NATCO broke ground in July of 2008 on its new research and development center in Houston. The 30,000-sf facility will accommodate the development of process solutions for large scale pilot plants as well as providing laboratory services and computer and scale modeling. Featuring technology demonstration areas, training facilities, and conference rooms, the facility will support NATCO’s oil and gas industry technologies.
The University of Idaho’s Center for Advanced Energy Studies in Idaho Falls is slated for completion in August of 2008. The $19 million, 55,000-sf project is a public-private energy research and education facility and is affiliated with Idaho National Laboratory (INL).
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has selected Amana Contracting and Steel Buildings to build the Dhs85-million Takreer Research Center project at Sas El Nakhl in Abu Dhabi. Located at the Petroleum Institute Campus, the 6,000-sm, three-story facility will include laboratories, a pilot plant, workshops, a gas bunker, and offices. Completion is expected in June of 2009.
The Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory is partnering with the University of Houston to create the Texas-NREL Large Blade Research and Test Facility (LBR&TF) in Ingleside, Texas. The facility will be designed, built, and operated by the University of Houston with operational support including $2 million in equipment from NREL. Completion is slated for 2010. The project will provide complete testing of wind turbine blades up to 210 feet long.
Chevron’s Gulf of Mexico Business Unit (GOMBU) celebrated the opening of its new Northpark headquarters in Covington, La., in May of 2008. The 300,000-sf headquarters utilizes advanced technology to manage shelf operations and features a visualization center and 18 technology-enabled team rooms and asset decision environments linking offshore and onshore personnel. Northpark is the company's first LEED-certified building and the first LEED-Gold building in the state of Louisiana.
AREVA is planning to build a $2 billion uranium enrichment plant in Bonneville County, Idaho. AREVA, based in France, will build the facility near Idaho National Laboratory on a site 18 miles west of Idaho Falls. The plant, which will employ 250 staff, will begin construction by 2011 with completion slated for 2014.
Westinghouse Electric Company has selected Turner Construction Company to serve as the general contractor for a new $216 million headquarters campus for nuclear power engineering. Sited on 83 acres near Pittsburgh in Cranberry Township, Pa., the three-building, 844,595-sf Class A office facility will seek LEED certification. Completion is slated for the second quarter of 2010.
ASHRAE published ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 105-2007, Standard Methods of Measuring, Expressing and Comparing Building Energy Performance, in September of 2007. Providing a method of energy performance comparison that can be used for any building, proposed or existing, the standard also allows different methods of energy analysis to be compared. The standard will facilitate comparison, design and operation improvements, and development of building energy performance standards.
The Department of Energy (DOE) is planning to construct the National Synchrotron Light Source-II (NSLS-II) at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, N.Y. The DOE has granted the project Critical Decision 1 status, representing a significant step toward construction of the facility. Producing x-ray light 10,000 times brighter than the existing NSLS, the project will facilitate discoveries in advanced materials, energy technologies, nanoscience, and pharmaceutical development. The project budget is estimated at $750 to $925 million.
Brookhaven National Laboratory dedicated the Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN) in Upton, N.Y., on May 21, 2007. HDR Architecture provided full A/E services for this new facility that will provide researchers state-of-the-art capabilities to explore and develop nanoscale materials aimed at helping the U.S. achieve energy independence. The 94,500-sf facility is the last of five Nanoscale Science Research Centers built by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) at its national laboratories.
Humboldt State University is constructing a hydrogen fueling station at the Schatz Energy Research Center in Arcata, Calif. Funded in part by a $350,000 gift from Chevron Technology Ventures, the station will include an electrolyzer for on-site hydrogen production, storage tanks, a compressor, and a dispenser. The station is part of California's Hydrogen Highway program and will fuel a hydrogen-powered Toyota Prius and two additional vehicles.
Idaho State University is partnering with the Idaho National Laboratory to construct the Center for Advanced Energy Studies (CAES) in Idaho Falls. The CAES facility will be an international user facility for promoting and performing research and revitalizing education and training in nuclear energy science, engineering, technology, and related disciplines. The facility is expected to encompass 50,000 gsf to 60,000 gsf with approximately half of the building dedicated to laboratory space. Occupancy is slated for 2008.
Florida Atlantic University, in joint venture with the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, has opened the 40,000-sf Marine Science Education Building in Fort Pierce, Fla. The $11-million facility is sited near Harbor Branch’s campus and is owned by the University. The public-private partnership will provide space for biological, chemical, and marine science research in order to develop pharmaceutical products from marine organisms. The facility includes a conference area and laboratories with autoclave fermentation technology.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) opened its new $22-million Science and Technology Facility in Golden, Colo., in July of 2006. Designed to consolidate its research facilities into a single campus, the building enables NREL scientists to collaborate with private sector companies in photovoltaics and energy efficiency research. The Science and Technology Facility will also house the Department of Energy's local field office and 130 employees. Three additional facilities are planned at the site with construction beginning in 2007.
Maverick Tube Corp . will begin construction on a $63-million production facility in Louisville, Ky., in early 2005. Consolidating steel conduit operations for the company, the 400,000-sf building will be sited on 50 acres at Jefferson Riverport International. Completion is expected by year-end 2005. Maverick Tube produces tubular steel products for applications in the energy and industrial markets.
