Green Superhighway

by Elisa Wood

Washington, D.C., United States [Renewable Energy World Magazine]

Efforts are needed to promote transmission and distribution expansion in the US if the country is to realize its full potential. Elisa Wood explains.

US green energy advocates wasted no time. Just one day after President Barack Obama signed a bill giving the industry significant tax incentives, grants and loan support, they went to work on the next logical step: an overhaul of the transmission grid to accommodate a dramatic build-up of renewable energy.

The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) called for new federal policy to expand the transmission network – no small task given that the US grid is often described as the world’s most complex machine. The push comes as the US renewables sector finds itself in an enviable political position. The nation’s newly elected President says that his top policy objective is to green the nation’s energy supply, followed by strengthening education and the healthcare system. Obama underscored his support when he signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on 17 February, a stimulus bill that includes several billion dollars to bolster development of renewable energy projects.

Obama’s goals cannot be realized, say green energy advocates, unless the nation revamps its transmission system to accommodate a massive influx of megawatts from wind, solar and other renewables.

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Research Firm Forecasts Solar Downturn, Expects Rebound by 2011

by Jennifer Runyon, Managing Editor

New Hampshire, United States [RenewableEnergyWorld.com]

The severe downturn in the global Photovoltaic (PV) market in 2009 could have a positive outcome for the worldwide solar industry, yielding a more mature and orderly supply chain when growth returns, according to market research firm, iSuppli Corp.

In a press release issued late last week, the firm predicted that worldwide installations of PV systems will decline to 3.5 gigawatts (GW) in 2009, down 32 percent from 5.2 GW in 2008. With the average price per solar watt declining by 12 percent in 2009, global revenue generated by PV system installations will plunge by 40.2 percent to US $18.2 billion, down from $30.5 billion in 2008.

"For years, the PV industry enjoyed vigorous double-digit annual growth in the 40 percent range, spurring a wild-west mentality among market participants," said Dr. Henning Wicht, senior director and principal analyst for iSuppli in the press release.

"An ever-rising flood of market participants attempted to capitalize on this growth, all hoping to claim a 10 percent share of market revenue by throwing more production capacity into the market. This overproduction situation, along with a decline in demand, will lead to the sharp, unprecedented fall in PV industry revenue in 2009," Wicht also said.

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Granite Joint Venture Team Awarded Houston Light Rail Project

April 23, 2009

WATSONVILLE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Granite Construction Incorporated announced today that Granite Construction Company has been awarded a joint venture contract with an overall value of $1.28 billion for the design and construction of the light rail expansion project in Houston, Texas. The award was made by the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO). The joint venture team on the design/build project is led by Parsons Transportation Group Inc. and includes Granite Construction Company, Kiewit Texas Construction L.P. and Stacy and Witbeck, Inc. Granite’s portion of the total contract is 34%.

"We are extremely pleased to be a part of this project," said William G. Dorey, Granite president and chief executive officer. "This is an important project for Granite as well as the residents and visitors of Houston," he said. "Everyone involved has worked very hard to bring this project to fruition and we look forward to working with our team towards its successful completion."

The joint venture team will be operating under the name of Houston Rapid Transit Joint Venture (HRT). HRT will be responsible for expanding the existing light rail transit system in four new corridors totaling an additional 20 miles of light rail transit. The contract includes 32 stations, storage and inspection facilities and a major renovation to the existing Operations Center. Three of the new corridors will be located in and adjacent to downtown Houston and one will be in the Galleria area.

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Making Electricity Distribution Smarter

Matthew L. Wald/NY Times April 21, 2009

"The city of Miami said Monday it was seeking $200 million in stimulus money to speed up installation in homes and businesses of one million 'smart meters' — devices that permit electricity customers to get much more detailed information about their energy use. Florida Power & Light, the electric company in the area, already has 100,000 in service in Broward County, north of Miami.

The Miami announcement, made with the chief executives of General Electric and Cisco Systems, comes amid a flurry of activity around the concept of a 'smart grid' — a term describing an upgraded, digitally enhanced power delivery system that permits much more precise monitoring and control of electricity distribution and, in turn, saves power."

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Latin American Leadership Forum Press Conference

Monday, April 20, 2009

The Greater Houston Partnership hosted a news conference this morning to announce the 7th Annual Latin American Leadership Forum that will be held in Houston next week.

"One of the things that I wanted to accomplish when I came here as president of the Greater Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau was to marry up the economic demographics of Houston and the groups that we brought, and also to do more international business," said Greg Ortale, in opening the news conference, citing next week's forum as an example of success in both areas, giving credit to Port of Houston Authority Commissioner Jim Fonteno for his part in attracting the conference.

"The trade relations between North and South America hold so much potential, not for just what's there now, but for the growth," said Harris County Judge Ed Emmett. "I think we are going to see that be really our blossoming flower, if you will, of international trade."

Norman F. Anderson, president and CEO of CG/LA Infrastructure LLC, said that the Latin American Leadership Forum, which will be held at the Westin Galleria, is an infrastructure marketplace, bringing the top 50 infrastructure projects from Latin America together with 400 infrastructure executives from the finance, policy, engineering/construction and equipment/technology fields.

"We don't do a lot of talking about infrastructure, we do a lot of talking about projects specifically," Anderson said. "So you'll have the head of the Panama Canal project, talking about that expansion project, which is the biggest project in the hemisphere. There is a new and innovative project in Mexico, a logistics cooridor, that's over a billion dollar project that is connecting northern Mexico from the Pacific to the Atlantic, including three dry port projects."

Anderson said that the projects range in cost from about $35 million to "I don't there there is any upper limit, except for maybe believability on the high side".

Among those attending the forum will be: Eduardo Ocampos, Governor of State of Pernambuco, Brazil; Fernando Bezerra, Secretary of Economic Development, State of Pernambuco, Brazil; Ismael Hernandez, Governor of State of Durango, Mexico; Aristídes Fernández, Secretary of State and President of National Energy Commission, Dominican Republic; Alberto Alemán Zubieta, the CEO of the Panama Canal Authority; Andrés Escobar, Deputy Director of the Department of National Planning in Colombia; Jorge Reynoso, Secretary of Economic Development for the State of Durango in Mexico; and many others.

Ortale said he hopes that the group decides to hold future meetings in Houston. Anderson said that is a possibility.

"You could argue that Houston is the capital of infrastructure," Anderson said. "It is the capital of the kind of infrastructure that the rest of the world needs."

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$1.7 billion power line project crisscrossing Minnesota

Apr. 17--Minnesota regulators approved plans Thursday for a group of utilities to build three long-distance, high-voltage transmission lines -- with the condition that one line carry wind energy.

The Public Utilities Commission granted a certificate of need for the $1.7 billion CapX 2020 project, which involves erecting three 345-kilovolt lines that will crisscross the state to meet the area's growing energy needs over the coming decade.

"It's a great day for us. We've been working five years on this," said CapX 2020 chairman Will Kaul.

A group of 11 regional utilities led by Xcel Energy and Great River Energy in the Twin Cities has been pushing the project:

--A 200-mile line between Fargo, N.D., and the St. Cloud-Monticello area.

--A 150-mile line from a substation in the small town of Hampton in southern Dakota County to Rochester and La Crosse, Wis.

--A 230-mile line between Brookings, S.D., and Hampton.

CapX 2020 officials have said the Brookings-to-Hampton line would be ideal for delivering wind energy from southwestern Minnesota, home to the wind-riven Buffalo Ridge area, where several wind turbines are being built.

But while the utilities argued that the new lines could help them meet Minnesota's renewable-energy mandates by harnessing wind power, they did not want to be required to use the Brookings-to-Hampton line for wind energy.

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DOT Outlines High-Speed Rail Plan

The Dept. of Transportation has released a blueprint aimed at developing high-speed rail in 100- to 600-mile-long corridors around the country. The plan, released April 16, does not say which projects will be funded, but it does include a map of high-speed rail corridors that could qualify for federal aid. The program could provide significant design and construction opportunities. DOT's Federal Railroad Administration will start awarding the first round of grants by late summer.

The plan, mandated by the recently enacted economic-stimulus legislation, proposes a three-pronged approach:

"Ready to go" projects to be funded by federal grants

Corridor programs that would use federal-nonfederal agreements to develop segments or phases of corridor programs, which have planning completed and lists of projects to be carried out.

Planning activity for corridor programs and projects, through federal-nonfederal agreements

High-speed rail has quickly moved up the priority list in federal transportation policy. The stimulus measure, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, appropriates $8 billion for the program, with the funds to be available through Sept. 30, 2012. President Obama's fiscal 2010 budget outline released Feb. 26, proposes an additional $1 billion annually for five years for high-speed rail. In addition, major rail legislation, the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act, was enacted last year, which authorizes $1.5 billion for high-speed rail projects.

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La CFE apuesta por energías renovables

En la zona de Temixco, en el mexicano estado de Morelos, los clientes pueden pagar la electricidad por adelantado. Unos mil 500 clientes de la estatal Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) recientemente accedieron a un programa piloto de tarjetas de prepago de electricidad, las cuales se pueden adquirir y recargar en locales comerciales como farmacias.

Así, la población sabe exactamente cuánta electricidad gasta al mes, a la vez que la CFE obtiene un mejor patrón de consumo y disminuye costos operativos.

“No habrá necesidad de lectura, de recibo, de reparto de recibos ni cobranza”, explica Alfredo Elías Ayub, director general de CFE, quien agrega que el programa se aplicará en todas las zonas donde CFE tiene presencia a partir del segundo semestre de este año.

“La CFE está implementando un plan ambicioso para aumentar la diversificación en la generación”, explica Patricia Pietravalle, vicepresidenta de CG/LA Infrastructure, en Washington, que el año pasado ubicó a México en el primer lugar en cuanto a sistemas eléctricos en América Latina.

Según la consultora esto es esencial para asegurar el suministro. Así también, esta empresa ha obtenido premios nacionales e internacionales por la calidad en su servicio. Como ejemplo, pasó de 134 minutos de interrupción por usuario en 1999 a 79 minutos en 2008, y de 1.30 día de plazo de conexión para nuevos usuarios en 1999 a 0.96 en 2008.

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8 states seek stimulus money for high-speed rail

by Michael Tarm - AP - Wednesday, April 15, 2009; 10:01 PM

CHICAGO -- Eight Midwestern states hope to secure federal stimulus money for a network of faster passenger trains with Chicago as its hub _ joining forces to boost their chances of getting a cut of $8 billion set aside for high-speed rail.

The governors, including Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, said Wednesday they sent a joint letter to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood asking him to support the initiative.

Longtime proponents of high-speed rail welcomed the show of unity, saying it should help as states vie for the federal stimulus dollars. California and New York are among those competing for the funds.

"Getting eight governors to agree where to go to lunch is a challenge, so them agreeing on priority corridors is very good news," said Kevin Brubaker of the Environmental Law & Policy Center in Chicago. "We'll still be competing with other states, but at least we're competing on the same team rather than against each other."

A spokesman for Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, who also signed the letter, agreed.

"If there's a unified presentation, it will present a stronger case for us using some of these funds," Scott Holste said.

The multistate appeal comes days before the White House is expected to release further details about the kinds of projects that would qualify for the billions marked for high-speed trains.

The governors' proposal, dubbed the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative and first conceived a decade ago, focuses on upgrading three existing routes by 2014 _ one between Chicago and St. Louis, one between Chicago and Madison, Wis., via Milwaukee and one between Chicago and Pontiac, Mich., through Detroit.

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Deals Help China Expand Sway in Latin America

By Simon Romero and Alexei Barrionuevo

CARACAS, Venezuela — As Washington tries to rebuild its strained relationships in Latin America, China is stepping in vigorously, offering countries across the region large amounts of money while they struggle with sharply slowing economies, a plunge in commodity prices and restricted access to credit.

In recent weeks, China has been negotiating deals to double a development fund in Venezuela to $12 billion, lend Ecuador at least $1 billion to build a hydroelectric plant, provide Argentina with access to more than $10 billion in Chinese currency and lend Brazil’s national oil company $10 billion. The deals largely focus on China locking in natural resources like oil for years to come.

China’s trade with Latin America has grown quickly this decade, making it the region’s second largest trading partner after the United States. But the size and scope of these loans point to a deeper engagement with Latin America at a time when the Obama administration is starting to address the erosion of Washington’s influence in the hemisphere.

“This is how the balance of power shifts quietly during times of crisis,” said David Rothkopf, a former Commerce Department official in the Clinton administration. “The loans are an example of the checkbook power in the world moving to new places, with the Chinese becoming more active.”

Mr. Obama will meet with leaders from the region this weekend. They will discuss the economic crisis, including a plan to replenish the Inter-American Development Bank, a Washington-based pillar of clout that has suffered losses from the financial crisis. Leaders at the summit meeting are also expected to push Mr. Obama to further loosen the United States policy toward Cuba.

Meanwhile, China is rapidly increasing its lending in Latin America as it pursues not only long-term access to commodities like soybeans and iron ore, but also an alternative to investing in United States Treasury notes.

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Energy and Resources Iran to Loan Nicaragua $233.4M for Construction of Hydro-Electric Plant

On Mar. 12 Minister of Energy Emilio Rappaccioli announced that the Iranian government has approved a loan to Nicaragua of 150 million Euros (US$233.4 million) for the construction of a damn and a hydro electric generating plant in the northern department of Jinotega.

The loan, which still needs to be approved by the Nicaraguan National Assembly, should be paid back within ten years at an interest rate of 5%.

Construction of the mega project, which will be carried out by an Iranian company, will begin at the end of the year, said Rappaccioli, and should be completed by the end of 2011.

The hydro electric plant, which will be situated on the Tuma River, will generate 70 megawatts of electricity (Nicaragua currently uses approximately 490 megawatts).

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Paraguay: WB Approves US$64 Million to Improve Water, Sanitation for Most Vulnerable Benefits over 15 percent of the population

WASHINGTON, April 14, 2009 – The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today approved a US$64 million loan to increase the efficiency, coverage and sustainability of water and sanitation services in Paraguay. The project will directly benefit almost 17 percent of Paraguayans, especially the most vulnerable and underserved groups.

“The World Bank has supported Paraguay in improving water and sanitation services since the 1970s, and today we continue to support its efforts to expand services to the entire population,” said Pedro Alba, World Bank Director for Paraguay, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay.

The Water and Sanitation Sector Modernization Project seeks to:

* Improve sector governance;
* Improve water services and increase access to sanitation in Metropolitan Asunción; and
* Increase access to sustainable water and sanitation services in rural areas.

“As seldom in the past years in Paraguay, this modernization program will significantly help to increase water and sanitation coverage and enhance supply efficiency,” said Minister of Public Works and Communications Efraim Alegre*, adding that this investment “will benefit a major sector of our population, especially the most vulnerable groups.”

The project is estimated to benefit about one million people who live in the Metropolitan area of Asunción by increasing sewage coverage, treating water effluents, and improving the quality of the supplied drinking water.

In rural areas, the project will benefit nearly 24,500 people with the construction of about 70 water supply systems, to provide the infrastructure to process and obtain drinking water. Additionally, the project seeks to build and/or expand approximately 30 water systems to support more than 6,000 indigenous peoples in rural areas.

Paraguay has limited access to water networks. In rural areas, only 49 percent of the population has access. While nearly 80 percent of Paraguay’s urban residents have access to water, only 15 percent have access to sanitation networks, an issue that has turned critical in Asunción and its Metropolitan Area, where only 33 percent of the population is connected to the sanitation network.

“It is very important for us to be part of the Government of Paraguay’s efforts to strengthen sector institutions and thereby provide sustainable water and sanitation services for the population,” said María Angélica Sotomayor, World Bank Project Manager.


The project also will increase coverage for indigenous populations and implement health education campaigns in rural communities.


The fixed-rate US$64 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) has a 27-year maturity and an eight-year grace period.

Efraim Alegre* Keynote Speaker at the 7th Latin American Leadership Forum

China Plans $10 Billion Asean Investment Funding

By Dune Lawrence

April 12 (Bloomberg) -- China plans to create a $10 billion investment cooperation fund and offer $15 billion in credit to its Southeast Asian neighbors, extending its influence as the region attempts to weather the global financial crisis.

The investment fund will promote infrastructure development linking China with the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, while the loans will be offered over three to five years, according to a statement on the Foreign Ministry Web site today citing an interview with Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.

The measures from the world’s third-largest economy, and one of the few forecast to maintain growth this year, may help speed recovery from the global financial crisis and cement China’s leadership in the region. The nation has already signed currency swap agreements with Indonesia, South Korea, Hong Kong and Malaysia this year to help ease foreign-exchange shortages and aid bilateral trade and investment.

“China is going to take the opportunity of this crisis to further establish itself in Asia,” said Huang Jing, a visiting professor at the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. “All this will have a huge political and diplomatic impact in the region, in addition to the economic impact.”

Other planned measures include 270 million yuan ($39.5 million) in aid to Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, and donation of 300,000 tons of rice to an emergency East Asia rice reserve to boost food security, the statement said.

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$50.4 Billion in Infrastructure Projects Announced

7° Annual Latin American Leadership Forum
“World-Class Infrastructure In The Americas - The Opportunity Is Now!”

Houston, TX – April 6, 2009 – The 7° Annual Latin American Leadership Forum announces the Top 50 infrastructure projects in Latin America, to be presented by project developers from throughout the Americas on April 27-29, in Houston, TX. Total project value exceeds $50 billion, across 10 infrastructure sectors, with total job creation of 2 million jobs / year. VIP’s from around the region are participating, including the governor of São Paulo, Brasil, and the CEO of the Panama Canal Authority.

“What we are seeing is an explosion of infrastructure project opportunities in the region,” according to Norman F. Anderson, President & CEO of CG/LA Infrastructure, the Leadership Forum organizer. “The public and private sectors throughout the region are making a serious decision to double the level of infrastructure investment, and build their way out of the crisis.” The 500+ executives participating in the Forum include executives from leading oil & gas firms, including Pemex and Petrobras, along with global engineering/construction and technology/equipment firms. “The Forum is specifically designed to bring them all together,” according to Anderson.

Top Projects from the 10 Critical Infrastructure Sectors:

Project selections are based on two fundamental criteria: They must present specific business opportunities over the next 3-12 months; and must be critical to the country or region’s competitiveness. The 10 critical infrastructure sectors are:

1. Strategic/Transformational - US$10.17 billion, Including the $5.2 billion Panama Canal Expansion, presented by Alberto Aleman Zubieta, CEO of the Panama Canal Authority;
2. Electricity Generation - US$11.63 billion. Including CFE’s cogeneration projects in Mexico (Salamanca Plant) and Brazil’s CPFL investment program;
3. Oil & Gas - US$14.73 billion. Including the $3.5 billion PEMEX Chicontepec exploration project, and exploration opportunities in the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil and Guatemala;
4. New Generation- US$316 million. Including more than $500 million in wind opportunities in Mexico, and additional projects from the Dominican Republic;
5. Water & Wastewater Treatment - US$1.319 billion. Including major wastewater treatment projects in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and Brazil.
6. Urban Mass Transit - US$3.21 billion. Including major projects from Mexico, San Jose’s Metropolitan Electric Train (Costa Rica) and Brazil’s World Cup projects;
7. Ports & Logistics - US$2.27 billion. Including the development of Mexico’s Multimodal Corridor covering the entire extension Mazatlan - Durango – Matamoros;
8. Highways - US$4.78 billion. Including two $1.5 billion highway concessions from Brazil and Mexico, and two world-class concessions from the Dominican Republic;
9. Digital Infrastructure/Smart Grid - US$654 million – Including a complete electrical transmission system expansion within Guatemala;
10. Tourism - US$1.39 billion. Including the ambitious Huatulco Project in Mexico.
This year’s Leadership Forum registrations are up 40% over last year, with Houston proving to be an ideal host for the Forum, given the city’s dynamic and creative infrastructure culture.



Leadership Forum Sponsors:

Sponsors of the 7th Annual Latin American Leadership Forum are leading infrastructure, finance, and equipment/technology firms worldwide, including – Platinum sponsors: CAF (The Andean Development Bank), IDB (The Inter-American Development Bank), Bancolombia, and Patriarch Partners; Gold sponsors: Banco de Cordóba, Citigroup, IE Singapore, MIGA-World Bank, Panprojects Panalpina, ProMéxico and the Port of Houston Authority; Silver sponsors: Aggreko, Ansaldo, Denali Inc., MD Helicopter, Oasis Inc, Paraguay’s Ministry of Public Works and Communications, and Snelling.

The Government of the Dominican Republic through the CEI-RD, Secretaría de Estado de Turismo, and Secretaria de Estado de Obras Públicas y Comunicaciones (SEOPC) are the exclusive Platform Sponsor for the Leadership Forum.

The Region’s Global Network for Competitiveness & Equity CG/LA Infrastructure LLC, the world leader in strategic infrastructure project identification and development , created the Leadership Forum in order to bring infrastructure projects to life, for equipment sellers, technology firms, service providers, EPC firms and investors, through more than 60 discrete presentations, a series of high-level keynotes, trend-spotting panel presentations, 6 workshops, and more than 2,500+ pre-scheduled private meetings. CG/LA also manages the North American Strategic Infrastructure Leadership Forum and the Global Infrastructure Leadership Forum.

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Stimulus-funded highway projects underway

By Dennis Cauchon, USA TODAY

The early federal stimulus money appears to be hitting its target, paying for new projects and creating jobs, according to a USA TODAY review of some of the first projects funded.

Most early spending is flowing, as planned, into "shovel-ready" projects — a new bridge over a Louisiana bayou, the widening of a mountain road in Colorado — that wouldn't have occurred this year without stimulus money.

ACROSS THE USA: Stimulus dollars put to work

Hiring on those projects has already begun or will occur within the next three months, say officials overseeing the contracts.

Congress directed more than $300 billion in stimulus money to states and cities for spending over the next two years on roads, bridges, health care and other programs. The primary goal is to preserve or create jobs quickly while building or improving public works facilities.

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