An Executive Digest of the Industry

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8 Impressive Solar Projects Under Construction

by Amal Kiran, ecofriend.com, 04.30.2011

Technology drives today’s world and electricity drives technology. The primary source of electricity till date has been from fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum. But as these reserves dry out, there is an urgent need for alternate, cleaner and renewable sources of electric power. The one source that stands out, quite literally as bright as day light, is the sun. Realizing the untapped potential of solar energy, several efforts are being made around the world are looking to harness this energy into more usable forms. Here’s a list of some of the large scale projects that are taking shape as you read and might as well go on to shape our futures.

1. Google to help build World’s Largest Solar Tower Power Plant

solar tower

Google seems to have all the answers. After taking the podium as the undisputed leaders of search on the internet, they are now attempting to answer the search for alternate energy. On April 11th, 2011 Google announced in its official blog,

We’ve invested $168 million in an exciting new solar energy power plant being developed by BrightSource Energy in the Mojave Desert in California. Brightsource’s Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System (ISEGS) will generate 392 gross MW of clean, solar energy.

This happens to be the singe largest investment Google has ever made.

2. Mammoth Solar Panel farm in Sahara to power European Cities

mammoth solar panel farm

Sahara has had the distinction of being the largest desert on the face of the earth. Before you dismiss it as a big waste of land, consider this. The Sahara could soon be home to a mammoth Solar Panel farm generating energy for Europe. Electricity thus generated would be transmitted via high voltage lines being built at an enormous expense, but could greatly reduce the carbon footprint of Europe. And by 2050, could be generating up to 100GW of power. The idea has won the appreciation of Gordon Brown and the French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Hopefully, Africa will see a piece of the pie too.

3. South Africa announces plan for the world’s largest solar park

world’s largest solar park

In 2008, South Africa experienced severe shortage of electricity and suffered frequent blackouts. Ever since then, electricity has been carefully rationed in the country. Some of the countries surrounding South Africa also depend on them for power. Realizing the need for a long term solution to the problem, they have decided to build a massive solar power plant at a whopping £18.42bn. The country’s Northern Cape province has been found suitable for such a plant and the project is estimated to provide for one-tenth of the country’s power needs by 2012.

4. Largest solar plant for U.S. Army may produce a gigawatt of power

largest solar plant for u

The US army seems to have joined the greening efforts. The army has agreed to lease about 14000 acres of its land at Fort Irwin, Mojave Desert, California for the construction of a 1 GW solar energy complex by the Irwin Energy Security Partners(IESP) at a cost of $2 billion. IESP is a joint venture between ACCIONA Solar Power in Henderson, NV and the Clark Energy Group in Bethesda, MD. The power would be used for the activities at the base as well as supplied to the public electric grid.

5. California approves gigantic solar power plants to double US capacity

solar energy power plants_intct_69

The deserts seem to be taking center stage at this point and turning into hubs of activity for power generation. The US Bureau of Land Management has granted the use of close to 10000 acres of the Californian desert for 2 Solar projects. The 1000 MW Blythe Solar Power Project is to be developed by the Solar Millennium Inc. at a cost of $6 billion over the next 6 years. A smaller 250 MW Beacon Solar Energy Project by NextEra Energy Resources will come up in about 3 years.

6. Ambitious proposal for North America’s largest solar roof in New Jersey

largest solar roof in

Roof tops of large buildings offer excellent space for installation of solar panels. The Jersey Gardens Mall in Elizabeth, New Jersey is showing the way after deciding to utilize its roof top space of 322,410 sq feet for building the largest single-rooftop solar power system in North America. The system is to be built and maintained by the SunPower Corporation and will cut down the mall’s dependency on other sources of power by a tenth. Another such rooftop installation is being planned for a distribution center of White Rose Inc. Both these installations will produce close to 5 MW of power each.

7. Cobra energy eyes $1 billion solar power plant for Australia

solar power plant for australia

Harnessing Solar power is becoming a global phenomenon. Australia now joins this list after a Spanish company proposed to build a $1 billion solar power plant on its soil. Cobra Energy, a part of the conglomerate ACS, has applied for funding from the Australian government under the Solar Flagships program which aims to offload 400MW of the country’s energy requirements to solar energy. Cobra has the expertise and has already executed similar projects at installations in Spain. This particular installation will be watched for its innovative approach to storing excess solar energy in molten salts to continue generating power even after sun down.

8. Tata Power plans India’s largest photovoltaic power plant

photovoltaic power plant

Here’s an example of the developing countries too doing their bit to reduce their carbon footprint. India’s ambitious National Solar Mission was launched with the objective of establishing India as a global leader in solar energy. The mission will run in 3 phases to reach a target of 20GW of solar power by the end of its third phase. Responses from across the country have been very positive with several hundred bids pouring in. One such proposal comes from one of the most respected and trusted corporate houses of India, the Tata group. Tata Power has proposed the construction of the country’s largest photovoltaic power plant in Mithapur, Gujarat which would produce 50MW of electric power for use in both Tata’s plants as well as the public grid.

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The largest solar farm and solar construction underway. ProTech, the Procore dealer for construction cloudware and web based construction software is essential for large solar project construction. The largest solar farm in the world now being built. The South Africa Solar Project is proceeding forward. Google Solar Investment, their largest investment. Tata Power constructing solar fields and Cobra Energy building Solar power projects and the Solar Roof in New Jersey.

Posted by ProTech at 5/2/2011 11:24 AM | View Comments (22) | Add Comment

Historic Bridge Project vs Dreaded Highway Expansion

by ADRIENNE PACKER, LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 05.01.2011

The price tags were almost identical: $240 million and change.

One bought an engineering marvel that, at least briefly, lured tourists away from the Strip to watch workers dangle from cranes to piece together a span 900 feet above the Colorado River. The second buys five major interchanges, 26 new bridges and a maze of frontage roads in the heart of the Las Vegas Valley.

The Hoover Dam bypass bridge and the I-15 overhaul both were designed to move traffic more efficiently. But one was viewed as a historic event; the other, a hand-wringing annoyance. But comparing the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge to the Interstate 15 overhaul is a bit like comparing a baseball superstar to a grind-it-out clutch player.

It's Alex Rodriguez vs. Lenny Dykstra. Or a Hollywood glamour vs. Tinseltown trouble; Liz Taylor vs. Lindsey Lohan. The similarities of the two transportation projects went beyond price tags. Workers overcame treacherous conditions on both. Gale-force winds funneled through Black Canyon, buffeting the bridge workers. Motorists traveling 80 mph blow by the freeway workers just 5 feet away. Accidents claimed the lives of one worker on each project.

Tempting as it is to compare the price tags, transportation officials cautioned those figures are deceptive. "With the Hoover bypass, you had contractors falling over themselves bidding for that project," said Scott Rawlins, deputy director and chief engineer for the Nevada Department of Transportation. "They knew how significant the project was and how it would benefit the marketing of their company if they were a part of that. It's not a fair comparison."

The state received a deal on its Interstate 15 project, too, but it had nothing to do with construction companies clamoring to be a part of history. The project was the state's second design-build project, meaning one company bid on the job and agreed to both draw up the plans and execute the improvements. That strategy eliminates costly change orders, because the same contractor is handling both tasks.

Congestion along Interstate 15 has progressively worsened over the past decade, and transportation officials acknowledged the massive project could no longer wait. "I-15 is the lifeblood not only to Las Vegas, but to the overall state economy," Rawlins said. "It's vital in moving goods and making sure tourists get to where they want to go in the resort corridor." That's why the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is using its room tax revenue to absorb much of the cost of the improvements, which will extend from Tropicana Avenue to Sloan.

I-15 IS A CRITICAL CORRIDOR "Interstate 15 is a critical corridor," public relations specialist Jeremy Handel said. "It's important for us to step up and make sure we maintain the corridor for our visitors." About 8 million tourists every year use Interstate 15 to visit Las Vegas from Southern California. Plus, more than 90 percent of the state's imported products arrive by truck and the majority of those haulers use Interstate 15, according to the Nevada Motor Transport Association.

The underlying concept of the freeway improvements is the same as that behind the recently added express lanes. Some motorists rely on I-15 to quickly navigate the valley from the north to the south, while it delivers others to the Las Vegas Strip. New frontage roads on either side of the interstate are designed to accommodate vehicles merging in and out of lanes to access the resort corridor, allowing the freeway to serve as a more express north-south route.

The new roads, which prompted the need for most of the additional bridges, will benefit locals and tourists visiting the Strip as well as resort workers. "The roads take them off the I-15 mainline and put them in a system designed to handle those weaving movements, those merging movements at a slower, more controlled way so 15 can function more effectively and more smoothly," Rawlins said.

Those frontage roads are expected to be open by early summer. Interchanges at Tropicana, Russell Road, Interstate 215, Blue Diamond Road and Silverado Ranch Boulevard also are being revamped to improve east-west traffic. Of course the numbers associated with the freeway endeavor pale in comparison to the Hoover Dam bridge: Twenty-six bridges, 35 retaining walls and 1.5 miles of sound walls doesn't sound nearly as impressive as 3.5 million pounds of rock excavated, steel pylons the size of a football field and a 1,060-foot concrete arch. And then the work force: At the height of activity on the freeway, 300 construction workers were on the job. But 300 engineers worked on the bridge design and logistics, and another 1,200 crew members built the span.

While the prestige of a high-visibility project drove down the price of the Hoover Dam bypass bridge, the higher costs of working in an urban setting drove up the bill for the I-15 overhaul. NIGHTTIME WORK ONLY Las Vegas Paving must abide by strict rules, because Interstate 15 and Interstate 215 are two of the city's busiest highways, carrying about 150,000 vehicles per day.

To lessen the inconvenience for daily commuters, crews are not allowed to close roads or ramps during daytime hours. So, most of the work on the roads and ramps occur between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. For a construction company, that means paying workers shift differential which drives up the cost. Work zones and associated traffic control set-ups are smaller because of this, which also limits productivity.

Corey Newcome, project manager for Las Vegas Paving, worked on the construction of the Las Vegas Beltway and experienced the luxury of building a road where none had existed. At the time, the area around the Beltway was mostly rural, allowing crews to work 12-hour shifts when necessary. On Interstate 15, that eight-hour overnight window is actually only six hours after workers set up cones and barriers and haul in equipment. "It adds to the costs. You do less when you have a smaller working window," Newcome said. "When your production goes down, your price goes up."

During the day, equipment deliveries must be carefully scheduled around peak traffic hours. "It makes it more complicated," Newcome said. Allowing overnight lane closures only might lessen the inconvenience for motorists, but it doesn't necessarily make workers on the project feel significantly safer. It is easier to move equipment by having an extra lane to accelerate and blend into traffic, but Vegas is a 24-hour city and that means plenty of vehicles are still on the road. "There are still a lot of people on the road and you wonder if a fair amount of them are impaired," Newcome said.

Fortunately, none of Newcome's workers have been hit by vehicles. However, three teenagers were killed when they drove up a closed ramp in a construction area and slammed into a pile of steel girders last year. Placement of traffic control devices presents yet another challenge. Newcome said project managers must decide exactly when and where a project takes place and then guarantee that it will happen because word must be spread in advance to commuters. "It takes coordination and communication so everybody is on the same page," he said. "We have to have what we need when we need it and make sure the public logistics are involved."

The bridge captured more attention because it was a once-in-a-lifetime project, while work on Interstate 15 will never go away. After the current project is completed from Tropicana to Silverado Ranch, two more projects will begin -- widening the highway to Primm and Project Neon between Sahara Avenue and the Spaghetti Bowl. Tourists probably won't be pulling over to take photographs of any those I-15 projects, but in the end, the improved flow of traffic will undoubtedly be more noticeable on the freeway than on the headline-grabbing bridge.

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Project Neon underway and Las Vegas road construction is made more efficient with web based construction software. Hoover Dam bridge built crossing the Colorado River from Nevada to Arizona is complete. ProTech is the Procore dealer for construction cloudware aiding in the construction of large bridge projects and bridge construction in the USA.

Posted by ProTech at 5/2/2011 10:43 AM | View Comments (4) | Add Comment

Wind Industry Targeted by Maine Legislature

by Kevin Miller, bangordailynews.com, 04.25.2011

These turbines are along the Kibby Mountain Range in western Maine in 2009. Legislators on Monday heard two starkly different assessments of an industry that has, in recent years.

AUGUSTA, Maine — Critics of industrial wind power in Maine are waging their most organized fight against the burgeoning industry, urging lawmakers to impose tougher siting standards or require developers to compensate neighbors when wind farms harm their property values.

During the first of two days of public hearings on the issue, legislators on Monday heard two starkly different assessments of an industry that has, in recent years, made Maine the largest producer of wind power in New England.

To supporters, industrial wind farms create good-paying construction jobs, funnel much-needed tax dollars into host communities and help Maine move a few steps toward greater energy independence from fossil fuels. Wind power developers have spent an estimated $1 billion on projects in Maine in recent years.

“I don’t know of any other industry that has invested that type of money in the state over the last five years,” said John Cooney, vice president of finance and business development for Reed & Reed, a Woolwich firm that constructs wind farms.

But critics contend that state officials — in their rush to embrace wind power — have ignored what they say are very real health, quality-of-life and economic consequences to allowing 400-foot-tall turbines near homes and camps.

“You are now paying the price of haste,” Gary Steinberg, a member of a group fighting wind power projects near Lincoln, told members of the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee. “It was a well-planned legislative fraud perpetrated on the citizens of Maine.”

The committee is considering more than a dozen bills targeting the wind power industry.

One bill, LD 1479, would require a setback of between 1¼ miles and 2 miles between industrial wind turbines and houses, businesses or other occupied structures. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Larry Dunphy, R-Embden, also aims to strengthen regulations aimed at protecting neighbors from disruptive noise levels and “shadow flicker” created by the massive, spinning turbine blades.

Another measure by Dunphy, LD 1042, would require wind farm developers to offer a “property value guarantee program” in which residents would be compensated financially if their property values decline due to the nearby turbines.

Sally and David Wylie said they were assured that any noise from the three turbines spinning roughly 2,400 feet from their Vinalhaven home would be drowned out by ambient sounds.

But they say the thumping, whining and jet planelike noises from the turbines are so severe — and so disruptive — that two doctors have recommended the family move to another location. Now the couple questions whether they could get enough for their home to find a similar island property.

“When people say, ‘If you can’t stand the noise why don’t you move,’ we have to tell them that we can’t afford to,” said David Wylie.

But industry supporters questioned whether wind farms devalue neighboring properties.

James Shaw, who runs a real estate business in the Aroostook County town of Mars Hill, acknowledged that sound levels from the 28-turbine farm vary depending on a house’s location. But Shaw said he has not seen the precipitous drop-off in home values that some people predict, and new homes recently have been built near the wind farm.

“I have seen no negative impacts whatsoever on real estate values in Mars Hill,” said Shaw, who can see 20 turbines from his own home.

Others touted the economic benefits of the wind power industry.

Jeremy Payne, executive director of the Maine Renewable Energy association, pointed out that the wind power industry has supported as many as 600 construction jobs at its peak. Those construction workers, in turn, supported rural Maine by staying in motels, dining at local restaurants and hiring local contractors.

Jack Parker, the company’s president, said he believes the slew of bills pending in the committee would send the following message to businesses: “We don’t want your investment, we don’t want your jobs and we don’t want your capital. Keep out.”

Several people living near wind power facilities questioned whether a few hundred temporary construction jobs is a worthwhile trade-off when the turbines force some homeowners who support the local economy year-round to move away.

“I’m listening to employee after employee come up and say, ‘I’m more important than somebody’s home,’” said Carrie Bennett, who lives near a three-turbine facility near Freedom. “Do you want to buy my house? Do you want to live in my house? Of course not.”

After hearing more than eight hours of testimony Monday, the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee will return Tuesday for public hearings on five more wind power-related bills.

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Posted by ProTech at 4/26/2011 11:29 AM | View Comments (13) | Add Comment

Solar Farm to Power Dubai's First Sustainable City

by Andy Sambidge, arabianbusiness.com, 04.22.2011

Solar energy with power Diamon Developers' plans for a sustainable city in Dubai. (Getty Images)

Diamond Developers has announced plans to build Dubai's first sustainable city which will include a solar power farm and will be 70 percent green space.

The company said in a statement that it had put the final touches on plans to develop the green city.

The project's electricity needs will be supplied by a solar energy farm and to combat growing water shortages in the region, waste and sewage water will be treated and recycled for irrigation purposes.

Faris Saeed, chairman of Diamond Developers, added that the city will also adopt several initiatives to reduce carbon emissions and will be waste free due to a fully integrated waste treatment system.

Residents will also be provided with a sustainable public transport system that includes solar energy powered vehicles and horses, he added.

"Green areas account for 70 percent of the total area and include gardens and farms engineered to produce organic food products for the nutritional requirements of the population.

"There will also be a solar energy farm and a green belt of 100,000 qaaf and palm trees, stretching along 8km in and around the city, that will be able to accommodate 2,500 families," Saeed said.

The city will also include a mosque, hospital, school and multi-use complex.

"Infrastructure and landscaping works will commence during the second half of this year," Saeed said, adding that the city would also include a resort of 143 rooms.

"Guests can expect a unique living encounter as they witness sustainable environmental practices first-hand. The experience will include environment-friendly products, organic foods and a sustainable transport system on horseback," Saeed added.

The project will be completed in four phases with the first slated for completion in 2013. The project will be ready in 2016.

Saeed said the launch of the city was "the culmination of over three years of vigorous efforts to develop the first sustainable city in Dubai".

Diamond Developers' projects to date include the 23-building Diamond Business Centre in Arjan, Diamond Views in Jumeirah Village in Dubai and the six-building Marina Diamond in Dubai Marina.

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Posted by ProTech at 4/25/2011 1:57 PM | View Comments (5) | Add Comment

$2.1B Loan Guarantee from DOE for Giant Solar Farm

by Ucilia Wang, gigaom.com, 04.18.2011

It’s a double-whopper: The federal government said Monday it’s offering the largest loan guarantee commitment yet for solar to what is the world’s largest proposed solar farm for now. Blythe Solar Project is set to get a $2.1 billion loan guarantee to build half of the 1,000MW plant in California’s desert.

The guarantee, if finalized, will be used to build 500MW, from which 484MW will be delivered to Southern California Edison. The developer, Solar Trust of America, is designing the project to be made up of four, 250MW units, a company spokesman told med. But the power each needs to produce to fulfill the company’s contract with Edison is less than the full capacity.

The loan guarantee will cover not only half of the solar farm construction but also eight miles of transmission lines and other related power delivery infrastructure, said the U.S. Department of Energy. The $2.1 billion is the second largest loan guarantee offered by the U.S. Department of Energy. The title holder goes to Georgia Power, which received a $8.33 billion conditional commitment for a nuclear power plant.

Solar Trust America, a joint venture between German firms Solar Millennium and Ferrostaal, already started preliminary construction of the project last fall by putting in an access road and some water supply infrastructure. The company plans to start building the project in earnest in late spring or early summer, said Uwe Schmidt, CEO of Solar Trust, during a conference call Monday. The first half of the solar farm will cost an estimated $2.8 billion, Schmidt said, and Solar Trust expects to start building the second half of the power plant within two years.

The project will use curved mirrors to concentrate sunlight to heat up fluid, which will be used to produce steam to run generators. Solar Trust plans to use the new HelioTroughcollectors for the solar farm. In all, the 1000MW power plant will reside on 9,400 acres in Riverside County and cost more than $5 billion, the company said. The power plant equipment will take up about 5,950 acres.

California has long been the largest solar energy market in the country, thanks largely to its policy and subsidies that encourage small-scale installations at homes, businesses and government buildings. The state mandate for its utilities also is turning California into home for large solar farms and making it a major beneficiary of federal programs to fund renewable energy power plant construction.

Just last week, Energy Secretary Steve Chu announced a conditional loan guarantee commitment of $1.2 billion for SunPower to build a 250MW project in central California that will be owned by NRG Energy. Also last week, the DOE finalized a $1.6 billion loan guarantee with BrightSource Energy to build a 392MW solar farm in California’s Mojave Desert.

California requires its utilities to get 20 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2013 and 33 percent by 2020. The state Legislature passed a bill to set the 33 percent mandate last month, and Gov. Brown signed it last week. Brown, like his predecessor, also styled himself as a renewable energy champion and joined the press conference for Blythe Solar’s loan guarantee announcement Monday.

The California Energy Commission approved nine solar power projects in just four months last year, decisions that have drawn lawsuits from critics who argue that the commission didn’t do enough to make sure some of the projects won’t have a significant impact on wildlife. The state Supreme Court tossed two such lawsuits, one of which was filed by Sierra Club, last week.

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Blythe solar farm adding to the solar construction boom in the US and ProTech is the dealer for Procore web based construction software. Largest solar farm in America helped with solar construction loan guarantees from the DOE.

Posted by ProTech at 4/25/2011 1:32 PM | View Comments (6) | Add Comment

Private Sector Shows Interest in Calif. High-Speed Rail

By John Cox, The Bakersfield Californian, 04.19.2011

April 19--For a massive infrastructure project beset by severe challenges at virtually every turn, a rare dose of good news surfaced last week at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Hundreds if not more than 1,000 business people showed up to the California High-Speed Rail Authority's Industry Forum to find out how they might participate in the $43 billion project proposed to link Los Angeles and San Francisco by 2020.

Not surprisingly, the vast majority of companies represented that day hope to win lucrative contracts to design or build the project. But a select few -- 22 in all, including some pension funds, according to the rail authority -- hope to invest in the project in expectation that doing so will return them a profit.

If even a few of those preliminary "expressions of interest" lead to actual deals involving cash, trains or other tangible contributions, it could help the rail authority fend off attacks by critics who contend that the project is too political and poorly conceived to attract the $10 to 12 billion in private sector money the authority expects to cover about a quarter of the project's budget.

As rail authority CEO Roelof van Ark proclaimed to his audience April 12, bullet train systems around the world thrive in the hands of private companies long after government-funded construction ends.

"The real high-speed rail systems in the world generate cash," he told reporters at a press conference later that morning.

Representatives of large international firms and consortia present at last week's event confirmed that they look forward to sitting down with van Ark to negotiate terms for making large investments in the project.

John McGrath, project manager and business developer for ACS Infrastructure Development Inc., a Spanish-owned rail contractor with offices in Florida, said the company is open to helping build, maintaining and operating all or part of California's bullet train system. He said ACS plans to bring money to the table.

Asked whether he thinks van Ark's vision is going to be profitable, McGrath said, "I believe it is."

Challenges ahead

But it remains unclear exactly how and when private sector deals might come together. Also, doubts persist as to whether the rail authority will be able to reassure would-be investors that the project will be fully built as proposed.

Uncertainty with regard to the project's public sector financing poses a significant hurdle. The Obama administration's budget deal with Congressional Republicans earlier this month slashed all $2.5 billion in 2011 high-speed rail funding, though van Ark insisted that his agency retains access to $5.5 billion in state and federal money -- enough to build the initial segment from north of Fresno to about Bakersfield starting next year.

Some say the lack of a federal commitment to finish the project will jeopardize private investment.

"It's very difficult to put a long-term plan together not knowing if you're going to be funded next year," said Stephen Buschmeyer, vice president of business development at Tutor Perini Corp., a large, Sylmar-based construction firm that he said has tentatively offered to perform and finance some of the system's construction in exchange for an equity stake in the project.

This dilemma -- private sector reluctance to invest in California high-speed rail without adequate public sector commitment, and vice versa -- came up last year in a highly critical report to the state Legislature by an industry peer review group.

The report said that resolving this problem, which it termed a "chicken-and-egg" conundrum, will require the authority to finish a full business plan complete with realistic revenue projections and a business model spelling out things like who will operate, maintain and build the system.

Speaking last week on his own behalf, the group's chairman, Will Kempton, CEO of the Orange County Transportation Authority, said he was encouraged by the fact that 22 entities have expressed interest in investing in the project.

But he also said the authority needs to complete its business plan as soon as possible, if only to allow future partners to provide key input while the system is still in a formative stage.

"The operator will bring a wealth of knowledge or input into the design," Kempton said.

Still more urgent calls for a business plan have come from state Treasurer Bill Lockyer. He said through a spokesman that because of an unclear overall plan for the project, investors continue to demonstrate "tepid" interest for $9.95 billion in general obligation bonds approved by California voters in 2008 to provide the state's share of the project.

Lockyer spokesman Tom Dresslar said investor reluctance does not necessarily hinder the bond sales but that they seem like a misplaced priority as California struggles with other pressing infrastructure needs.

"The real issue is not so much whether we can sell high-speed rail bonds," Dresslar said. "The question is, should we sell high-speed rail bonds?"

Rail authority staff acknowledge that a full business plan is necessary, and say they expect to meet the Legislature's October deadline for a draft of the document. The agency blames the delay on a staffing shortage that Kempton's group has also pointed to as being problematic.

Working out details

It may be that the business plan, as well as the long-term future of the project, will be guided by talks that kicked off at last week's industry forum in Los Angeles.

As far as what form the contributions from the 22 potential private sector investors could take, Van Ark and members of his staff said they are keeping an open mind for now.

Van Ark told his audience at the industry forum about different models that exist in Europe, including a toll road-type arrangement in which private companies are granted government concessions to maintain and operate a portion of high-speed track over a set period of time.

But he quickly backed away from that level of specificity, saying moments later at the press conference that it was "too early to say" what type of public-partnership might work best in California's case. In fact, he declined to be specific in any way about what kinds of public sector partnerships he would consider.

"All the interested parties today could well become partners of ours," he said.

Some of the large consortia at the forum agreed that keeping an open mind on public-private partnerships seemed like a wise approach, even as some said certain details must come forward soon.

Arvind Kapoor, representing a joint venture between General Electric Transportation and CSR Corp. Ltd., also known as China Southern Railroad Group, said the partnership hopes to manufacture trains for the bullet train project, and that it "would be willing to look at" a public-private partnership with the rail authority.

Among the many details yet to be negotiated, Kapoor said, are how much money the partnership would involve. But first GE and CSR need to know more about how the train system would be run, he said.

"I think there's a lot to be seen from the project side," he said.

The assistant president and director of business development for China Construction America Inc., Frank Zhang, said his company, owned by China State Construction Engineering Corp. Ltd., hopes to enter into a public-private partnership to design, build and possibly operate California's high-speed rail project, "depending on terms."

Zhang said the company awaits many important details of the project, but that the lack of information is not yet a problem.

"It takes time," he said.

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Posted by ProTech at 4/25/2011 1:23 PM | View Comments (5) | Add Comment

Should China Hit the Brakes on Infrastructure Development?

by Eric Jaffe, infrastructurist.com, 04.21.2011

china-train-bend China is making like Casey Jones and watching its speed. The country has announced it will pump the brakes on its fast trains — taking them down to 186 miles per hour (300 km/h) from 217 mph (350 km/h) — citing safety and affordability as reasons for the change. The reduced speed may even be accompanied by reduced rail spending. For a country with the world’s most ambitious rail program, the moves signal “a serious rethink,” writes the Financial Times:

In addition to the new speed limit, which is expected to lower energy usage and operating costs, the total railway construction budget for the next five years appears to have been scaled back.
Mr Sheng said the government would spend Rmb2,800bn ($428.8bn) on railway construction from now until 2015, significantly less than previous reported estimates.
Although China’s railway network will still be expanded from the current 91,000km to 120,000km by the end of 2015 as previously planned, analysts said it was likely some planned high-speed routes would be cut and replaced with ordinary lines.

China’s recent infrastructure growth has been enormous. It not only dominates the world in high-speed rail track, but is also constructing some of the world’s tallest towers and planning the world’s largest cities. McKinsey recently predicted that 9 of the 10 cities with the greatest economic growth in the world by 2025 will be in China, with infrastructure advancements a major reason for this surge.

But even before this news of speed reductions, questions have followed China’s every move. Earlier this yearconcerns emerged that the country’s rail construction was advancing too quickly to ensure proper safety. For all its city planning, some of China’s new cities appear to be sparsely inhabited, at best. One economic expert believes China’s skyscraper construction is a sure sign of a bubble. Nouriel Roubini appears to concur; he recently wrote that China’s infrastructure investments have set up the country to hit an economic “brick wall”:

China is rife with overinvestment in physical capital, infrastructure, and property. To a visitor, this is evident in sleek but empty airports and bullet trains (which will reduce the need for the 45 planned airports), highways to nowhere, thousands of colossal new central and provincial government buildings, ghost towns, and brand-new aluminum smelters kept closed to prevent global prices from plunging.
Commercial and high-end residential investment has been excessive, automobile capacity has outstripped even the recent surge in sales, and overcapacity in steel, cement, and other manufacturing sectors is increasing further. In the short run, the investment boom will fuel inflation, owing to the highly resource-intensive character of growth. But overcapacity will lead inevitably to serious deflationary pressures, starting with the manufacturing and real-estate sectors.
Eventually, most likely after 2013, China will suffer a hard landing. All historical episodes of excessive investment—including East Asia in the 1990s—have ended with a financial crisis and/or a long period of slow growth.

Roubini believes China can escape this fate, in part, by reducing its fixed investments. The latest news shows that China can adjust its speed to avoid one type of crash. If Roubini and other experts are right, it may soon need to do the same for another.

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Posted by ProTech at 4/21/2011 3:36 PM | View Comments (21) | Add Comment

HS2 Creating 10,000 New Jobs in U.K.

Source: randstadcpe.com, 04.20.2011

Concept image of high-speed train

George Osborne has confirmed that the high speed rail network planned from London to Birmingham is likely to create in the region of 10,000 construction, engineering and rail jobs, reports railwaypeople.com.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer enthused about the High Speed 2 (HS2) rail link while on a visit to the Midlands city. He said the project would transform the Curzon Street area, where a new station terminal is to be built, bringing new employment and business opportunities to the community.

The new and highly publicised line, constructed and maintained by transport organisation, Centro, will carry trains from Euston to Birmingham in 46 minutes, with trains travelling at speeds of 250 miles per hour, according to the Financial Times. The track will then continue north, splitting when it reaches the Pennines.

Mr Osborne told the press "The project will create 10,000 construction jobs followed by 8,000 permanent jobs in and around Birmingham itself, 4,500 of which will be based in Curzon Street.

"These are not my figures. They are the findings of a new independent study into the project, which is a vital piece of transport infrastructure both for Birmingham and the rest of the country."

Mr Osborne's sentiment was echoed by Centro chairman, Angus Adams, who told railwaypeople.com: "I welcome the Chancellor of the Exchequer's comments as they reinforce what we have believed all along about HS2. It is a project which brings massive employment and regeneration opportunities to the area".

Author: Elizabeth Smythe

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HS2 rail construction in UK and high speed rail construction creating 10,000 new construction jobs in the U.K. The Procore dealer in the US is ProTech. This London to Birmingham rail project is being planned and will create 10,000 new construction jobs in the UK. Construction cloudware is another name for web based construction software.

Posted by ProTech at 4/20/2011 4:29 PM | View Comments (2) | Add Comment

Boeing, SCE&G Partner for Solar Farm on Top of Assembly Plant

by Amanda Click, The Digitel Charleston, 04.20.2011

Boeing announced on Tuesday that they are partnering with SCE&G to install eight football fields worth of solar panels on the North Charleston assembly and delivery plant's roof, allowing the plant to be powered entirely by renewable energy.

The Charleston Regional Business Journal reports that the panels will annually provide the facility with the equivalent of power used by 250 homes in the same amount of time. In addition, the solar farm will be the largest in the southeast and the sixth largest in the United States.

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Posted by ProTech at 4/20/2011 3:29 PM | View Comments (9) | Add Comment

What Happened to the Vegas Development Boom?

by Patrick Mayock, hotelnewsnow.com, 04.19.2011

Sometimes you come across a data point that makes you do a double take—or, in the case of my perusing STR’s latest U.S. pipeline numbers last week, almost choke on your turkey sandwich.

Have you cleared your airways? Here it comes: There are only 96 new hotel rooms under construction in Las Vegas.

Only 96! In Las Vegas! The country’s largest hotel market!

This is Sin City we’re talking about here, people—the desert oasis that saw a development boom that injected 9,104 rooms into the market during 2009. Granted, it’s not New York City, which has more than 6,000 rooms under construction, according to STR’s March pipeline, but nobody’s been able to measure up with the behemoth Big Apple for years now.

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Las Vegas hotel construction hit all time low. ProTech is the dealer for Procore construction software known as construction cloudware. Construction in Las Vegas off significantly from the development boom days.

Posted by ProTech at 4/19/2011 2:28 PM | View Comments (12) | Add Comment

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