Sunday, October 18, 2009

Kipcon President Mitchell Frumkin and Energy Squared Managing Partner Allan Samuels Teach Class on "The Economics of Green Building."

President of Kipcon Inc. Mitchell Frumkin, PE, RS, CGP and Managing Partner of Energy Squared Allan Samuels, LEED AP spoke at a Half Moon educational seminar called "Economics of Green Building" recently at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Somerset, NJ.  This one day course for architects, engineers, and contractors covered the basics of green building economics, including water and energy conservation techniques.    
 
Frumkin first explained the basic economics of green building by showing how to use the first-cost and life-cycle-cost methods of calculating expenses to determine which green options will have the greatest return on investment.  "By plotting out a 30-year cost projection that includes initial replacement costs along with ongoing maintenance and energy costs," Frumkin explained, "one can see and compare the possible savings of various energy efficient upgrades."  
 
Samuels went into great detail about the initial costs and ongoing savings of energy efficient heating and cooling systems, discussing multi-stage options and the importance of correctly sizing the equipment for the job.  Similarly, he talked about the cost savings associated with energy efficient lighting designs and controls, with particular emphasis on the benefits of daylight harvesting, occupancy sensors, and dimming capabilities.  "Despite all the technological leaps that allow us to save energy on lighting," Samuels said, "simply turning the lights off remains the best way to reduce lighting costs." 
 
To conclude the economics of green building presentation, Samuels described modeling and simulations, a software process that allows building owners and managers to accurately calculate future energy costs and savings.  To further discuss how to maximize return on investment, Frumkin talked about green incentives, tax credits, and certifications.  Overall, the presentation offered by Frumkin and Samuels at the Half Moon Economics of Green Building seminar showed attendees how to get the biggest bang for their buck when it comes to going green.

Kipcon Inc. is a full service engineering consulting firm that provides civil, structural, mechanical, and electrical design capabilities, bidding services, contract administration, inspections, and other types of engineering reports such as reserve studies, cost segregation studies, and cost estimates.  
 
Energy Squared, LLC is an energy and engineering consulting firm that provides solutions and services focused on energy efficiency and sustainability.  These include energy audits, building control system design and optimization, advice and analysis of HVAC and Electrical systems, sub-metering, and analysis of possible rebates/incentives.  
 
For more information about Kipcon Inc. or Energy Squared, LLC, please call 800-828-4118 or visit 
www.kipcon.com and www.energysquaredllc.com

PsomasFMG to Build Turnkey Solar Energy Systems

Psomas Renewables and First Management Group have joined forces to form PsomasFMG, LLC. The company provides turnkey solar solutions to public agencies and commercial entities at no cost to the client. “The solar systems that we provide substantially reduce client electricity costs, promote energy independence and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in compliance with AB32,” said Jacob Lipa, PsomasFMG Chairman, in announcing the new company.


Current federal and state solar subsidies provide a window of opportunity for turnkey solutions. According to Louis Kwiker, PsomasFMG President: “Time is of the essence to get these solar systems built without cost to the client because federal and state subsides are shrinking or will end in 2010.” Private investor funds are used to build these solar systems.  The return on this investment is derived from the federal and state subsidies and the net cash received from the sale of electricity to the public agency.


Solar energy systems can serve to lower electricity costs on a wide range of projects, from municipal facilities like water treatment plants, civic centers and bus and rail stations to schools, hospitals, major distribution centers, and shopping centers. PsomasFMG will focus on building one-megawatt and larger solar systems. Turnkey services include project conception, financing, design, installation, and operation.


Psomas Renewables, LLC and its parent company Psomas serve clients in the transportation, water/wastewater, and public, private and institutional site development markets.  The Psomas companies’ renewable energy project slate includes municipal facilities such as water plants, reservoirs, and pump stations as well as assisting several communities with their overall power needs. Psomas will provide engineering consulting services and program/construction management to PsomasFMG, based in Los Angeles. For more information visit www.psomasfmg.com  or call 213-223-1470.


FMG will provide financial and management expertise to PsomasFMG. For more information, visit www.firstmanagementgroup.com.

Bowyer-Singleton Announces LEED AP Staff

Bowyer-Singleton & Associates (BSA) announces that Scott Stearns, P.E., assistant director of civil engineering, Nicole Stalder, P.E., project manager, and Kevin Hebert, P.E., regional office manager (Jacksonville), have achieved Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design Accredited Professional (LEED AP) accreditation in the specialty of Building Design + Construction.  LEED accreditation is managed by the Green Building Certification Institute and demonstrates an individual’s knowledge and expertise of the LEED Green Building rating system.  BSA has designed a number of projects with LEED-certified buildings in the municipal, office, educational, and mixed use markets.

 

Established in Orlando in 1972, BSA provides services in civil engineering, transportation engineering, environmental sciences, and surveying and mapping to land developers, transportation agencies, government agencies, engineering firms, and building and property owners throughout Florida.  The firm is headquartered in Orlando with regional offices in DeLand, OcalaPanama City Beach, Jacksonville and Tampa Bay. Visit www.BSA-Civil.com.

Sewall and Reed & Reed Deliver Wind Projects on Difficult Terrain in Maine


James W. Sewall Company and Reed & Reed are helping develop wind energy projects on some of the toughest terrain in the eastern United States—the mountains of Maine. Under contract to wind developer First Wind, Sewall and Reed & Reed have teamed to deliver the largest operating commercial-scale wind farm in New England, the $100 million, 57-megawatt wind farm on Stetson Mountain. Sewall and Reed & Reed previously worked together on the $55 million, 42-megawatt wind farm on Mars Hill, the first commercial-scale wind farm in Maine. A third project, TransCanada’s $320 million, 132-megawatt project on Kibby Mountain, is under way and slated for completion in October 2010.

Built on mountain ridgelines up to 3,650 feet in elevation, with variances in elevation of over 1,000 feet, all three projects have presented unique design and construction challenges, including building access roads for transporting 120,000-pound turbines and 440-ton cranes with 300 feet of boom. Steep terrain, rocky soil, wetlands, and extremes of weather have added complexity to the development effort. The resulting product is nevertheless elegant in its simplicity—230 megawatts of clean, renewable energy that will power up to 100,000 homes annually. Currently, the Mars Hill and Stetson Mountain wind farms produce enough clean energy to power approximately 43,500 homes.

Sewall, headquartered in Old Town, Maine, has provided civil site design and permitting services for all three projects, and aerial mapping and surveying for two of them. The company is also engaged in seven additional wind projects in Maine, Vermont, and West Virginia, providing civil site design, permitting, aerial mapping and surveying, and siting analysis support using GIS and web-based technologies.

Reed & Reed, located in Woolwich, Maine, is the EPC contractor on the Mars Hill, Stetson, and Kibby projects, providing excavation and construction of the foundations and installation of towers and electrical collector systems. Reed & Reed also built the 4.5-megawatt Beaver Ridge wind farm in Maine, now in operation. Currently the two firms are working together in the pre-construction phase of other planned wind projects in New England.

Founded in 1880, Sewall is an integrated team of geospatial, engineering and natural resource consultants who partner with clients to create practical, sustainable solutions. In the last 10 years, Sewall’s offerings have expanded to include traffic, environmental and structural engineering and web-based GIS and portal technologies. For more information, contact Patrick Graham, PE, director of project development, 207-827-4456, patrick.graham@sewall.com, or visit www.sewall.com.

Founded in 1928, Reed & Reed performs construction services for public and private clients, from complex cable-stayed bridges to industrial facilities, marine terminals to wind farms, commercial and institutional buildings to pile driving, parking garages to environmental remediation. For more information, contact Patrick DeFilipp, PE, senior project manager, 207-443-9747, or visit www.reed-reed.com.