CEAC-2020-11-November

Mass timber is sustainable and can substitute for concrete
and steel, according to the state agency. Large solid or engineered
wood columns, beams and panels are used to create
multistory buildings from renewable materials.
Construction typically takes less time than traditional concrete-and-steel
building because components are manufactured
off-site and delivered for installation.
The new building still is in the design stages. It also will
house a DNR customer service center. It will include office
and garage space and a community room.
Natural Gas-Fired Power Plant Project in WVa
Tabled for Now
WELLSBURG, W.Va. (AP) — A company that received state
approval for a loan guarantee for West Virginia’s first natural
gas-fired power plant said it has stopped the project for now.
Energy Solutions Consortium of Buffalo, New York, announced
in a recent news release that the project in Brooke
County has been put on hold “due to changing conditions in
the energy and financial markets,” news outlets reported.
The West Virginia Economic Development Authority approved
a $5.5 million loan guarantee for the project in
September.
The company’s statement said that it is “evaluating alternative
options to move forward.”
The project would have brought more than 1,000 construction
jobs alone to build the plant on the site of a reclaimed
strip mine.
Gov. Jim Justice had questioned why the project’s developers
would need state funding. He also wanted the plant to be
built with in-state labor and utilize natural gas produced in
West Virginia.
Accident at Ohio Construction Site Triggers
Gas Line Blast
The gas was eventually turned off and firefighters extinguished
the flames.
Officials said no one was seriously injured.
Louisiana Company to Build, Operate Wind
Farm-Servicing Ship
HOUMA, La. (AP) — A Louisiana shipbuilding company will
build and operate a ship that will help run and maintain
offshore electricity producing wind farms off the coast of the
northeastern United States.
The Courier reports that Galliano-based Edison Chouest
Offshore expects the project to create 300 construction jobs.
The vessel will be built at the company’s yards in Louisiana,
Florida and Mississippi.
Orsted, a Danish-based firm that builds and operates wind
farms worldwide, and Eversource, New England’s largest
energy provider, plan to construct three wind farms off the
coasts of Rhode Island, New York and Massachusetts.
Poland Spring to Build Solar Project to Power
Hollis Plant
HOLLIS, Maine (AP) — The parent company of Poland Springs
plans to build a 10-megawatt solar project on 47 acres of
land in Hollis.
The proposed project would provide up to a quarter of the
energy needs of the Poland Spring bottling plant.
The annual greenhouse gas emission reductions resulting
from this project is estimated to be the equivalent to removing
more than 2,500 passenger vehicles from the road.
Depending on timing for permits from both the town and
Maine Department of Environmental Protection, the proposed
groundbreaking could begin as soon as April, with
project completion in 2022.
MONTGOMERY, Ohio (AP) — An accident at a construction
site in Ohio triggered a natural gas explosion that shot
flames high in the sky, officials said.
It started when a truck backed over a gas line and struck a
utility pole Oct. 5, officials said. The surrounding area was
rocked by the blast as the gas ignited.
Flames and smoke filled the sky for hours as firefighters from
nearby communities worked to get the upper hand on the
blaze. Nearby buildings were evacuated and intersections
were blocked to control traffic.
Volume 85 · Number 11 | 7