Infrastructure News
July 28, 2010 | Greentech Media
As smart grid initiatives advance in the U.S., key states are emerging as policy leaders. Bolstered by US$4.5 billion in federal smart-grid stimulus funding, these states are laying the groundwork for market development and shining light on the economic, technological and regulatory issues associated with smart grid’s nascent integration.
GTM Research's latest report, United States Smart Grid Policy 2010: In-Depth Analysis of Ten Key States Driving Deployment, has identified 10 states that, in addition to leading in stimulus funding, are diversified in terms of their smart grid policy prescriptions and geography: California, Colorado, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas. Within these states are projects planned or underway by 43 grid-operating entities. Their scope ranges from multimillion-meter projects in Texas to Western Massachusetts Electric's pilot program to install 1,750 advanced meters. With such variation from one state to the next, these 10 markets can be viewed as smart-grid "case studies" for more specific, large-scale approaches in the future.
"These 10 states are the laboratories for U.S. smart-grid policy, and their influence on the pace and scope of deployment is durable and growing," said Stephen Munro, the report's author and a Washington-based energy policy analyst with GTM Research. "Smart grid technology players will look to current state regulations for near-term activity as well as to anticipate how smart grid initiatives will adapt on a broader scale."
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July 30, 2010 | Greentech Media
First Solar offered a cautious outlook on sales this year, but said Thursday it cut manufacturing costs and promised a rapid expansion in utility-scale projects.
The thin-film giant reported second-quarter financial results with a 12 percent increase in sales. However, earnings were down primarily due to lower module selling prices.
The world's largest solar maker acknowledged replacing some modules made from June 2008 to June 2009 because of declines in power output. It said replacement costs would add up to slightly more than $23 million for an anticipated 30 megawatts of modules.
Perhaps most significantly, the company cut its 2010 sales expectation to $2.5 billion to $2.6 billion from the $2.6 billion to $2.7 billion it forecast in April.
On a conference call, it said:
*Module manufacturing costs fell to 76 cents a watt, down 5 cents from the first quarter. Annual throughput per line was up 6 percent to 59 megawatts and material costs were lower. The company's target is to reach 52 cents to 63 cents a watt in 2014.
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July 28, 2010 | BN Americas
Mexican airport operator GAP (NYSE: PAC, BMV: GAP) is studying the feasibility of the Riviera Maya airport project, the firm's head of investor relations, Miguel Aliaga, told BNamericas.
"We have purchased the bidding rules and are interested in participating in the project. We are currently carrying out a study to determine its feasibility," Aliaga said.
Industry experts have criticized the 3.2bn-peso (US$255mn) airport, to be located in Quintana Roo state, due to its proximity to the Cancun airport, a factor which will no doubt influence possible bidders, according to Aliaga.
"Due to the new airport's proximity to the second most important international airport in Mexico, we consider it is probably not the most important airport to build right now. It is more important to study the possibility of building an alternative airport to capital city Mexico," Aliaga added.
The transport and communications ministry (SCT) launched a tender for the airport project in April. A site visit is scheduled to take place in September or October, and bids will be presented in November.
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July 29, 2010 | Dredging Today
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announces a Firm Fixed-price contract for the maintenance dredging of the Rehandling Basin at Craney Island Dredged Material Management Area (CIDMMA) to a depth of 30 feet with 2 feet of allowable overdepth. In addition, the work consists of maintenance dredging portions of the Access Channel(s) to a depth of 18 feet with 2 feet of allowable overdepth.
The work shall be performed by a hydraulic cutterhead dredge and pipeline, with all dredged material transported and placed in the Government-furnished upland placement area at Craney Island Dredged Material Management Area.
The Rehandling Basin dredging, including allowable overdepth dredging and estimated accretion, involves dredging approximately 1,000,500 cubic yards of material. The Access Channel dredging, including allowable overdepth dredging and estimated accretion, involves dredging approximately 7,300 cubic yards of material. Total estimated amount to be dredged is 1,007,800 cubic yards. The magnitude of the project is between $5,000,000.00 and 10,000,000.00.
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July 27, 2010 | The New York Times
A report by the operations monitor of the North American electricity grid, issued today, raises a large yellow caution flag over climate policy initiatives that would require a massive change in the nation's power and transmission infrastructure.
A task force on climate change formed by North American Electric Reliability Corp. urges that policymakers not count on large amounts of renewable energy, demand reduction from smart grid systems or new storage technologies before they prove they can be worked onto the grid without endangering the system's reliability.
Deep cuts in generators' greenhouse gas emissions require an unprecedented transformation from current generation, says Mark Lauby, NERC's director of reliability assessment and performance analysis.
"One of our main concerns is looking at the technology and realizing this is a 1-million-megawatt system. What kind of time is required to integrate new technologies?" Lauby said in an interview.
Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) systems and carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) are two transformational technologies whose potential won't be known for a decade or more, says the task force, whose members included representatives of investor-owned power companies and cooperatives, grid managers, a consumer organization and the Energy Department, among others. It was chaired by Ben Crisp, director of system planning and regulatory performance for Progress Energy Florida in St. Petersburg, Fla.
The report, "Reliability Impacts of Climate Change Initiatives: Technology Assessment and Scenario Development," considers how the reliable operation of the grid could be affected if the U.S. adopted carbon reduction goals at the levels of the House-passed "American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009."
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