EBI News for April 12, 2023 – WSP Strengthens Sustainability Services for the Mining Industry
EBI News for April 12, 2023 – The following news section contains the latest stories for the environmental industry. Including, WSP strengthens sustainability services for the mining industry, acquisitions, and more!
WSP strengthens sustainability services for the mining industry
WSP Global Inc. (Montreal, Canada) is acquiring Calibre Professional Services One Pty Ltd (North Sydney, Australia), boosting WSP’s position in Australia and supporting major mining clients seeking to decarbonize. Calibre provides engineering services across the full asset life cycle, focused on rail, infrastructure, rehabilitation, and renewable projects for blue-chip mining clients. With a workforce of approximately 800 professionals, Calibre has offices in Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. The combined platform will represent over 6,000 professionals across Australia and will position WSP to benefit from opportunities in mine closure, rehabilitation, and water management while supporting the mining industry’s green transition in Australia and globally. Calibre is being acquired for an aggregate consideration of AUD 275 million (CAD 250 million).
Circon is “transformative acquisition” for Covanta
Covanta (Morristown, N.J.), a waste-to-energy and industrial waste management company, is acquiring Circon Holdings Inc. (La Porte, Texas), a portfolio company of Kinderhook Industries, expanding Covanta’s geographic footprint and environmental services. Circon has more than 20 waste facilities in the Midwest, Southeast and Gulf Coast and marks the largest single acquisition for Covanta in two decades, bringing with it more than 600 new employees and 2,500 customers. Circon creates solutions for waste and off-spec petrochemical products to repurpose these materials for use in an alternate industry and to ensure no resulting residual waste. Over the last eight years, Kinderhook has made strategic investments in Circon’s processing and recovery capabilities across its network. This is Covanta’s eighth acquisition since being purchased by EQT Infrastructure.
EA awarded USACE remediation contract
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)–Mobile District has awarded an Environmental Remediation Services contract to EA Engineering, Science, and Technology, Inc., PBC (Hunt Valley, Md.). The 10-year Multiple Award Task Order Contract (MATOC) was solicited as a small business set-aside opportunity. The MATOC pool is for a total capacity of $249 million shared amongst all of the awardees, including 12 small businesses and six 8(a) firms. Work will include hazardous, toxic, and radioactive waste assessments; investigations; studies; remedial designs; remedial actions and operations; monitoring; and related services.
Net zero survey shows corporations acting on decarbonization
Verdantix (London, UK) has released the results of its inaugural survey of net zero leaders. Based on 350 respondents, the report finds firms scheduling major investments in decarbonization over the next two years and grappling with decarbonizing core business processes. Climate change performance is being used as a competitive differentiator, according to Verdantix, with respondents identifying the Science Based Targets initiative as the most important disclosure framework in 2022. However, while firms are prioritizing operational decarbonization over the next three years, they are being held back by lack of collaboration across business functions. The greatest spending increases on software are for carbon accounting, greenhouse gas emissions reduction, and carbon disclosures. Yet market penetration for net zero software remains low, with just 8% strongly agreeing that their firm has fit-for-purpose tools to deliver net zero.
CS Wind expands wind turbine tower manufacturing plant
The South Korean company CS Wind is expanding its large turbine tower manufacturing plant in Pueblo, Colo. in a project that will double production and create at least 850 new jobs, according to Burns & McDonnell, which is designing and constructing the expanded facility and assisting with environmental permitting. The 900,000-square-foot expansion will boost production to approximately 10,000 wind turbine tower sections per year. CS Wind purchased the site from the Danish wind turbine firm Vestas in August 2021. CS Wind supplies towers to global wind power leaders such as Vestas, GE, Siemens Gamesa and Nordex.
Parsons wins $164M contract for new facility to treat explosives waste
Parsons Corporation (Centreville, Va.) has been selected by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Norfolk District to deliver a new Explosive Decomposition Chamber facility at Holston Army Ammunition Plant in Kingsport, Tenn. The four-year $164-million contract is new work for the firm. “This new facility will meet the Army’s mission of reducing environmental impacts by transitioning from the open burning explosive waste treatment process to a technology-driven closed destruction solution,” said Jon Moretta, president, Engineered Systems, for Parsons. The Holston plant is a major supplier of explosive materials to the Department of Defense.
Eighty projects identified for water infrastructure funding
The Biden-Harris Administration announced nearly $585 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to repair aging water infrastructure and advance drought resilience. Funding will go to 83 projects in 11 states to improve water conveyance and storage, increase safety, improve hydropower generation and provide water treatment. Projects include increasing canal capacity, providing water treatment for Tribes, replacing equipment for hydropower production, and maintaining aging project buildings. Funding is earmarked for projects in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota and Washington.
University highlights new water treatment to remove PFAS
Engineers at the University of British Columbia (UBC) have developed a water treatment that removes PFAS from drinking water, according to a UBC media post. Developer Dr. Madjid Mohseni has devised an adsorbing material capable of trapping PFAS, which are then destroyed using electrochemical and photochemical techniques also developed at the Mohseni lab. “Our adsorbing media captures up to 99% of PFAS particles and can also be regenerated and potentially reused. This means that when we scrub off the PFAS from these materials, we do not end up with more highly toxic solid waste,” Mohseni said. The treatment may prove beneficial for communities that cannot afford the more expensive PFAS solutions and for decentralized or in-home water treatment. The UBC team will pilot the new technology at locations in British Columbia.
Water meter market to reach $14.7B in 2030
Water meter technology and services spend globally will scale at a 7.9% CAGR from $8.7 billion in 2023 to $14.7 billion in 2030 for a total of $107 billion by the end of this decade, according to a new report from Bluefield Research. Long considered the “cash registers” of the water industry for their role in billing consumers for water usage, today’s cutting-edge metering systems also provide data and insights into issues such as leakage and the condition and performance of water infrastructure. Blue Research reports that while several established U.S.-based providers (i.e., Sensus, Neptune Technology Group, and Itron) enjoy double-digit market share at a global level, new players from Europe and China are making inroads in key regional markets. Meanwhile, leading players are tapping into opportunities beyond the metering space with companies like Badger Meter and Mueller Water Products acquiring remote monitoring and IoT startups to diversify their portfolios.
Aqualis acquires Stormwater Solutions Engineering
Aqualis (Durham, N.C.), a portfolio company of DFW Capital Partners and a provider of sustainable water management services nationally, acquired the assets of Stormwater Solutions Engineering LLC (Milwaukee, Minn.), a specialized civil engineering firm. “This opportunity represents a pivotal point in Aqualis’ history as we expand our portfolio of services to include sustainable water engineering,” said Chief Development Officer Erin Zaske. Stormwater Solutions’ expertise lies largely in flood management, water quality, drainage design, integrated site design, and stormwater inspections, maintenance, and certifications.
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