Green & Passive

Göttingen, Germany - Popcorn Insulation? With construction insulation as a major topic, the goal of lowering heating costs and CO2 emissions has led forest scientists to turn to environmentally friendly and sustainable insulation methods: popcorn. Researchers have developed a method for transforming granulated popcorn into insulation boards.…

Washington DC - The Payroll Report from the BLS was far from optimistic across the board undermining the theory if unemployment benefits were cut payrolls would rise. Although the Nation as a whole saw a report that was far less then predicted the AEC related segments show promise. Segments in the construction related indicators compiled by…

SIOUX FALLS, S.D., U.S.A. -Using ecologically friendly, farmer-grown soy-based sealant, the South Dakota Soybean Research & Promotion Council (SDSRPC) collaborated with the City of Sioux Falls to construct longer-lasting roads. The weather of South Dakota makes it difficult to keep concrete roads in good condition. PoreShield is a soy-based…

United States of America-- As troubling labor data continues to plague the construction industry everyone has begun to get creative and learn to adapt to the now evolved and never seen before labor and employee markets. The recent jobs report is a example of the ever tricky labor number interpretations. …

Total Construction United States of America- Construction spending was estimated at $1,568.8 billion on a seasonally adjusted annual basis in July 2021, up 0.3 percent (1.2 percent)* from the revised June estimate of $1,563.4 billion. The July estimate is 9.0% (1.5%) higher than the July 2020 estimate of $1,439.6 billion. Construction…

Milford, Connecticut - As construction budgets have blown up the past year and half we are releasing details on a new cost modeling and value-engineering investigatory report performed by AGGRECOST™ . The modeled construction project was a affordable multi-family housing project commissioned by CHFA (Connecticut Housing Finance Authority)…

East Windsor, Connecticut- The Broad Brook, CT solar farm from Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc, VHB has partnered with DE Shaw Renewable Investments, LLC (DESRI) on the "Gravel Pit Solar" (GPS) Project. The project site which is owned by ANDRE L. CHARBONNEAU of ANDRE CHARBONNEAU & SONS SAND AND GRAVEL, LLC, now or formally operated by The…

Efforts to reduce emissions from cities have been focused on transportation and building energy consumption. However, it is likely that asphalt emissions are being underestimated or even ignored, according to a 2020 study published in the Science Advances journal. The global demand for liquid asphalt is 122.5 million metric tons per year, and 27…

New York, New York- Mayor, Bill de Blasio, recently announced a $8.3 billion budget to construct small, contemporary, humane jails in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx in an effort to replace the jails located on Rikers Island. The construction projects stand as the first significant activity in the Borough-Based Jails Program. A…

Protests are not the only hurdle for Enbridge however. The Minnesota Court of Appeals is set to decide on June 21st if Endrige successfully proved there was a demand for oil in the locations that could be reached by Line 3. Frank Bibeau, an attorney for the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, is suing in federal court claiming that the Army Corps of…

HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT- Taken by initiative, "Revolution Wind", as it has been dubbed, is Connecticut's commitment to supply 1.1 gigawatts of offshore wind and part of Biden's overall 30 Gigawatts by 2030. Revolution Wind is a 704MW off-shore wind farm slated to begin construction in late 2021 or early 2022 with an operational completion goal of…

On Tuesday May 11, the Biden Administration gave final approval to the Vineyard Wind project in Massachusetts, and construction is scheduled to start this summer. The project will use 62 Haliade-X turbines from GE, with a capacity of 13 MW each, adding up a total capacity of over 800 MW. This makes Vineyard Wind the first major offshore wind farm…

Solar air conditioning is a promising technology for homes and business, since space cooling is often the largest expense during summer. Air conditioning represents 12% of energy costs for the typical US household, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Its share of energy consumption can reach 27% of energy bills in places with…

  HB-6572 states that any town, city, or borough may require all buildings over 40,000 square feet that qualify as new construction or substantial renovation, to have an energy usage of at least ten percent per square foot less than the energy use allowed by the State Building Code.

Soybeans are being used in asphalt paving to insulation for homes. Soy has made its introduction into the construction industry. Major players have products readily available and that list has been growing by the day. Like all commodities this is another cherished one the U.S. is developing a strong demand for as well.