EBI News for July 09, 2026 – GEI to support Minnesota’s Mud Lake Habitat Restoration Project

GEI Consultants welcomes Hayre McElroy and PERC Engineering

GEI Consultants Inc. (Woburn, Mass.) announced a merger with Hayre McElroy & Associates LLC (Redmond, Wash.), an 80-person engineering and construction services firm. Hayre McElroy provides special inspection and testing, geotechnical engineering, quality program management, engineering, and environmental services across the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii. The merger strengthens GEI’s capabilities in construction services and large-scale infrastructure support. GEI also welcomed PERC Engineering (Houston), an engineering and project management firm with nearly 200 professionals and expertise in energy production facilities and pipelines across the energy lifecycle. GEI is part of the GISI Consulting Group, which has been growing a global infrastructure platform since formally launching in 2024 and now has 10,000-plus employees and over $2.5 billion in revenue. 

GEI to support Minnesota’s Mud Lake Habitat Restoration Project

In a busy month for the company, GEI Consultants Inc. (Duluth, Minn.) announced it has been selected by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to provide construction engineering and construction contract administration services for the St. Louis River – Mud Lake Habitat Restoration Project in Duluth. The Mud Lake project is a major aquatic and wetland restoration effort in the St. Louis River Estuary. Restoration will improve habitat quality, restore natural hydrology, and support long-term ecological recovery in the estuary. GEI will oversee sediment dredging and management, dewatering and water treatment operations, wetland and aquatic habitat construction, and associated infrastructure elements.

U.S. has just 3% excess generating capacity as electricity demand accelerates

According to ICF (Reston, Va.), the U.S. power system has only about 26 GW of excess generating capacity above minimum resource adequacy requirements, which is roughly 3% of total capacity. ICF’s new report on rising U.S. electricity demand also reveals that ERCOT and PJM, the nation’s fastest-growing electricity markets, have no excess generating capacity available to support additional demand growth reliably. Meanwhile, total U.S. electricity demand is expected to rise 21% by 2030 and 39% by 2035; peak demand is projected to increase 14% by 2030 and 25% by 2035. ICF suggests that the next phase of U.S. electricity demand growth will be defined less by how much demand increases and more by how quickly generation, transmission, and grid infrastructure can be built to meet it.

EIS expands tank and remediation capabilities across Southeast

Environmental Infrastructure Solutions (EIS, Westlake, Texas) announced the acquisition of ARM Environmental Services LLC (Columbia, S.C.), a firm known throughout the Southeast for tank and site rehabilitation work. The acquisition expands EIS’s footprint across the Carolinas and strengthens one of the company’s most specialized service lines. EIS now operates from 35 offices across 39 states, with more than 1,000 employees delivering environmental consulting and compliance, surface and subsurface remediation, decontamination, abatement, and facility and infrastructure services nationwide. ARM was founded in 1991.

SunZia renewable energy project goes online 

Pattern Energy Group (Albuquerque, N.M.) announced that SunZia—described as the largest renewable energy infrastructure project in U.S. history—is fully operational. SunZia’s approximately 3,650-megawatt wind project and 550-mile high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line are generating and delivering energy from New Mexico to Arizona and customers across the western grid. At full capacity, SunZia can serve approximately one million American homes annually, generating and delivering more power than the Hoover Dam. With major converter stations at each end of the line converting power for delivery and then back for use on the grid, SunZia is deploying one of the first major HVDC systems built in the United States in a generation, the company stated.

UES expands hydrogeological expertise

Groundwater engineering and hydrology firm Andreyev Engineering (Sanford, Fla.) has joined UES (Orlando, Fla.). Founded in 1993, Andreyev Engineering provides hydrogeological, geotechnical, and environmental services from four Florida offices. The company specializes in groundwater flow modeling, saltwater intrusion modeling, planning and design, and aquifer recharge and protection studies and brings a team of more than 40 experts to UES. “With Florida’s unique geology, as well as one of the world’s most productive aquifers, Andreyev Engineering brings a specialty to UES that is, and will continue to be, in high demand,” UES stated. UES provides engineering, environmental, testing and inspection services through its national network of more than 4,000 professionals.

Capacity of wastewater treatment plant doubled to support EV battery manufacturing

Burns & McDonnell (Kansas City, Mo.) announced that the City of De Soto, Kansas celebrated the opening of its expanded wastewater treatment plant with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. A joint venture between Burns & McDonnell and CAS Constructors (Topeka, Kansas) delivered the $40 million expansion using a progressive design-build approach, doubling treatment capacity from 1.3 million to 2.6 million gallons per day. Expansion was spurred by the arrival of a $4 billion Panasonic battery manufacturing facility, expected to bring 4,000 jobs to the area. To meet the plant’s startup requirements, the City faced an exceptionally tight schedule while also meeting stringent water-quality requirements for nitrogen and phosphorus removal. “Progressive design-build gives small communities a real advantage when they face big infrastructure challenges, because everyone is at the table early,” said Jeff Keller, manager of the project’s design team at Burns & McDonnell. “That collaboration let De Soto move faster, manage risk and keep costs in check without overextending its staff.”

Jacobs to deliver feasibility study for desalination plant in Singapore

Jacobs (Dallas) has been appointed by PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency, to deliver a feasibility study for a potential new desalination plant. The study will explore innovative designs that maximize land efficiency in one of the world’s most land-constrained urban environments and integrate multiple uses, such as incorporating higher multi-story buildings or deeper basements which could house treatment facilities. The study will also examine the viability of a dual-mode facility capable of treating both seawater and freshwater to improve operational flexibility and weather resilience of Singapore’s water supply. 

Tetra Tech selected for $49M multiple-award USACE contract

Tetra Tech Inc. (Pasadena, Calif.), announced that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mobile District has selected the company for a $49 million multiple-award contract to provide architect-engineer (A-E) design and technical services for inland and coastal navigation and water resources infrastructure projects. Under this five-year contract, Tetra Tech will provide services to optimize and improve critical civil works infrastructure in the Southeastern United States. The firm’s technical solutions will support inland flood risk management, coastal hurricane and storm damage reduction, shallow and deep draft navigation, lock and dam infrastructure, and coastal and riverine ecosystem restoration projects.

Trinity Consultants grows Philadelphia AEC presence

Trinity Consultants (Dallas), a global environmental consulting firm, announced the expansion of its Philadelphia operations with a new office in Center City’s Market West district. The move reflects continued growth across the region and increased collaboration between two of Trinity’s leading built environment teams: Jaros, Baum & Bolles (JB&B) and Cerami & Associates. “The shared office and parent company are a natural evolution of a relationship that spans more than six decades,” said James Perry, managing director of Trinity Consultants.

Underground fungal networks could play role in climate and conservation planning

Scientists have for the first time mapped a vast hidden fungal “superhighway” that plays a major role in supporting plants and regulating the climate, according to a study reviewed in ScienceDaily. Scientists estimated that underground fungal networks extend quadrillions of kilometers and move about 4 billion tons of carbon dioxide into soils each year. The study, published in Science, focuses on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi that form mutually beneficial relationships with approximately 70% of plant species worldwide. The scientific team—drawn from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU Amsterdam), Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN) and other institutions—also released interactive maps to help researchers and policymakers identify where fungal networks are thriving and where they may be under threat.