EBI News for October 02, 2024 – AECOM to design expansion of Walnut Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant
EBI News for October 02, 2024 – The following news section contains the latest stories for the environmental industry. Including, AECOM to design expansion of Walnut Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant, acquisitions, and more!
Michigan selects EA for remedial investigation along Detroit River
The State of Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget (DTMB) has awarded EA Engineering, Science, and Technology Inc. (Hunt Valley, Md.) a series of contract orders for environmental investigations and studies along the Detroit River. The work includes two canal systems and three shorelines in the Detroit River Area of Concern (AOC) in Wayne County and supports the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy Water Resources Division. Together the contract orders are valued at more than $6 million and will be executed over three years with a potential two-year extension.
BluMetric acquires Gemini Water
BluMetric Environmental Inc. (Ottowa, Canada), an environmental consulting and engineering cleantech firm, announced the acquisition of Gemini Water LLC (Gainesville, Fla.), marking the company’s cleantech water portfolio expansion and entry into the Caribbean and U.S. water markets. Founded in 2015, Gemini Water designs, builds, installs and commissions large-scale desalination and wastewater treatment systems using membrane-based technologies. BluMetric acquired 100% of the membership interest in Gemini Water from GSWS Holdco Inc. for a purchase price of US$5.05 million. Gemini’s revenues stood at approximately US$7.3 million for the 12 months ending June 30, 2024.
AECOM to design expansion of Walnut Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant
AECOM (Dallas) announced its selection by the City of Austin as the prime consultant for the expansion of the Walnut Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) in Austin, Texas. The project aims to improve the aging structure’s operational and environmental features by increasing the plant’s capacity from 75 million gallons per day (MGD) to 100 MGD. The expansion will involve replacing aging equipment, constructing a 25 MGD treatment train, and building a new 120-inch outfall line and structure. The project will also provide wet weather treatment with new 100 MGD cloth filters and a floodwall to protect against 100-year floods.
TAML catalysts remove micropollutants from water
Carnegie Mellon University scientists have found that an environmentally friendly process involving a TAML catalyst and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) effectively degrades several antibiotics and other drugs in municipal secondary wastewater and contaminated river and lake water. TAMLs are small molecules that mimic oxidizing enzymes. Results published in the journal ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering show that a next-generation TAML catalyst exhibits unprecedented efficacy in activating H2O2 at ultra-low concentrations. Because of a “quirk” with the catalyst—it lasts longer and does more work as its concentration is lowered—the method could help reduce operating costs. Intellectual property associated with the catalysts is licensed to Sudoc Inc. (Pittsburgh, Pa.), a startup working to bring TAML-based solutions to market. Sudoc recently raised $20 million to help launch its TAML/peroxide system into the European water treatment market, according to a news article published by Mellon College of Science.
ERM launches carbon credit portal
ERM (London, UK) has launched an end-to-end carbon-credit sourcing portal to provide clients with access to carbon credits that complement their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction strategies and sustainability goals. The ERM Carbon Credit Portal streamlines carbon credit selection and purchasing and facilitates participation in the voluntary carbon market. Through a strategic partnership with digital carbon credit platform Ceezer (Berlin, Germany), ERM will help clients to purchase and retire carbon credits via the interactive portal. Introduction of the portal follows the launch of ERM Climate Markets as a new business line earlier this year.
1898 & Co. offers advanced digital construction management system
1898 & Co., part of Burns & McDonnell (Kansas City, Mo.), is now offering Trimble Unity Construct, powered by e-Builder. Trimble Unity Construct is an advanced digital construction management system that helps asset owners deliver projects with greater efficiency and less risk. The new offering represents a significant expansion of 1898 & Co. service offerings tailored to assist utilities and other industrial clients in managing major capital investment programs. Trimble Unity Construct software enables centralized, real-time data and digital workflows with functionalities ranging from capital planning, funding allocation and bidding to project, schedule and cost management. “This is a major advance in our offerings to utilities and other clients that are launching major capital investment programs,” said Bill Norris, senior solutions consultant at 1898 & Co.
TRC acquires Garanzuay
TRC Companies Inc. (Windsor, Conn.) has acquired Garanzuay Consulting (Dublin, Ire.), a firm with expertise in power system operations and optimization, control center operations, electricity market transformation and operations, energy trading and technology systems implementation. “Garanzuay Consulting provides a solutions-driven approach to help clients define, plan and deliver complex projects associated with regulatory change and technology transformation,” said Christopher Vincze, chairman and CEO of TRC. “With this acquisition, we strengthen our presence in Ireland, UK and Europe as we help these markets prepare for the energy transition.”
Northern Lights ready to receive CO2
TotalEnergies (Paris, France) and its partners Equinor and Shell announced the completion of the CO2 receiving and storage facilities of its Northern Lights Joint-Venture in Norway. The facilities in Øygarden, Norway will serve as the gateway to a massive undersea vault for carbon dioxide. Northern Lights plans to take CO2 emissions captured at factory smokestacks in Europe and inject them into geological reservoirs under the sea. The liquified CO2 will travel through a 68-mile pipeline before being injected into the seabed at a depth of around 2.6 kilometers. The first CO2 injection is expected in 2025. Northern Lights JV is the world’s first commercial CO2 transportation and storage project, TotalEnergies noted. The North Sea, with its depleted oil and gas fields and vast network of pipelines, is considered an ideal place to bury unwanted greenhouse gases.
Alliance addresses energy transition issues facing utilities
Co-chaired by Black & Veatch (Overland Park, Kan.) and Hydro Ottawa Limited, the Total Grid Orchestration (TGO) Alliance was announced in September to help energy utilities tackle challenges like aging infrastructure, supply and demand shifts, and complex technology transformations. Founding members of the TGO Alliance include Black & Veatch, CPS Energy, Essex Power, Hydro Ottawa, Landis+Gyr, Public Service of New Mexico, PUC Services, Rappahannock, Uplight and Think Labs. “Our goal in forming this alliance with power utilities and technology solution providers is to optimize the electric grid to deliver better outcomes through a balanced and scalable approach,” said Joe Zhou, vice president and senior managing director for Black & Veatch.
HDR joins Network for Engineering With Nature
HDR Inc. (Omaha, Neb.) has joined Network for Engineering With Nature (NEWN), a community of researchers, practitioners and educators that fosters the integration of natural systems into infrastructure planning and design. Established in 2019 by the Army Corps of Engineers and the University of Georgia’s Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems, NEWN focuses on the alignment of natural and engineering processes to deliver economic, environmental and social benefits. Through its partnership with NEWN, HDR will contribute to multidisciplinary research and project development opportunities that seek to maximize the benefits of nature-based solutions.
Haley Ward acquires EDC
Haley Ward Inc. (Bangor, Maine), an employee-owned professional engineering, architectural, environmental, and surveying consulting firm with approximately 300 employees, announced the acquisition of EDC Inc. (Port St. Lucie, Fla.), a civil engineering, surveying, planning, and environmental consulting firm specializing in land development. Established in 2003, EDC operates from two offices in Florida, bolstering Haley Ward’s presence in the state. All EDC offices, partners and 56 employees will remain on board.
Renewable energy provides over 30% of U.S. generating capacity
Renewable energy sources (i.e., biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar and wind) now represent more than 30% of total U.S. utility-scale electrical generating capacity, according the nonprofit Sun Day Campaign, based on its review of two new reports by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). In addition, renewables provided a quarter of the nation’s electrical generation during the first seven months of 2024, and July was the 11th month in a row in which solar was the largest source of new capacity. The combined capacities of just solar and wind now constitute more than one-fifth (20.9%) of the nation’s total available installed utility-scale generating capacity, Sun Day Campaign noted. “However, a third or more of U.S. solar capacity is in the form of small-scale (e.g., rooftop) systems that is not reflected in FERC’s data. Including that additional solar capacity would bring the share provided by solar + wind closer to a quarter of the nation’s total.”
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