Energy Digital magazine - November 2017

Nove mb e r 2017

www.energydigital.com

Top 10 greenest data centres

Tower of

power

Dubai showcases the world’s largest solar tower

SUSTAINABILITY. MARKETABILITY. PROFITABILITY.

An interview with Schneider Electric’s new UK & Ireland Zone President Mike Hughes

FOREWORD HELLO AND WELCOME to the November edition of Energy Digital. In this month’s issue, the new UK & Ireland zone President of Schneider Electric talks all things energy efficiency and sustainability, and how they are indispensable assets that can build both a trusted brand and a profitable business.

The world’s largest solar tower is about to rise up out of the desert in Dubai, and we take a look at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park’s new tower that reduce carbon emissions by more than 6mn tonnes per year.

Sticking with power emissions, Terracon looks to lay a foundation for the future of wind turbine design, as VP of Power Generation & Transmission Blair Loftis takes us through the lofty ambitions of the company’s expansion plans.

Rounding out the issue, we look at 10 of the greenest data centres in the world and Canadian Solar, taking technology ingenuity to new heights.

Enjoy the issue!

www.energydigital.com www.bizclikmedia.com

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F E AT U R ES

Sustainability.

Marketability.

Profitability.

INTERVIEW

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TECHNOLOGY

TOWER OF POWER 4

November 2017

TOP 10

TOP 10 GREENEST DATA CENTRES

C O M PA N Y R E P O R T S

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TERRACON USA

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CANADIAN SOLAR INC CANADA

58 ENVAC

MIDDLE EAST

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INTERVIEW

Sustainability.

Marketability.

Profitability.

Wr it ten by TOM WADLOW

For Schneider Electric and its new UK & Ireland Zone President Mike Hughes, energy efficiency and sustainability are not simply good news stories. They are indispensable assets that can build a trusted brand and, ultimately, a more profitable business

INTERVIEW MIKE HUGHES AND Schneider Electric found each other at the right time.

Working in the Black Forest for a company which was bought by the then rapidly-growing French energy management firm in 2000, Hughes has since enjoyed a career that has seen him master the full spectrum of Schneider in markets the world over.

From Taiwan to Paris and now to London, the new UK & Ireland zone President is ready to drop anchor and transform the fortunes of businesses operating in a host of energy-intensive industries.

“It was a mixture of business and private life that led me to this position,” he says. “I had already moved to London one and a half years ago, continuing my global customer account role based from here. My family has grown up and are attending university in London and settling down, so from a personal perspective it was the right move as well.

“My main priority is to make sure we get the key message out there about what Schneider Electric is trying to achieve – we are a company that is at the centre of a very exciting space at the moment. The big question is 8

November 2017

“Many see a predicament in meeting their short term quarterly or monthly performance and doing the right thing in terms of implementing sustainable practices for the medium and longer term” - Mike Hughes, Zone President UK & Ireland, Schneider Electric

how we can continue to consume more energy without further polluting the world with carbon dioxide.”

Secret to Sustainable Success An equally important question, and one which Schneider has just commissioned a report into, concerns the appetite of UK and Ireland businesses for adopting sustainable change.

The research looked into the

responses of hundreds of company executives regarding how to deal with the challenge of driving profitable and sustainable business at a time of unprecedented urbanisation, digitisation and industrialisation.

“The awareness of the challenge is certainly there,” Hughes observes.

“This is doubtless a positive thing. I certainly see a whole community that is acutely aware of the need to drive sustainability and energy efficiency.”

There is a dilemma, however.

“Many see a predicament in meeting their short term quarterly or monthly performance targets and doing the right thing in terms of implementing sustainable practices for the medium and longer term,” Hughes continues. “That is the dichotomy of the market right now, and we just have to keep working on that.”

Throw the question of the UK’s departure from the European Union 9

INTERVIEW into the mix, and that short versus mid-to-long term dilemma becomes even more pronounced. “But has it changed the thinking and desire for sustainability?” Hughes asks.

“Absolutely not. This is a topic that overrides politics. It is about brand image and profitability.”

Selling sustainability There is no better way of proving this than through the showcasing of real life examples, something that Schneider Electric’s portfolio contains in abundance.

Hughes points to a recent project with Deloitte’s headquarters in Amsterdam. Not only did the multinational demand a user-friendly and enlightening space for its employees to work in, it treated the work as a financial investment. As a result, the building now produces more energy than it consumes and makes money by selling surplus power back to the Dutch grid.

“This is when it becomes real,” Hughes says. “You have to get across the fact this is a positive investment, not something that is done purely for environmental and company image reasons. There is a genuine business case for it, and this is a 10

November 2017

shift that is beginning to happen.”

This is true of Schneider Electric itself, which has forever been the greatest champion of its own technology and solutions.

“We don’t just go out and preach to the market what might be achieved,” Hughes adds. “We use our own technologies and reveal every quarter our progress towards carbon reduction – these are things we can also take to our customers and say: ‘this is what we have done’.”

Knowledge is power Clearly Schneider is best-placed to implement its own ideas, its vast employee base well-versed in the latest technology and analytical skills to maximise the energysaving potential of its services.

But what about companies lacking the necessary digital expertise? For Hughes, this is arguably the greatest obstacle to overcome over the next few years.

“People are little bit overwhelmed with the topic,” he says. “Everything is smart, whether it be smart buildings, smart infrastructure, smart cities and so on. All the devices are now being connected and people are getting

information about what is happening in their building, what is happening in their oil and gas pipeline, what is happening inside their hospital.”

However, not all companies necessarily have the skills needed to manage this information. While some businesses are looking to address this by employing the likes of digitisation

officers, it is starkly apparent that demand for this expertise is outstripping supply, a problem not confined to the UK and Ireland.

“It is a little like when the IT industry first started when the first PC came out,” Hughes recalls. “A whole new generation of job profiles that never existed before had to evolve, and I am

Zone President UK & Ireland

Mike Hughes

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INTERVIEW

xxxxxxx in no doubt that the UK will master this latest generation of skills required.”

Schneider’s role is to produce solutions that are as simple as possible to understand, pulling together numerous data streams into dashboards and analytical insights in ways that do not overwhelm as Hughes alluded to. A requisite of this? Staying ahead of the curve.

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November 2017

“There are three ways we try to stay ahead,” Hughes explains. “First is R&D, the classical way. We invest 5% of our revenue every year into this, which currently is over €1bn (US$1.17bn). Second is acquisitions.

We’re trying to bring in new technology and new people with new skills to expand our own knowledge base.

We need people who think differently

“A whole new generation of job profiles that never existed before had to evolve, and I am in no doubt that the UK will master this latest generation of skills required” - Mike Hughes, Zone President UK & Ireland, Schneider Electric

to us to integrate into the business.

“The last way is simply the practical experience we have built up over time. We have completed many, many projects in a number of sectors and are able to understand and retain knowledge of best practice.”

Keeping pace What was no more than a buzzword a decade ago is now ingrained into society writ large, and businesses failing to ingrain sustainability and energy efficiency into their operations and culture risk falling behind. Equally, the opportunities and rewards to be reaped are game-changing.

This is the clear message Schneider Electric will continue to push in the UK and Ireland, and Hughes believes the topic will become a major talking point in the coming decades.

“My honest advice is, if you’ve started that journey, keep going,” he says. “If you haven’t started

that journey, why haven’t you?

If businesses don’t embrace sustainability and energy efficiency, they are ultimately missing out on profitability and also a brand image story. Consumers are making choices every day based on the brand and the story of that brand.”

It is a challenge facing organisations in all parts of the world, something Hughes is acutely aware of given his first-hand experience of the past 20-plus years.

He concludes: “The future is electric and the future is digital. The challenge we have today is how we generate that electricity, and most of it is still generated by fossil fuels. Populations are growing, GDPs are rising and people want to consume more.

“This constant demand and how we feed that demand is the key issue, and Schneider has a big role to play in making sure we use that electricity as efficiently as possible.”

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TECHNOLOGY

TOWER OF POWER

The world’s largest solar tower is about to rise up out of the desert in Dubai, catching more than just global attention…

Written by TA M S I N O X F O R D

IT’S THE CROWN that will sit atop hundreds of jewelled panels tilted toward the desert sun – a solar tower that will rise an incredible 853ft into the sky and deliver 700MW of additional power. The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park’s new tower will extend the plant’s huge footprint to 134 sq km and is designed to reduce carbon emissions by a staggering 6.5mn tonnes every single year.

The Solar Park was first announced in 2012 as part of the UAE’s clean and sustainable energy strategy.

Designed to deliver a production capacity of 5,000MW by 2030, the park is managed by the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) and is currently the largest renewable energy project on a single plot in the world. The vision of the project is to gradually build up the park’s capabilities over five clearly defined phases, each one marked by a sizeable shift in capacity and investment.

The first phase of the project was 15

TECHNOLOGY launched in 2013 with impressive results. Today, the park generates 13MW of clean energy and 24mn kWh of electricity per year, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 15,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year. The second phase of the project started operations in March 2017, producing enough electricity to power 50,000 homes and delivering an additional 200MW of power. It consists of 2.3mn photovoltaic (PV) panels, covers an area of 4.5mn sq km and has brought the project one step closer to its final goal. The third phase, to develop an 800MW solar PV power plant, was awarded

to a consortium led by Masdar and will be completed in a phased approach over the next three years.

However, it is the fourth phase – the solar tower – that is currently making the world sit back and look up. “This project is a major step forward for the solar energy industry,” says Andrea Masini, Associate Professor of Information Systems and Operations Management at HEC Paris. “With a further 700MW of concentrated solar power (CSP) capacity to be added to the existing 200MW plant, not only is this set to be the largest solar plant in the world, but it will

The solar park opening Ceremony Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum

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November 2017

provide a significant contribution to climate stabilisation goals. The plant is expected to save 2.4mn tonnes of greenhouse gases each year.”

The construction and development of the solar tower has been awarded to another consortium, this time consisting of ACWA Power from Saudi Arabia and Shanghai Electric from China, and it will be completed over three stages with the first due for completion in 2020. Approximately 3,750 hectares will be covered in mirrors, concentrating the sun’s rays towards the tower. Just like traditional fossil fuel power plants, the energy provided by this plant will be available all times of the day – a challenge that few renewable energy plants have managed to overcome sustainably. This tower will be adapting a strategy employed by a similar solar plant, the Crescent Dunes power plant in California.

The Crescent Dunes plant pioneered a unique methodology and became the first solar plant capable of providing cost-effective power without being dependent on available sunshine.

Crescent Dunes uses the mirrors at its plant to heat a tank of sodium and potassium nitrates, pushing their

‘The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park’s new tower will extend the plant’s huge footprint to 134 sq km and is designed to reduce carbon emissions by a staggering 6.5mn tonnes every single year’ temperatures as high as 565°C. To generate electricity, the hot salt is used to boil water that produces highpressure steam which then turns the turbines. This results in electricity on demand. When the salt isn’t needed, it is stored underground in its molten state until required. The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park tower will use a similar methodology, with troughs collecting the heat from the tower and storing it in molten salt.

Alongside its sheer size and scope, there is another aspect to the project that makes it stand out - its cost.

“This park will be generating MWs 17

TECHNOLOGY of energy and its capabilities in generating this 24/7 make it incredibly versatile and powerful,” says Martin Brown, independent advisor and sustainability consultant at Fairsnape.

“One of the downsides to this type of power is usually its cost; the plant in California is struggling to achieve its predicted output so the cost of the kWh produced hasn’t met the targets yet. This makes it more expensive and impacts on development and uptake.”

This is not a challenge faced by those who are set to benefit from the Dubai-based park as it will be providing power at a levelised tariff – the incredibly competitive rate of $7.30 per kWh. This price competes directly with those commonly associated with fossil fuel plants and is one that few other plants can compete with.

They are under pressure to recoup the heavy costs that come with investment and infrastructure. The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park rate is the lowest in the world.

The sheer size and scale of this project, along with its predicted cost, sends a signal to the wider market that large-scale CSP is a viable option in decarbonising the economy. The Dubai project is not alone in its efforts, 18

November 2017

“By building this solar park, Dubai is sending a clear message to the rest of the world that renewables offer competitive opportunities for energy independence and diversification” Andrea Masini, Associate Professor of Information Systems and Operations Management at HEC Paris

joining numerous other solar towers in its search for solar supremacy.

Alongside Crescent Dunes in California is the Aurora Solar Energy Project in Australia (set to cost $510mn), the 4.5GW project currently being planned

by TuNur in Tunisia, The Solar Platform in Seville (cost estimated at $118mn), the Ashalim project in the Negev Desert in Israel, and the Atacama 1 in Chile (cost estimated at $1.1bn).

While the tower is a beacon of sustainable light in a world where climate change and fossil fuel depletion are an increasingly concerning reality, there are some issues that need to be considered going forward. “There is concern from ecologists around birds, insects and other wildlife,” says Brown. “The power of the beams between the tower and the collectors

is incredibly intense and bird strikes are one issue to consider. I think it is vital that we look to alternatives to the traditional fossil fuels, however, and this sends a powerful message that flies in the face of the fossil fuel industry.”

It is a sentiment that Masini shares: “By building this solar park, Dubai is sending a clear message to the rest of the world that renewables offer competitive opportunities for energy independence and diversification, even in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries where the competition with fossil resources has traditionally been fierce. Since Dubai has a good track record in the development of large scale projects, I am confident that this experience will play a role in guaranteeing the success of this project.”

The park was first announced in 2012

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TOP 10 GREENEST DATA CENTRES

Here are the 10 most environmentally friendly data centres in the world, based on their Power Usage Efficiency (PUE) Writ ten by OLIVIA MINNOCK

T O P 10

CITIGROUP, GERMANY

Website: www.citigroup.com Citigroup’s data centre makes the list after enormous progress. Its giant data centre in Frankfurt started at 2.8 PUE and has been brought down by nearly half to 1.5, and the company is still on a mission to get it to 1.0.

Awarded with a platinum rating from LEED in 2009, this building is covered in vegetation. Climbing greenery covers each wall of the 230,000 sq-ft building, which also features a roof garden. The plants absorb the heat to lower energy use and purify the air both in and around the buildings.

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09 GREEN MOUNTAIN, NORWAY

Website: www.greenmountain.no The fjords aren’t just natural works of art, they’re also excellent sources for hydroelectricity. The aptly named Green Mountain data centre in the northern city of Stavanger sources water directly from the fjord, and uses gravity to pump it in. Therefore, the centre uses no energy in order to bring in the water that cools its servers. Since the water is a cool 46° Fahrenheit at any time of year, Green Mountain has a PUE of just 1.2.

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TITAN, USA

Website: www.titandataservices.com In Washington State, you’ll find Titan Data Centre. This facility used to be a missile base for the Air Force before it was taken over for use as a server farm. Washington State has been one of the forerunners when it comes to green movement, so it’s no surprise that this centre clocks in at a PUE of 1.18. The centre uses evaporative cooling, which essentially cools the machines as the water turns into a gas. Due to the desert heat of the location, the rate of evaporation is high, thus speeding up the cooling process.

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C R E D I T: P L U S S E R V E R / F L I C K R

07 DATADOCK, FRANCE

Website: www.heg.com Datadock is located in Strasbourg, France, and uses water wells that were custom-built specifically for the servers. Using plentiful groundwater sources at a temperature of just under 54°, the centre manages to hit a PUE of 1.18. The water not only extracts the heat from the servers, but the whole system is designed to ensure zero pollution and zero waste. All leftover water can be reused again to cool off the servers.

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GENERATION 4, USA

Website: www.microsoft.com Microsoft wasn’t always sporting the best numbers with its data centres, but the company also had a lot of opportunities and time to learn from its failures. By using ITPACs, or integrated server modules, the Generation 4 data centre runs more efficiently and requires less energy. After plenty of trial and error, Microsoft chose to move into a cooler climate to take advantage of the already chilly air. In the town of Quincy, WA, you’ll find the Generation 4 data centre that sports a lowest PUE of 1.12, while its average is 1.16.

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05 WYNYARD, ENGLAND.

Website: www8.hp.com The town of Stockton in Northeast England has proved to be one of the very best places for Hewlett Packard to practise its brand of green initiatives.

Improving power usage from 1.2 to 1.16 in the past several years, it uses the already cold air that migrates from the North Sea to bring cooling costs down by up to 40%. For a company the size of HP, it is committed to improving energy processes as much for profits as it is for the environment.

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ECODATACENTER, SWEDEN

Website: www.ecodatacenter.se This company has partnered with Schneider Electric to use nearby wind and solar power to keep its facilities cool. Aside from an impressive PUE of 1.15, the centre actually takes any extra heat generated from the servers and pushes it back into homes and businesses to be used. All this takes place in Falun, which is a famous mining town in the centre of the country. Â Â

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03 WYOMING DATA CENTRE, USA

Website: www.greenhousedata.co Cheyenne has one of the best climates for passive cooling. This technique uses outside air that is filtered through an evaporative cooler to keep servers running at their optimum levels. Green House Data is a cloud hosting company with seven different locations, yet its Wyoming operation is most efficient at an average of 1.14 PUE. The dry air found in the state reduces the need for air conditioners and server fans.

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APPLE, USA

Website: www.apple.com In North Carolina, Apple has made a point of starting to practise smarter habits with its power. While it won’t publish its PUE, this centre is reported to tie with Facebook’s Sweden centre at 1.1. It achieves this with the help of biogas, which is the renewable fuel source formed when organic material, for example food waste, starts to break down. With so many landfills nearby, the centre has plenty of energy sources. Apple is also using two 100-acre solar farms, which means the centre uses the most solar power of any data centre in the world.

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01 FACEBOOK, SWEDEN

Website: www.facebook.com/LuleaDataCenter On the northern coast of Sweden, you’ll find the city of Luleå, home to one of Facebook’s many data centres. To balance out the company’s sizeable carbon footprint, Facebook has made a point of improving all data centres.

Its Swedish facility has a PEU of just 1.1. Since northern Sweden is already fairly chilly all year round, Facebook uses the already cold air and treats it with water vapour. With the proper humidity, it can not only cool down the energetic servers, but it can also heat up the normal offices. The hydroelectric power at Facebook’s Sweden centre is so efficient that the company has been able to save costs on its on-site backup power too.

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BRINGING FOUNDATION

to an emerging energy market Written by Dale Benton Produced by Tom Venturo

TERRACON

Through its approach to innovation and collaboration, Terracon continues to provide key engineering solutions to clients in a booming market

T

erracon has been delivering consulting engineering services to clients for more than 50 years. The company, based in Olathe, Kansas, provides geotechnical, environmental, and materials testing services across a number of strategic business sectors, including power generation, oil and gas, transportation and facilities.

Over the last two years, the company has experienced significant growth in one particular sector, power generation and transmission, recording a growth rate of 20% year-on-year.

Heading up the company’s Power

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Generation and Transmission team is Blair Loftis, an experienced project manager having worked in the fields of both construction management, financial optimisation and operational risk management within an electrical utility.

Having that experience in risk management, particularly in the engineering construction industry, proves key to Loftis’s strategic decision making.

“Anybody who wants to get into energy, I recommend that they get to the field first,” he says. “Spend some time in construction, understand firsthand how projects are executed and then you begin to see the relationship between the design process and implementation of that process in the field. If the design isn’t prepared with consideration for how it is going to be built you are headed for problems.”

Loftis feels the power generation market, renewables in particular, is undergoing something of a gold rush, as more and more companies are investing heavily in ways to find more efficient and ultimately costeffective ways to generate power.

USA

This brings about its own form of pressures, as the demand for finding the solution increases and the timeframes for those solutions grows shorter and shorter.

Terracon’s team encompasses more than 4,000 employees in more than 140 offices, so project management proves key in ensuring that each and every one of those employees are being effectively utilised.

“It’s about ensuring that we can pull the right resources from across our enterprise and use them effectively,” says Loftis.

“Having the right perspective as to understanding where your resources are and how to best utilize them, that’s key. It’s a challenge that affects not only us but the wider engineering space.”

As the company has operated for more than 50 years, delivering consistent success and quality of service, Loftis knows where the company’s strengths lie.

“We’ve really focused on what we are good at. We don’t try and be something we are not, we focus on our strengths

It’s about ensuring that we can pull the right resources from across our enterprise and use them effectively

Blair Loftis Vice President National Director, Power Generation & Transmission at Terracon

TERRACON

and that is in geo-design, and more importantly, finding where we as a business can offer the most efficacy and value for our clients.”

The wind energy generation market is an increasingly growing one. Loftis notes that 50% of the capex within the construction cycle of a wind farm goes into the turbines themselves, with the remaining 50% going into “balance of plant” (BOP) – roadways, conductor systems and other infrastructure elements.

The key for Terracon is finding where it can add value into that construction cycle, and Loftis has located it in the foundations.

At a time where the focus on wind energy generation is growing, the result of this increased demand has been to increase the size of the turbines, the height of the tower, and the length of the blades. In turn, the foundation system grows larger and more expensive.

The market is moving towards larger turbines for land based applications; from a typical size in the 2 MW family to turbines rated

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at 3 to 3.5 MWs. Traditionally, the turbines have been constructed with a Gravity Spread foundation design, but with the additional mass at the top of the tower from these larger machines the industry was ripe for a paradigm shift. “We needed to introduce a means of reducing the huge quantities of concrete and steel required for the foundation systems associated with the preference for bigger turbines”, says Loftis.

- “50% of the CAPEX is BOP, and 25% of that is in the foundations, so the challenge then became working out what we can do to optimise the foundation design in order to reduce the overall cost of the construction,” he says.

More than

4,000

employees in over 140 offices

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P&H TPFoundation Looking Down

The solution? The Patrick & Henderson (P&H) Tensionless Pier Foundation, a design that requires a third of the amount of concrete and steel and requires 25% the excavation and backfill when constructing these larger wind turbines. According to Loftis a small experienced crew can easily complete five foundations per week under favourable site conditions. Terracon works closely with qualified P&H foundation construction contractors such as Blount Construction and JBS Energy Solutions to make sure that the

design aligns with the construction execution process. Other large EPC firms such as Blattner Energy, Inc. also has extensive historical experience with the P&H foundation and just recently completed a project with the P&H foundation solution in Northern California. “The P&H foundation has a lot of attributes that reduce the risk profile when you compare it to the traditional Gravity Spread foundation.

There have been fatigue failures in the spread foundations. Some of these leading to catastrophic failure

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TERRACON

From the basement of P&H TP

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USA

of the foundation system. The P&H foundation is constantly under compression so there is no fatigue generated by alternating tension and compression that occurs in the gravity spread” says Loftis.

“So not only the cost savings, but the reduction of risk has made this design more favourable to wind farm owners and those investing in them.”

In addition to this “tensionless pier foundation” Terracon offers two other P&H foundation options, the P&H Rock Anchor foundation and the P&H Soil Anchor foundation. This provides for alternative cost saving foundation options even in rare circumstances when the tensionless pier foundation might not be compatible with site conditions.

Terracon formed an exclusivity agreement with four other companies working as a tight team- Williams Form Engineering Corp., Contech Engineered Solutions, Patrick & Henderson and Structural Observations Services - to be the only provider of the P&H solution in the wind generation market.

It is through this collaborative effort that Terracon establishes itself as a key player in the market, one that stands tall amongst any of its closest competitors.

“It’s an example of the level of innovations that we bring to all our markets, not just wind, and that helps us build client relationships,” says Loftis. “We bring efficiency and economy and locate the value proposition like no other, and through this approach

To make things functionally redundant and ask the question, how can it be done better? How can we improve our efficiency? Let’s change the game completely. That’s what Terracon is all about – Blair Loftis, Vice President - National Director, Power Generation & Transmission at Terracon

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we partner with clients to help them achieve their strategic goals.”

While Terracon can point to the fact that no other company can offer the P&H foundation solution in the wind market, it does have other competitors in the solar space and electrical transmission. But the company has one advantage that no other can compete with, and it comes with experience.

“We have over 50 years of geotechnical data from our work with clients throughout our history,” says Loftis. “That works out at approximately $1bn worth of geotechnical data that we have - no one else has that volume or coverage of data.”

Terracon has been investing $2mn each year in digitizing that data which will consequently provide greater access to it, both internally and externally on the client side. This allows for Terracon, when working with a client, to mine its data at no capital costs. Without sending a single piece

of equipment into the field, Terracon can already inform the decision and design process for its clients. But what if the company has to enter the field?

“If we go out into the field, our repository of proprietary data helps us to economize,” says Loftis.“For example, in characterizing the route for a new electrical transmission line, depending upon the level of our historic data coverage, we won’t need to advance a boring every mile of the way, we can do it every other mile or more. It quite literally cuts the time and cost in half for many projects, allowing the client to better understand the risks and opportunities from the very beginning at a much more effective cost. No one else in the market can offer that value.” This he says is an example of “methods consulting,” rather than just relying upon a wrote

Founded in

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TERRACON

set of broad based industry practices.

In the solar market Terracon also excels by determining the minimum required embedment depth for the steel tracker foundations. This is extremely important says Loftis, “Take for example a 100 MW utility-scale solar farm. If we can minimize the required foundation embedment depth by 12 inches that conserves over 15 linear miles of steel. A significant reduction in construction CAPEX.”

Terracon’s competitors strive to do the same, but the advantage is the expanse of Terracon’s enterprise.

With more than 140 offices local knowledge of soil and geotechnical conditions make Terracon stand apart from the rest. “We have participated in the design of solar projects in 44 states in the U.S., in Canada, Mexico, and LATAM, it is our local expertise that has enabled us to gain this level of market share”, he says.

Blount Contracting is a full service civil construction company specializing in mass excavation, shoring, renewable energy – civil grading and P & H foundation installation.

blountco.com 1353 S Vista Rd Apache Junction AZ 85119 • 480-985-2112 • info@blountco.com

USA

Terracon Imagine

P&H TP-Setting the Bolt Cage

True to the theme of innovation, Terracon has designed a proprietary system to test and evaluate the load forces of the solar foundations.

Terracon’s mobile load testing tripod meets the ASTM standards for testing of deep pile foundations.

This, according to Loftis, provides for a higher level of data accuracy and reproducibility, thus allowing for a higher acuity of design optimization. Equally important is Terracon’s partnerships with

qualified and experienced foundation installers like Houser Solar Services (HSS). “Using construction grade equipment and experienced partners to install the test piles is essential to producing quality data”, says Loftis.

It would be easy for Loftis to rest on his laurels. After all, Terracon is a market leader and utilizes innovation that others can only follow behind.

Instead, Loftis actively seeks out disruption in order to continuously push the boundaries as to what

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TERRACON

Terracon can offer to its clients.

“As the market heads towards bigger foundation designs and larger turbines, the older, more commonly used foundations become functionally redundant,” he says. “And that’s what we want to do. To make things functionally redundant and ask the question, how can it be done better?

How can we improve our efficiency?

Let’s change the game completely.

That’s what Terracon is all about.”

As part of a five-firm collaborative, Loftis owes a lot of his success in power generation and transmission to the collective efforts of that team. Loftis notes of the sense of brotherhood across the partnership, ensuring that each partner’s interests are accounted for,

considered and accommodated.

“We share in the risk and we share in the reward,” says Loftis.

And it’s an approach that extends outward to the client relationships.

“We focus on our client’s biggest challenges, those hurdles keeping them from getting to the next step.

Our goal is to assist in maximizing the prudent allocation of project development capital while minimizing capital at risk.” However, Loftis is not completely averse to risk. “Our clients must be willing to take a risk to reach the next level. We will partner with them in managing the risk, but if their risk tolerance is too low, then the prospects for reward are bound to be lacklustre. To practice industry disruption you must

We focus on our clients’ biggest challenges, those hurdles keeping them from getting to the next step – Blair Loftis, Vice President - National Director, Power Generation & Transmission at Terracon

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P&H TPConcrete Cap

be willing to face risk, look forward with optimism, and burn the boats behind you. These are the pillars of progress through innovation.”

Blair is an ultra-athlete. He has run to the top of the highest mountain in the conterminous United States and run solo from the south rim of the Grand Canyon to the north rim and back again…in a single day. With four busy children, youngest with Down Syndrome and a wife who is a nationally acclaimed trial attorney he doesn’t get much sleep. When young scientist and engineers ask to join Blair’s team he asks one twopart question…Are you an athlete or an insomniac? Beating the punch to their response he offers that if you are both then you will be a rock star in the power market.

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brighter future

FOR THE SOLAR INDUSTRY Written by Laura Mullan Produced by Josef Smith

CANADIAN SOLAR INC.

Technological ingenuity is crucial in the solar industry and no company understands this better than Canadian Solar. By investing heavily in research and development, the company has developed innovative technologies which are increasing the value of solar energy

T

hrough cutting-edge technologies and its commitment to sustainable energy, Canadian Solar is a company which lives up to its slogan - ‘making a difference’. Over its 16-year history, the company has had a successful track record of developing, engineering, constructing and connecting solar projects worldwide and now boasts a total project pipeline of 9.5GW. Indeed, as one of the three biggest solar companies in the world by revenue, Canadian Solar has established itself as a name the industry can trust.

For Dylan Marx, Managing Director of Global EPC and Operations and Maintenance Services, the key to the company’s success lies in its comprehensive services and innovative approach. “We really like to think of ourselves as a full solution

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Field maintenance

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provider rather than just a ‘solar panel Driving efficiency company,” he says. “We’re trying to A commitment to efficiency and really understand what our customers performance is integral to Canadian are looking for, what’s prohibiting Solar’s ethos. The company’s PV them from being successful, and then panels have been so thoroughly tested developing solutions to cater for that.” under harsh conditions, that it not Initially beginning its O&M services only offers a 25-year warranty, but from an asset owner perspective, also guarantees the power output for Canadian Solar has sold many 20 years. The company also of its assets to third parties conducts 359 internal as it has built and quality tests daily and, Canadian Solar developed new ones. in doing so, keeps Inc has a total Demonstrating its efficiency and project pipeline of business acumen, productivity high Canadian Solar on its agenda. continues to provide This commitment O&M services to to efficiency these third party clients also extends to and has expanded its Canadian Solar’s O&M solutions to include a unique services. “We’ve recently offering of products including medium developed a custom monitoring voltage stations, string inverters, PV software platform that conducts a connectors as well as its PV modules. performance test every day based “Now, we primarily service the on the previous day’s performance,” projects that we sold and thanks to our adds Marx. “This allows us to verify O&M services we have been able to every single day that a plant has or leverage our knowledge to maximise hasn’t performed as it was expected the efficiency and performance to, even if there are no obvious of these assets,” says Marx. problems or alarms. This essentially

9.5GW

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“I think we’ll continue to be successful because we’re much more than ‘just a solar company’; we’re a comprehensive solution” – Dylan Marx, Managing Director of Global EPC and O&M Services

allows us to run a performance test on every asset every day.

That commitment to maximising efficiency and performance is a key advantage that we’ve been able to offer to our customers.”

Technological ingenuity With a 9,700-strong workforce globally, Canadian Solar boasts some of the best talent and expertise in

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the industry who are motivated to innovate and research so that they can improve the company’s solar cell and solar module technologies.

With R&D investments of over US$600mn, Canadian Solar is widely recognised as a key innovator in the solar industry, says Marx.

CANADA

Acacia Solar Farm O&M by CSI “R&D is a critical component of our global operation,” he adds. “I think we have some of the most experienced and respected researchers, scientists and engineers who are continually innovating and developing our next wave of technologies.

“The solar industry is very competitive, and often what distinguishes a company is whether it has a head start with a given technology. Therefore, Canadian Solar is investing heavily in R&D to ensure that we are truly at the cutting edge of technology and innovation.”

This drive towards technological ingenuity is a core focus for the company. One cutting-edge

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Beamlight Solar Farm O&M by CSI - 01

“Canadian Solar is investing heavily in R&D to ensure that we are truly at the cutting edge of technology and innovation” – Dylan Marx, Managing Director of Global EPC and O&M Services technology that Marx is particularly excited about are Canadian Solar’s Ku series of modules, the company’s new line of solar products, based on the next-generation dualcell technology. With low power loss in cell interconnection and low operating temperatures, this technology has higher output, better shading performance and is more reliable, explains Marx.

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“It really offers unparalleled performance characteristics,” he says. “There’s a whole range of advantages that the technology offers and I think that’s why the company is focused on and investing in R&D. We really offer a full range of solutions to the market and I think that’s pretty unique. Not many of our competitors offer that type of variety.

“Many of our competitors are

CANADA

Beamlight Solar Farm O&M by CSI - 02 focused on producing as many panels as they can and not focusing on innovation,” Marx adds. “In contrast, Canadian Solar has always been innovative and has tried to offer something different that’s more compelling to the customer.”

The solar industry is a competitive one to be in, but if there is one thing that can define the integrity and indeed the success of a company, it is trust.

A bankable brand Over 1,200 active customers across the globe have put their faith in Canadian Solar. As one of the most long-standing tier-one suppliers in the industry, Canadian Solar has

established itself as a stable business operation and a name that the sector can rely on. “To us, being a tier one supplier is primarily based on trust,” explains Marx. “It shows how much you can trust the quality of Canadian Solar’s products, the performance characteristics that we offer, and the products and services we provide. It demonstrates the bankability of our company and, more than anything, it shows that our customers can trust our products and performance.”

As one of the three biggest solar companies in the world by revenue, Canadian Solar is widely recognised as a market leader in the industry.

With the growth of renewables

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“That commitment to maximising efficiency and performance is a key advantage that we’ve been able to offer to our customers” – Dylan Marx, Managing Director of Global EPC and O&M Services

Panel Washing

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Canadian Solar “Make the Difference”

CANADA

and an increasing focus on ‘going greener’, it seems that the future of Canadian Solar is looking bright.

“We’re very optimistic about the opportunities for solar, the continued adoption of renewables and the growth of these types of technologies,” reflects Marx.

“For example, more than 60% of the total generating capacity that was added in the US last year was solar power. That’s a really striking trend and we expect that growth

of solar energy to continue.

“I think Canadian Solar has a competitive edge because we’re different to some of our competitors,” he concludes. “We feel really proud of our new Ku module technologies as well as the next generation of technologies that we have coming down the pipeline. But more than that, I think we’ll continue to be successful because we’re much more than ‘just a solar company’; we’re a comprehensive solution.”

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An Envac automatic waste collection facility

REMOVING WASTE

CREATING VALUE W R I T T EN BY: CATHERINE STURMAN P R O D U C ED BY: ROB GRAY

ENVAC SUPPORTS DEVELOPING SMART CITIES THROUGH ITS SUSTAINABLE, AUTOMATED VACUUM WASTE SOLUTIONS

“

There are huge opportunities to change the waste management industry. The earlier a design considers waste the better,” explains Envac Business Development Manager Alex Mitchell.

By 2050, cities will house approximately 70% of the human population, creating significant challenges in the way in which we manage waste. Whilst there have been advances in a multitude of industries, waste management has remained the same, creating high levels of pollution and increased health concerns.

However, this is set to change.

Founded in 1961 and with over 1,000 systems operating in 30 countries, Envac works to support the development of smart cities through embedding exceptional technologies that can be applied in large-scale developments, apartments, hospitals, commercial

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buildings and airports. Moving waste via a pipe network, Envac’s system connects buildings to a number of collection stations, situated away from the main development or city site, creating cleaner, more efficient spaces in which to grow and thrive.

Envac’s systems are ISO 9001 and HACCP compliant, yet the company faces an uphill battle in order for it to transform such a traditional industry. “Envac is slowly changing the perception of how waste can be managed by focusing on projects where we add value,” explains Mitchell. Envac’s waste collection solutions are able to significantly reduce labour costs long-term, reduce carbon emissions and eliminate a number of potential risks associated with increased waste levels and growing demands on this industry.

To increase market penetration and provide reliable development

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Envac’s system serves residential properties

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Envac’s systems are ISO 9001 and HACCP compliant

“THERE ARE HUGE OPPORTUNITIES TO CHANGE THE WASTE MANAGEMENT INDUSTRY. THE EARLIER A DESIGN CONSIDERS WASTE THE BETTER” - ALEX MITCHELL Envac Business Development Manager

www.environelectro.com | Tel: +971-559271353 info@environelectro.com | n.sambath@environelectro.com

ENVIRON ELECTROMECHANICAL CONTRACTING is a young team of professionals offering services on design, engineering, fabrication and installations works within UAE and wider GCC, we strive to be an integral part of our customers success by delivering projects of the highest quality, on time and on budget.

We believe in these basic principles for having a successful business. We have it at the back of our minds at all times to value this.

ENVIRON ELECTROMECHANICAL CONTRACTING - PO BOX: 126562 DUBAI, UAE

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guidelines for the automated vacuum waste collection industry, Envac has invested in working with the British Standards Institution (BSI) to develop a specification. This will “set the bar of quality” for industry to follow and will give a level of confidence to clients when it comes to the design.

will be connected to all areas in the district. The system will collect 145 tonnes of mixed waste per day via a pipe network that connects to a single collection station, where the waste is then stored in sealed containers which are removed from site once full. “If you imagine a neighbourhood within traditional waste management, KING ABDULLAH FINANCIAL a truck has to visit every single DISTRICT (KAFD) building and house and pick up By identifying customer requirements, the waste,” comments Mitchell. the need for the system and the “Envac’s system reduces carbon type of waste generated, Envac emissions as a result of reduced has been behind the waste strategy waste vehicle traffic, reduced fuel for the King Abdullah Financial emissions and idling time for trucks, District (KAFD) project. Situated contributing to a safe environment.” in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, KAFD To drive up resource recovery will become the largest mixed use rates, the project will adopt a twofinancial centre in the Middle East. fraction system, one for dry and one Unlike traditional for wet waste. Each waste management waste fraction will systems, where be deposited into waste is manually separate waste Since 1961 Envac has collected and inlets, which will accumulated over 4,000 placed into a connect to multiple years of operational compactor and vertical gravity collected via trucks, chutes. The use of experience Envac’s flexible system inlets will eliminate the

1961

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An Envac litter bin in Stockholm, Sweden

Your partner

Together with our customers, we are always working to develop improved solutions within automation and industrial processes.

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possibility of overflowing waste, seen in traditional waste collection systems.

“Many existing high-rise buildings have gravity waste chutes installed, where residents or office workers can throw waste into an inlet on each floor,” explains Mitchell. “Envac’s system connects to the bottom of that chute where we install our discharge valve.”

The waste is temporarily stored at the valve until a collection cycle is activated by a level sensor or a timed sequence controlled by Envac’s Automation platform. The vacuum exhausters, located at the

“IF TRUCKS DON’T COME INTO THE DEVELOPMENT, IT REDUCES THE NUMBER OF TRUCKS ON THE ROAD AND THE RISK OF ACCIDENTS WITH PEDESTRIANS OR OTHER VEHICLES” - ALEX MITCHELL Envac Business Development Manager

collection station, are energised and create a negative pressure within the pipe network.

Once the required vacuum pressure is reached, Envac’s automation platform controls the valve openings to create a flow of air within the pipe network. The discharge valves then open to allow the waste to enter the system reaching speeds of 70kph. The air which carries the waste is consequently treated through a multistage filtering system, eliminating all potential odours.

Each waste collection station

in the Envac system is situated remotely or offsite, removing the need for waste collection trucks to enter the development. “If trucks don’t come into the development, it reduces the number of trucks on the road and the risk of accidents with pedestrians or other vehicles,” comments Mitchell. “One of our biggest environmental savings is the reduction in the reliance on transport.”

Previous studies have shown that Envac’s systems have consequently reduced waste traffic and associated carbon emissions by up to 90%.

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GIFT CITY Envac’s 10-year project at Gujarat International Finance and Technology City (GIFT City) in India has seen the development of its first integrated collection and segregation facility.

Eliminating potential waste from landfill, the project will transform the area and ultimately attract financial and technological investment upon completion, in a bid to become one of India’s smart cities.

Envac’s waste collection systems are on the rise in both the Middle East and Asia, especially within housing developments. “In India for example, it is difficult for us to sell a system if it doesn’t include a treatment technology as well, so we sell a holistic approach, otherwise it just doesn’t stack up,” says Mitchell.

“We also find in the Middle East, for substantial development projects, that with increasing population density, municipal regulation and zero waste targets, the economics of pneumatically collecting waste and treating the waste on site are becoming more viable. Globally, I think waste management has gained a

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higher profile over the last ten years.”

Phase one of the GIFT City project is now complete, with phase two now underway. The project will see Envac’s waste system incorporated into a new district, encompassing hospitals, schools, hotels, retail and corporate facilities, all spread over 900 acres. Similar to KAFD, the project has become one of the most ambitious and technologically advanced infrastructure projects that Envac is in the process of undertaking, where its systems will cater for up to 400 tons of waste per day.

Sustainable practices have been at the forefront of all Envac’s designs. Two chute inlets enable valuable resources to be recovered from the wet organic waste at GIFT City, whereas dry waste enters a mechanical sorting process.

Bottles, cans, paper and plastic will all be segregated out of the waste stream and placed within a recycling stream at every collection station.

Eventually, up to seven collection stations will be built at GIFT City, removing any need for waste collection trucks to enter the area.

ENERGY

“The system’s ability to revolutionise the waste collection process, from making the development cleaner and more hygienic by eliminating overfull bins, to making the area safer and more environmentally friendly by removing large trucks from the waste collection process - all whilst reducing the cost of waste collection - is extraordinary,” comments Ajay Pandey, Managing Director and Group CEO at GIFT City.

Additionally, security is a key issue within Envac’s waste management systems as the sealed system offers a secure pathway for waste to leave a site without the need for any trucks.

These systems are highly desirable in a majority of Envac’s projects, especially within airports where Envac handles waste from the terminals (e.g.

Hamad International Airport in Doha) and from flight catering operations (e.g. Emirates Flight Catering in Dubai).

In many projects in Europe, Envac has implemented tracking technologies, providing advanced analytics and providing greater insights into the efficiency of its systems. Waste is placed in inlets, which are able to

Envac’s bins automatically empty underground

“THE SYSTEM’S ABILITY TO REVOLUTIONISE THE WASTE COLLECTION PROCESS... ALL WHILST REDUCING THE COST OF WASTE COLLECTION - IS EXTRAORDINARY” AJAY PANDEY MD and Group CEO at GIFT City

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Envac’s underground waste management system

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be tracked through the use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFD) tags. Accessible only by authorised users, Mitchell explains that “once scanned, the inlet will open for users to deposit their waste, which falls down onto the discharge valve which have inbuilt weighing systems.”

“In future, a charging scheme could be implemented to further incentivise users to recycle more and dispose of less garbage,” creating sufficient cost controls and reduced fuel costs for businesses.

OUTDOOR SPACES To further support this global smart city vision, traditional waste litter bins on local streets have also been modernised, making all waste management accessible, convenient and low-cost in order to encourage individuals to support Envac’s operations. Whilst outdoor inlets and high capacity litter bins resemble traditional bins, the updated designs enable the bins to connect to Envac’s systems underground so that “they are emptied automatically,

ensuring that no truck has to go to the street to empty them,” adds Mitchell. “They can handle waste from pedestrians or facilities management service contractors, creating cleaner, more hygienic spaces.

“We also have systems in Singapore that operate as low as 250 to 500kg of waste per day, all the way up to systems which collect 400 tonnes of waste a day. We have a wide range so there is a lot of versatility.”

An aggressive five-year expansion plan will consequently enable Envac to drive further competition in the delivery of waste management solutions, and grow in alignment with this global demand for smart technologies.

“There are other companies that offer similar technologies, but we don’t have as much competition as we would like.

I think any industry thrives with a bit of competition,” concludes Mitchell.

“I think the market could do with more companies coming into it and as a result, more appreciation and understanding of the technology and as that happens, more opportunities become available as well.”

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INTEVI

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