Tradeline, Inc. filters and categorizes new-construction and industry news from regional and professional journals across the country. Here you will find new projects, products, and regulatory updates.
Industry News
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab Breaks Ground on FLEXLAB
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory broke ground on the the Facility for Low-Energy Experiments on Buildings (FLEXLAB) in December of 2012. Supporting research on the energy performance of building systems, the project will include six interior and exterior testbeds occupying a 9,000-sf footprint. Providing reconfigurable research spaces, the facility will include a double-height testbed for the study of sustainable technologies for two-story structures.
University at Albany Plans Zero-Energy Nanotechnology Building
The University at Albany is planning to build the 200,000-sf Zero-Energy Nanotechnology (ZEN) building. A request for proposals was issued in November of 2012 with responses due by January 4, 2013. The cost of the facility is estimated at $80 million. Acting as a living laboratory, the ZEN building will provide labs, classrooms, and offices for clean energy research as well as housing the U.S. Photovoltaic Manufacturing Consortium. The facility will have a net energy consumption of zero while supporting a robust technological infrastructure.
University of North Carolina Dedicates Energy Production and Infrastructure Center
The University of North Carolina dedicated the $76 million Energy Production and Infrastructure Center in November of 2012 in Charlotte. Designed by Narmour Wright Creech Architects, the 200,000-sf teaching and research facility houses the departments of Electrical Engineering and Civil and Environmental Engineering. The collaborative four-story building provides classrooms, offices, laboratories, and high bay space. General contractor Turner Construction broke ground on the project in February of 2010.
Lawrence Berkeley Lab Breaks Ground on Solar Energy Research Center
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory broke ground on the $54 million Solar Energy Research Center (SERC) in October of 2012. The three-story, 40,000-sf facility will support research on electrochemical and photovoltaic solar energy technologies. Designed by SmithGroup of San Francisco, SERC will house the northern branch of the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis, a laboratory created in partnership with the California Institute of Technology.
Colorado State University Builds Engines and Energy Conversion Lab
Colorado State University began construction in October of 2012 on a 65,000-sf million expansion of the Engines and Energy Conversion Laboratory in Fort Collins. The $18.5 million project will provide additional research space for the College of Engineering and a business incubator. LEED Platinum sustainable design certification will be sought for the facility, which will feature combined heat and power, nighttime cold storage, and the use of wind, solar, and biomass fuel sources.