Aston University began construction in fall of 2011 on the £16.5 million European Bioenergy Research Institute in Birmingham in the United Kingdom. The facility will house research laboratories for the development of advanced energy technologies. The building will be powered by renewable energy from pilot scale photo bioreactors and a small scale industrial power plant which will generate heat and power from biomass.
The University of British Columbia opened the Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS) in Vancouver in November of 2011. The $37 million facility is heralded as the most sustainable building in North America and will act as a living laboratory for research and innovation on global sustainability challenges. CIRS is one of only a handful of buildings worldwide that provide “net positive” benefits to the environment.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) announced in November of 2011 that it has attained ISO 50001 certification for its Fab 12 Phase 4 data center. The high density facility is located in Hsinchu Science Park. ISO 50001 is an international framework for energy performance management. By complying to ISO 50001 standards, TSMC expects to reduce the power consumption of the Fab 12 Phase 4 data center by eight percent. TSMC also plans to apply the standard to all future data centers.
The University of Manchester completed the £20 million Dalton Cumbrian Facility in November of 2011. The laboratory is located in Moor Row, Cumbria, in the Westlakes Science and Technology Park. Housing the Dalton Nuclear Institute, the facility will support research on radiochemistry, radiation science, nuclear engineering, decommissioning, and radioactive waste management. The project team includes Wilson Mason Architects, project manager Drivers Jonas Deloitte, and contractor Morgan Sindall.
The University of California, Davis broke ground in November of 2011 on the 8,000-sf Jess S. Jackson Sustainable Winery Building. The $4 million facility will provide energy for UC Davis' winery with photovoltaic arrays and fuel cells, as well as supplying captured rainwater for cleaning and landscaping. The project will enable the adjacent teaching winery, brewery, and food-processing complex to be entirely self sustainable and carbon neutral. Completion is expected in late 2012.
The University of Minnesota has installed a new wind turbine at the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory in Minneapolis. The 2.5 megawatt Clipper Liberty wind turbine will support teaching, research, and training for the sustainable energy industry. The turbine was funded by an award of $7.9 million in federal stimulus funding.
Sandia National Laboratories has reduced its water use by 30 percent since 2008 and its energy intensity by more than 8 percent since 2005 in nationally recognized efforts to integrate sustainable planning and design into its operations and facilities. Three projects aimed at decreasing energy and water use at the national security laboratory have received EStar awards from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). These and three additional projects also garnered Pollution Prevention (P2) awards from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).
Algenol Biofuels broke ground in October of 2011 on the pilot-scale Integrated Bio-Refinery in Lee County, Fla. The production facility will be the first large-scale deployment of Algenol's patented Direct To Ethanol technology, which produces ethanol directly from carbon dioxide, sunlight, and salt water using blue-green algae in photobioreactors. With support from the U.S.
The University of Wollongong opened the Simulation, Modelling and Analysis for Research and Teaching (SMART) Centre in August of 2011. Designed by Graham Bell & Bowman Architects, the four-story, 129,167-sf facility will support the implementation of a national integrated infrastructure plan for Australia. The SMART Centre houses 30 specialized research laboratories for the study of services such as electricity, water, and transportation. The labs are connected by a simulation center that creates scalable infrastructure models.
Los Alamos National Laboratory will build a $5.8 billion nuclear research facility in Los Alamos, N.M. The project will include construction of the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement Building, which will provide 22,500 nsf of lab space for the study of plutonium and other radioactive materials. Waste processing and disposal facilities will also be built.
The University of Illinois broke ground in October of 2011 on the $95 million Electrical and Computer Engineering Building in Urbana. The six-story, 232,000-sf facility will house advanced classrooms, labs, and equipment suites for interdisciplinary research in energy, biotechnology, nanotechnology, computing, and communications. Designed by SmithGroup of Chicago, the project will enable UI to consolidate programs currently housed in several locations.
The University of Albany is building a 191,000-sf energy research facility for the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering. The project will house the U.S. Photovoltaic Manufacturing Consortium, a center supported by $60 million in federal funds. The facility will also include a 25,000-sf cleanroom for pilot solar cell manufacturing and research. The project was designed by EYP Architecture and Engineering. Two additional buildings totaling 300,000 sf will be built in a second phase of construction.
Boise State University will open the $22 million Environmental Research Building in September of 2011. The five-story, 97,000-sf facility provides cleanrooms, freezer rooms, and 43 laboratories. The project also includes a 140-ft groundwater testing well and a connection to the city's geothermal heating system. Designed by RBB Architects to foster interdisciplinary collaboration, the Environmental Research Building houses the Department of Geosciences, Civil Engineering, Political Science, and Public Policy and Administration.
Michigan State University is planning to break ground in summer of 2012 on the $615 million Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) in East Lansing. The project will be located in the existing MSU Cyclotron facility which will be renovated and expanded. Completion is expected in 2018. The facility will support advanced physics and nuclear science research for the U.S. Department of Energy.
Wind turbine manufacturer Vestas is planning to begin construction in fall of 2011 on a 27,000-sf research and development facility in Marlborough, Mass. The project will support the testing of electrical generators. Vestas will also lease an adjacent 13,000 sf of office space. The $16 million project is slated for occupancy in 2012.
