Construction Rebound not Immediate
When Ed Sullivan, chief economist of the Portland Cement Association (PCA), addressed the C&D World event in Miami in 2006, he predicted that sub-prime mortgages would soon haunt the U.S. economy.
At the 2009 C&D World event, held in Tampa, Fla., March 22-24, Sullivan touched on the full effects of what has happened to the economy since then and also shared his thoughts on how the federal government response may or may not help matters.
"Unlike most recessions, this is not regional-specific," said Sullivan of the current climate. "It is everywhere, and it is unique."
Sullivan said he saw more payroll paring to come. "We could lose at least another 6 million jobs," he said. "What’s going to stop this? We are at the mercy of the fundamentals. The private sector has abandoned all strength."
Sullivan said the $758 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), "will shorten the recession and make it less severe."
But the PCA chief economist added that it was not a quick fix and said any gains for the construction and paving industries would not be substantial until the second half of 2010, when larger projects such as bridge replacements and new highway lane miles would actually be in full swing. In 2009 some jobs would be saved by ARRA, but he said he did not foresee job creation until 2010.
C&D World 2009 was held March 22-24 at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Fla.
Wood Cubes Sub for Coal at Ohio Plant
FirstEnergy Corp., Akron, Ohio, has announced that it plans to convert two power units at its R.E. Burger Plant in Shadyside, Ohio, to generate electricity principally with biomass feedstock.
"Retrofitting the Burger Plant for biomass will expand our diverse generation portfolio even further and continue our support of state and federal efforts to increase reliance on renewable energy sources," says FirstEnergy President and CEO Anthony J. Alexander.
Scrap wood is not necessarily being considered as feedstock at the plant. Ultimately, the company expects the project to feature a closed-loop system, meaning it would use biomass derived from an energy crop grown specifically for use as a fuel source.
According to a report on the Web site of the Plain Dealer of Cleveland, "fast-growing, bio-engineered cottonwood trees and grasses will be grown in Ohio and pressed into cubes in a new factories built by Renafuel LLC, a subsidiary of Cleveland-based Cliffs Natural Resources Inc."
The state has estimated the cost of creating the tree farms and constructing cube production facilities at about $100 million. It is unclear to what extent the state or First Energy considered other fuel sources, including scrap wood, residuals or by-products.
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