Energy

Hemlock Semiconductor Corp. broke ground in November of 2009 on a $1.2 billion polysilicon manufacturing plant in Clarksville, Tenn. Slated for completion in 2012, the facility will house approximately 500 employees. Polysilicon is a raw material used to make solar cells and semiconductor devices. Michigan-based Hemlock Semiconductor is a joint venture between Dow Corning Corp. and two Japanese companies, Shin-Etsu Handotai Co. and Mitsubishi Materials Corp.

Michigan State University broke ground on the $1.8 million Center for Renewable Energy Research and Technology Transfer in East Lansing in November of 2009. Providing over 6,000-sf of research space, the building will house the International Renewable Energy Technology Institute and an emissions laboratory. Completion is expected in mid-2010.

Wright- Patterson Air Force Research Laboratory broke ground on a $2.5 million R&D facility for alternative aviation fuels in November of 2009. The 4,000-sf Assured Aerospace Fuels Research Facility is being built by Rhecors General Contractors of Dayton and is expected to reach completion in September of 2010. Creating fuel from coal and biomass materials, the facility will support collaboration with the University of Dayton Research Institute. 

Mesalands Community College has selected Gerald Martin Contracting of Albuquerque to construct the $5.2 million North American Wind Research and Training Center in Tucumcari, N.M. Designed by Kilmer and Associates, the 26,385-square-foot building will include a 12,697-sf wind turbine workshop and 13,688-sf of classrooms, lecture halls, and offices. Construction will begin in November of 2009 with completion expected in September of 2010.

Enerkem is partnering with GreenField Ethanol to construct the $10 million Advanced Energy Research Facility in Edmonton, Alberta. Ground was broken on the pilot-scale plant in September of 2009 with completion expected in early 2010. The facility will support research on the conversion of commercial waste into biofuels and chemicals.

DuPont is planning a $45 million expansion of its polyvinyl fluoride (PVF) manufacturing plant in Louisville, Kye. Adding 78,000-sf to the existing 300,000-sf facility, the expansion is slated for completion in mid-2010. DuPont's brand of polyvinyl fluoride, Tedlar®, is used in the production of solar panels. DuPont is also initiating a $55 million expansion of its manufacturing facility in Fayetteville, N.C.

The California Independent System Operator Corp. (California ISO) will construct its $110 million headquarters in Folsom, Calif. Slated for completion in March of 2011, the 278,000-sf facility will be built to attain LEED Gold certification for sustainable design. Comprised of three wings, the three-story headquarters will include training rooms, offices, a data center, and a control room. The project contractor is Clark Design/Build. California ISO is a nonprofit corporation that operates the state's wholesale electrical transmission grid.

FedEx is partnering with BP Solar to construct the largest rooftop solar array in the United States. Slated for completion in November of 2009, the 2.42 megawatt system will cover 3.3 acres atop a distribution facility in Woodbridge, N.Y. The project will reduce annual CO2 emissions by 1,867 metric tons and will provide 30 percent of the energy consumed by the facility.

BASF received a $24.6 million grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in August of 2009 to support construction of a lithium-ion battery materials production facility in Elyria, Ohio. The $50 million project will be the largest cathode materials manufacturing plant in North America. The funding was awarded by the Department of Energy to support the Electric Drive Vehicle Battery and Component Manufacturing Initiative.

General Motors has been awarded $241 million in stimulus funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to support facilities development and R&D, including construction of a battery assembly plant in Brownstown Township. Mich. Ford received $100 million in grants and Chrysler will receive approximately $70 million. The funding was awarded by the Department of Energy to support the Electric Drive Vehicle Battery and Component Manufacturing Initiative.

Solix Biofuels opened the Coyote Gulch Demonstration Facility in Durango, Colo., in July of 2009. Sited on 10 acres, the facility includes a laboratory and commercial-scale photo-bioreactors to produce 3,000 gallons of algae-based biofuel per acre at full capacity. The project features systems that automatically adjust to sunlight and temperature variations to maximize growth and production. Solix Biofuels is based in Fort Collins, Colo.

The Department of Energy began construction on an $80 million groundwater treatment plant in Hanover, Wash., in July of 2009. The facility house a system capable of treating 85 million gallons per month of contaminated groundwater from the decommissioned Hanford nuclear site. Completion is expected by 2012. The project is part of $2 billion in stimulus funding allocated by the Department of Energy to support environmental remediation at Hanford.

Jetstream Wind broke ground on a $219 million hydrogen power plant in July of 2009 in Truth or Consequences, N.M. The 10-megwatt facility is the world's first utility-scale, zero-emissions hydrogen power plant and will use electricity from wind, solar, and other renewable energy sources to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen will be burned in a turbine to generate electricity. Completion is expected by early 2011. Jetstream Wind is based in Albuquerque, N.M.

The emirate of Ras Al Khaimah will initiate construction on the Centre for Advanced Materials (RAK-CAM) in September of 2009. The 6,000-sm research facility will house interdisciplinary laboratories for the study of alternative energy, construction, water purification, and environmental preservation. Occupancy is slated for late 2010.

The Department of Energy began construction on the $912 million National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II) in July of 2009. Located at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, N.Y., the NSLS-II will support multidisciplinary research in advanced materials, nanotechnology, condensed matter, materials physics, chemistry, and biology. The project received $150 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and will replace the existing National Synchrotron Light Source which began operations in 1982.