INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECT

Posted on December 20, 2010 by Jeff Garner, Project Executive

What a whirlwind! First accepting the AGC of Vermont Best Builders Award and then flying to Orlando to accept Honorable Mention in Power Engineering Magazine’s 2010 Projects of the Year Awards. It is, of course, a pleasure to accept an award from our home state and be recognized for our efforts in green construction, but it was truly a distinct honor to be recognized by Power Engineering in this international competition and elite award program.

The PurposeEnergy Digester project was first named by Power Engineering Magazine as one of only three finalists in the world in the Best Renewable/Sustainable Projects category – and the only finalist from the United States. During the POWER-GEN International Conference, we had the opportunity to learn more about the other finalists – the $350 million Tekeze Hydropower Project generating 300MW in Ethiopia and the Canoe Creek Hydroelectric Project in Canada – and share the story of our unique PurposeEnergy project. By the end of the awards banquet, the Ethiopian project had taken the first place award and we were happily holding our Honorable Mention.

It was quite an experience. Many of the most influential power projects, and the people behind them, were represented.  The other categories included Nuclear (2 finalists), Coal (3 finalists), and Natural Gas (3 finalists). All of these projects were very large, multi-year efforts that simply dwarfed ours by every measurement. Our award has generated quite a buzz, though, and congratulatory e-mails have come from all over to a wide range of people at PC Construction. Internally, our congratulations and thanks go to Senior Project Manager Chet Laymen and Project Superintendent Jody Atkins who built this internationally acclaimed, multi-award winning project.