Energy

General Motors has been awarded $241 million in stimulus funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to support facilities development and R&D, including construction of a battery assembly plant in Brownstown Township. Mich. Ford received $100 million in grants and Chrysler will receive approximately $70 million. The funding was awarded by the Department of Energy to support the Electric Drive Vehicle Battery and Component Manufacturing Initiative.

Solix Biofuels opened the Coyote Gulch Demonstration Facility in Durango, Colo., in July of 2009. Sited on 10 acres, the facility includes a laboratory and commercial-scale photo-bioreactors to produce 3,000 gallons of algae-based biofuel per acre at full capacity. The project features systems that automatically adjust to sunlight and temperature variations to maximize growth and production. Solix Biofuels is based in Fort Collins, Colo.

The Department of Energy began construction on an $80 million groundwater treatment plant in Hanover, Wash., in July of 2009. The facility house a system capable of treating 85 million gallons per month of contaminated groundwater from the decommissioned Hanford nuclear site. Completion is expected by 2012. The project is part of $2 billion in stimulus funding allocated by the Department of Energy to support environmental remediation at Hanford.

Jetstream Wind broke ground on a $219 million hydrogen power plant in July of 2009 in Truth or Consequences, N.M. The 10-megwatt facility is the world's first utility-scale, zero-emissions hydrogen power plant and will use electricity from wind, solar, and other renewable energy sources to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen will be burned in a turbine to generate electricity. Completion is expected by early 2011. Jetstream Wind is based in Albuquerque, N.M.

The emirate of Ras Al Khaimah will initiate construction on the Centre for Advanced Materials (RAK-CAM) in September of 2009. The 6,000-sm research facility will house interdisciplinary laboratories for the study of alternative energy, construction, water purification, and environmental preservation. Occupancy is slated for late 2010.

The Department of Energy began construction on the $912 million National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II) in July of 2009. Located at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, N.Y., the NSLS-II will support multidisciplinary research in advanced materials, nanotechnology, condensed matter, materials physics, chemistry, and biology. The project received $150 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and will replace the existing National Synchrotron Light Source which began operations in 1982.

Dow Chemical Co. is partnering with Algenol Biofuels of Naples, Fla., to construct an ethanol production plant in Freeport, Texas. The facility will utilize algae to convert carbon dioxide into ethanol. Able to produce 100,000 gallons of ethanol per year, the facility will feature bioreactors made of advanced materials and specialty films created by Dow. Algenol is also constructing an $850 million demonstration plant in Mexico with partner Sonora Fields S.A.P.I. de C.V., a subsidiary of Biofields.

Maui Community College's planned $26 million, 34,000-sf science building, designed by Design Partners of Honolulu, is targeted for LEED Gold certification-a real challenge, as some of the LEED criteria, such as using building materials obtained from within a few hundred miles, are impossible for the island location. The building will house eight separate laboratories, a lecture hall, a large foyer intended for exhibitions, and a small, separate observatory. "Green" features will include solar photovoltaic panels, rooftop wind turbines, skylights, and light wells.

The Department of Energy (DOE) and the FutureGen Alliance have agreed to develop plans for a commercial carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) facility in Mattoon, Ill. The flagship facility would be the first in the country designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The University of Minnesota (UM) and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory are planning the NuMI Off-Axis Electron Neutrino Appearance Experiment (NOvA), which will be built 45 feet below ground near Ash River, Minn. The $270 million project , which has received $40 million in Federal stimulus grant funding, will operate as a UM School of Physics and Astronomy lab. The balance of the funding will come from the U.S. Department of Energy. The subatomical research is expected to shed light on the origins of the universe.

Mesalands Community College will begin construction in November of 2009 on the $7 million North American Wind Research and Training Center in Tucumari, N.M. The 26,385-sf facility was designed by Kilmer and Associates of Clovis and is slated for completion in December of 2010. The project will be comprised of a 12,697-sf wind turbine workshop and a 13,688-sf facility housing classrooms, labs, offices, and a lecture hall.

Siemens Energy will begin construction in August of 2009 on a 300,000-sf nacelle production facility in Hutchinson, Kansas. The wind turbine manufacturing facility will be accompanied by an 80,000-sf service and repair building. The project is sited on over 100 acres and will house 400 employees. Production will begin in late 2010.

The U.S. Department of Energy announced the launch of the Hospital Energy Alliance (HEA) in April of 2009. The HEA is an industry-led partnership between the DOE and national healthcare sector leaders to promote the integration of advanced energy efficiency and renewable technologies in hospital design, construction, retrofit, operations, and maintenance.

Oklahoma State University will officially break ground on the Institute for Agricultural Biosciences on May 1, 2009. Located in Ardmore, the facility will support research on agricultural energy sources in collaboration with the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation. The building will house administrative space, traditional and controlled environmental laboratories, greenhouses, and conference rooms for the OSU Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. LEED certification for sustainable design will be sought for the project.

UC Santa Cruz is partnering with Foothill-De Anza Community College and NASA Ames Research Center to create a $1 billion research and education campus at Moffett Field in Mountain View, Calif. The project will support research on energy, sustainable technologies, and advanced computing. The campus will include classrooms, research labs, a business incubator, and housing. Construction is expected begin between 2012 and 2014. The facilities will be sustainably designed and will feature solar and wind power and water reclamation.