The News Review:
- Engineer: Tenn. ash spill warning signs ignored
- Making gulf water drinkable too costly for now
- Paying in advance for a nuclear plant is unthinkable
- Plexus cuts jobs at Nampa plant
- AAER ships first wind turbine from Quebec plant
- Proponents tout plant’s potential benefits
- EARNINGS WATCH Updates advisories and surprises
Engineer: Tenn. ash spill warning signs ignored
The Associated Press
(AP) — The nation’s largest government-run utility ignored two small leaks that could have provided a warning years before a coal ash pond collapsed flooding a neighborhood with a billion gallons of sludge a former federal regulator contends. Jack Spadaro a retired mining engineer who investigated a 1972 coal waste dam break that killed 125 people in West Virginia said states have done a poor job monitoring huge ponds of coal ash which aren’t regulated by the federal government. Three homes were destroyed and 42 parcels of land damaged when one such pond at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston Steam Plant collapsed Dec. Also on Tuesday a coalition of environmental groups including the Sierra Club notified TVA it plans to sue the utility on behalf of 40 families arguing TVA broke federal law by not fully disclosing the extent of spill contamination. A TVA spokesman said the utility would respond in court. Another environmental group said last week it also plans to sue and a group of landowners has already filed a lawsuit.
Making gulf water drinkable too costly for now
Houston Chronicle United States
html BRWNSVILLE Texas — The state’s first attempt at purifying salty seawater sucked from the Gulf of Mexico yielded two lessons: adding the gulf to the state’s mix of water resources is technically feasible but at least for now too expensive on a large scale. Data gleaned from the 18-month pilot project on the Brownsville ship channel will ultimately aid the state in its quest for a drought-proof water source. But according to a state report released last month it also put the cost of building a full-scale sea water desalination plant beyond reach. To keep the program on track without breaking the bank local and state water managers have proposed a demonstration project — a plant on the ship channel that would be about one-tenth the size of the one they had hoped to build but would provide about 9 percent of the Brownsville Public Utilities Board’s water by 2012. To help pay for the $67 million demonstration project the Texas Water Development Board has asked the Legislature for $28. 2 million in grant money said water board spokeswoman Leslie Anderson. The utility would tap other state resources to cover the balance of the plant’s cost.
Paying in advance for a nuclear plant is unthinkable
Tampabay.com FL
I have been in the energy industry for 40 years working for a major architect-engineering firm designing and managing the construction of plants using nuclear fossil and other energy sources. All of these power plants have been financed by the private sector normally through bond issues except for some government-funded sources such as the REA (Rural Electrification Authority) through loans or loan guarantees. To charge consumers in advance for the cost of construction of a power plant is unheard of. What were the legislators thinking when they allowed this? These nuclear plants may not go on line for eight to 10 years or longer. Furthermore no nuclear power plant has ever come in on budget therefore the monthly billing cost to the consumer will definitely increase. Lastly all the people who will be paying for the plant and have died or moved away will never reap the benefits of the supposedly lower electricity rates. Will they get a rebate? The status of our current economy would welcome a bond issue to cover the cost of these plants and be a much better and safer investment than other corporate stocks.
Plexus cuts jobs at Nampa plant
Idaho Business Review United States
“ur hope is that volume will come back … (but) there is definitely a short-term softness in our customer forecast at this time” she said. “… ur business has to be fairly flexible both up and down for our customers. ”Job cuts at the 216000-square-foot Nampa plant – which manufactures products for a range of industries including health care aeronautics and telecommunications – covered “a variety of positions” Jones said including direct and indirect labor and office employees. She would not disclose severance packages for affected employees. Taking into account this week’s layoffs Plexus employs about 460 workers at 16399 Franklin Blvd. in Nampa – a space the company purchased from MCMS in 2002. The company also operates manufacturing and engineering facilities across the U.
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AAER ships first wind turbine from Quebec plant
Energy Business Review
The WMSA will be assigned to the Marine Corps Logistics Base after commissioning. The A-1500 wind turbine will supply a portion of the energy used by the base facilities and will be commissioned in the coming weeks dependent upon suitable local weather conditions. Dave Gagnon president and CE of AAER said: “We are very pleased to have reached this significant milestone in our company’s development. This is the first of four turbines that will be delivered to customers in the US in early 2009 as we begin large-scale turbine production at our Bromont Quebec facility.
Proponents tout plant’s potential benefits
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner AK
–>FAIRBANKS ? The $2 billion to $6 billion price tag on a coal-to-liquids plant might seem ?tremendously expensive? but the potential benefits could outweigh the sticker shock a project proponent told business people on Tuesday. ?It brings tremendous opportunity to Alaska not just Interior Alaska but really all of Alaska? said Jim Dodson executive director of the Fairbanks Economic Development Corporation. He encouraged business people at the Greater Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce weekly luncheon to consider not only the costs associated with the project but also the potential returns. FEDC spent $550000 in 2008 on a feasibility study developed by Toronto-based consultant Hatch. Released in November the study indicated that a coal-to-liquids plant using Fischer-Tropsch and gasification technology could be economically feasible in Alaska?s Interior providing that oil prices remain high and that investors don?t expect a high rate of return.
EARNINGS WATCH Updates advisories and surprises
MarketWatch
upholstery-manufacturing plant and several retail-service centers a move affecting a total of 350 jobs. In the second half of fiscal 2009 ending June 30 Ethan Allen said it will record mostly non-cash restructuring charges of 18 cents to 20 cents a share. The company owns the real estate associated with the Eldred plant. The output from the plant will be transferred to company facilities in North Carolina and California where Ethan Allen plans to expand production. The business of the retail centers will be transferred to other locations in the same markets Ethan Allen said. KBR: 2009 net view in line with analyst range; buyback set (3:48 AM ET) TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) — KBR (.