Success in Tri-Cities Blog
HANFORD STORY WINS NORTHWEST EMMY AWARD
Video Provides Overview of History and Cleanup of Hanford Site
RICHLAND, Wash. - The first chapter of The Hanford Story multimedia series, Hanford Overview, has received an Emmy for best Historical/Cultural - Program/Special. The award was presented by the Northwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences at its 48th Annual Emmy Awards in Snoqualmie, Wash.
The program was produced by Lockheed Martin Creative & Strategic Services for the U.S. Department of Energy. Doug Shoop, U.S. Department of Energy, was the executive producer. Frank Armijo, Mission Support Alliance, and Dana Jensen, Lockheed Martin, were co-producers.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO!
Background
The Hanford Story is a multimedia presentation that provides an overview of the U.S. Department of Energy's Hanford Site-its history, today's cleanup activities, and a glimpse into the possibilities of future uses of the 586-square-mile government site in southeast Washington State.
The Hanford Story will be delivered in a series of video-based chapters dedicated to telling the multi-faceted story of the site.
• The history of producing plutonium
• Impacts to the environment resulting from producing plutonium
• Progress being made in cleanup of the site
• Innovative technologies and solutions being used in cleanup activities
• Future uses of the Hanford Site
Read More...Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Studies Effectiveness of New Fuel Cell Technology
Today when speaking about alternative energy sources, the images of solar panels and windmills often come to mind. But in the future, you might envision a refrigerator-like box, about 5 feet 6 inches tall, replacing your air conditioner or heat pump. The machine houses fuel cells that draw hydrogen molecules out. Then, through an electrochemical process that combines the hydrogen molecules with oxygen, the unit generates up to 5Kw of electricity for use throughout an entire home.
“So there’s a lot of heat and energy that’s produced by the result of even running an air conditioner,” said Annie Haas, public information officer for energy research at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. “What a fuel cell can do is take that waste heat that is produced and turn it into electricity. It converts the waste heat from the heat and cooling system to power the building.”
This new energy source is quickly making a name of itself across the country, especially in the Pacific Northwest.
The Department of Energy awarded a $2.8 million grant to ClearEdge Power of Hillsboro, Ore., allowing the company to place 10 of the units. And PNNL will study the data for the next five years to determine the cost savings and benefits of the new technology.
ClearEdge is installing its combined heat and power fuel cell systems in commercial buildings, such as grocery stores, car dealerships, elementary schools and community colleges in California and Oregon, said Mike Upp, ClearEdge Power’s vice president of marketing.
According to Upp the average price for a unit ranges from $55,000 to $75,000 depending on the complexity of the installation.
“I think the first place you’ll see them is multi-unit housing,” Upp said. “I think you’ll see a lot of them in schools because schools of course are focused on alternative energy.”
Whitney G. Colella, a senior research engineer at PNNL, said it is more economical and environmentally friendly to install combined heat and power fuel cell systems in building with high electricity and heating demand throughout the day and throughout the seasons.
Each unit has a high-speed Internet data feed, allowing researchers at PNNL continuous access to analyze each the system’s performance. The project team will monitor the electrical power output, heat output, operating voltage, operating current, temperature of the water being sent to the building from the fuel cell system, temperature of the water entering the system, the water flow rate entering the system, the flow rate of the fuel into the system, and the time that the system is non-operational or operating below stated specifications.
“PNNL’s independent analysis of this data will help to quantify the reliability, longevity and long-term performance of these systems over time,” Colella said.
The federal portion of funding for this award was provided through DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy-Fuel Cell Technologies Program.
“The thing about fuel cells is they are available now, people are using them,” Haas said. “So at the end of the day if can look at the data and fuel cells are more energy efficient and cut carbon dioxide emissions it can be another option for commercial buildings.”
PNNL will provide its analysis in a report to DOE’s Fuel Cell Technologies Program.
“Really, my personal opinion, its about establishing a business case.” Haas said. “If you can save energy you can also save money out of the pocket. If we can help provide the data … not only does it have these awesome green benefits, but you are going to save some money too.”
by Veronica Sandate Craker
Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business
http://www.tricitiesbusinessnews.com
Read More...Innovatek Receives Army Contract for Portable Power Technolgoy
Richland-based company that creates sustainable power products and engineering solutions, has received a $750,000 contract from the Department of Defense to do research and development of a processor the produces hydrogen from butanol for fuel cells.
InnovaTek, which completed the feasibility study of its technology for the Department of Defense, will partner with Indiana University to develop the catalyst for the process.
Patricia Irving, InnovaTek’s CEO, said the military has increased its use of portable electronic devices like night-vision goggles and GPS systems. But providing sufficient power to operate the devices is a challenge.
Batteries run out quickly and require continuous replacements or take a long-time charging.
In the military, those problems could be life-threatening, she said.
“Fuel cells, which convert chemical energy to electrical power, could significantly improve the confidence in using electronic devices,” Irving said.
They operate efficiently and quietly, and could provide an ideal solution for portable electric power generation for a wide range of military and commercial applications.
For complete story visit Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.
Read More...HANFORD STORY WINS NORHTWEST EMMY AWARD
Video Provides Overview of History and Cleanup of Hanford Site
RICHLAND, Wash. - The first chapter of The Hanford Story multimedia series, Hanford Overview, has received an Emmy for best Historical/Cultural - Program/Special. The award was presented by the Northwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences at its 48th Annual Emmy Awards in Snoqualmie, Wash., on Saturday, June 11, 2011 http://www.natasnw.org/).
The program was produced by Lockheed Martin Creative & Strategic Services for the U.S. Department of Energy. Doug Shoop, U.S. Department of Energy, was the executive producer. Frank Armijo, Mission Support Alliance, and Dana Jensen, Lockheed Martin, were co-producers.
The video is available on http://www.youtube.com/hanfordsite.
Background
The Hanford Story is a multimedia presentation that provides an overview of the U.S. Department of Energy's Hanford Site-its history, today's cleanup activities, and a glimpse into the possibilities of future uses of the 586-square-mile government site in southeast Washington State.
The Hanford Story will be delivered in a series of video-based chapters dedicated to telling the multi-faceted story of the site.
• The history of producing plutonium
• Impacts to the environment resulting from producing plutonium
• Progress being made in cleanup of the site
• Innovative technologies and solutions being used in cleanup activities
• Future uses of the Hanford Site
TRIDEC Requests Hanford Land for Economic Growth
The Tri-City Development Council asked the Department of Energy on Tuesday for 1,341 acres of Hanford land next to Richland city limits for economic development.
"TRIDEC intends this to be the first of several requests which will help offset future Hanford staff reductions," wrote Carl Adrian, TRIDEC president, in a letter to Matt McCormick, manager of the DOE Hanford Richland Operations Office.
The letter also pointed out that DOE has a long history of turning over Hanford land to community interests, leading to significant economic growth in the Hanford area and creation of jobs.
TRIDEC was joined in the latest request by the city of Richland, the Port of Benton and Benton County.
The request has the support of Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, both D-Wash., and Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., plus the Tri-Cities state legislative delegation, all of whom sent letters of support to DOE.
"Lands no longer needed for cleanup should not be locked away by the federal government into perpetuity," wrote Hastings. "In order to attract private investment and private sector jobs, portions of these land must be made available for transfer -- and not limited to federal leases."
The Comprehensive Land Use Plan for Hanford calls for most land in the 586 square mile nuclear reservation to be used for preservation or conservation as environmental cleanup is completed from the past production of weapons plutonium.
However, 10 percent of the land is planned for industrial use.
TRIDEC is requesting land bordered by Horn Rapids Road on the south and Stevens Drive on the east. The land primarily was used as a buffer area for parts of the nuclear reservation where plutonium production occurred. Before World War II, it was used for farming.
The parcel is one of the few "mega-sites" -- a site larger than 500 acres -- available for industrial use in Washington, according to the TRIDEC request. In the Tri-Cities, there are no other large and contiguous parcels of land near distribution systems to support industries that require a large manufacturing space or buffer areas for development and safe operations, the request said.
The site has access to large energy transmission distribution lines and switch yards, rail lines, ocean-going barges and major freeway systems.
TRIDEC and its partners are proposing dividing it into a 900-acre site, which would support one or two large enterprises providing 2,000 to 3,000 jobs combined. In addition three smaller 100- to 200-acre sites would support another 400 to 500 jobs combined.
"These new jobs will help directly offset the coming downturn in employment at the Hanford site as the cleanup mission nears completion," the request said.
Hanford has about 12,000 workers, but 1,600 jobs are expected to be cut as most of federal economic stimulus money is spent by the end of September.
"The Tri-Cities also recognizes that Congressional funding cuts and completion of cleanup along the Columbia River will lead to an additional 1,000 or more jobs being reduced from Hanford before 2015," the request said.
TRIDEC already has had interest from an undisclosed international firm looking for a large site. If the company selects the Tri-City site, it would invest at least $2 billion to develop a plant and would want to own the site rather than lease it.
TRIDEC is requesting transfer of the land at below market value because of the cost of improvements needed. Those include road, sewer, water and electrical infrastructure.
The request Tuesday for the 1,341 acres is the first of three that TRIDEC plans to request in the next five years.
"This could obviously be a big first step for the community in helping determine a piece of the post-cleanup future of the Hanford site," said Colleen French, DOE Hanford government affairs program manager.
DOE Hanford officials have 90 days to review the TRIDEC proposal and decide if transferring the land is in the government's best interest, she said.
In addition to replying to TRIDEC then, Hanford officials also will forward their recommendation to DOE headquarters. If the proposal moves forward, it would need approval by the energy secretary and then would be sent to Congress.
TRIDEC points out that DOE and other federal agencies have a long history of successfully releasing land to community interests, starting in 1958 when Richland went from being a "company" town owned by DOE for Hanford employees to a municipality with privately owned homes.
The Richland airport and hundreds of acres of nearby land were released to the Port of Benton starting in 1962. The Corps of Engineers also sold 290 acres to the port in 1961 for $100,000, leading to the development of a major dock used by the U.S. Navy for unloading nuclear materials bound for Hanford.
Camp Hanford and the 1100 Area of Hanford also have been released to community interests. Now what was once federal land is home to Energy Northwest headquarters, InnovaTek, Battelle and Washington State University Tri-Cities.
In addition, 6,000 acres of former Hanford land west of Stevens Drive and south of Horn Rapids Road now is home to companies such as ATI Allvac Specialty Metals, PermaFix and Areva. Businesses on the acreage employ about 1,000 workers.
Read More...Vit Plant Engineers Complete Civil Design of High Level Waste Facility
Richland, Wash. -- Engineers at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant, also known as the “Vit Plant,” recently completed the civil, structural and architectural design for the High-Level Waste Facility. When complete, the building will consist of more than 87,000 cubic yards of concrete and more than 10,000 tons of structural steel.
“The High-Level Waste Facility is the most structurally complex of the Vit Plant’s four major nuclear facilities,” Tom Patterson, manager of engineering for Bechtel, said. “It contains a significant number of rooms and non-traditional civil structures that are designed to provide radiological protection and comply with seismic and other critical design criteria.”
The High-Level Waste Facility is 270 feet wide by 440 feet long and will stand 96 feet tall. It will house the two 90-ton melters that will heat the waste and glass-forming agents to 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit before they are poured into stainless steel canisters for permanent storage. The civil, structural and architectural design for the facility comprises approximately 3,000 drawings, calculations and data sheets.
“The design has been reviewed by the Department of Energy, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board and other regulatory agencies to ensure the utmost safety and quality standards are upheld,” Jeff Trent, Department of Energy area project manager for the facility, said. “Completion of the High-Level Waste Facility civil design is a significant step towards completing construction in 2016 and achieving operations in 2019.”
The High-Level Waste Facility design is currently 86 percent complete, and the overall Vit Plant design is currently 80 percent complete.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Suzanne Heaston, Bechtel National, Inc., (509) 371-2329
TRI-CITIES LEADERS MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
THREE RIVERS COMMUNITY ROUNDTABLE UPDATE
Held at the Kennewick Red Lion Hotel, the Three Rivers Community Roundtable had an exciting discussion this morning. Many major projects making a difference in the Tri-Cities area were presented by community leaders. Among the community leaders presenting was WA State Governor, Christine Gregoire. Governor Gregoire made it evident once again that our state is indeed in a budget crisis. She commented that if there were additional dollars in the budget, each one of them would benefit education. Workforce development and education of the next generation of leaders in this community is key to our future success. Below are only a few of the highlights of the exciting projects and strategies for a brighter tomorrow that were presented at this morning's roundtable.
- Tri-Cities Regional Public Facilities District is actively working towards 2 major projects.
- STEM education at Delta High School continues to grow.
- United Way's Prepared by 20 Program is giving kids the assets they need to succeed!
- Wine Science Center at WSU Tri-Cities Campus is well underway!
- The Mid-Columbia Energy Initiative, Powered by the Tri-City Development Council has over 103 member companies!
- Innovation Partnerships in economic development are thriving in the Tri-Cities Research District!
- Tourist opportunities of the Tri-Cities are endless thanks to the Tri-Cities Visitor & Convention Bureau!
- The Young Professional's of Tri-Cities continue to connect and engage the next generation of leaders through service, social networking, a speaker series and more!
As city and business leaders continue to support the Three Rivers Community Roundtable, it is no surprise that this community is accomplishing great things!
Best Regards,
Kayla Pratt
Director of Communications & Membership
Tri-City Development Council
(509) 735-1000
1-800-TRI-CITY (874-2489)
Read More...Vista Engineering Technologies Takes Charge
Richland, WA -- Vista Engineering Technologies, LLC (VET) announced today its entrance into the Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) market. The service offering provides plug-in conversions for Prius and other Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) owners, as well as install charging station infrastructure at businesses, residences and government facilities throughout the Columbia basin.
VET’s expansion into the electric vehicle (EV) market will also include engineering and integration services for private and public sector fleets of mid-to-heavy duty vehicles including vanpools, buses, and delivery trucks. “There are significant gains for transit authorities, public fleets and transporters targeting a reduction in fuel consumption, cost and emissions” said Vista President Phil Ohl. “Vista is going after this market very aggressively. The EV market expansion represents a significant impact on energy security and stability. This effort aligns with our sustainability initiatives and is good for the region.”
“The Pacific Northwest is well suited for electric transportation due to the cheap clean power and expensive fuel. We are seeing a significant market shift and Vista is committed to leading the way for Eastern Washington to get plugged in,” said KC Kuykendall, Vista’s Sustainable Solutions Team Manager. Vista’s goal is to develop an E.V. charging infrastructure and PHEV demand that will support the region’s bid as a national leader in the clean energy economy.
“This is a natural migration for our Energy Services team,” Kuykendall said. “Our history of delivering technical solutions to the renewable energy and transportation industries is simply combined with this effort. Our aim is to lead the EV market transformation in Eastern Washington, Oregon and Idaho by making PHEV’s more affordable, and the charging infrastructure manageable for local utilities and grid-balancing authorities.”
Tri-City Area Shows Steady Job Gains
The latest tally of employment figures in the Mid-Columbia shows steady job gains for Benton and Franklin counties, in contrast to a swelling number of unemployment claims statewide.
State Employment Security Department officials report nearly 500,000 Washington workers have collected $4.7 billion in unemployment benefits so far this year. The department reported that was 17.5 percent more than the $4 billion paid last year in unemployment claims.
Read more: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2010/12/24/1303306/tri-city-area-shows-steady-job.html#ixzz19LRiBa6k
Read More...UNITI WINS MAJOR CP TITANIUM ORDER
ATI in the News
American Metal Market, 17 December 2010
Uniti LLC has secured its largest order to date as the U.S.-Russian joint venture was chosen to supply commercially
pure (CP) titanium for a Saudi Arabian desalination plant, apparently winning market share from a competitive
material.
The Moon Township, Pa., joint venture of Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI) and VSMPO-Avisma Corp., which
focuses on the non-aerospace industrial markets, will provide 5.5 million to 6 million pounds of narrow strip used to
produce tubing for a seawater desalination project in Ras Az Zawr, Saudi Arabia, the company said.
Uniti will supply a "significant portion" of the CP titanium strip to South Korea's Doosan Heavy Industries &
Construction Co. Ltd., which will build the plant. It will be the world's largest seawater desalination facility.
The value of the contract wasn't disclosed. Uniti's strip shipments are expected to be "spread evenly throughout
2011," ATI said.
Both VSMPO and ATI's Richland, Wash., electron beam cold hearth melting operation will supply slabs for hot
rolling to ATI's Allegheny Ludlum facility in Houston, Pa., an ATI spokesman said. From there, the titanium will be
cold rolled into sheet that is then cut into narrower strip at the company's Louisville, Ohio, plant. Fabrication into
tubing is expected to take place mainly in Asia.
Raz Az Zawr includes an unusually high proportion of titanium tubing in contrast to some previous desalination
plants of its type, where other alloys played a larger role, an industry source said, noting that the project's total
titanium requirement?"too big for any one supplier to handle"?could end up at around 6,200 tonnes (about 13.7
million pounds) out of total global tubing capacity of 11,000 tonnes.
The area of the multistage flash desalination plant, for which Uniti is supplying the titanium strip, has typically used
copper-nickel alloy. Competitive pricing was believed to play a role in titanium's larger-than-usual share of the
project.
Uniti has targeted desalination as an important growth market. L. Patrick Hassey, ATI's chairman and chief executive
officer, said in October that he saw strong demand potential for new overseas desalination plants, with new facilities
requiring 12 million to 15 million pounds of titanium tubes and piping per project. He believes this market could
change "the dynamics of the entire titanium supply."
Earlier in October, Uniti president Kevin Cain told the International Titanium Association that "thousands of tonnes"
of tubes will be needed to support the desalination industry in 2011. Cain said desalination is part of the global
infrastructure market for CP titanium, which from 2008 to 2010 fell 50 percent to just over 10,000 tonnes (about 22
million pounds), but is expected to be around 20,000 tonnes in 2012 and 2013. Moreover, while power generation
was expected to account for the single-largest share of infrastructure-related titanium this year, it is seen sharing that
role with desalination starting in 2011.
Infrastructure, which Cain pegged at about 40 percent of the global market for industrial titanium (excluding the
aerospace, military and medical sectors) will grow to 50 percent, spurred by desalination, power generation, and oil
and gas demand. The total global industrial titanium market is seen breaching 40,000 tons in 2012 and 2013 for the
first time since 2008, when it hit 47,000 tonnes.
AMIC Signs Exclusive Global License for Advanced Resorbable Yttrium-90 Brachytherapy Seeds
Press Release Source: Advanced Medical Isotope Corporation On Thursday October 7, 2010, 9:00 am EDT
KENNEWICK, Wash., Oct. 7, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Advanced Medical Isotope Corporation, ("AMIC") (OTCQB:ADMD), a company engaged in the production and distribution of medical isotopes, is delighted to announce the execution of an exclusive world-wide license for patented technology for a proprietary brachytherapy seed with a fast-dissolving matrix for optimized delivery of radionuclides to cancer tissue.
The resorbable seed provides controlled delivery of insoluble yttrium-90 microspheres. The new seed is a joint invention by radiochemists and medical physicists at Battelle in Richland, Washington, and pharmaceutical chemists at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. AMIC is testing and conducting research to develop the new brachytherapy seed, and anticipates filing Premarket Notification (510k) with the FDA in October, 2010. According to AMIC CEO James C. Katzaroff, "Yttrium-90 is an important high-energy beta-emitting medical isotope with outstanding potential for treating highly localized cancer. Controlled delivery of yttrium-90 microspheres in fast-resorbable seeds should provide a unique opportunity to maximize the therapeutic index. This feature should provide high-dose therapy of non-recectable solid tumors with minimal side-effects to neighboring normal tissues."
AMIC anticipates the use of these seeds for prostate cancer as well as for many of the more radiation-resistant cancers such as brain tumors, head and neck tumors, and liver cancer. The resorbable seeds resemble conventional metal brachytherapy seeds and may be placed by direct injection using standard needles, grids, and imaging systems. However, AMIC expects that the technology should enable seed manufacturing at lower-cost relative to conventional welded-metal seeds.
Unlike current seeds that remain in the body emitting low levels of penetrating photon radiation for extended periods of time, yttrium-90 decays with a shorter physical half-life (2.7 days), with negligible radiation outside the patient. The shorter half-life also suggests a potentially higher biological effective dose (BED) value for cancer cell destruction. The insoluble form of the yttrium-90 microspheres effectively confines the radioactivity to the injection site and limits potential dissolution into blood. "Yttrium-90 continues to demonstrate outstanding properties of a preferred medical isotope for cancer treatment, said AMIC Chief Science Officer, Dr. Robert Schenter, "it has been used very effectively as microspheres for treating liver cancer and in cell-directed immunotherapy (Zevalin) for treating non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Yttrium-90 is readily available from commercial suppliers.
About Advanced Medical Isotope Corporation
Advanced Medical Isotope Corporation (AMIC) (OTCQB:ADMD) is a company engaged in the production and distribution of medical isotopes for advanced diagnostic and non-surgical therapeutic application. AMIC's goal is to empower physicians, medical researchers, and ultimately patients by providing them with essential medical isotopes that, until now, have not been feasible or economical, in an effort to detect and cure human disease. For more information, please visit our website, www.isotopeworld.com
The Advanced Medical Isotope Corporation logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=5139
About Battelle
Battelle is the world's largest independent research and development organization. Battelle provides solutions to the world's most pressing needs through its four global businesses: Laboratory Management, National Security, Energy Technology, and Health and Life Sciences. Headquarted in Columbus, Ohio, Battelle oversees 22,000 employees in more than 130 locations worldwide, including Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash. PNNL employs 4,900 staff, has an annual budget of nearly $1.1 billion, and has been managed by Battelle since the lab's inception in 1965.
About the University of Utah
The University of Utah is an institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. Founded in 1850, it is the first and largest public higher education institution in Utah, with more than 28,000 students from all 50 states and 110 countries, and a campus comprising 1,534 acres in the foothills of the Wasatch Range in Salt Lake City.
Read More...CORKSWEST TOPS IN WASHINGTON WINES
Paul Schlienz - (Washington Business Summer 2010)
It's the only thing that stands between you and a nice glass of cabernet sauvignon. Find out why that little wedge of cork means big business for one burgeoning Kennewick company.
For centuries, corks have been the last thing in a bottle of wine and the first thing out.
READ MORE
TRI-CITIES, WA CONTINUES NATIONAL LEAD IN YEAR-OVER-YEAR EMPLOYMENT GROWTH
Tri-Cities, WA -- The Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, WA MSA has experienced the highest average monthly Year-Over-Year Employment Growth among the nation's 372 metropolitan areas. The first five months average monthly growth rate was 3.8%. A total of seventeen U.S. metros have experienced five consecutive months of year-over-year employment growth from January-May 2010, according to the July 2010 Garner Economics Article, "Job Growth in U.S. Metros, July 2010 Employment Analysis."
The Tri-Cities tops the nation in job growth for the first half of 2010 and continues to show growth in the months of June-July 2010. Since the March 2010 Garner Economics Job Growth in U.S. Metros Report, the Tri-Cities average monthly job growth rate has increased from 3.4% to 3.8% according to the July 2010 Garner Employment Analysis.
Garner Economics reports on Job Growth in U.S. Metros showcase that the Tri-Cities has led the nation for 17 consecutive months on year-over-year job growth for January 2009-May 2010. Only one other MSA, Sandusky, OH, has experienced 17 consecutive months of
year-over-year job growth January 2009-May 2010 at an average monthly growth rate of 2.5%.
"Of course we have to recognize that a portion of the growth we have experienced occurred because of stimulus funding received by Hanford contractors. However, looking across the 17 month period the Tri-Cities has seen other areas of strong job growth in health care, the food processing industry, and manufacturing," said TRIDEC President and CEO Carl Adrian.
Garner Economics LLC, provides innovative economic development solutions in a competitive global market.
In Difficult Budget Year, Senator Murray Secures $50 Million Increase for Hanford Cleanup in 2011
Murray improves upon President’s budget request by $50 million to help meet legal and moral obligation to clean up goals
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) a senior member of the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Committee, announced that she has worked to secure another clear and consistent budget for Hanford cleanup for Fiscal Year 2011. Murray’s announcement comes during a very difficult budget year and means that work to continue to clean up the nation’s most contaminated nuclear site can go forward without cutbacks. Senator Murray has been the lead advocate in the U.S. Senate for consistent and adequate budgets for Environmental Management and Hanford cleanup.
Office of River Protection: $1,158,178,000
Hanford Site (RL): $1,018,929,000 - $50 million above the President’s request
RICHLAND BREAKS GROUND ON SOLAR PROJECT
Richland's city electric utility is working to add solar power to its grid.
The renewable power source will help fulfill a requirement of Initiative 937 passed by state voters in 2006. The clean energy initiative requires an electric utility with 25,000 or more customers to use "eligible renewable resources" to meet a portion of its load -- 3 percent by 2012, 9 percent by 2016 and 20 percent by 2020.
The city has taken a major step toward that goal by partnering with the Port of Benton, the Tri-Cities Research District and Kennewick's Infinia Corp. to establish a solar project on 10 acres near First Street and Stevens Drive in Richland. The port land has leased the site to the city for $1 a year for 20 years.
A ground breaking ceremony was held Thursday for the project.
The pilot project involves setting up 12 to 15 solar power generators made by Infinia -- the first-ever commercial installation of the Kennewick company's 3-kilowatt PowerDish -- which will be connected to the city's power grid.
The PowerDish generators use concentrated sunlight with Infinia's free-piston Stirling engine to generate electricity.
The project will demonstrate how solar power can be harnessed effectively to reduce dependence on any single source of power, said U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash.
"The diversification of power sources is a good idea," Hastings said. "We need to have pilot projects for other energy sources as well."
The demonstration system is expected to be functional by fall, said J.D. Sitton, Infinia's president and chief executive officer.
It will generate 45 kilowatts, enough to take care of the energy needs of up to eight homes, he said.
The pilot project will show Infinia technology works and that "we are commercially available," Sitton said.
There's room for adding hundreds of Infinia's PowerDish systems at the site, he said.
The Hanford site gets enough sunlight that it could generate power equal to 16 nuclear plants, each generating about 1,100 megawatts, Sitton said.
One nuclear plant can supply enough power to meet the needs of Seattle.
The Richland project will show how to make the Tri-Cities a green area, said Raymon D. Sieler, Richland Energy Services director.
The city will spend $350,000 for site improvement and to buy and install Infinia's PowerDish systems, Sieler said. The project will pave the way to integrate solar in the city's power grid, which is now largely supported by hydroelectric power, he said.
Gary Spanner, chairman of the Tri-Cities Research District board, called the project a means to promote clean technology. It fits in with the aims of the research district, he said, and there's nothing better than having a local manufacturer bring the clean tech concept to reality.
The research district, which adjoins the solar project area, plans to buy a few additional PowerDish systems for the project, Spanner said.
May Marks 5th Month of Growth
According to our Regional Labor Economist, Ajsa Suljic, May marks the 5th month of employment growth for the Tri-Cities MSA. The majority of the employment gains were in the private services and goods producing sectors.
Over the year, the Tri-Cities MSA has seen an addition of 3,000 nonfarm jobs. These jobs are in the professional and business services, retail trade, government (mainly federal), trade, transportation and warehousing, education, and health services. The annual growth of more than 3% put the total number of nonfarm jobs to 99,300 last month.
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