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Archive for the ‘Sustainability’ Category

The Kern County Story: Utility-Scale Solar Energy in Southern California

Friday, December 16th, 2016

As of December 2016, Recurrent Energy has nine operating solar photovoltaic (PV) projects across Kern County in Southern California. Community leaders discuss the impacts of utility-scale solar development and their experience working with Recurrent Energy.

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ACEC’S ENGINEERING INC. — Setting the Standard: the 4-Year-Old Envision Rating System is Becoming a Best Practices Model Industry Wide for Sustainable Infrastructure

Monday, December 12th, 2016
VHB used Envision as the framework for this 1-mile section of Greenough Boulevard along the bank of the Charles River from Cambridge to Watertown in Massachusetts. By narrowing the roadway (right), the reclaimed parkland reduces stormwater runoff and includes a tree-lined path that can be used by pedestrians and bicyclists.

Sustainable infrastructure was the focus of Envision, introduced in 2012 as a new rating system to promote best practices in planning, designing, building and maintaining public roads, bridges, tunnels, water systems and other civic entities…The Envision rating system addresses a full range of environmental, social and economic impacts of sustainability in project design, construction and operation. Labeled “credits,” these impacts are classified under five categories: quality of life, leadership, resource allocation, natural world, and climate and risk.

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As Large Public Projects Funded, Watch for Green Infrastructure Innovations

Thursday, December 1st, 2016
Mary Scott Nabers, CEO, Strategic Partnerships Inc.

Written by Mary Scott Nabers President and CEO, Strategic Partnerships Inc. After the November election, infrastructure reform is one of only a few topics that can be discussed with civility. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t conflicting opinions about how to fix the problems. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to infuse $1 trillion into infrastructure […]

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Innovation Outlook: Offshore Wind

Thursday, November 10th, 2016
Figure S1: Possible paths for global power generation

Advances in wind power technologies continue to drive cost reduction and expansion into new markets. While onshore wind power is increasingly cost competitive against conventional power generation technologies, growing attention is being paid to technology development for off shore applications that open the door to sites with better wind resources. This combination of higher capacity factors and the availability of large-scale sites makes off shore wind an attractive alternative for utility-scale low-carbon electricity

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50 Steps Toward Carbon-Free Transportation: Rethinking U.S. Transportation Policy to Fight Global Warming

Friday, November 4th, 2016
Figure ES-1. Government Capital Investment in Transportation Since 1956 (Billions 2014)

Current federal and state transportation policies in the United States often set us back in the fight against global warming. To move toward a carbon-free transportation system, America must adopt a bold new vision for transportation policy – with 50 common-sense policy reforms helping to chart a new way forward.

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Global Wind Energy Outlook 2016

Thursday, October 27th, 2016
Regional breakdown

The wind industry has come a long way, but still more has to be done. World wind power generation capacity reached 435 gigawatts at the end of 2015, which is only 7% of total global power generation capacity. To push this figure higher, governments should implement a range of measures and support schemes like feed in tariffs, renewable portfolio standards in combination with auctions, and production tax credits. As shares of wind continue to increase, countries must also take steps to create power systems that can integrate large amounts of variable wind energy, exploring smart grids, storage technologies and other grid management mechanisms.

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Guest on The Infra Blog: Gregory Wetstone, President and CEO, American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE)

Wednesday, October 26th, 2016
Gregory Wetstone on The Infra Blog

“We’re at a point now where, with more than $44 billion last year, aggregate investment in the U.S. in renewable energy is over $370 billion…In a lot of the developed world, renewables are the biggest single infrastructure investment that’s going on. You’re actually seeing more spent on renewables than on traditional infrastructure like roads and bridges, which is a pretty big surprise.”

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Testing Hydrogen Fueling Infrastructure

Wednesday, October 19th, 2016

Recently, researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory wanted to know, how well does NREL’s hydrogen infrastructure support fueling multiple fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) for a day trip to the Rocky Mountains? The answer-great! NREL staff took FCEVs on a trip to demonstrate real-world performance and range in high-altitude conditions. To start the trip, drivers filled three cars at NREL’s hydrogen fueling station. The cars made a 175-mile loop crossing two 11,000+ foot mountain passes on the way. Back at NREL, the cars were filled up with hydrogen in ~5 minutes and ready to go again.

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A Roadmap for Financing Sustainable Infrastructure

Thursday, October 13th, 2016
Photo credit: Flickr/IIP Photo Archive

Investing in sustainable infrastructure is key to tackling the three central challenges facing the global community: reigniting growth, delivering on the Sustainable Development Goals, and reducing climate risk in line with the Paris Agreement…The Global Commission has identified a number of priority actions to rapidly shift investments toward sustainable infrastructure. A number of their previous recommendations are also relevant to this agenda.

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Colorado DOT: New AWOS on its Way

Wednesday, September 21st, 2016

Crews are now underway with the installation of the latest addition to Colorado’s network of mountain automated weather observing systems (AWOS). The latest AWOS will be located on the summit of Dakota Hill near Rollins Pass, north-northwest of Central City, Colorado at an elevation of 10,929 feet MSL.

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