October 29, 2013

CT Construction Digest October 29, 2013

A new report on global markets for cranes

According to a new technical market research report, Cranes: Technologies and Global Markets from BCC Research (http://www.bccresearch.com), the global market for cranes was valued at $26.6 billion in 2012 and is expected to reach $29.3 billion in 2013. BCC Research projects the market to grow to $41 billion by 2018, and register a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.9% from 2013 to 2018. Cranes are an integral part of the global material lifting equipment industry. With the increase in infrastructure development in the emerging markets, global demand for cranes has also grown considerably over the last five to 10 years. In particular, China has seen the greatest growth among the developing economies and has become the largest market for cranes.
To assess the market, cranes have been broadly classified into three major types: mobile cranes, marine and port cranes, and fixed cranes. Cranes vary according to their lifting capacity, outreach and, height. Current market trends include a focus toward higher lifting capacity. Complexities in infrastructure demands have necessitated greater flexibility from material lifting equipment. In addition, the market is focusing on “greener” fleets, advanced automation technology, and fuel efficiency.

Covanta waste management to recycle food wastes, organic materials

BRISTOL — Central Connecticut will be among the first places in the country to begin recycling food wastes and other organic material.Covanta Energy Corp., which runs a regional trash incinerator, is teaming up with an organics recycling firm that calls for the Pennsylvania-based Turning Earth to build, own and operate a recycling facility for the material in central Connecticut.
“I am proud that the Bristol region will be among the first to benefit from this unique partnership,” Mayor Art Ward said.He said it “continues a long-established collaborative effort between Covanta and Connecticut communities to attract environmentally-sound, cutting edge technologies and solutions to waste management in a manner that stimulates our local economies.”The agreement, announced Monday, doesn’t say where the new facility will be constructed. A press release about the facility, released by Covanta, said construction is anticipated to begin “in the latter half of 2014 following site selection, the receipt of permits and procurement of organic waste.” The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s deputy commissioner, Macky McCleary, said it “has been actively encouraging projects aimed at diverting food wastes and other organic material from the waste stream.

NU's $338M Transmission Line put on hold

The most Connecticut-centric segment of Northeast Utilities' planned $1.5 billion transmission project for southern New England has been put on hold, slowing the creation of potentially hundreds of new construction jobs in the state.NU is in the midst of its New England East West Solutions (NEEWS) transmission initiative, a series of four projects designed to move electricity more reliably, quickly, and cheaply around Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.Three of those four projects are either complete or underway, but the fourth — the Central Connecticut Reliability Project — has been shelved as industry officials re-evaluate its need for Greater Hartford."All these improvements have the idea of improving reliability," said Frank Poirot, NU transmission spokesman.Transmission lines are a vital part of the electric grid, carrying power from generating plants to local distribution systems, which then distribute electricity to homes and businesses.
As power plants are built and decommissioned, however, and local electricity demand shifts and grows as communities develop or shrink, the current transmission system is not always in line with today's electricity needs.The NEEWS initiative was planned and approved by grid administrator ISO New England so electricity could flow more easily and cost-effectively from power plants to end users via fewer connections.

Con Rd, Metro North duck blame

Bridgeport -- The presidents of Consolidated Edison and Metro-North took turns at a congressional field hearing Monday expressing regret and dodging blame for the power outage that disrupted the nation’s busiest rail corridor for 12 days, inconveniencing more than 100,000 commuters and costing the Connecticut economy an estimated $62 million.Craig Ivey, the president of the power company, refused to accept financial responsibility for the outage, saying Con Ed had no plans to reimburse Metro-North for refunds the regional public rail company paid to commuters during the outage. He called the outage a result of joint actions by his company and the railroad.The outage cost Metro-North between $8 million and $12 million in lost ticket sales, refunds and emergency busing and other costs, said Howard Permut, the president of MTA Metro-North.Both chief executives acknowledged having no contingency plan for such an outage, forcing the utility and railroad to quickly invent ways to partially restore power and provide alternative diesel train and bus service.