BLACK & VEATCH (2010-2016)
Energy Efficiency and Smart Infrastructure Initiatives; City of Chula Vista; California. Responsibilities include identifying the foundational elements that will enable buildings to approach net-zero energy use and provide sustainable, financially sound Smart Community infrastructure services for a new development, including a hotel and convention center and 1,500 condominiums and mixed-use properties (retail, office, other).
Scenario Analysis for 50 Percent Renewable Portfolio Standard; California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). Responsibilities include supporting scenario analysis for increasing California’s renewable portfolio from 33 percent to 40 percent, and to 50 percent by 2030. Responsible for geospatial review of available renewable resources in California, and economic and technical characterization of new renewable energy resources needed to meet these goals. Further analyses include review of potential land use change scenarios on local and regional scales, and addressing stakeholder comments.
Solar photovoltaic operation and maintenance protocol review, multiple solar photovoltaic systems for distinct clients. Review of operations and maintenance protocols for utility-scale photovoltaic plants in diverse geographic regions. In addition, other relevant information regarding the warranties, spare parts, and management structures are reviewed. Clients and project participants include NordLB, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Google, KKR, Constellation Energy, GCL, EnXco, Agile Energy, NextEra, Western Wind, Belectric, EPRI, Export-Import Bank, MEHC, Ridgeline, and Enbridge, First Solar, Sunpower, and others. Systems total 100 projects and 750 MW.
Technology due diligence review, multiple solar photovoltaic tracker system technologies for distinct clients. Review of the tracker design, reliability testing, and operations and maintenance protocols. In addition, other relevant information regarding the assembly, quality, and supply chain are also reviewed. Clients include NRG, First Solar, Gildemeister Gmbh, and Grupo Clavijo.
Solar Photovoltaic Independent Engineering Services. Services include solar energy production estimates, site and technology reviews, and phase 3 reports (verification of substantial completion) for dozens of clients.
Solar Photovoltaic Owner’s Engineer Services. Services include solar energy production estimates, site and technology reviews, and operations and maintenance (O&M) specification development. Clients included PacifiCorp; Black Hills; Exelon; Constellation; APS; NRG; and NextEra.
Aurora Solar O&M Request for Proposal (RFP); Osaka Gas; Ontario, Canada. Responsibilities included technical support for owner’s process obtaining third party service provider for O&M services for portfolio of nine solar PV projects. Developed and distributed RFP, performed technical and economic evaluation of proposals, selected shortlist, and performed due diligence in selection of winning bidder
Stanford University, Solar Photovoltaic Development Support. Preliminary project options analysis included energy production estimate for 5-30 MWdc solar photovoltaic project, on-site and off-site procurement options. Review of tax incentives, business structures, financing options, and photovoltaic market trends. Later phases of work included drafting and distribution of RFP for on-campus solar PV installation, bid evaluation, short list selection. Completed a second RFP later to select on off-campus provider of renewable energy through PPA. Performed bid evaluations, selection of shortlist, due diligence, and contract negotiation support.
Corporate Energy and Climate Change Strategy Implementation Support; Confidential Client. Provided consulting services, including review of the client Energy and Climate Change Plan, risk analysis, and recommendations. Also performed a benchmarking study identifying the client’s position in comparison to competitors and peers. Provided review of regulatory landscape—existing and upcoming regulatory requirements related to environment and energy. Identified climate change risks at local and regional levels and potential mitigations and adaptation strategies. Provided materials for a 2-day workshop for the company’s regional operations team that covered the corporate carbon footprint baseline and benchmarking results, risks and opportunities, and potential technology solutions for adaptation and risk mitigation specific to their regional operations.
Investment Plan for Scaling Up of Renewable Energy; DHI Infrastructure and World Bank; Bangladesh. Responsibilities included preparing an overview of the estimated potential for deploying various renewable energy options in Bangladesh including wind, small hydropower, bioenergy, solar PV, geothermal, and microgrids. Provided technical review of planned and ongoing renewable energy projects and initiatives in Bangladesh, based on existing prefeasibility and feasibility studies.
Technical and Economic Assessment of Three Potential Wind Resource Locations of Interest; Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD). Responsibilities included developing technical and economic report assessing the long-term value of SMUD’s three wind assets in the context of a changing electric power market in California.
Solar PV Power Plant RFP; Nokukhanya; Limpopo Province, South Africa. Responsibilities included preparing RFPs and evaluating bids, in particular focusing on O&M plans for proposed 75 MW solar PV project.
Community Renewable Energy Deployment Technical Writing; SMUD. Responsibilities included supporting development of final report summarizing four renewable energy projects which had been funded by US Department of Energy (DOE) grants: one solar installation, one bioenergy enhancement project at a wastewater treatment plant, and two methane biodigesters installed at commercial dairy operations.
Gila Bend Solar PV Plant Owner’s Manual; APS; Arizona. Responsibilities included preparing owner’s manual documentation and O&M training materials for a 32 MW solar PV plant, as part of the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract, at time of substantial completion.
Wind Energy Production Estimate Due Diligence Review; Captona Partners; Michigan. Due diligence review of wind energy production estimates for multiple utility-scale wind facilities, operating status. Included review of onsite meteorological tower data, long-term wind speed data, wind turbine layout, losses, uncertainties, and net operating energy review and forecast.
Proposals from Inverter Suppliers for Pueblo Solar PV (60 MWac); Black Hills Energy, Inc.; Colorado. Responsibilities included preparing feasibility studies and providing technical bid review services for the proposed plant.
Energy Optimization Plan; Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD); California. Responsibilities included technical review of building systems in specific, non-process facilities to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy consumption, as well as detailed review of recommended energy efficiency measures for the following systems: headquarters cooling tower; headquarters chiller; headquarters heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, and administration building chiller.
NV Energy, Renewable Energy Bid Review. Review, evaluation, and scoring of offers of renewable energy for NV Energy’s annual renewable energy procurement process.
Ridgeline Energy, Wind Energy Production Estimate Due Diligence Review. Due diligence review of wind energy production estimate, for 80 MW Wind project in Idaho. Included review of onsite meteorological tower data, long-term wind speed data, wind turbine layout, losses, uncertainties, and net energy forecast.
Black & Veatch GHG Inventory, North American Operations. Developed corporate GHG inventory for Black & Veatch North American operations, including 59 offices, fleet vehicles, and business travel. Developed recommendations for reporting and verification and expansion of annual report for report to encompass global operations and Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions.
Hawaii Natural Energy Institute. State Smart Grid Roadmap. Developed a whitepaper for the Hawaii Natural Electric Institute and the Research Corporation of the University of Hawaii , analyzing the potential for Smart Grid technologies to support the increased penetration of renewable energy into the power grid, to enable the achievement of the state’s renewable energy goals. Scope included reviewing barriers to increased renewable penetration, identifying and assessing energy efficiency technologies, identifying and assessing demand response programs and mechanisms, identifying and assessing monitoring and control technologies, integrating technologies and programs, developing potential solutions, delivering recommendations.
NextEra Utility Scale Photovoltaic Operations and Maintenance Study. Developed report identifying base case and sensitivity analysis of variations in operations and maintenance strategy for utility scale photovoltaic plants throughout the U.S.
San Diego Gas & Electric on behalf of the IDSM Task Force Integrated Demand-Side Management (IDSM) Cost Effectiveness Framework. Supported development of whitepaper on the Cost Effectiveness Framework for IDSM Projects. The scope of this project was to review, consider and describe an updated IDSM cost effectiveness framework to enable analysis of the entire set of resources (i.e., to integrate Energy Efficiency, Demand Response, Distributed Generation, Embodied Energy In Water, and Greenhouse Gases), as well as smart grid.
Utility Scale Solar Power Project Development Guide; Climateworks; India. Responsible for providing report summarizing the typical steps involved in the development cycle of a renewable energy project, including policy drivers, industry organization, permitting requirements, interconnection requirements, and electrical codes and standards.
LADWP Solar Incentive Program. Review solar incentive program applications.
Yuma Proving Ground Renewables Development. Worked with the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Enhanced Use Lease Division in 2010 to develop a Real Estate Market Study and Highest and Best Use Analysis for the leasing of land on Yuma Proving Ground property. The study provided USACE and YPG an initial assessment of the technical and financial feasibility of renewable energy generation at the Yuma Proving Grounds. Major criteria for analysis included transmission and access to markets, constructability, mission compatibility, economic feasibility, and state and federal renewable energy targets and mandates.
HDR (2006-2010)
Carbon Footprint and GHG Management Plan – Monterey Bay Aquarium, CA. Quantified direct and indirect GHG emissions of the Monterey Bay Aquarium operations, according to the California Climate Action Registry (CCAR) general reporting protocol, and worked with the aquarium to set emissions reduction targets and identify strategies to achieve these goals.
Alcatraz Island Energy Infrastructure Improvements – National Park Service (NPS), San Francisco, CA. Developed pre-design and schematic design documents and Class B cost estimate for grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) array for historic buildings on Alcatraz Island. Technical guidance for Value-Analysis and lifecycle cost assessment of design alternatives. Design alternatives included installing a new 12 kV submarine cable between San Francisco’s Pier 43½ and Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay, and offsetting Alcatraz’s current electricity consumption by the generation of renewable energy on Alcatraz with the installation of PV panels that will have the capacity to generate approximately 962,000 kWh/year – the equivalent electricity use of 90 typical US homes.
Castaic Lake Recreation Area Wind Energy Feasibility Study – California Energy Commission. Provided technical assistance to the County in identifying a cost-effective method for implementing on-site renewable energy. Evaluated technical and economic potential and defined a customized “project development road map” for the site. The recommendations included public and private project ownership options, and recommendations for taking advantage of tax-based renewable energy incentives. The County will use the results of this study to plan the development of the proposed wind energy facility.
Energy Alternative Study, Napa Water Recycling Facility, Napa CA. Evaluating energy alternatives and developing strategy for implementing innovative energy technologies to reduce facility’s overall energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.
Arcas Solar Site Assessment, Arcas Military Facility, Nebraska. Technical assistance to building design team for proposed 1.1 million square foot federal military facility located in Nebraska. Renewable energy strategy support. Camp Humphrey Hospital Solar Site Assessment, Camp Humphreys Army Base, South Korea. Energy Analyst. Technical assistance to building design team for proposed 66- bed hospital located on Camp Humphreys Army Base in South Korea. Performed site assessment including preliminary system sizing and energy production estimate, life-cycle cost-effectiveness calculations, review of federal renewable energy requirements, and strategy for meeting these requirements.
Riverside County Energy Efficiency & Conservation Strategy (EECS) – Riverside County, CA. Riverside County retained HDR to produce their Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy (EECS) to obtain over $6.5 million under the Federal Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Efficiency & Conservation Block Grant program. Riverside County was one of the early participants in the program and was presented with ongoing DOE program refinements along with a very tight timeline to complete the EECS. HDR proactively worked to complete the EECS within a month, quickly meeting critical task windows. Less than 45 days after submitting the EECS to DOE, DOE approved the EECS without any changes, adjustments or clarifications.
Solar Installation Feasibility Assessment – Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority, TX. Provided design concepts and evaluation of scenarios for the installation of solar PV technology at headquarters of the Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority. Conducted a Sustainable Return on Investment (SROI) analysis to identify the preferred installation alternative, and assisted the RTA in pursuing Federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA Stimulus Funding) support.
Carbon Footprint and GHG Emissions Reduction Strategy for Proposed Carbon Neutral Laboratory Building – Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA. Provided technical assistance to design team. Performing carbon footprint calculations and developing GHG emissions reduction strategies. Strategies include building energy modeling, renewable energy strategy, identification of applicable incentives, and economic analysis. Provided planning-level technical and economic evaluation of rooftop solar and smallscale wind energy opportunities.
San Francisco Solar Founder’s Circle – San Francisco Department of Environment (SFE), CA. Provided technical assistance to the SFE in support of the San Francisco Solar Rooftops program. Performed site visits and solar audits to help businesses confirm their solar potential, estimate the cost of solar installations, identify incentives, and estimate the impact of solar power on their electricity and water heating bills, and finances.
Renewable Energy Resource Assessment – San Bernardino Waste Management Authority, CA. Feasibility analysis and technical recommendations for solar and wind energy development on 50 sites in San Bernardino County. Managed GIS mapping of sites, planning level economic analysis, and prioritization of project development opportunities.
Bay Area Residential Energy Conservation Ordinance – City of Berkeley, CA. Worked with the cities of San Francisco, Berkeley, and Oakland to develop residential time-of-sale energy efficiency ordinance, as model code, adaptable to any municipality.
Renewable Energy Site Assessment – City of Benicia, CA. Reviewed eight sites for wind energy potential, including on-site energy demand and potential energy production. Performed economic analysis evaluating feasibility of wind energy development of all sites.
San Francisco Water System Improvement Program – San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), CA. Computer-aided optimization of pump sizing and scheduling, maximizing energy cost savings potential for the Lake Merced Pumping Station.
Universal Energy Audit Tool – Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), CA. Provided assistance developing an online energy audit tool that will be publicly available to allow PG&E customers to perform energy audits, identify energy efficiency measures, and estimate potential energy cost savings, for any building in PG&E’s service territory. Developed algorithms to estimate energy savings for energy efficiency measures and developed technical requirements for an algorithm to evaluate solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in commercial and residential applications.
Proposed 100 MW Wind Energy Project – Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs, OR. Performed Phase 1 wind resource assessment and economic analysis for proposed 100 MW wind project tribal lands, in complex terrain. Managed Phase II feasibility study: a 12-month engineer’s opinion of probable cost, including equipment costs, meteorological, civil, and electrical design costs, environmental assessment and permitting costs, construction costs for the proposed facility. The study also included identification of supplemental funding sources for the project, economic analysis, and development of financing plan and project development plan.
Proposed 5 MW Wind Energy Facility – Federal Military Installation, CA. Managed critical issue analysis of site for proposed wind energy facility, including annual energy production estimate, transmission access, preliminary environmental permitting plan, and wind turbine micrositing. Provided technical assistance for 30% design effort and investment-grade cost estimate for engineering package. Supported energy services company in bundling the proposed renewable energy facility with energy efficiency measures to obtain the most attractive return on investment for the service package.
ORCY Proposed Wind Energy Projects – Global 8 Environmental Management, China. Worked with private-sector US investor to provide technical and economic due diligence and feasibility analysis for three proposed wind energy facilities in China, on scales of 50-300 MW each.
Savings by Design Program – PG&E, CA. Developed Excel calculator tool to evaluate nonenergy benefits as market drivers for energy efficiency, including increased office worker productivity due to daylighting, increased tenant satisfaction and higher property value, increased equipment lifetime, and reduced maintenance.
Four Proposed Biofuel Conversion Technology Facilities Renewable Resource Plant Proposals – World Waste Technologies, Richmond, CA. Prepared facility proposals on behalf of private project developer, and submitted to utility, in response to utility’s request for offers for renewable energy, to meet its committed target of 20% renewable energy by 2010, under California’s Renewable Portfolio Standard.
Proposed 20 MW Wind and Solar Energy Facility – North American Development Bank, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Worked in conjunction with North American Development Bank, a local Mexican university, and California Energy Commission to evaluate economic potential for proposed 20 MW wind power project in northern Mexico.
San Francisco International Airport Energy Audit –San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC). Identified energy saving measures for SFO Airport, including skylight analysis, motor control for escalators and moving walkways, regenerative braking for the Airtrain.
General Engineering Services – Hampton Roads Sanitation District, Virginia Beach, VA. Technical and economic evaluation of on-site wind energy opportunities to meet energy needs of water treatment facilities. Provided project development “road-map” and review of rebates, incentives, and funding opportunities.
Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi – Mubadala Development Company, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Technical review of renewable energy technologies and initial siting, design, and economic analysis for renewable energy for the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, a government-financed hospital scheduled for completion in 2011.
San Antonio Military Medical Center (SAMMC) Ambulatory Care Center (ACC) – Lackland AFB, TX. Providing technical assistance to design team, regarding wind and solar energy strategy for offsetting 8 percent of building energy use to achieve LEED platinum rating for a for a proposed 600,000 s.f. medical facility.
Pacific Northwest National Lab. Presentation to the Atmospheric Science and Global Change Division of PNNL: “Energy Technology Strategy in a Changing Climate: Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Strategy for an Educational Institution” July 2, 2009.
California Water Environment Association Conference 2010. Presentation: “Pending Climate Change Legislation – What Does it Mean for Water Agencies?”