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64 MAY 2016
G LOBA L MARKE T P L AC E
In Chicago, ArcelorMittal – the world’s only producer of ASTM
A913 steel, Grades 65 and 70 – is providing 2,789 tons of the
material, in column sections. And 150 North Riverside will be
the only building in the US to incorporate it.
Between floors 8 and 54 the structure is a typical glass-
skinned skyscraper. But a steel cantilever holding the first
floor some 100ft off the ground supports seven storeys of
columns whose placement creates a peg-legged effect.
A necessity of the awkward foundation area, sandwiched
between railroad tracks and the water, the unorthodox profile
commands attention from those on the architecture-themed
tour boats that ply the Chicago River.
› According to Robert Chmielowski of Magnusson
Klemencic Associates, designers and structural engineers
on the project, ArcelorMittal offered the most cost-effective
solution to the steel requirements of 150 North Riverside. He
told the NWI Times , “The larger sections and high-strength
material provided the only off-the-shelf sections that could
resist the large forces.”
Energy
‘Clean power’ in the US outstrips fossil fuels
for the second straight year, and natural gas
nearly over takes coal
Renewable energy was the biggest source of new power
added to US electricity grids in 2015 as falling prices and
government incentives made wind and solar increasingly
attractive options when compared with fossil fuels. Developers
installed 16 gigawatts (GW) of clean energy last year, or 68
per cent of all new capacity.
Bloomberg Business reporter Joe Ryan also noted that this
marked the second year that more power was generated from
alternative sources than from fossil fuels. The information
comes from the Sustainable Energy in America Factbook
of Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), which follows
alternative energy. (“Clean-Power Revolution Eclipsing Fossil
Fuels on US Grid,” (4 February)
Wind farms accounted for most of the growth, with 8.5GW
of new turbines installed as developers sought to take
advantage of a federal tax credit that was due to expire at the
end of 2016. Congress extended it in December.
“This is a long-term trend,” said Colleen Regan, a BNEF
analyst who follows North American power markets. “System
costs have really come down for renewables, which makes
the case for installing them a lot stronger.”
Other BNEF findings reported by Mr Ryan:
• Demand for energy in the US held steady last year,
even as GDP grew 2.4 per cent. Since 2007, US energy
consumption has dropped 2.4 per cent while GDP has
grown by 10 per cent.
• US clean-energy investment rose to $56bn last year, up 7.5
per cent from 2014. Most of this, $30.2bn, went to solar.
Investors pumped $11.6bn into wind energy and $11.1bn
into technology to improve grids, boost efficiency, develop
storage systems, and other methods to better manage
power usage.
› According to BNEF, natural gas-fired plants accounted for
25 per cent of the capacity added to US power grids last
year. Nearly one third of all electricity in the country is now
generated by gas, bringing it close to parity with coal.
A record number of coal plants were shuttered in 2015,
with 11GW of capacity going offline by the end of October
and another 3GW slated to close. Natural gas, meanwhile,
continues to surge.
“It looks good for gas to be a larger share of electricity
generation than coal in 2016,” said Ms Regan.
Oi l and gas
› While falling oil prices continue to impact the global
pipeline industry, mainly in North America, World Onshore
Pipelines Market Forecast 2015–2019 encourages optimism.
The report, from British market research firm Douglas-
Westwood, asserts that the pipeline market “is well cushioned
from short-term commodity price fluctuations, with projects
typically responsive to long-term demand and supply trends.”
Douglas-Westwood expects pipeline expenditure to grow
by $220bn (14 per cent) over that span of years, with
approximately 192,000 miles of pipeline installed globally. This
compares to the $193 billion growth, and 11 per cent increase
in installations, over the five years to 2014.
Factors cited in support of a favourable outlook include
population growth in both new and existing urban centres,
greater hydrocarbon supply, and a shift towards gas in energy
preferences.
According to Douglas-Westwood, North America and Asia will
remain the highest-volume pipeline markets through to 2019,
accounting for approximately 45 per cent of global capital
investment in pipeline construction. But the fastest growth is
anticipated for the Middle East.
Automot i ve
Already at 85 to 90 per cent capacity
utilisation, US automotive suppliers struggle
with production scheduling
John Wiegand of the Michigan-based news site Mibiz.
com noted that, last year, the US automotive industry saw
several high-profile deals among large automotive suppliers.
In November, BorgWarner, an Auburn Hills manufacturer of