Energy

The University of Illinois broke ground in October of 2011 on the $95 million Electrical and Computer Engineering Building in Urbana. The six-story, 232,000-sf facility will house advanced classrooms, labs, and equipment suites for interdisciplinary research in energy, biotechnology, nanotechnology, computing, and communications. Designed by SmithGroup of Chicago, the project will enable UI to consolidate programs currently housed in several locations.

The University of Albany is building a 191,000-sf energy research facility for the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering. The project will house the U.S. Photovoltaic Manufacturing Consortium, a center supported by $60 million in federal funds. The facility will also include a 25,000-sf cleanroom for pilot solar cell manufacturing and research. The project was designed by EYP Architecture and Engineering. Two additional buildings totaling 300,000 sf will be built in a second phase of construction. 

Boise State University will open the $22 million Environmental Research Building in September of 2011. The five-story, 97,000-sf facility provides cleanrooms, freezer rooms, and 43 laboratories. The project also includes a 140-ft groundwater testing well and a connection to the city's geothermal heating system. Designed by RBB Architects to foster interdisciplinary collaboration, the Environmental Research Building houses the Department of Geosciences, Civil Engineering, Political Science, and Public Policy and Administration.

Michigan State University is planning to break ground in summer of 2012 on the $615 million Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) in East Lansing. The project will be located in the existing MSU Cyclotron facility which will be renovated and expanded. Completion is expected in 2018. The facility will support advanced physics and nuclear science research for the U.S. Department of Energy.

Wind turbine manufacturer Vestas is planning to begin construction in fall of 2011 on a 27,000-sf research and development facility in Marlborough, Mass. The project will support the testing of electrical generators. Vestas will also lease an adjacent 13,000 sf of office space. The $16 million project is slated for occupancy in 2012.

Construction will begin in spring of 2012 on a flexible, modular laboratory at Dounreay Nuclear Site in Thurso, Scotland. Comprising 35 steel-framed modules, the facility will house six laboratories with gloveboxes, 36 fume hoods, and an advanced HEPA-filtered ventilation system. The $11.4 million construction contract was awarded to a consortium including Yorkon, Studsvik, JGC Engineering & Technical Services, and S&B UK. Completion is expected in fall of 2013.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory will begin building the User Test Bed facility in spring of 2012 in Berkeley, Calif. Supported by $15.9 million in federal stimulus funding, the reconfigurable facility will enable researchers and manufacturers to test building components and systems to optimize efficiency. The lab's walls, windows, lighting, offices, and HVAC system will be fully changeable to support building performance research. Completion is expected in spring of 2013.

The University of Houston is leveraging Aircuity’s OptiNet demand-control ventilation (DCV) system to develop a ventilation optimization program that will not only enhance indoor air quality, but significantly improve overall energy efficiency in its new 167,000-sf Health and Biomedical Science Center. When at full capacity, the annual energy savings for this facility are projected to be $239,270, which would give the project a simple return on investment of two years.

College of the Desert has selected HGA Architects and Engineers to create the master plan for its Palm Springs West Valley Campus in Palm Springs, Calif. Designed to produce more energy than it consumes, the 119-acre campus will include 420,000 sf of academic space and 230,000 sf of leasable public-private venture space. The first phase will provide 50,000 sf in several buildings, including the Desert Energy Enterprise Center for engineering training in solar and wind energy manufacturing.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory dedicated the $95 million Chemical and Materials Sciences Building in July of 2011. The three-story, 160,000-sf facility houses equipment suites, 56 laboratories, 164 offices, and 91 modular workstations for the development of advanced energy products and technologies. The Chemical and Material Sciences Building houses two DOE Energy Frontier Research Centers, the Center for Fluid Interface Reaction Structure and Transport (FIRST) and the Center for Defect Physics (CDP).

Bosch opened its photovoltaics competence center in July of 2011 in Arnstadt, Germany. The $757 million facility provides R&D and manufacturing space as well as housing the company’s solar energy division headquarters. The duration of construction was two years.

Semprius began construction in July of 2011 on a 150,000-sf photovoltaic manufacturing facility in Henderson, N.C. The first phase of the project includes renovation of an existing facility and construction of an additional 50,000 sf. Occupancy is expected in August of 2012. Semprius is based in Durham, N.C.

Sandia Labs is engaged in a $4.2 million renovation of the Battery Abuse Testing Laboratory in Albuquerque, N.M. Supported by federal stimulus funding, the project will enable the facility to test larger batteries for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. The completed laboratory will house new spectrometers, laser diagnostics, and six accelerating rate calorimeters. Construction began on the renovation in December of 2010 with completion expected in late 2011. The Battery Abuse Testing Laboratory was built in 1991. 

The University of North Texas (UNT) broke ground on the Zero Energy Research Laboratory in Denton in July of 2011. Located in UNT’s Discovery Park, the 1,200-sf facility will include a utility core and an open flexible laboratory for sustainable energy and building systems research. The $1.15 million project is expected to reach completion in early 2012. Jacobs Engineering Group is the architect of record and the general contractor is Nouveau Construction. 

The Sustainable Energy Technology Center (SENTEC) is under construction in Danville, Va. The $8 million, 26,000-sf building is located at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research and is affiliated with Virginia Tech. The center was designed by Dewberry with Lord, Aeck & Sargent as laboratory planner and Perigon as engineer.