Hydro Green Energy Turns the Tide on Energy Production

Texas Concrete Materials acquires Capitol Aggregates’ Ready Mix Division; safety awards reward accident-free worksites; Fluor reports record-breaking revenues in 2006.

Hydro Green Energy Develops Energy from Tidal Currents

By placing hydro-turbines in the flow of tidal currents, HydroGreen Energy LLC, Houston has developed a technique to produce energy at a higher capacity than with traditional methods. To validate the energy output and to determine the best model of hydro-turbine, HydroGreen executives contacted the Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program for expert advice.

The NASA-funded SATOP provides small businesses with free technical assistance through the use of the U.S. Space Program, aerospace contractors, NASA field centers, universities and colleges.

HydroGreen Energy is a for-profit renewable energy project developer and
integrator that designs, builds and operates kinetic hydropower projects. These projects generate electricity using river, tide or ocean currents, eliminating the need to construct dams, impoundments, conduits or other infrastructure projects.

The company created several prototypes of a hydro-turbine that would effectively produce electric power from water currents and then tested which design would be most effective. A computational fluid dynamics simulation was needed to evaluate each turbine design and select the most efficient model.

SATOP matched HydroGreen Energy with professors Alain Kassab and  Eduardo Divo from the University of Central Florida.  UCF is a SATOP Alliance Partner.

Kassab and Divo completed a study for HydroGreen at a computational fluid dynamics laboratory. Using commercial CFD code, they were able to perform several simulations under several flow conditions. The results of these simulations were then presented for evaluation.
Based on the findings, HydroGreen was able to determine which hydro-turbine, with regard to kinetic energy, would ultimately be manufactured.

Atlantic Scaffolding wins Exxon’s Contractor Safety Award

Atlantic Scaffolding, Houston, received Exxon’s 2006 Contractor Safety Award for work at ExxonMobil, Beaumont Refinery. Atlantic Scaffolding was chosen as the Contractor Safety Award winner based upon its continued achievement and active participation in ExxonMobil’s Contractor Buddy Safety Program and Contractor Natural Work Team.

Atlantic was recognized for its accomplishments, including one million safe personhours and three consecutive years worked without an OSHA recordable incident. ExxonMobil also nominated Atlantic for an NPRA Safety Award for 2006.

Capitol Aggregates Sells Ready-Mix Division

Capitol Aggregates Ltd. sold its Central Texas ready-mix operations to Austin-based Texas Concrete Materials Ltd. The sale, which included four sites, was completed in mid-January 2006. The parties did not disclose financial terms of the transaction.
Capitol is currently installing new aggregate production facilities at its Marble Falls quarry and Bar X plant in Austin. 

Texas Concrete Materials is now the largest supplier of ready-mix concrete in the Austin area. Combining its existing two plant locations with Capitol Aggregates’ four ready-mix plant locations, Texas Concrete Materials will have the ability to serve the Austin market with its fleet of more than 100 ready-mix trucks, according to owner Jack Wheeler.

Capitol employees within the ready-mix division, including drivers, plant operators, maintenance personnel, divisional management and administrative support staff, were invited to join the Texas Concrete Materials team. Brent Cummings, Capitol’s former manager of ready-mix operations, will maintain his role as the leader of the aggregate sales team. 

Capitol will continue to supply Texas Concrete Materials with crushed stone, sand and gravel to support its expanded operations in the Austin market.

Texas Concrete Materials’ acquisition of the ready-mix division is the second transaction between Wheeler and Capitol Aggregates. In June 2005, Wheeler and Capitol negotiated the sale of Capitol’s hot-mix division. Ironhorse Asphalt Ltd., Wheeler’s asphalt materials branch, has four operational hot-mix plants in Central Texas and two in the planning stages. 

Fluor Reports Record Earnings

Fluor Corp.’s net earnings for 2006 rose 16 percent to a record $264 million compared with $227 million in 2005. Full-year results reflect substantial growth in the oil and gas, industrial and infrastructure and global services businesses, which was partly offset by cost overruns on fixed-price projects in the government segment.

Consolidated operating profits for the year were $557 million, up 28 percent from $436 million a year ago. Operating margins increased to 4 percent from 3.3 percent in 2005, reflecting improvements in oil and gas and industrial and infrastructure.

Full-year new awards of $19.3 billion eclipsed the previous company record of $13.0 billion set in 2004. New awards rose 54 percent over 2005 levels, driven by significant growth in oil and gas and industrial and infrastructure bookings. Strong fourth-quarter awards of $4.9 billion drove backlog to a record high of $21.9 billion. Fluor officials predict a favorable outlook for new project awards this year. Opportunities across all business segments continue to develop, with sizable prospects pending in the oil and gas, power, mining and transportation markets.