RES Magazine January 2021 Cover Story

A History of Leading-Edge Work in Renewablesand Utilities has Fisher Looking to 2021 With Promise

By Edward Kostowniak, P.E.

It’s a new year — what’s on the horizon for renewables and utilities?

Renewables and utilities are always hot topics, even during a pandemic. In fact, with the pandemic set to reduce this year’s carbon emissions by up to 8% globally, more focus has been centered on the demand for significant and ongoing investment in cleaner and more reliable energy sources aimed at lessening continued impact of conventional energy on our environmental footprint.

The term “green energy” is a relatively recent buzzword, but Fisher Associates has been behind the scenes developing renewables for over two decades. The firm has been instrumental in the evolvement of renewable energy and has helped hone the processes to develop and deliver it nationwide. Fisher isn’t just a preeminent provider of services in the wind, solar, and utility sectors in the northeast, they work throughout the nation providing expertise to public and private clients searching for better alternatives for their consumers.

Next Generation of Wind and Solar

FISHER FACTS 20 Years in Renewable Energy 3 GW of Generation 240 Wind Projects/70 Solar Energy Projects Projects Developed to Date in 31 States

Fisher has provided full-scale services for renewables for over two decades, so it’s only natural that they are integrally involved in the next generation of wind and solar projects. In fact, the firm has had their hand in over 90% of the wind energy projects in New York and has worked on the first commercial-scale projects in Ohio and North Carolina as well as the largest commercial scale project in Maine.

With a singular understanding of the unique permitting requirements, design, and construction constraints associated with projects of this type, Fisher’s wind energy experience includes utility-scale projects, standalone turbines for farms and businesses, and repowering existing wind farms. As the seasoned pros in this space, they are fully immersed in the lifecycle development of these facilities from planning and preliminary studies to engineering, as-builts, and construction, and continuing through commissioning. They are currently repowering an existing wind project that they worked on 20 years ago that has reached end of life. To keep this essential project up and running for future generations, Fisher is working with Vestas, the largest wind turbine supplier in the nation, to repower the facility, one of the first wind farms ever constructed in New York state.

On the solar front, Fisher provides professional services for commercial to utility scale solar energy projects across the country, completing 60 solar projects within the last five years.

The immense value the firm’s experience and expertise bring to the table for clients includes the following top considerations for renewables projects:

Site Selection: Critical Issues Analysis to identify potential concerns with the project area

Preliminary Design: Initial layouts taking into account any constraints identified during the Site Selection process as well as any local setbacks or other constraints

Final Design: Final project design for handoff to contractor including grading, hydrology, creation of the SWPPP, DOT permits, and final placement of project improvements

Construction: Owner support by answering contractor questions, assisting with design changes during construction, SWPPP inspections, and creating as-built plans

Operations: Owner support with operational issues including SPCCs, SWPPP O&M maintenance items, civil support, and decommissioning plans

“In 2021, we anticipate seeing an increase in the number and size of renewable projects including wind, solar, storage, and combinations of those throughout NY and the country. At Fisher we pride ourselves in being able to help our clients achieve their goals through innovative approaches to problem solving to bring projects online,” said Lisa Oliver, P.E., Renewables Group Manager.

Utilities and the Future

FISHER FACTS 30+ Recent Gas Compressor Stations Data Management Projects in NY and PA 20+ Recent Electrical Substation Projects in Northeast 200+ Recent Electrical Transmission Lines in Northeast 40+ Miles of Recent Waterline Design and inspection Fisher’s work on electrical transmission projects contributes to expanding power delivery systems and enhancing tie-ins to the nationwide highvoltage power grid. With the firm’s extensive understanding of standards, regulations, and common practices, they are able to apply innovation along the way to develop these resources in the most efficient and economical way. As utilities continue to have more renewable energy generation project interconnections to the grid, due both to clean energy goals as well as consumer demand, Fisher has stayed at the forefront of that growing trend. Harvesting renewables such as methane gas reclaimed out of a landfill

is an exciting development, and Fisher has plugged into this by building a pipeline transmission line to deliver this resource to a hungry world demanding cleaner energy alternatives.

In the electric transmission arena they work directly with utilities and engineering partners to prepare drawings; facilitate environmental, highway, and civil permits; provide stormwater planning; and conduct surveys to get these projects online.

With many years in this space, Fisher has been working with clients to provide professional services for continued infrastructure expansion and development across the country. Most notably they have identified a rapidly changing landscape affecting the development of these resources including:

Renewable Natural Gas: More applications for this type of renewable energy in the forms of landfill gas, animal wastes, and other types of agricultural or biological energy sources are surging.

Fiber Optic Infrastructure: Expansion and upgrade of the existing fiber market continues to quickly expand with companies scrambling to support communication clients.

Regulated Electrical Utilities: The industry continues to seek ways to expand and create reliable redundancy with aging infrastructure requiring constant maintenance and upgrades, as more renewable generation projects enter the grid to meet state driven goals.

Oil and Gas: The natural gas boom has slowed with a glut of supply. Downstream uses are expanding to use this extracted resource along with the continued growth of exportation of the commodity overseas.

Looking Forward

As 2021 looms, there will be challenges ahead, but those challenges will bring opportunities as increased demand for renewable energy sources continues. “Our Energy Sector philosophy heading into 2021 is similar to past years, but with an even greater focus on our clients’ experience. We are making substantial investments in new resources and innovative technologies to meet the challenges that lie ahead,“ said Roseann B. Schmid, P.E., Chief Executive Officer of Fisher Associates.

The trend of reduction in electric demand is countered by the decreasing costs of renewables and rising capacity. In a concerted effort to dramatically speed up the siting and construction of clean energy projects to combat climate change and help jumpstart the state’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 health crisis, under Executive Law 94-C (informally referred to as “Article 94C), New York State passed the Accelerated Renewable Energy Growth and Community Benefit Act and created the Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) in April 2020. A primary focus of the ORES will be to improve and streamline the process for environmentally responsible and cost-effective siting of large-scale renewable energy projects across New York while delivering significant benefits to local communities. The act will accelerate progress toward clean energy goals -- including the mandate to obtain 70 percent of the state's electricity from renewable sources by 2030. Further, the investment in clean energy worldwide and a new US administration keenly eyeing this industry are harbingers that the energy industry is alive and well and transitioning to a bright future. q

by Edward Kostowniak, P.E. Vice President / Director of Energy

Edward Kostowniak, P.E. is the Director of Engineering for the Energy Sector at Fisher Associates and oversees all aspects of project delivery for our energy clients. He has been with Fisher for over nine years and has performed engineering design, permitting, and construction oversight for over 2,000 miles of linear utility rights-of-way, ancillary facilities, and renewable generation projects conducted on behalf of energy sector clients in the northeastern United States. Ed is a licensed professional engineer in New York and Pennsylvania and holds a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and a BS in Civil Engineering from the State University of New York College at Utica/Rome.