U.S. declined sharply in 2010. Photo Courtesy U.S. DOE Government subsidies spur market growth and demand in the U.S., as in Spain and Germany. “PV has priced itself into the market and is now competitive with other renewables,” says Art Larson, a spokesman for San Diego Gas and Electric. The utility signed its first three PV projects in 2010. A total of 305 MW of PV will
The California Coastal Conservancy reached agreement in December to bypass an obsolete dam on California�s Carmel River rather than dredging and buttressing the 90-year-old structure. The $84-million reroute and dam removal project will divert the river around the 106-ft high concrete arch San Clemente Dam built in 1921. The basin has since been swamped with 2.5 million cu yds of sediment, thereby reducing storage capacity from 1,425 acre-ft to 125 acre-ft. In 1992, the California Dept. of Water Resources Division of the Safety of Dams issued a safety order because of possible failure from a maximum flood event or an
Los Angeles Unified School District is once again wrestling with its construction contracting and project delivery procedures. LAUSD canceled a pair of contracts in its $19.2-billion construction program in November when the LAUSD board citied violation of a no-subcontractor rule. Photo: Michael Goodman for ENR Littmann, ENR 2003 Award of Excellence winner for contracting reform in L.A. Schools construction, believes the LAUSD has reverted to bad habits of the past. One contract was for $3.7 million to Consilia LLC for construction planning and the other for $90,000 to Kathi Littmann, former LAUSD chief of school construction for education specifications work.
The California Natural Resources Agency, U.S. Dept. of the Interior and four other agencies recently released the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, calling for construction of a $13-billion tunnel to bring water from northern California to the Central Valley. The multi-agency study looked at alternatives to the 100-year-old delta levee system that would preserve water shipments to the southern part of the state without damaging the delta ecosystem and killing fish. Studies point to the intake pumps in the San Francisco Bay Area as a primary source of large-scale fish mortality in the region. �The current infrastructure and operational approach for
On Dec. 15, the California Natural Resources Agency, U.S. Dept. of the Interior and four other agencies released the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, calling for construction of a $13-billion tunnel to bring water from northern California to the Central Valley. Large Image The multi-agency study looked at alternatives to the 100-year-old delta levee system that would preserve water shipments to the southern part of the state without damaging the delta ecosystem and killing fish. Studies point to the intake pumps in the San Francisco Bay Area as a primary source of large-scale fish mortality in the region. “The current infrastructure
The Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District may have to spend more than $2 billion over the next 10 years to improve water quality. The Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board on Dec. 9 directed California’s capital city to remove ammonia and other residual materials from treated water before discharging it into the Sacramento River. The city’s 28-year-old plant releases as much as 180 million gallons of water per day into the delta-feeding waterway. The controversial decision came after a contentious permit renewal process in which SRCSD estimated that, between the capital improvements, pilot studies and reports, rates for its
Southern California Edison (SCE) plans to install 250 MW of solar generating capacity in California�s southern and central valley in the next four years. Another 250 MW could be secured through contracts with independent energy providers as part of the utility�s $875 million initiative. The first round of long-term power purchase contracts was let to independent power producers in July of this year. The second round of contracts could hit the streets during the first quarter of 2011. photo credit: Photo Courtesy of Southern California Edison Fast-Tracked Solar Installations Multiply Southern California Power Alternatives Power could come from some 100
Southern California Edison plans to install 250 megawatts of solar-power generating capacity in California’s southern and central valleys over the next four years. Another 250 MW could be secured through contracts with independent providers as part of the utility’s $875-million initiative. Photo: Courtesy Southern California Edison Southern California Edison plans to install 250 MW of solar-power generating capacity over the next four years. The first 50 MW is expected to be online by the end of this year. By the end of this year, SCE expects to have the first 50 MW of capacity online or in the final stage
A new 1-MW rooftop solar installation on the World Cruise Center at the Port of Los Angeles relied on a self-ballasted racking system to protect aging structures while offsetting increased electrical demands from an Alternative Maritime Power system that lights up docked cruise ships. Photo: Courtesy of Cupertino Electric A monocrystalline photovoltic system held in place with a concrete- ballasted roof will supply 1 MW of power to the Port of Los Angeles World Cruise Center. Photo: Courtesy Port of Los Angeles Crews installing panels worked around cruise ships’ schedules. Of the five bidders vying for the $8.5-million contract in
A new 1-MW rooftop solar installation on the World Cruise Center at the Port of Los Angeles relied on a self-ballasted racking system to protect aging structures while offsetting increased electrical demands from an Alternative Maritime Power system that lights up docked cruise ships. Of the five bidders vying for the $8.5 million contract in March of 2009, Los Angeles-based Martifer Solar was the apparent low bidder, but didn�t provide a bond in time, so the contract went to the next-lowest bidder, Cupertino Electric, Inc. The port included two requirements in the design-build contract: It had to be a non-penetrating