WaterBriefs: American Water divestiture by RWE approved by West Virginia PSC
In other news below:
-- Carollo Engineers wins 2006 BE Award
-- Applied Water Solutions, Konzen Group sponsor high purity water seminar in Singapore
-- MWH joins international climate organization
-- CORE lauds Bush Administration call for increases for oceans in FY2008 budget
-- Global electric utilities fail to respond to investors request for climate change information
-- ASHRAE technology awards highlight outstanding building projects
-- Marmon Water LLC, Singapore's Hyflux announce joint venture for water technology
-- PerkinElmer announces educational seminars in PITTCON
-- International Water Conference issues second 2007 call for papers
-- Grundfos integrates PACO Pumps
-- PetroChina Dushanzi Petrochemical selects operator training system from Invensys
-- Canadian Prime Minister agrees to serve as honorary president of AMERICANA 2007
-- American Galvanizers Association announces online Galvanize It! seminar
• American Water divestiture by RWE receives approval from West Virginia PSC
The West Virginia Public Service Commission (PSC) has granted its approval for the divestiture of American Water, the largest water services provider in North America, from its parent RWE, a German utility. The decision from West Virginia brings the number of states that have approved the divestiture to six out of a total of 13 applications filed.
VOORHEES, NJ, Jan. 30, 2007 -- The West Virginia Public Service Commission (PSC) has granted its approval for the divestiture of American Water, the largest water services provider in North America, from its parent RWE, a German utility.
The decision from West Virginia brings the number of states that have approved the divestiture to six out of a total of 13 applications filed. RWE announced in November 2005 its intention to divest American Water. Once all approvals are secured RWE is expected to sell its shares of American Water through a public offering in the United States.
West Virginia joins Virginia, Tennessee, New Mexico, Maryland and Hawaii in giving the go-ahead to RWE for the sale of shares of common stock of American Water. Approvals are still pending in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Illinois, Arizona and California.
"The approval by West Virginia's PSC is very welcome news," said Donald L. Correll, president and CEO of American Water. "This approval, combined with that of New Mexico received earlier this month, is a major milestone in the regulatory approval process. We continue to work aggressively toward obtaining approvals from the remaining commissions."
With headquarters in Voorhees, NJ, American Water employs approximately 7,000 dedicated professionals who provide high quality water, wastewater and other related services to more than 17 million people in 29 states and Canada. On November 4, 2005, RWE announced its intention to divest American Water. More information can be found by visiting www.amwater.com
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Among other recent headlines:
• Carollo Engineers wins 2006 BE Award -- Carollo Engineers P.C., an Engineering News-Record Top 100 Design Firm specializing in the planning, design, and construction of water and wastewater facilities, has won a 2006 BE Award in the Plant category. The award recognizes the first-time user of Bentley software that most effectively adapts to the new, more efficient workflows enabled by the technology. Following is a copy of the news release for your consideration. In 2005, after four years of product testing and evaluation, Carollo Engineers converted its 2D Autodesk-based production systems to Bentley's 3D DigitalPlant solutions. With its users fully experienced in Bentley's 2D design tools based on MicroStation, Carollo Engineers expects a significant reduction in hours required to produce drawings, as compared to producing the same drawings using AutoCAD. Using Bentley's 3D design tools, the savings in engineering hours to produce drawings from the models will be even greater, helping Carollo Engineers offset rising labor costs. In addition, the use of 3D models enables Carollo Engineers to better communicate designs to its clients using Bentley's visualization tools. Because of the firm's workflow, many of its projects are shared across the enterprise. In some cases, this means a project may be worked on in as many as five or six offices. To streamline this workflow, Carollo Engineers selected ProjectWise as its enterprise document management system. ProjectWise makes it easier and faster for the firm's engineers to find, manage, and share information...
Also see:
-- "Bentley advances plant interoperations, innovation sharing at daratechPLANT2007"
-- "GS Engineering & Construction becomes first Bentley Enterprise license subscriber in Korea"
-- "VECO joins Bentley's Enterprise License Subscription Program"
• Applied Water Solutions, Konzen Group sponsor high purity water seminar in Singapore in March -- BURLINGTON, MA, & KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Jan. 30, 2007 -- Applied Water Solutions and Konzen Group will host a 2-day Seminar "RO-EDI High Purity Water", an educational event focused on Electropurification (EP™) applications for pharmaceutical and microelectronics industries. The seminar, being held March 28-29, is the second in a series hosted by AWS, which is designed to promote continued education in the business and technology field. Chris Gallagher and Ooi Ah Lean will lead the comprehensive seminar, designed for all pharmaceutical and microelectronics companies, engineering firms, operations and facilities managers, utilities personnel, technicians and project managers. "RO-EDI High Purity Water Seminar" will focus on three essential topics for production: current Purewater Design Practices (cPDP), current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) to meet USP, ITRS and global guidelines and RO-EDI life cycle costs for new and legacy designs...
Also see: "KONZEN Group, Applied Water Solutions enter global technical co-operation partnership"
• MWH joins international climate organization; announces climate change commitment -- BROOMFIELD, CO, Jan. 30, 2007 -- MWH, a global provider of environmental engineering, construction and strategic consulting services, today announced it has become a member of The Climate Group, an international nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing business and government leadership on climate change. "At MWH, our commitment to leadership in environmental management is embedded in our culture and in everything we do," said Ellen Burnes, Program Director for MWH's Climate Change Commitment. "Managing the causes, while adapting to the effects of climate change is, without question, one of the critical issues of the 21st Century." In response to the local, regional and global challenges posed by climate change, MWH is also announcing its Climate Change Commitment, a three-part program to engage clients, communities and employees in awareness, education and action with respect to the causes and effects of climate changes...
Also see:
-- "Major businesses, environmental leaders unite to call for swift action on global climate change: GE, DuPont, Alcoa & more form U.S. Climate Action Partnership"
-- "GE, AES plan partnership to lead U.S. market in offsetting greenhouse gas emissions"
• Bush Administration calls for large increases for oceans in FY2008 budget -- CORE believes budget increase is great first step for world's oceans -- WASHINGTON, DC, Jan. 29, 2007 -- The Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education (CORE) congratulates the Bush Administration for taking an important first step to improve the health and sustainability of our oceans. This morning the Administration announced a budget increase of more than $140 million for ocean science and research in Fiscal Year 2008 and released the administration's Ocean Research Priorities Plan (ORPP) and Implementation Strategy. Specifically, the budget will increase programs at: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) by $123 million, including: $25 million for sustainable use of ocean resources; $38 million for protection and restoration of marine and coastal areas; and $60 million for enhanced ocean science and research including $16 million for the development of an Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS). The budget increase also includes $20 million for NOAA, $17 million for the National Science Foundation (NSF) and $3 million for the U.S. Geological Survey to implement the ORPP. And the budget will also continue funding for NSF's Oceans Observations Initiative that will install transformational technologies in ocean observatories...
• Global electric utilities fail to respond to investors request for climate change information -- Report shows few global utilities add any value to economy if cost of emissions taken into account -- LONDON, Jan. 29, 2007 -- Less than half of all listed global electric utilities have responded to an investors request for information regarding their emissions of greenhouse gases, a report released today shows. The Carbon Disclosure Project's (CDP) Global Electric Utilities report, based on data from the 2006 CDP survey -- the world's largest investor collaboration on climate change -- found that only 112 of the 265 largest electric utilities actually responded to the request. The Global Electric Utilities Report, commissioned by WWF and written by environmental research and analysis firm Trucost, analyzed responses the electric utilities globally to the fourth annual Carbon Disclosure Project report in 2006. It used a pioneering measure of "True Economic Value Added" to reach its conclusions...
• ASHRAE technology awards highlight outstanding building projects -- ATLANTA, Jan. 27, 2007 -- A range of innovative technologies, including natural ventilation, use of grey water and incorporation of phase change materials, are highlighted in the winning ASHRAE Technology Award projects. The awards recognize members' exceptional achievements that incorporate elements of innovative building design in the areas of occupant comfort, indoor air quality (IAQ) and energy conservation. Winners have applied ASHRAE standards for effective energy management and IAQ. The awards were presented at ASHRAE's 2007 Winter Meeting being held this week in Dallas...
Also see:
-- "ASHRAE Recognizes Outstanding HVAC&R Industry Achievements"
-- "Mary Pennington Inducted Into ASHRAE Hall of Fame"
• US-based Marmon Water LLC, Singapore's Hyflux announce joint venture for water technology -- SINGAPORE, Jan. 26, 2007 -- Hyflux Ltd announced two joint venture agreements and several licenses with Marmon Water LLC, one of the world's largest manufacturers of residential and commercial water treatment systems. Olivia Lum, Group CEO & president of Hyflux Ltd, and John J. Goody, president of Marmon Water LLC, signed the agreements Jan. 22 in Singapore. The signing was witnessed by Lee Yi Shyan, Singapore Minister of State, Trade & Industry. Among key points:
1) R&D Joint Venture -- 50-50 joint venture for a US$32.5 million (S$50 million) R&D Center for Consumer Filtration Products over the next five years
2) Manufacturing Joint Venture -- Estimated US$19.5 million (S$30 million) joint venture to wholly own a subsidiary in Jiangsu province, China for the manufacture of residential water treatment and filtration products for worldwide markets, including China
3) 20-Year Licensing Agreements -- Marmon exclusively licenses its stainless steel membranes and media used to purify liquid streams to Hyflux. Hyflux exclusively licenses its hollow fiber membranes for sale and manufacture in North America
The water technologies industry is a strategic growth area for Singapore and the government is investing S$330 million (US$214 million) over the next five years to develop the industry. Singapore aims to account for 3-5% of the global water industry by 2018...
• PerkinElmer announces educational seminars in PITTCON booth -- Insights into new solutions to support environmental analysis -- PITTSBURGH, PA, Jan. 26, 2007 -- PerkinElmer Inc. is offering educational seminars on a range of environmental analytical issues and trends Monday through Wednesday, Feb. 26-28, during PITTCON 2007 in Chicago. The seminars are part of PerkinElmer's ongoing commitment to help scientists advance the pace and precision of their research and testing...
Also see:
-- "PerkinElmer completes acquisition of Euroscreen Products SA, Evotec Technologies: Expands portfolio of advanced cellular science tools to speed drug discovery"
-- "PerkinElmer wins multiyear OneSource laboratory management contract with Schering-Plough"
• International Water Conference issues second call for papers for 2007 event -- PITTSBURGH, Jan. 26, 2007 -- As a preeminent international technical forum in industrial water treatment, the International Water Conference, organized by the Engineering Society of Western Pennsylvania, has recorded over 67 years of remarkable achievements. The IWC brings together the water treatment industry's end users, researchers, practicing engineers, managers, educators, suppliers, contractors and consultants. For the 68th annual event Oct. 21-25 at the Hilton in the Walt Disney World Resort, Orlando, FL, the IWC seeks papers to cover all aspects of water treatment that include but are not limited to: Cooling and Process Water, Desalination Principles & Approaches, Process Water Preparation, Steam Generation, and Wastewater & Recycle. The deadline for submitting paper abstracts is Feb. 9, 2007. For a submittal form, click here.
• Grundfos integrates PACO Pumps -- OLATHE, KS, Jan. 26, 2007 -- A year after the acquisition of PACO Pumps by Grundfos, the integration process continues. The acquisition of PACO from Sulzer Ltd. included the head office and production facilities located in Brookshire, TX, and Wuxi, China, as well as four sales branches. This acquisition provided a key component to Grundfos' growth strategy in the North American market, focusing on the commercial building services market. The initial phase of the integration process of Grundfos CBS Inc., PACO's new legal identity, with the existing Grundfos organization involved many key activities. Exciting physical changes include improved lighting in the production facility, newly renovated offices in the existing building, and a new 10,000 sq. ft. office building. The one-year mark of the acquisition arrives at a time when PACO's 100-year anniversary celebration begins. 2007 will provide a number of events celebrating the founding of PACO Pumps, originally Pacific Pumping Company, in San Francisco in 1907...
• PetroChina Dushanzi Petrochemical selects comprehensive SimSci-Esscor operator training system from Invensys -- FOXBORO, MA, Jan. 25, 2007 -- Invensys Process Systems has been awarded an operator training system contract by PetroChina Dushanzi Petrochemical Company. The implementation will provide a comprehensive SimSci-Esscor operator training simulator (OTS) for the chemical section of the company's integrated refinery and chemical revamping project, which will process imported sour crude from Kazakhstan. The contract includes the design, outfit, installation and tuning, and acceptance check of the software/hardware platform for the simulation system. The scope includes process modeling of the six chemical section units (ethylene, styrene, high density polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene and styrene-butadiene rubber/SBS), along with integration with emulators for the distributed control system, safety instrumented systems (SIS) and PLCs. Related engineering services, such as technical training and support, are also included in the contract...
Also see:
-- "Paulett Eberhart appointed CEO, president of Invensys Process Systems"
-- "Invensys to supply Foxboro control systems for innovative Plasco waste-to-energy processes: Plasma gasification process converts municipal solid waste to synthetic gas for engines driving electrical cogeneration plants and other applications"
-- "Invensys, INVAP renew cooperative business agreement for the nuclear market"
• Canadian Prime Minister agrees to serve as honorary president of AMERICANA 2007 -- MONTREAL, QB, Canada, Jan. 24, 2007 -- RESEAU environnement is pleased to announce that AMERICANA's 7th edition, for which the theme is "Environment Fuelling The Economic Engine", will take place March 20-22 at the Montreal Convention Centre. For this seventh edition, Prime Minister Stephen Harper will serve as Honorary President. The largest environmental technology trade show in the Americas, AMERICANA will play host to more than 10,000 participants, 400 exhibitors, and 150 speakers from Quebec, Canada and more than 60 countries worldwide this year. Founded in 1995 and held every two years, AMERICANA is organized by RESEAU environnement...
• American Galvanizers Association announces online Galvanize It! seminar, now hosted on AEC Daily website -- CENTENNIAL, CO, Jan. 23, 2007 -- The American Galvanizers Association (AGA) is pleased to announce a version of its popular Galvanize It! seminar is now available online through continuing education provider, AEC Daily (www.aecdaily.com). The online course, entitled "Hot-Dip Galvanized Steel for Corrosion Protection," provides architects, engineers, and other members of the specifying community the convenience of learning more about galvanized steel from any location, at any time. This comprehensive hot-dip galvanizing seminar is registered with the American Institute of Architects (AIA), is worth one continuing education credit, and qualifies in the HSW (health, safety, and welfare) category. Credits for this course are also recognized by state licensing agencies. The course is free of charge and can be accessed by clicking here...
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