Front row, L to R: Kim Sieber, Travis Watson, Scott Tierney, Ainsworth James (ReEnergy Holdings), Tom Clarke Back row, L to R: Julie Carmody, David MacMartin, Jeff Towle, Dave Saucier, Kevin Talley, Earle Cianchette
ReEnergy Black River Retrofit Project Receives New York Excellence in Construction Award n
By Julie Carmody
The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) of New York recently presented the Southern New England (SNE) Team with an Excellence in Construction (EIC) Award for their success on the ReEnergy Holdings LLC, Black River Retrofit Project. The award was presented to Project Manager Scott Tierney at the Association’s Annual Awards Gala on November 14th in Albany, New York. The Black River Retrofit project, located on the Fort Drum Army Base in New York, involved the conversion of an existing 60 megawatt, coal fired power plant generating facility to regionally harvested biomass fuel. This industrial project required an accelerated schedule, with the majority of work taking place during unpredictable winter weather conditions at an existing plant that had been shut down for two years. Major work activities included site work and underground utilities/facilities; existing building structural, mechanical and electrical equipment modifications; new building and equipment foundations and new equipment installations; interconnecting pipe fabrication and installation and all of the electrical and instrumentation required to retrofit the existing Black River Facility. Additionally, Cianbro was responsible for coordinating overall site safety, including ReEnergy’s subcontractor and vendor representatives. “The success of this project was the result of a disciplined commitment, by all stakeholders, to working through the issues -- technical, financial, logistical and commercial,” said Senior Man-
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ager of Projects Tom Clarke. ReEnergy Holdings LLC is a renewable energy company based in Latham, New York. In 2011, ReEnergy acquired the Black River Generation Facility located on the Fort Drum Army Base in New York with plans to convert the idled facility to use biomass material as a primary fuel source. The project was selected by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to sell Renewable Energy Credits to NYSERDA under New York’s Renewable Portfolio Standard. The Renewable Portfolio Standard, administered by NYSERDA, is a program that is tasked with obtaining 30 percent of New York’s electricity from renewable sources by 2015. At the official Grand Opening Event, ReEnergy announced that it had achieved certification to the Sustainable Forestry Initiative Standard, which verifies that ReEnergy’s biomass procurement program promotes land stewardship and responsible forestry practices. ReEnergy is the first company that is solely devoted to electricity production to be certified to the SFI Standard. “The project was hugely successful thanks to the commitment and dedication by so many, and in particular ReEnergy, for trusting the Cianbro team with such an important project as this one: generating sustainable clean energy, jobs, and economic stimulus for many years to come,” explained SNE’s Vice President and General Manager Jeffrey Towle.
C I A N B R O F A L L / W I N T E R C H AT T E R
The EIC program recognizes outstanding construction projects completed by ABC New York members throughout the region. Submittals must adhere to rigorous application requirements. Projects are judged by a cross section of construction industry experts, including owners, architects, engineers and other industry leaders. This year’s event was attended by the following members of the Project Team: Senior Manager of Projects Tom Clark, Project Manager Scott Tierney, Regional Engineering Manager Kim Sieber, Senior Project Engineer Dave MacMartin, Senior Design Engineer Dave Saucier, Project Engineer Travis Watson, Project Engineer Kevin Talley, Senior Vice President of Operations Earle Cianchette, SNE Vice President and General Manager Jeff Towle, Business Development Professional Julie Carmody, and ReEnergy’s Director of Engineering and Construction Ainsworth James. Congratulations to the entire ReEnergy Black River Project Team for this achievement: Tom Clarke, Scott Tierney, Kim Sieber, Brian Hartness, Kris Ballard, James Flear, Gary Hayes, Brigitte Reid, Dan Musselwhite, Dave MacMartin, Dave Saucier, Joe Foley, Travis Watson, Kevin Talley, Jason Despaw, Jeremy Mace, Mark Richardson, and Terra Thomas.