Engineering Florida Spring 2024

Designing for Sustainability

Florida is experiencing an unprecedented influx of new residents and tourists, prompting a crucial need to revamp its infrastructure to accommodate the surging demand sustainably.

The engineering community in Florida is actively tackling this challenge by developing innovative civil and structural projects that not only cater to current growth but also prioritize sustainability for future demands.

Photo: Duke Energy debuted its first floating solar pilot project. Located at The Hines Energy Complex in Bartow, the solar array of 1,872 solar panels float on the 1,200-acre pond, creating power as the pond cools the power plant.

A Letter from the Editor

Iam pleased to welcome you to Engineering Florida’s latest issue, the first of our second volume. This month, we delve into the dynamic intersection of engineering excellence and sustainability initiatives within the Sunshine State.

Florida's engineering landscape is evolving rapidly, propelled by a collective commitment to fostering sustainable practices that not only preserve our environment but also enhance the quality of life for generations to come.

In this issue, we spotlight the remarkable efforts of Florida communities in promoting sustainability, with a special focus on the pioneering Babcock Ranch masterplanned development. This groundbreaking community is a beacon of hope, demonstrating how thoughtful urban planning and innovative engineering solutions can create thriving communities while minimizing our ecological footprint.

We showcase burgeoning solar projects across Florida, featuring the contributions of key players such as the Florida Municipal Power Agency, Duke Energy, and Florida Power & Light, among others. These initiatives underscore the state's vast potential for renewable energy production, harnessing abundant sunshine to sustainably power homes, businesses and industries.

In our exploration of green hydrogen technology, we examine the progress being made in building the first end-to-end green hydrogen production facility in the U.S., right here in DeBary. The facility is designed to test the efficacy of green hydrogen in the power grid.

We also take a look back at the cover story of our first issue last year and bring you an update on the permanent repairs being made to the Sanibel Island Causeway after Hurricane Ian. And we hear from Brent Whitfield at Chen Moore, who discusses the state of water resources across Florida.

Our organizational partners who make this publication possible are also actively looking for sustainable solutions for a wide range of projects, and their findings are represented here as well. Be sure to check out all of our partner pages!

As stewards of Florida's engineering community, it is our mission to inspire, inform and catalyze positive change. Through the diverse range of stories in this issue, we aim to ignite conversations, foster partnerships and empower individuals and organizations to contribute towards a more sustainable and resilient future for Florida and beyond.

Thank you for joining us on this journey of discovery and enlightenment. Together, let us continue to engineer a brighter, greener, more sustainable tomorrow for all.

Florida's engineering landscape is evolving rapidly, propelled by a collective commitment to fostering sustainable practices that not only preserve our environment but also enhance the quality of life for generations to come.

Stacey Butler Director of Marketing & Communications Florida Engineering Society (FES), ACEC Florida

Editor-in-Chief

Stacey Butler

Managing Editor

Joe VanHoose

Layout Editor

Claire Jordan

Creative Direction

Hannah Groseclose

Contributors

Thomas Ehlers

Lindsey Ranayhossaini

Johnathan McGinty

Lauren Heighton

Ad Director

Meghan Shiner

Editorial Board

Katie Batill-Bigler, CPSM

Patel, Greene & Associates | SMPS

Stacey Butler, Director of Marketing & Communications FES | ACEC Florida

John Constantinide, PE Director and Regional Chair, ASHRAE Region XII

David Cowan, Jr, PE, ENV SP

Chen Moore and Associates | FES

Kelly Cranford, PE, ENV SP Culpepper & Terpening | FES Past President

Charles W. Davis, Jr, Ph.D. Associate Professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University | FES

Allen Douglas, Executive Director FES | ACEC Florida

Sunserea Gates, PE VHB | ASHE

Carmelo Giglio, PE, SI United Professional Engineering | FSEA

Andy Lauzier, PE HDR | ACEC Florida

Scott Martin, PE, LEED AP, DBIA

Walter P. Moore | ACEC Florida Past President

Jennifer Nix McGerald, CPSM RS&H | ACEC Florida

Edie Ousley, President Yellow Finch Strategies

Cherie Pinsky, Chief Operating Officer FES | ACEC Florida

Adam Schildmeier, PE WGI | FES

Ann Schiola, CPSM CIP-II RS&H | ACEC Florida

Meghan Shiner, Communications Coordinator FES | ACEC Florida

Jignesh Vyas, PE Parsons Corporation | ASCE

MAY JUNE

The new rule:

2024 SESSION

Funding for transportation projects, revisions to stormwater rules

Allen Douglas Executive Director, FES and ACEC Florida

The 2024 Session of the Florida Legislature ended on March 8, after passage of the $117.46 billion 2024-2025 state budget. The session produced several ramifications for engineers in the state.

Lawmakers included $15.7 billion for the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), earmarking $13.98 billion for the transportation work program. The legislature also appropriated $250 million from the Transportation Trust Fund for local projects typically funded from general revenue. During budget negotiations, the Governor’s office expressed opposition to the move, and it is unclear whether he will veto these member projects.

Lawmakers also passed legislation requiring 96% of revenue from the Seminole Gaming Compact to be set aside for the state’s environmental projects, which provides a stable source of recurring funding. It is estimated that at least $450 million will be available, including $75 million for water resource projects, $100 million for land acquisition, $150 million for flood control, and $96 million for land management. It should be noted that the 2021 gaming compact faces two challenges in state and federal court.

Staying in the environmental arena, the legislature ratified the Department of Environmental Protection’s revisions to the stormwater rules within Chapter 62-330 of the Florida Administrative Code.

• Creates new minimum performance standards for all environmental resource permit (ERP) stormwater systems.

• Requires applicants to demonstrate through modeling and calculations based on local conditions and annual runoff volumes that their proposed stormwater treatment system is designed to acheive the required treatment level.

• Creates new requirements for periodic inspections and the operation and maintenance of stormwater treatment systems.

• Provides new permitting criteria applicable to the construction of new dams or the alteration of existing dams.

Notably, the ratification bill included several amendments, including the expansion of grandfathering provisions and a delay of the implementation of the rule requirements for 18 months after it becomes effective.

Specific to the FDOT, legislation was passed allowing FDOT to enter into a service contract to finance projects authorized in the Moving Florida Forward Plan and authorizes the agency to retain interest earnings on such projects. The same bill removes the requirement that the Florida Transportation Commission nominate the Secretary of FDOT before being appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate.

A separate piece of legislation adds phased design-build contracts to the requirements that FDOT receive at least three letters of interest in order to proceed with a request for proposals and that FDOT requests proposals from no fewer than three of the firms submitting letters of interest. The legislation also limits the amount of money that can be taken from the Transportation Trust Fund for public transit projects to 20% of annual trust fund revenue. Additionally, the bill amends provisions relating to limitations on the liability of FDOT and its contractors and design engineers.

In other action, the legislature passed legislation providing sovereign immunity protection for construction engineering and inspection (CEI) firms working as subconsultants on FDOT projects by designating these

firms as “agents of the state,” as well as legislation to increase the limit for construction under a continuing contract from $4 million to $7.5 million indexed for future annual increases, and legislation limiting the use of local preference programs to projects funded in whole by the local government agency.

Specific to the FDOT, legislation was passed allowing FDOT to enter into a service contract to finance projects

authorized in the Moving Florida Forward Plan.

The NSPE Opinion Database

A PERHAPS NOT-SO-OBVIOUS RESOURCE

Veronica Bayó Clifford, Esq.

Many of us would reduce the concept of ethics to doing the right thing even when no one is watching. Deeply ingrained within, society runs on the premise that its members should act ethically – or at least try to.

The engineering profession takes that premise a step further. Engineers must always act ethically when practicing their profession. It is not an aspirational goal but rather an affirmative duty.

As with any affirmative duty, practicing ethically can become difficult at times, especially when the variables are numerous and the facts are unique. In situations where the solution to an engineering ethical dilemma is unclear, where does one go to find the answer?

If you answered “online,” you aren’t wrong. But rather than punch a few terms into the Google search bar, why don’t we start by consulting the experts.

The National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) was formed by a group of professional engineers in 1934 with the goal of addressing the professional concerns of licensed PEs across all disciplines. Its duty is to protect engineers (and the public) from unqualified practitioners, build public recognition for the profession, and stand against unethical practices and inadequate compensation. To further this goal, the NSPE created its lodestar Code of Ethics for Engineers.

This Code is important and comprehensive. It is broken down into six Fundamental Canons, five Rules of Practice and nine Professional Obligations.

The six Fundamental Canons are no surprise and basically state that all engineers must:

1. Place the public welfare first.

2. Practice only in the areas in which they are competent.

3. Be truthful and objective to the public.

4. Be good employees or contractors (not necessarily in the construction sense).

5. Avoid being deceptive.

6. Not embarrass the profession of engineering.

The remaining sections are equally as important and expand on these principles. Admittedly, the Rules and Obligations are not a fun read and could prove frustrating when looking for a clear and direct answer to an ethical dilemma.

Enter the NSPE Board of Ethical Review (BER), which followed closely after the development of the NSPE Code. The NSPE's BER is an ongoing and rotating panel of engineering ethics experts who serve as the profession's guide through ethical dilemmas.

The BER has been issuing its ethical opinions since 1958, and every single one of them can be found online on the Board of Ethical Review Cases database. This is an incredible resource for engineers facing general and

Veronica is an attorney for the Grossman, Furlow & Bayo law firm based in Tallahassee.

nuanced ethical issues. The BER has issued more than 650 advisory opinions, all available through the database.

This database can be searched by keyword, year, subject and code section. Searching by subject is a great way to find opinions on general ethical issues. The drop-down subject search bar can be queried to search for a long list of ethical subject matters.

Examples include advertising, dealing with conflicts of interest, ownership of designs, proprietary interests, reviewing the work of other engineers, competence, and duty to disclose. For an opinion more in line with a specific issue, a keyword search is available to work as a standalone search or in conjunction with the subject search.

Each opinion is written with deliberate ambiguity and is designed to reach as wide an audience as possible. For example, the parties involved are not identified in any substantive way. Instead, the parties are referred to generically as Engineer A, City B, or Firm XYZ for example.

Keep in mind that opinions issued prior to 1980 are provided solely for historic purposes and may no longer be valid because of changes to the NSPE Code of Ethics as well as legal and regulatory requirements. This still leaves, however, hundreds of relevant opinions that carry a lot of weight.

Finding an on-point BER case in support of your position is not the same as finding a dispositive statute or precedential case. But it might just be the next best thing.

Project Update:

PERMANENT ROADWAY WORK ON SANIBEL CAUSEWAY SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLETE

By Joe VanHoose, Managing Editor

As Toby Mazzoni drives around Sanibel Island now, he can see the strides the community is making in its long recovery from Hurricane Ian. Restaurants and businesses are reopening, homes are being rebuilt and condos repaired.

“You can see the return to life and the people working really hard,” said Mazzoni, project manager for Superior Construction. “It’s a long process to get back to some sort of normalcy, but they’re working through it.”

Restoring the Sanibel Causeway is a big piece of the normalcy puzzle. After months of repairs, reinforcement and roadwork by the Superior Construction and the de Moya Group joint-venture team, all travel lanes across the Sanibel Causeway are now permanently open, and work on the roadway is substantially complete.

As the team finished their work on Dec. 22, residents were ready to thank them as they drove by.

“The traveling public were waving and honking horns and telling us all ‘thank you’ as they passed by,” Mazzoni said. “It’s definitely a good feeling when you accomplish a task like that.”

“You can see the return to life and the people working really hard... It’s a long process to get back to some sort of normalcy, but they’re working through it."

– Toby Mazzoni, Project Manager

Photos courtesy of Superior Construction

Work on the islands and the water surrounding the causeway bridges will continue for another year. The final phase consists of the design and construction of new permanent steel sheet pile walls and steel combination walls with limestone riprap scour countermeasures.

From Rapid Response to Permanent Repairs

On September 28, 2022, Hurricane Ian hit Florida’s southwestern coast, claiming more than 150 lives and causing $112 billion in damage. It also washed away portions of Sanibel Causeway, a three-mile series of bridges, leaving some locals stranded on Sanibel and Captiva Islands.

The Superior-de Moya JV was chosen as the primary contractor, partnering with Kisinger Campo & Associates (KCA) as the lead designer. The team was onsite within 24 hours of the hurricane’s passing, inspecting damage and proposing temporary repairs, all while recommending permanent repairs which would protect the causeway from future storms.

H&H collaborated with KCA and the contractor joint venture team, Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) District 1 and Central Office to identify and understand the causes of the damage, design temporary repairs that could be rapidly constructed to restore service to emergency services and the general public as quickly and safely as practical, that could be implemented in a manner that permitted the construction of economical and durable permanent repairs.

In October 2022, the Sanibel project team completed the temporary repairs, granting locals access to the mainland in just 15 days — one week ahead of schedule. After achieving that milestone, their focus turned to reinforcing the emergency work and improving the Sanibel Causeway’s resilience to future storms.

Before: Sept. 2022.

After: January 2024

The Sanibel Causeway emergency repairs contract was FDOT’s first-ever phased designbuild project. This procurement method allowed the project to be delivered in phases, which expedited construction and allowed the project team to procure long lead materials, like sheet piles.

“When we started looking at data produced from Ian, the numbers were far greater,” Mazzoni said. “So, we basically designed it to Ian and more. If you have current data that is like Ian that is more powerful than the data you would have designed to, you don’t want to go halfway.”

FDOT’s First Phased Design-Build

The Sanibel Causeway emergency repairs contract was FDOT’s first-ever phased design-build project. This procurement method allowed the project to be delivered in phases, which expedited construction and allowed the project team to procure long lead materials, like sheet piles.

Although the temporary emergency permit expired before the permanent permit was issued, Superior quickly obtained the permit necessary to resume construction on Sept. 8. “Despite this setback, we still wanted to meet the original

deadline for roadway work to be substantially completed, which was Christmas 2023,” Mazzoni said. “The JV team significantly ramped up resources and reached out to major subcontractors and material suppliers for support.”

At peak construction, the joint venture team had three pile-driving crews (marine/land), four roadway earthwork crews, two storm drainage crews, six rebar-tying crews, eight concrete placement crews, three asphalt paving crews, and various other support resources. They maintained two lanes of traffic at all times and utilized three major traffic control phases to remove and reconstruct 1.3 miles of the causeway while providing significant resiliency upgrades.

Project Milestones

INCLUDED:

Demolish 35,000 square yards of existing roadway asphalt and base, 2,270 linear feet of concrete barrier wall, and 4,500 linear feet of concrete coping

Demolish five bridge approach slab areas

Set 40,000 linear feet of temporary concrete barrier wall for traffic control

Place and grade 19,000 tons of shell base

Install 163,000 square feet of retaining wall sheet piling, 64,000 square feet of king pile wall, and 183,000 square feet of island wall sheet piling

Install 4,450 linear feet of retaining wall concrete cap (including 87,000 pounds of steel reinforcement) and 8,400 linear feet of island wall concrete cap (including 162,000 linear feet of fiber reinforcement)

Install 5,500 linear feet of shoulder and median concrete barriers

Install five new concrete bridge approach slabs (including 61,000 pounds of steel reinforcement)

Install 3,000 linear feet of underdrain system for retaining walls (including 7,000 tons of No. 57 stone)

Install 1,500 linear feet of storm drainage system

Place 19,500 tons of asphalt pavement

"This scope of work would normally take 18 or more months to complete. The Sanibel JV team completed it in 105 calendar days."

– Toby Mazzoni, Project Manager from Sept. 8 to Dec. 22

“This scope of work would normally take 18 or more months to complete. The Sanibel JV team completed it in 105 calendar days [from Sept. 8 to Dec. 22],” said Mazzoni.

Work on the islands and the water surrounding the causeway bridges will continue for another year. The final phase consists of the design and construction of new permanent steel sheet pile walls and steel combination walls with limestone riprap scour countermeasures designed for future corrosion in the extremely aggressive marine environment and for protection against future major coastal storm events.

Protection of the earthen causeway and roadway between the bridges from future scour and undermining consists of a combination of buried steel sheet pile walls and marine mattresses.

“We are very grateful for the contractor’s outstanding work on this project,” said Chris Mollitor, FDOT construction manager. “This team of contractors has worked day and night since the storm to bring the project to this milestone.”

ACEC

Florida

AMERICAN COUNCIL OF ENGINEERING COMPANIES of Florida

Striving Toward Sustainability

We’re excited to partner with Engineering Florida in this issue to showcase how Florida communities, agencies and engineering firms are positioning the state for a sustainable future.

Several of our ACEC Florida committees are keeping track of many of these measures. Here’s a brief wrap-up.

BILL BRADFORD, P.E., Energy Committee Chair

ENERGY: PLOTTING MORE SUSTAINABLE PROGRAMS

Energy and sustainability are extremely important topics throughout Florida and the world. Engineering firms and individual engineering disciplines are rapidly addressing the growing importance of sustainable design, energy conservation and diversification in the work they do on a daily basis.

In October, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recorded the January to September 2023 period as the warmest such year-to-date period on record – in fact, September 2023 was warmer than the average July from 2001 to 2010. Shortly after this information was released, participating nations at the recent COP-28 conference in Dubai acknowledged the dangers caused by global warming.

This national and international attention to energy and sustainability is causing a groundswell of interest in engineering disciplines throughout Florida. As a result, Florida colleges and universities are creating numerous energy and sustainability programs to address these topics for students interested in pursuing these disciplines.

Examples include:

• The University of Florida’s Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment is focusing on sustainable engineering solutions

• Florida Institute of Technology offers a Bachelor’s degree in Sustainable Studies

• The Florida Solar Energy Center is administered by the University of Central Florida.

ACEC Florida and the Florida Engineering Society are adapting to this keen interest statewide in energy and sustainability. The ACEC Florida/FES Joint Energy Committee

was formed years ago to provide ongoing education on resource efficiency and environmental stewardship and hosts monthly meetings with leading speakers from throughout the U.S. who provide presentations on these topics.

Recent speakers have included a representative of the Nuclear Energy Institute who discussed Small Modular Nuclear Reactors (SMRs), a developer of over $6 billion of renewable energy projects throughout the United States, the Senior Director of Decarbonization for Florida Power and Light who discussed their goals to move from reaching Net Zero Emissions to reaching Real Zero Emissions and many others.

MICHAEL DELCHARCO, P.E., CFM, Environmental Committee Chair

ENVIRONMENT: RESILIENT FLORIDA STRENGTHENS ENDEAVORS

In the world of engineering, we've all heard the term "resiliency" tossed around like confetti at a parade. It's become so common that it's practically wallpaper in our conversations.

But you know what? We're not complaining! Why? Because where there's talk of resilience, there's often funding to back it up. So, let's roll with it. Let's embrace the buzz and make it our own.

Fortunately for us, Florida is leading the nation in coordinating resiliency. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 1954 into law on May 12, 2021. This extensive legislation establishes a unified strategy for bolstering resilience along Florida's coastal and inland areas.

The Resilient Florida initiative strengthens our endeavors to safeguard inland waterways, coastlines, and shores, which serve as crucial natural barriers against rising sea levels. This legislation marks the most substantial investment in Florida's history aimed at readying communities for the effects of rising sea levels, more severe storms, and increased flooding.

Within the ACEC Florida Environmental Committee, the Water Resources subcommittee has promoted those previously mentioned resiliency efforts for years. Regular meetings with the state’s water management districts, Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers give us meaningful dialog with those

agencies as they develop rulemaking, establish policies, work out technical methodologies, and discuss contract and procurement issues.

GREG STEVENS, P.E., Land and Development Committee Chair

LAND DEVELOPMENT: SUSTAINABLE APPROACHES TO NON-POTABLE IRRIGATION

Let’s take a look at how the developers of the 47-square-mile Lakewood Ranch master-planned community have been committed to the sustainable management of water resources within Southwest Florida.

Lakewood Ranch has consistently ranked as the second largest master-planned community in the U.S., with 2,000 to 2,500 new home sales per year in the past few years. This type of growth demands extensive irrigation, and Lakewood Ranch responded early in the process by creating Braden River Utilities (BRU) to plan and construct the necessary infrastructure to be self-sufficient in providing their own irrigation needs to serve future buildout.

BRU exclusively provides non-potable water for outdoor irrigation of lawns, landscapes, parks, and golf courses. As such, potable water and new individual wells are prohibited as water sources for outdoor irrigation.

In addition to providing master planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance of non-potable irrigation to Lakewood Ranch, BRU manages a diverse portfolio of non-potable resources, including dozens of

onsite surface water ponds and community groundwater wells. The utility also receives reclaimed wastewater from the City of Sarasota, the City of Bradenton, and Manatee County. An additional contract for reclaimed water is currently being negotiated with Sarasota County.

In addition, the Lakewood Ranch Stewardship District (LRSD) in coordination with BRU received an Innovative Technology Grant from the FDEP that successfully demonstrated the absorption of phosphorus using an activated carbon media. As a result, reclaimed wastewater treated by these passive nutrient reduction technologies has consistently met the advanced water treatment standard for nitrogen and phosphorus prior to distribution for irrigation uses.

The annual total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) load reductions associated with the beneficial reuse of alternative water supplies by BRU indicate an average annual reduction of approximately 41,000 pounds of TN and 4,700 pounds of TP since 2014. Without these nutrient reductions, the nutrient loads would be applied to Sarasota Bay and Tampa Bay.

The BRU system also incorporates the latest technology in telemetry controls and valves to assure that the non-potable water is directed on demand to the areas within Lakewood Ranch as needed with reliability and efficiency.

This community, in conjunction with local and state regulatory agencies and the design consultant team has set a high standard of sustainability and creativity for their nonpotable water supply systems to serve the future.

AWARD-WINNING EXPERTISE

For more than 85 years, Walter P Moore has engineered structures and infrastructure for communities worldwide.

Infrastructure Structures Diagnostics Technology

walterpmoore.com

FLORIDA’S NEED FOR A PROGRAMMATIC APPROACH TO Water Infrastructure

By Brent Whitfield, P.E., ENV SP

At 2:27 p.m. on March 8, a pair of handkerchiefs were dropped in Florida’s Capitol to signify that the 60day legislative session had “adjourned sine die.” This tradition, which has been in place since the 1920s, is also a sign that the House and Senate have reached a consensus on the state’s budget and passed the Appropriations Act.

This year, the Governor will be presented with a $117.46 billion budget that addresses a wide range of urgent priorities.

If you are an engineer who focuses on Florida’s infrastructure, the budget of a few agencies in particular may be of interest. The new budget allocates $15.7 billion for the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and $3.4 billion for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP).

Although these investments demonstrate a continued prioritization of transportation, water and the environment from our state leaders, the $12.3 billion difference between FDOT and FDEP reflects a long standing discrepancy between the volume of funding allocated for transportation infrastructure as opposed to allocations for water infrastructure.

This is not a discrepancy that has gone unnoticed. Prior to the 2021 session, legislative leadership authored an editorial in the Tampa Bay Times stating that the state should approach water infrastructure in a manner similar to the existing approach for transportation infrastructure. As a show of support for this approach, ACEC of Florida published an editorial supporting this position that ran in the Tampa Bay Times and the Miami Herald that same year.

Prior to the 2024 legislative session, members of the House and Senate held a press conference to support a report from Florida TaxWatch calling for programmatic funding of water projects.

Although these signals demonstrate that funding of water infrastructure is a priority for policy makers, the gap between transportation and water funding remains in the current budget for several reasons. Three of the underlying

reasons are differences in clarity with respect to prioritizing budgetary needs, dedicated sources of funding, and the limits of the state’s responsibilities.

Prioritizing Needs

When it comes to defining the prioritization of budgetary needs for transportation infrastructure in Florida, there is a single resource that provides clarity to taxpayers and policy makers alike. Every July 1 , FDOT adopts an updated FiveYear Work Program that provides a single list documenting the total budget for priority projects across all seven FDOT Districts.

Compiling this document involves a defined process with clear timelines, cooperation with local governments, and a series of public hearings to allow for input from the public.

Currently, there is not an analogous document that provides a prioritized list of infrastructure needs for water or the environment. However, in recent years the groundwork for such a list is being put into place.

In 2016, the Senate passed a bill (SB552) that required the Office of Economic and Demographic Research (EDR) to “conduct an annual assessment of Florida’s water resources and conservation lands.” In 2021, the House passed a bill (HB53) that required each provider of stormwater and wastewater management services to develop a 20-year infrastructure needs analysis that must be updated every five years.

Based on these recent bills, the State has begun to compile a dataset that indicates the size of the future budgetary demands for water infrastructure. As an example, in the 2023 EDR report there was $136 billion in water resource protection and infrastructure needs documented over a 20year planning horizon, not including adaptation concerns from sea level rise.

Although this data does not provide the type of project prioritization found in the FDOT Five-Year Work Plan, it is a significant improvement on what was available in the past and a step in the right direction.

Although these signals demonstrate that funding of water infrastructure is a priority for policy makers, the gap between transportation and water funding remains in the current budget for several reasons.

For water infrastructure, one approach could be to utilize each of the Water Management Districts (WMDs) in a liaison role with local entities similar to the function of the Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) in the transportation sector.

Dedicated Funding

When it comes to defining the funding for transportation infrastructure in Florida, there is some clarity with respect to dedicated revenue sources.

The Transportation Trust Fund is supported by fuel taxes, motor vehicle license fees, rental car surcharges, documentary stamp taxes, and local option distributions. Not only are these sources dedicated to the trust fund, but the majority of these funds are taxes or fees related to the operation of motor vehicles.

The framework for funding water infrastructure at the state level is not as clear. Despite this difference, policy makers have made progress in recent years.

In 2021, roughly half of the documentary stamp tax revenues that were previously dedicated to affordable housing through the Sadowski Trust Fund were re-allocated into the Resilient Florida Trust Fund. In the most recent legislative session, the Senate and House approved identical bills (SB1638 and HB1417) that allocate 96% of the revenue generated by the new Seminole Gaming Compact for environmental funding purposes. This would mean that the new revenue generated by the 2021 Compact with the Seminole Tribe, which allows for online sports betting and certain table games at casinos, will be directed to environmental concerns.

If signed by the Governor, this law would dedicate $100 million (or 26% of the revenue) to each of three main priorities: the Florida Wildlife Corridor, land management, and the Resilient Florida Trust Fund. The remaining revenue from the gaming compact would be allocated to the Water Quality Improvement Grant Program.

Depending on how this new law would be administered (if signed by the Governor), it could mean a significant increase in dedicated funding for water infrastructure.

State Responsibilities

When it comes to defining the limits of the state’s responsibilities for infrastructure, the naming conventions of several “State Roads” and “Interstates” provide more clarity for the transportation network than analogous components of water infrastructure. Defining what types of water projects are the responsibility of local entities versus the state can be difficult.

When developing the Five-Year Work Plan, FDOT relies on its seven District Offices to work with local Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) that collaborate with cities and counties to determine regional transportation priorities.

By comparison, FDEP coordinates with a wide range of entities when it comes to regulating water infrastructure, but there is not a uniform approach for administering a prioritization plan for projects between the five Water Management Districts (WMDs), 67 counties, 411 municipalities, and over 200 water and wastewater utilities.

For water infrastructure, one approach could be to utilize each of the WMDs in a liaison role with local entities similar to the function of MPOs in the transportation sector. As a demonstration of their successful collaboration with local entities in the past, the WMDs have administered cooperative funding programs to construct a variety of water projects over the past several years.

Looking Ahead

During his term, House Speaker Paul Renner was quoted as saying, “We are looking ahead to what the state will look like 20 years from now and ensuring that when it comes to our infrastructure, things like water supply, water quality, transportation, land conservation, or resiliency, that we’re ahead – not behind –in planning for the future.”

Although Florida still does not have a programmatic approach to water infrastructure planning and funding, significant progress has been made towards that goal in recent years. In the months and years ahead, it is important for engineers throughout the state to explain these concerns to fellow voters and advocate for these issues with policymakers to continue the progress that has been made.

Brent Whitfield is the Director of Water Resources for Chen Moore and Associates, Inc. and has over 20 years of professional experience working with a variety of public sector clients in Florida at the City, County and State level.

Here Comes the Sun

SOLAR INDUSTRY BRINGS CLEAN ENERGY TO FLORIDA

By Thomas Ehlers, Staff Writer

There’s no shortage of sunbeams in the Sunshine State, and power companies across the state are taking advantage of those rays.

Valued as a $36.3 billion industry in the U.S. in 2022, the solar market is growing, and Florida is ranked third by cumulative solar capacity in the country, according to statistics from the Solar Energy Industries Association.

Charles Fritts created the first solar cell in 1883, and his invention started a boom of innovation and research into solar power. Today, solar cells convert at an energy conversion rate of 15 to 20% – much higher than Fritts’ efficiency of 1 to 2%. Thanks to several initiatives and projects, solar is helping power communities across Florida.

An industry advanced FLORIDA POWER AND LIGHT (FPL) first introduced solar energy to its portfolio in 2009, completing the DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center. At the time, it was the nation’s largest solar installation of its kind, spanning 90,000 solar panels across 235 acres of land to produce 42,000 Megawatt hours (MWh) annually. FPL spokesperson Marshall Hastings noted the industry advances that have taken place in a decade and a half.

“We can now make on the same amount of land, with fewer panels, the same amount of energy if not more,” he said. “The footprint isn’t changing for us, but the technological advancements that we’ve seen have been really exciting. That’s allowed us to reduce the number of panels, and we see more efficient panels.”

In 2023, FPL brought 13 new solar energy centers online across Florida, adding to the more than 60 solar projects it has statewide. Ten of those projects went online in February 2023, collectively able to generate 745 Megawatts (MW) and power 150,000 homes. The growth of solar in Florida parallels the state’s rapid growth in population, providing power companies the opportunity to anticipate future strains on the power grid.

“Florida is a massively-growing state, so it is really important to us to be ahead of that curve and make

sure we are planning years in advance to ensure we can meet the growing demand,” Hastings said. “Solar is a great avenue to do that – to meet the growing demand but also provide reliability and resiliency to our customers.”

FPL ensures solar power is constantly added to the grid with stations across the state; Hastings noted that just because a thunderstorm impacts sunshine in Miami, stations in Pensacola can still contribute. These facilities have no need for fuel, water or additional personnel, and each provides more than 200 jobs during its construction, according to Hastings. Solar projects limit developmental and ground impacts during and after assembly, limiting environmental impacts.

Another positive aspect of solar power is the elimination of fuel costs. Since 2009, the company has saved its customers $900 million – including $375 million in 2022 – in fuel costs, which experienced price hikes over the past several years.

“In 2021, the fuel market and the natural gas market (were) very volatile,” Hastings said. “Prices spiked, and that ended up being costs that are passed on to customers. The company isn’t making any money off of fuel costs; that’s a pass through expense.

“By investing in solar energy, we can reduce the amount of national gas we need to purchase, and in turn, help our customers save money.”

Across the state, these solar energy centers generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax revenues, while preventing impacts on public services that happen with other forms of energy production. Municipalities are able to earmark funds for public works, schools and other projects from these tax revenues, leading to partnerships between FPL and the areas it serves.

“We’re really proud of the relationships we’ve built in the communities where (solar projects) operate in,” Hastings said. “It’s important for us to be ingrained in the community, work with the community, and we see these sites have benefits for the communities and our customers.”

Photo courtesy of Florida Power & Light.

New tech for new power

Sustainability in energy might be the finish line, but creativity is the vehicle for one DUKE ENERGY PROJECT. In December 2023, the company debuted its first floating solar pilot project in Florida, recapturing water space to harness electricity.

The Hines Energy Complex in Bartow was commissioned as a thermal project using a combined cycle gas turbine in 1999, but Duke Energy introduced a bifacial solar panel to an existing cooling pond in the winter to help the company better understand capabilities of innovative clean energy technologies.

The solar array of 1,872 solar panels floats on the 1,200 acre pond, creating power as the pond cools the power plant. Its bifacial solar panels absorb light from both sides, resulting in 10% to 20% more power to be produced than typical monofacial solar panels. The almost-1 megawatt array will produce enough electricity to power around 100 homes, all through zero-carbon means.

This process is part of Duke Energy’s more than $2 billion investment in solar infrastructure. Across the state, the company generates about 1,500 MW of emission-free generation through its approximately 5 million solar panels in Florida, while its 10-year site plan aims to bring more than 4,500 megawatts of utility scale solar generating capacity online by 2032.

In December 2023, Duke Energy debuted its first floating solar pilot project in Florida, recapturing water space to harness electricity. The site is located at the Hines Energy Complex in Bartow. Photo courtesy of Duke Energy.

Polk County’s floating solar project is one of 23 regulated solar projects Duke Energy Florida maintains in the state, including the John Hopkins Middle School canopy project. The solar canopy provides power when the school serves as a special needs emergency shelter, such as during extreme weather events. Other projects include solar canopies, traditional solar projects and facilities with battery storage.

These projects align with several initiatives Duke Energy offers across the state. With over 5,000 customers in 2022, the Clean Energy Connection program allows customers to buy into a subscription to upkeep the solar power grid, which then gives them bill credits for the amount of energy their subscription share produces. Organizations like Wendy’s and the St. Petersburg campus of the University of South Florida currently participate, as customers can see an escalation in credit rate after three years of subscription.

Households who participate in programs including Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and SNAP-EBT are eligible for enrolled incomequalified benefits. In these cases, monthly credits will be greater than program fees, allowing lower-class households the opportunity to participate and enjoy the benefits of clean energy.

Here Comes the Sun

1,872

FLOATS ON THE 1,200 ACRE POND, CREATING POWER AS THE POND COOLS THE POWER PLANT. SOLAR PANELS

THE SOLAR ARRAY OF Hines Energy Complex Bartow County

Photos courtesy of Duke Energy.

More benefits

Thousands more Floridians will be enjoying those benefits as the Florida Municipal Power Agency (FMPA) completes its three-phase Florida Municipal Solar Project (FMSP).

So far, 30,000 homes are already using the 150 megawatts of solar power generated by Phase One of the project, which comprises the Taylor Creek solar farm in Orange County and Harmony Creek solar farm in Osceola County.

“FMPA’s mission is to provide low cost, reliable and clean power to our members,” said Jacob Williams, CEO and general manager of FMPA.

Jacob Williams, the CEO of FMPA.

" FMPA’s mission is to provide low cost, reliable and clean power to our members."

— JACOB WILLIAMS, CEO OF FMPA

Sunrise at the Taylor Creek Solar Farm. Photo courtesy of FMPA.

“We know from surveying our member cities that their customers have an interest in solar power, but they want to keep their power costs to stay very low. Investing in a manageable number of solar farms is the most costeffective way to provide solar energy to our members and their customers, costing roughly a third the expense of rooftop solar.”

The 150-MW Phase Two of this project includes the Rice Creek Solar Farm in Putnam County and the Whistling Duck Solar Farm in Levy County, expected to finish in August 2024 and July 2025, respectively. Four additional solar farms located in Columbia, Levy and Bradford counties make up Phase Three, with two anticipated completions by the end of 2025 and two more in 2026.

By the end of construction, FMPA’s three-phase plan will be able to generate nearly 600 megawatts of solar energy from the more than 1.8 million solar panels spread across the eight solar farms. The project’s power will be used by 20 or more municipal utility companies, and solar will reflect 8% of FMPA’s total energy output by 2027.

Solar energy isn’t only an initiative that lowers costs, but it’s an avenue that allows FMPA to lessen its environmental impact. Alongside nuclear projects – which generate energy to 370,000 customers and make up 5% of FMPA’s energy needs – FMPA holds initiatives to eliminate coal generation and replace it with lower-cost and loweremitting natural gas generation and solar generation.

By 2027, these initiatives will reduce carbon dioxide emissions rates by 50% from 2005 levels.

Setting the Standard for Sustainability and Energy

Kathleen Ruvarac, PE 2023-2024 President, ASCE Florida Section

ASCE’s Sustainable Infrastructure Standards Committee of the Committee on Sustainability has published The Standard Practice for Sustainable Infrastructure (73-23), which addresses development and implementation of sustainable infrastructure solutions.

The Sustainability Standard provides guidance and recommendations for sustainable infrastructure development through the entire life-cycle process. The Standard covers leadership, quality of life, resource allocation, the natural world, greenhouse emissions and resilience components to support the consideration and analysis of solutions of natural, non-construction and construction projects.

SUSTAINABILITY AND ENERGY

One component of the Standard includes the development and implementation of an energy management plan during the planning and design phases of a project to identify and evaluate all lifecycle energy needs and establish an initial energy baseline of consumption by source for each phase.1

The plan should provide strategies that reduce conventional energy demands, increase efficiencies in construction vehicles and equipment, increase energy-consuming efficiencies in the as-constructed infrastructure, maximize the use of renewable energy sources over fossil fuels, and use post-construction commissioning and periodic operations and maintenance phase testing to confirm that energy consumption is aligned with the baseline.

Every four years, America’s civil engineers provide a comprehensive infrastructure assessment of

the nation’s 17 major categories in ASCE’s Infrastructure Report Card. Using a simple A to F school report card format, it examines current infrastructure conditions and needs, assigning grades, and making recommendations to improve them.

Florida’s 2021 ASCE Infrastructure Report Card grade for the Energy Sector was a C, mediocre, requiring attention. Our recommendations to raise the grade include the promotion of energy sources and generation methods that allow for equity, affordability and access by all members of the community and lessen the burden of energy production and distribution on under-resourced communities. Additionally, we continue to support the acceleration of storm hardening, pole replacement, transitioning lines underground, vegetation management and other measures that reduce weather related outages.

MORE SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION

Examples of increasing efficiencies in the transportation infrastructure include the electrification of passenger and transit vehicles. Florida has the second-largest number of passenger EVs and the third largest number of electric transit buses on the road in the United States.2

In support of the electrification of transit vehicles, on Feb. 8, the Biden-Harris Administration announced availability of $1.5 billion in federal funding to modernize bus fleets and deploy clean transit buses across America.

As of March 2023, Florida leads the way for electrification of school buses, with 261 electric school buses committed in addition to 66 currently in operation.

The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) deployed its first electric buses in 2018. They recently received six Battery

Electric buses, the first deliveries under a 5-year contract with Gillig for 62 Battery Electric buses. PSTA already operates 88 Gillig Hybrid buses. They will replace legacy diesel models that are aging out of the PSTA fleet. The agency estimates they will save approximately 11 million gallons of diesel fuel over their lifetime.

The new wireless charging station is the first on the US East Coast and uses 250 kW Inductive Power Transfer (IPT) technology from Utah-based WAVE (Wireless Advanced Vehicle Electrification) to provide power to its electric vehicles. Current sent through the pavement-embedded charging pad induces a magnetic field, which induces an electrical current in a receiver plate mounted on the bottom of the bus. That power is then sent to the onboard battery.

PSTA, in a unique partnership with Duke Energy, has also installed 12 DC fast chargers to support the incoming electric fleet. Additionally, the agency is working on adding 48 DC fast chargers to its property.

Maximizing the use of renewable energy sources by developing electrical storage options can include pumped storage hydropower as well as battery energy and high temperature thermal storage systems.

RESILIENCY THEME AT ANNUAL CONFERENCE

As engineers around the world work to develop more resilient, sustainable solutions, many engineers across Florida will attend the ASCE Florida Section’s Annual Conference this summer to advance ideas on creating a more resilient, sustainable state.

This year’s conference, scheduled for July 11-12 at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point in Bonita Springs, will focus on resilience and the road to recovery. The Florida Section Annual Conference brings 75+ technical and professional development sessions in 7 tracks of engineering: structural, geotechnical, environmental and water resources, transportation, utilities, sustainability, and professional development.

In addition to professional and technical development, the state-required two-hour Laws/Rules & Ethics course will be offered. The conference also offers exhibitor space to showcase new and innovative products and hosts the annual recognitions awards ceremony. The conference has something for everyone, including our growing number of student members, offering learning opportunities and scholarships.

Scan the QR Code for more information.

Florida has the the third largest number of electric transit buses on the road in the United States. The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) deployed its first electric buses in 2018 and recently received six new Battery Electric buses.

Sources:

1 Standard Practice for Sustainable Infrastructure (ASCE/COS 73-23).

2 https://cleanenergy.org/blog/ transportation-electrification-inflorida-opportunities-are-brightcould-be-brighter

Babcock Ranch

GROWING INTO A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

By Joe VanHoose

Since building the first house in the community in 2018, Babcock Ranch has grown to more than 10,000 residents in just six years. Future growth calls for nearly 20,000 homes and 50,000 full-time residents.

Photos courtesy of Babcock Ranch.

Driving through Babcock Ranch doesn’t feel all that much different at first than cruising through any number of other master-planned communities around the state. Different neighborhoods dot the landscape around the 300acre Lake Babcock. The roads are wide and expansive, flanked by bike lanes and multi-use paths. Golf cart parking is readily available.

Go through a few roundabouts and you’ll run into a championship golf course, parks – six parts are currently being constructed in a four-mile stretch – and enough pickleball courts to make you think you may be in The Villages. Take a few more turns and you see the fire station and EMT headquarters and then the K-12 school, whose students are nicknamed the Trailblazers – an appropriate name for what this community is trying to be.

The name is also quite literal, as there are 100 miles of trails in the community. Developments are broken up by wide swaths of greenspace and wetlands. There

are signs around touting a groundbreaking for a new neighborhood soon.

More than 10,000 people live in Babcock Ranch now, including David Mercer, PE, the design engineer for the development. Mercer spent nearly nine years working for Kitson & Associates, the master planning group behind the community, and has worked at Kimley Horn, the district engineer, for the last two.

He drops his twin daughters off at the new school every day. Friday nights, he and his family often congregate with other residents and visitors and enjoy live music and a bustling food truck scene around Founders Square.

“It’s hard in Florida for people to understand this isn’t a gated community; this is a town,” Mercer said. “There are some gated communities inside, but for the most part everything – parks, commercial property, etc. – is open to the public.”

The town of Babcock Ranch, about 15 miles northeast of Fort Myers, sits on 18,000 acres adjacent to more than 70,000 acres of preserve. It contains housing communities, commercial buildings, restaurants, shops, a daycare facility, the charter school, pools and playgrounds, all surrounded by green spaces and overlooking the namesake lake.

The built environment at Babcock is focused on sustainability, resiliency and preserving and appreciating the environment. Houses are energy efficient and built with sustainable materials, surrounded by lake vistas and landscaping that consists of low impact native trees and shrubs. Irrigation is taken care of with water reclaimed from the onsite water and wastewater utility.

“The sustainability of Babcock is what makes it special,” Mercer said. “When you drive through, it feels different, and part of that is because of all the wetlands we preserved. You have these huge areas that are in preservation forever. You have rain gardens along the road and native landscaping. It has a very different feel.”

PLANNED FOR SUSTAINABILITY FROM THE START

A New Jersey native who played football for the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys over four seasons in the NFL, Syd Kitson spent a lot of his youth and his offseasons hiking and camping throughout the Adirondack and Appalachian mountains, enjoying what nature had to offer.

After leaving pro football in 1985, Kitson formed a real estate company and started developing residential

neighborhoods, commercial properties and senior housing. He serves as Kitson & Partners chairman and CEO.

In 2006, Kitson & Partners purchased 91,000 acres (143 square miles) of Babcock Ranch for an 18,000-acre town. Preservation efforts include 9,000 acres of the 18,000 total, as well as 73,000 acres the State of Florida purchased from Kitson, equating to roughly 90% of the ranch’s original property. This created Babcock Ranch Preserve and resulted in the biggest land preservation deal in Florida history.

Kitson sees himself as an environmentalist and a developer, which he views as a perfect combination. He recognizes that more homes need to be built for a growing population in Florida. But he also knows the impacts development can have on the environment and views mitigation as a chief responsibility.

“From my perspective, there couldn’t be a better combination of providing the houses people need but, more importantly, doing it in a way that is sustainable,” he said. “A lot of that has to do with preservation of the land. A lot has to do with how we treat the wetlands and flowways and where and how we build.

“It’s very important we protect our environment and we grow the right way.”

Case in point: even though Kitson purchased the property that would become Babcock Ranch in 2006, any development of the property was still a decade away. The first house in the property wasn’t completed until 2018.

“All of the work done in the first five to seven years before

Babcock Neighborhood School opened in 2017 as part of the Charlotte County school system. The high school opened in 2022 and will graduate its first class this year.

ground was broken set everything up going forward,” Mercer said. “We always say the train has already left the station. It’s rolling and it’s not stopping.”

Six years later, Babcock Ranch has become one of the topselling communities in America. In 2023, 958 new homes were sold, enough to land Babcock Ranch seventh on Real Estate Consulting’s list of top-selling U.S. master-planned communities. Only The Villages and Lakewood Ranch outside of Sarasota sold more homes in Florida last year.

“It’s Important to know we closed our first home in 2018, and here we are six years later and we’re one of the top selling communities in America,” Kitson said. “That’s something I think that’s a testament to the idea that people really care about sustainability. We got to 1,000 homes a year about as fast as anybody’s ever done it, so I think people really do care.”

Driving around Babcock Ranch in early February, it’s easy to see just how much of a town this development is becoming. A new commercial development features a Publix, Great Clips, Pet Supermarket and Starbucks. Native palms, pines and vegetation fill the median that divides the main fourlane road.

Roofs on a line of new homes are being shingled. Multifamily buildings trimmed in black and white are rising fast. Multimodal paths continue along the main thoroughfares. Crosswalks are everywhere, and roundabouts break up what traffic there currently is.

Downtown currently features 85,000 square feet of

commercial use, with another 150,000 square feet in the works. Woodlea Hall hosts the discovery center and realty office. A market, coffee shop and ice cream parlor, brick and mortar restaurant and healthcare offices make up the few buildings that border Founders Square on three sides – the 300-acre Lake Babcock and its boardwalk complete the frame.

STORMWATER AND UTILITIES

Babcock Ranch has three large water resources permits on the property: one from the Army Corps of Engineers, a conceptual environmental resource permit (ERP) from the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), and a Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) 404 permit.

For stormwater, Babcock Ranch incorporated several existing mining lakes. Another lake is used for irrigation.

As more neighborhoods have been added to Babcock Ranch, the community has still been able to stay within the footprint of the conceptual ERP. Creating and restoring wetlands helps mitigate the impact of the development.

“We are not going to have to buy one credit from any mitigation bank because we have set aside our own onsite mitigation,” Mercer said.

Old farm pastures now serve as wetland collection areas. Discharge points from within the community flow through these new areas, and water is cleaned by aquatic plants of nitrogen and phosphorus. These new wetland areas have also created more flora and fauna on the property.

Bird season lasts for half the year instead of a few months.

“It’s very important we protect our environment and we grow the right way.”

—SYD KITSON

If Babcock Ranch fully realizes its development plan, the community could boast nearly 20,000 homes, 3 downtown areas and close to 6 million square feet of commercial space.

Three master lift stations in the community handle water pumped to and from a treatment plant by tertiary stations, which can save flow to the plant at inopportune times, Mercer said.

“We were able to run ladder logic of what stations run when, reducing pressures and pump sizing because we can tell which stations to run when, so they aren’t always running at once against each other,” he added.

Water resources was a focus for Babcock Ranch’s engineering team from Day 1, Kitson said. By looking back at maps of the land from the 1940s, they were able to identify natural floodways and design their development around them.

“As properties were drained in order to farm it here, it was easy to lose track of where the water was going to go,” Kitson said. “If you build in an area that’s prone to flooding, you’re going to have problems. You can’t challenge Mother Nature because you’re going to lose every time.”

SUSTAINABLE POWER

In 2018, Florida Power and Light (FPL) launched its 10-megawatt (MW) battery storage project at the Babcock Ranch Solar Energy Center, making Babcock Ranch the largest combined solar-plus-storage facility in the U.S. at the time.

The project was made possible after Babcock Ranch donated 400 acres to FPL for the solar farm, which has since been expanded to 800 acres of solar panels producing 150 MW, enough electricity to power 30,000 homes. All that power runs down transmission lines to a substation next to Babcock Ranch’s utility plant. The FPL Babcock Ranch Solar Energy Center ensures that the net production of renewable energy at Babcock Ranch exceeds the total amount the community consumes.

“Except for the transmission lines along State Road 31 to tie into the grid, we have direct underground duct bank feeders,” Mercer said. “A nine-way feeder comes out of the substation and splits into nine 60-inch PVC pipes stacked three-by-three, concrete encased, down the middle of all our spine roads.”

That underground concrete encasement also carries a 4-inch natural gas line and 288 strand fiber optic cable, which run throughout the entire community.

“All of it being underground in a concrete case, we’re going to be OK as far as resiliency and major storms are concerned, and also with longevity,” Mercer said. “Reliability and sustainability for the future is us walking the walk of everything Syd’s talked about for almost 20 years.”

In September 2022, Babcock Ranch did not lose power during Hurricane Ian, which decimated the neighboring cities of Fort Myers to the south and Punta Gorda to the west. Three smart ponds developed by the National Stormwater Trust also prevented hurricane-related flooding in the community.

POSITIONED FOR PLANNED GROWTH

In the six years since the first home was built in Babcock Ranch, the community has moved from selling individual lots to builders to selling larger communities. Eight of the 10 biggest homebuilders in the U.S., including D.R. Horton, Christopher Alan and Lennar Homes, are currently building in Babcock.

Every builder has to follow community standards focused on sustainability, and every home must achieve bronze certification from the Florida Green Building Coalition (FGBC). At least three appliances in each home must connect to natural gas. Sod is allowed to cover only 50% of the front yard, and all landscaping must be native, hardy

"You can’t challenge Mother Nature because you’re going to lose every time."

— SYD KITSON

and have no need for a lot of water, fertilizer or pesticides.

Residences also come pre-wired for EV charging stations in the garage, a requirement Kitson said is important to the community’s sustainability.

Babcock Ranch operates as an independent special district (ISD) similar to The Villages and Walt Disney World. Babcock’s ISD is responsible for the maintenance of improvements, infrastructure and facilities within the District. In accordance with applicable federal and state laws, all district-owned improvements, infrastructure and facilities are open and accessible to the general public.

If Babcock Ranch fully realizes its development plan, the community could boast nearly 20,000 homes, 3 downtown areas, close to 6 million square feet of commercial space, and more than 50,000 residents.

“The idea is that people don’t have to leave,” Kitson said. “Everything will be here for them – the shopping, recreation, jobs, all the things people want. What we’re making certain as we continue to grow is that it maintains that small town charm and I think we’re able to accomplish that through having these three distinctive downtown areas that will serve each section of the community.”

Kitson and his team have received calls from developers and community planners, and they’re more than happy to assist and help people with what they’ve learned, what’s worked and what hasn’t, he said.

“We traveled all over the country visiting large masterplanned communities before we started here,” Kitson said. “I loved learning and how open the developers were – they were very candid. We want to be the same way.

“The private sector does need to step up, and we’re proving this (development) works from an economic perspective as well as a sustainability and social perspective. We want to be leaders, not followers, in what is possible.”

Homes inside Babcock Ranch can cover only 50% of their front yard with sod, and all landscaping must be native.

ASHRAE

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF HEATING, REFRIGERATION, AND AIR-CONDITIONING ENGINEERS

ASHRAE, Energy, and Sustainability

Spotlight Sponsored by:

John Contstantinide, PE ASHRAE Region XII Director and Regional Chair

ASHRAE has a long history of moving the built environment towards higher performance and increased energy efficiency, leading to more savings for owners.

Whether developing standards like ASHRAE Standard 90.1, which has developed to become the Energy Standard for Sites and Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, conducting ASHRAE-funded research projects, or making technical resources through its education and publications available to industry, our technical society is on the leading edge of shaping tomorrow’s built environment today. Best of all, these resources are developed by volunteer engineers, many of them from Florida providing input to standards, overseeing research projects, developing publications, and teaching courses for professionals globally.

In our 2023-2024 Society Year, ASHRAE is taking the next step towards a more sustainable built environment by accepting the challenge to tackle the climate crisis through decarbonization. Under the leadership of 2023-2024 ASHRAE President Ginger Scoggins, P.E., Fellow ASHRAE, our Society is taking concrete steps towards empowering the built environment industry to reduce the carbon footprint of buildings.

Why? In President Scoggins’ words, “We are living in a climate emergency. Our desire to be more comfortable has brought us to a place where we need to make uncomfortable decisions. We can accept the challenge of our day regarding the impact of our buildings on the climate crises by equipping our members with the knowledge they need to design and renovate buildings to address the greenhouse gas emissions of our industry.” You can view her full presentation at www.ashrae.org/president.

“We are living in a climate emergency. Our desire to be more comfortable has brought us to a place where we need to make uncomfortable decisions."

— GINGER SCOGGINS , P.E., Fellow ASHRAE, 2023-24 ASHRAE President

TAKING ACTION

ASHRAE’s concrete steps are wideranging with a common thread of decarbonization through better use of energy and more sustainable designs and approaches with our buildings.

ASHRAE, along with the American Institute of Architects, the International Facility Management Association, APPA, and the Building Owners and Managers Association, hosted the 2023 Decarbonization Conference, the first of its kind in the U.S. The conference was sold out with over 450 attendees from 10 countries. This conference initiated the dialogue amongst designers and building owners about how to reduce the carbon footprint of our building stock.

ASHRAE participated in numerous conferences to present on how buildings contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, including Greenbuild

“To limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the world requires three times more renewable energy capacity by 2030... "

— SCOGGINS

2023 in Washington, D.C., the Detroit Energy Forum, the Eighth International Conference on Energy Research and Development in Kuwait, the Galway Energy Summit in Ireland, and the India Decarbonization Conference hosted by the ASHRAE India Chapter.

ASHRAE also contributed to the dialogue on government policy at the United Nations’ COP (Conference of Parties) 28 Conference on Climate Change in Dubai.

Every conference had participants discuss and explore answers to decarbonization and sustainability, including better use of the energy produced and reducing carbon footprint over the building’s life cycle. As President Scoggins noted from participating in COP 28, “The outcome of this Conference of the Parties fell short of expectations, unfortunately, as the hoped-for phase-out plan of fossil fuels did not materialize,” said President Scoggins of COP 28. “However, a compelling call for action echoed throughout many events to ‘Triple Renewables and Double Energy Efficiency.’

“To limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the world requires three times more renewable energy capacity by 2030, or at least 11,000 gigawatts, and must double the global average annual rate of energy efficiency improvements every year.”

Our Society is hard at work to help the built environment “triple renewables and double energy efficiency” with the leadership of the ASHRAE Task Force for Building Decarbonization. The task force is on target by January of 2025 to release six guides on ways to decarbonize building stock. The task force’s inaugural publication, “Building Performance Standards, A Technical Resource Guide,” is available for free. Its most recent guide, “Understanding Grid-Interactive Buildings for Decarbonization,” is available for purchase and addresses how buildings interact with power distribution systems and can contribute to the decarbonization of the power grid.

The task force is also participating in the review and development of ASHRAE standards to address energy efficiency, operational and embodied carbon, refrigerant emissions and renewables. They are continually publishing free educational videos about decarbonization. All of these resources are available online at www.ashrae.org/decarb.

ASHRAE FLORIDA MEMBERS

ASHRAE Florida Chapters and Members are taking action locally and internationally to reduce carbon emissions from current and future buildings. Last February, Government Activities Chairs from our Florida Chapters joined our Regional leadership and introduced ASHRAE and discussed the importance of updating energy codes with members of the Florida Legislature.

One of our ASHRAE Central Florida Chapter Members, Society Vice President Wade Conlan, was very involved in developing the 2023 Decarbonization Conference. In our communities, our ASHRAE Members participate in Technical Committees and Standard Project Committees, publish articles in the ASHRAE Journal, and organize local sustainability projects to contribute to their industry and communities.

“Through human ingenuity and determination, we can find solutions to the global climate crisis. As ASHRAE volunteers, this is what we do – we accept challenges and we solve problems!” President Scoggins said in July 2023, and ASHRAE Florida members reflect this ingenuity, determination and volunteer spirit every day.

I welcome you to join us in this spirit as we pursue ASHRAE’s vision of a healthy and sustainable built environment for all.

To learn more about joining ASHRAE, visit www.ashrae.org/join.

“Through human ingenuity and determination, we can find solutions to the global climate crisis. As ASHRAE volunteers, this is what we do – we accept challenges and we solve problems!”

— SCOGGINS

Green Hydrogen's Future in the Sunshine State:

PROCESS, PRODUCT, & PROMISE

By Lindsey Ranayhossaini, Staff Writer

In October, Duke Energy Corporation announced its plan to build the nation’s first end-to-end green hydrogen production facility in DeBary, Fla. The facility, designed to test the efficacy of green hydrogen in the power grid, will produce, store and combust green hydrogen for peaking power applications.

“We wanted to combine sources of renewable energy to produce green hydrogen and then use that hydrogen to produce energy,” said Peter Hoeflich, director of generation technology for Duke Energy.

THE PROCESS: DUKE ENERGY’S DEMONSTRATION

The site in DeBary was selected based on its location near Duke Energy’s DeBary Solar Power Plant, which generates 74.5 megawatts of electricity. The company’s green hydrogen demonstration will electrically tap into the solar field and cable the alternating A/C current power to the hydrogen production facility.

The hydrogen will be captured through the process of electrolysis, during which the A/C current from the solar field will be converted back to D/C power in a 1-MW electrolyzer that splits injected water into hydrogen and oxygen.

The combustion turbines will be upgraded using GE Vernova technology and will be the nation’s first with the capability to run on such a high percentage of hydrogen.

THE PRODUCT: GREEN HYDROGEN’S BENEFITS

Duke Energy’s demonstration arrives in a climate of increased demand for innovation in the renewable energy space. Spurred by the Biden Administration’s efforts to decarbonize American industry and $9.5 billion in funding for clean hydrogen from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the U.S. Department of Energy launched its Hydrogen Shot in 2021.

The Hydrogen Shot, first in a series of Energy Earthshot initiatives advanced by the Department of Energy, aims to reduce the cost of clean hydrogen by 80% to $1 per kilogram in the next decade. It also seeks to develop the clean hydrogen industry as a next generation industry in distressed communities.

The oxygen will be vented, and the hydrogen will be removed from the electrolyzer, compressed to 3,600 pounds per square inch (PSI) and stored in 66 highpressure tubes. Once all the tubes are full, the hydrogen will be available for use in the combustion turbines.

“These are peaking combustion turbines,” Hoeflich said. “They don't run continuously. They are utilized when they’re cost-effective to meet peak demand in the system. One combustion turbine out of 10 will have the ability to blend hydrogen from 25% all the way up to 100%.”

Green hydrogen is viewed as an attractive source of renewable energy because it is clean-burning, dispatchable and can more readily replace fossil fuels than other renewable energy sources. Existing equipment can typically be modified to run using hydrogen instead of natural gas, making hydrogen a versatile energy source that is suitable for a number of industries.

“What I think is unique and particularly interesting about hydrogen is that it can be utilized in a lot of different use cases,” Hoeflich said. “There’s a lot of hydrogen being used for material handling, heavy transport, petrochemical fertilizers, and [Duke Energy’s] interest is in power generation.”

Photos courtesy of Duke Energy.

In the case of the DeBary site, green hydrogen is being tested for its contribution to power grid resiliency, which could make a difference during periods of peak demand in Florida’s summer and winter months. As a localized power source, green hydrogen could also prove to be more reliable than natural gas, which cannot be transported to the state during natural disasters like hurricanes.

On a national level, developing an industry around green hydrogen could lead to the creation of new jobs.

2030.

IT’S NOT EASY BEING GREEN

However, green hydrogen does not come without its drawbacks. Barriers to integrating green hydrogen in the U.S. energy infrastructure include high production and infrastructure costs.

Currently, the cost per kilogram of hydrogen ranges from $4.50 to $12, according to BloombergNEF. This stands in contrast to the cost of natural gas. Though the price per metric million British Thermal Units (MMBtu) of natural gas ranges based on a variety of market factors, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a cost of $1.52 per MMBtu as of Feb. 27, 2024. And though the U.S. Department of Energy’s initiatives aim to reduce the cost of clean hydrogen, those efforts will take time.

One of the factors in hydrogen’s high cost is storage. Hydrogen can be stored in a variety of forms – as a gas compressed in cylinders or

Green Hydrogen's Future

in underground salt caverns, as a liquid at cryogenic temperatures or as a solid, bound with other materials that react with it. Each of these storage methods come with unique challenges and costs.

“Hopefully, there will be some technological advances that improve that storage cost and storage technology,” Hoeflich said.

There are also safety concerns associated with the use of hydrogen. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration states that the hydrogen used in fuel cells “can cause fires and explosions if not handled properly.”

Like natural gas and propane, hydrogen is an odorless gas, making it difficult to detect leaks.

However, unlike natural gas and propane, which have added odorants to assist with leak detection, hydrogen is so light that no known

Hydrogen’s just got unique characteristics that you've got to address from a safety perspective.”

PETER HOEFLICH, Director of generation technology for Duke Energy

Still, Hoeflich said that the safety concerns around green hydrogen are not entirely different from conventional fuels. All fuels are flammable, and all fuels have safety guidelines and parameters that must be followed.

“Hydrogen has been used for many, many years in the petrochemical industry,” Hoeflich said. “NASA has used hydrogen for a lot of the space program work. What’s been done over a long period of time is that there’s been a very good development of safety standards, design parameters and operating procedures that need to be followed.”

THE PROMISE: ENERGIZING THE FUTURE

Construction is underway at Duke Energy’s Debary Site, and the company projects that the facility will produce its first hydrogen by the end of 2024. As a demonstration,

“It's not a full scale hydrogen production facility – it’s a two-megawatt electrolyzer,” Hoeflich said. “We’re meant to learn from this. We’re working through hazardous operations assessments, determining our vending and purging procedures, and making sure we know how to safely produce and handle hydrogen.”

Hoeflich said Duke Energy also plans to use the demonstration as an opportunity to learn how to smooth solar field energy output and test different blends of natural gas and hydrogen in its upgraded combustion turbines.

“It’s a really exciting project, and ideally, it’s going to make a difference in terms of what we understand about producing and using hydrogen,” Hoeflich said.

FES

FLORIDA ENGINEERING SOCIETY

Engineers' Impact on Society and Responsibility

David Cowan, Jr. Senior Engineer, CMA

David Cowan, Jr., P.E., ENV SP, is a senior engineer at CMA in the West Palm Beach office. David has over 10 years of experience and holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in civil engineering with a water resource focus. David serves as a state director for FES, District Director for TBP, and on the Urban Drainage Standards Committee for EWRI.

Engineers make daily decisions that significantly influence how people interact with the world, emphasizing the need for responsible, sustainable and efficient choices.

From designing sustainable infrastructure to developing renewable energy sources, engineers have a profound impact on our daily lives. With this influence comes great responsibility. Engineers must prioritize safety and environmental sustainability in their work.

Sustainability, defined by the United Nations in 1987, involves meeting present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own. Depending on the organization you look at or the person you ask, you will find the goals that define sustainability differ. For the sake of this article, let’s look at sustainability in the context of efficient resource use, with a particular emphasis on our future people as a valuable resource.

Engineers employ lifecycle analysis to select materials and products that maximize lifespan, reduce upfront impact and facilitate reusability, thereby addressing limited resources and minimizing end-of-life costs. Efforts to reduce waste during manufacturing involve efficient use of raw materials and robust waste management, diverting scrap from fabrication processes to recycling centers.

We have so many opportunities to incorporate sustainability into what we do. Let’s look at a few ways we as engineers are creating a more sustainable world and profession.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN DESIGN

Completed designs inevitably consume resources, particularly energy. Engineers strive for high energy efficiency through innovations like smart infrastructure at building or city levels, optimizing energy consumption based on demand.

We have also enhanced our approach to improving energy consumption by transitioning to more sustainable energy sources. Over the past few decades, society has shifted towards using renewable resources, reducing pollution and preserving the limited amount of carbon-based fuel for future generations.

COMMUNITY IMPACT AND ENGINEERING

Engineers play a pivotal role in impacting communities through the design of energy-efficient transportation systems and innovations in water treatment. We can design transportation systems that provide safe and reliable energy efficient modes of transportation, reducing the long-term impact of the movement of materials and people in the world.

Clean drinking water production, an energy-intensive process, has witnessed revolutionary improvements in energy efficiency. Society has found better ways to use the water that is produced and reduce the waste of one of our most precious resources.

PROMOTION OF SUSTAINABLE DESIGN

Sustainable design is promoted by professional engineering societies such as FES, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). For instance, ASCE promotes its Roadmap to Sustainable Development with four priorities for change: sustainable project development, consistent standards and protocols, expanded technical capacity, and communication and advocacy.

These societies encourage responsible and sustainable infrastructure development, considering the dignity and fairness for all users. Designers overcome challenges

through the integration of emerging technologies, aiming for more efficient designs with lower lifecycle costs.

Through the development of new standards, education and training for their members, and advocacy and policy influence at local, national and international levels, these professional societies provide engineers with a platform to promote sustainability within their profession and contribute to building a more sustainable future for society as a whole.

NURTURING FUTURE GENERATIONS

Professional societies emphasize the importance of mentoring the next generation, fostering continuity and sustainability. Engineers engage with the public, highlighting STEM careers to inspire and guide future professionals.

Mentorship is seen as a sustainable business model, ensuring a smooth transition of knowledge and skills to the upcoming generation. As we mentor and nurture the next generation of engineers, let us pass along the importance and lessons of sustainable practices that we continue to develop and iterate.

CONCLUSION: CONSIDERING FUTURE IMPACT

As we progress in our careers, it is essential that we consider the long-term impact of designs on future generations and communities. It is also critical that we are actively involved in professional, civic and community affairs that contribute to a sustainable and responsible engineering practice and society.

Should we do these things, we’ll help ensure a sustainable profession for future engineers and a more sustainable world.

The Florida Engineering Society (FES), representing engineers in the State of Florida for over 100 years, continuously strives to support its members, fostering innovation, professional development, and leadership opportunities. FES upholds a code of conduct that prohibits discrimination and harassment and protects the profession of engineering. FES actively promotes initiatives like MATHCOUNTS, the Florida Engineering Foundation, and student chapters to cultivate future engineers.

To learn more about FES, please visit fleng.org.

Market Spotlight

Sumter County

'It Takes a Village'

SUMTER COUNTY ADVANCES PROJECTS TO ACCOMMODATE RECORD GROWTH

By Thomas Ehlers, Staff Writer

Sumter County sits in the heart of Central Florida, and the area also serves as the center of growth in the state.

Fueled greatly by the growth of The Villages – a censusdesignated place and master-planned retirement community partially located in the county – Sumter County was the fastest-growing county in the U.S. from 2011-2020 and posted a 7.5% year-over-year growth rate to lead the state in growth.

With private stakeholders and different levels of government working together, it takes collaborative effort from everyone to ensure this growth is combatted, including Sumter County Economic Development Director Kristy Russell.

“We work closely with our city municipalities to kind of be progressive to manage this growth,” she said.

ATTRACTING THE YOUNG FOR THE OLD

Sumter County’s median age of 68.4 reflects the presence of a 55+ community, but it also serves as a new area for growth.

With railroad corridors in the county lines, Sumter has long promoted industry in manufacturing, distribution and agribusinesses, but the growth of The Villages caused a need to recruit a workforce to support it.

Middleton, a community support district adjacent to The Villages, offers just that. With family-friendly housing, recreation and a downtown, Middleton is only a portion of the workforce-minded development in the area.

“It’s designed to attract workers that can serve the retirement community, so it is considered workforce housing,” Russell said. “Towards the north end of the county, there has been a drastic increase in multi-family developments. We’re working to bridge that gap for housing for our workers.”

The Villages declined to comment for this story.

Russell also noted the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant the county received to fund water line expansion in Bushnell, county-wide broadband internet expansion and a few smaller utility projects in the county’s Southern end.

Photos courtey of City of Wildwood.

WILDWOOD: MORE THAN DOUBLING

Bushnell might be the Sumter County seat, but the city of Wildwood is one of the area’s fastest-growing communities.

In fact, 7,252 citizens called the municipality home in 2014, but that number stood at 30,237 in 2023, including a near-6,000 person jump from 2022 estimates. With people coming in droves, the city had to address concerns about water.

Wildwood’s existing wastewater treatment plant was designed and permitted to treat 3.55 million gallons per day (MGD), but hydraulic issues slowed output to 2.8 MGD.

In 2022, the city hired PC Construction to address those deficiencies, and it led to a full 3.55 MGD output after the phase’s completion. Wildwood is in the process of designing and building a second treatment plant that will bring total outputs to an estimated 5.5 MGD, solving current and future water concerns.

The city received a $9.5 million state grant to help fund the near-$150 million project, which rising costs have affected. Wildwood City Manager Jason McHugh spoke to the importance of the project to not only citizens but also local industry.

“Our water system is in good shape,” McHugh said. “We were fortunate to have some major water projects that were done before the pandemic when costs were more reasonable from that standpoint.

“For us, our bread and butter is water and wastewater, making sure we are providing that to the business communities, so they are able to be prosperous, grow and respond to market demands.”

On top of the new facility, Wildwood is updating its utility master plan with Kimley-Horn to overcome challenges with the interface of old and new infrastructure. The updated plan will emphasize phasing out older, galvanized piping for updated piping to prevent discoloration that can happen with time.

In January, the city broke ground on a 125-space, multistory parking garage to provide parking for existing and future

downtown businesses. Projected to open in Fall 2024, the project is the first phase of revitalization in the city’s downtown area.

Sitting at the corner of U.S. 301 and Oxford Street, the garage’s location will allow easy access to the downtown without clogging important roadways. With revitalization and downtown redevelopment at the forefront, the garage will support future projects, including new commercial space a block away.

Phase Two of this project features the construction of this 8,000-square foot commercial space that will allow businesses and restaurants to lease and operate in downtown Wildwood. Scheduled to break ground in mid-2024, the project owned and operated by G3 Development is focused on creating a more productive and aesthetically-pleasing use.

Wildwood adopted a downtown master plan in 2021 that took resident and local business feedback and addressed some of the community needs and wants. The process looked a bit different for the municipality –which has a mix of older generations that rely on more traditional media and younger generations that lean more on technology – to complete. The city launched a multifaceted campaign with mailers, websites and boots on the ground with faith-based organizations, community leaders and other individuals.

Despite the wide demographic, the citizens shared similar sentiments.

“For us, we have a very diverse citizenry and diverse public,” McHugh said. “What we were able to see is a lot of folks are vastly for the same things – reinvest in the community, improve the downtown, continue to focus on infrastructure and let growth carry the way.”

Part of that community reinvestment is happening in terms of recreation. With underutilized spaces, the city

is focusing on revamping its parks with water/sewer, utilities, lighting, stormwater ponds, traffic circulation and more.

In addition to a $400,000 boat ramp and pier rehabilitation project at Lake Deaton Park, the city is starting a $12.9 million project at the 80-acre Millennium Park and an additional project at the 30-acre Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Park. The latter project, now in the design phase, calls for a recreation center with basketball courts and meeting rooms.

“We’re spending some time planning, going around and getting the basics down,” McHugh said. “Prior to The Villages, prior to this growth, we really didn’t have the resources to pull that off.”

ALL ROADS LEAD TO SUMTER

With the growth boom that Sumter County and its cities are experiencing, there is no shortage of traffic and pedestrian concerns. The area’s central location to I-75, the Florida Turnpike, U.S. 301 and a handful of important state routes make it a ground transportation hub, and several infrastructure projects are easing some issues and creating new opportunities in the process.

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is wrapping up a $5.6 million roadway resurfacing project of U.S. 301, adding asphalt to several locations where

Photo courtey of Sumter County.

Market Spotlight

side roads and driveways remain unpaved. In addition to resurfacing, the project widened the shoulders of several segments, added roadway lighting and signage, introduced signals for the entrance and exit to the Florida Turnpike and realigned the S.R. 91 exit ramp to U.S. 301. Nearly 800 feet of sidewalk were added for pedestrian traffic.

Additionally, FDOT started an $8.4 million South Sumter Trail project in August 2023, which will pave 4.1 miles of pedestrian and bike trails alongside S.R. 471 while adding drainage improvements, lighting, signage and markings. Projected to finish this fall, the project will expand the portion to a 10-foot-wide shared-use path, and it will connect to the larger Florida Coast-to-Coast Trail, which extends approximately 250 miles from St. Petersburg to the Canaveral National Seashore.

Closer to The Villages, two state-funded projects are dealing with traffic from the community’s growth. Ranger Construction and FDOT are milling and

resurfacing U.S. 441 in this $8.2 million project, which will construct 1.3 miles of new sidewalk, widen roadway shoulders and improve drainage.

A separate S.R. 44 project is resurfacing the roadway, adding sidewalks and unmarked bicycle lanes while making safety enhancements at the intersection of S.R. 44 and U.S. 301 at a projected cost of $16.4 million.

As The Villages and the area continue to grow, so, too, will the list of projects McHugh and other community leaders will have to lead. He’ll lean on those strong connections he’s made through the current growth process to promote future success, no matter how many more citizens enter the city limits.

“All in all, it takes a village,” McHugh said. “It takes a lot of different partners to collaborate to get the job done. I think for the most part, we’ve got a really successful relationship and history of getting things done in Sumter County that are a little bit different than other places.”

FSEA

FLORIDA STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS ASSOCIATION

Florida's Structural Engineering Recognition Program

In 2022, Florida passed a statute that established the Florida Structural Engineering Recognition Program. The legislation was formalized in Florida Statute 471.055 and became effective July 1 that year.

The statute requires the Florida Board of Professional Engineers to establish and administer the program and to set minimum requirements to achieve recognition. The statute states the program has been established, “to recognize Florida Professional Engineers who specialize in structural engineering and have gone above and beyond the required minimum professional engineer licensing standards.” The statute does not create any new governmental agency, and it prohibits the collection of any fees to participate in the program.

Leading up to enactment of this legislation, the Florida Structural Engineers Association (FSEA), with the assistance of other Florida engineering organizations, labored for years to bring this issue to the attention of Florida legislators and the governor. Finally, in 2022, the Florida House, Senate, and Governor DeSantis all agreed on its value, and the recognition program was established. Hence, Florida joined 24 other states with some form of structural engineering licensure, title restriction, practice restriction, or (as in Florida) recognition program.

To be clear, Florida’s recognition program is voluntary and optional, and it only offers recognition. Recognition is not required to practice structural engineering in Florida. Any Florida-registered Professional Engineer who is competent in the practice of structural engineering may provide structural engineering services in Florida.

In response to the legislation, the Florida Board of Professional Engineers established requirements for recognition under the program in 2022. These requirements were subsequently amended in June 2023 to

make them more inclusive of Professional Engineers who demonstrate structural engineering expertise beyond the minimum engineering licensing standards.

The current requirements for recognition under the Florida Structural Engineering Recognition Program are as follows (copied from FAC 61G15-20-0011):

The Board shall recognize only those applicants who have completed the Application, including submission of required documentation, and who have demonstrated to the Board that they have:

(a) Passed the NCEES Structural I and Structural II exams taken prior to January 1, 2011, OR

(b) Prior to January 1, 2004, passed a 16-hour statewritten examination equivalent in scope and content to the examination identified in paragraph (1)(a) above. For purposes of this rule, the board identifies the following examinations as equivalent in scope and content: the 16-hour Western States Structural Engineering examination, OR

(c) Passed the NCEES Structural II exam plus an 8-hour state-written structural examination prior to January 1, 2011. For purposes of this rule, the board will accept the following 8-hour examinations: 8-hour NCEES Civil: Structural Examination; 8-hour NCEES Architectural Engineering Examination; 8-hour California Structural Engineering Seismic III Examination; or 8-hour Washington Structural Engineering III Examination, OR

(d) Passed the NCEES 16-hour Structural Engineering examination (vertical and lateral) taken after January 1, 2011, OR

(e) Has at least five (5) years of experience after licensure as a Professional Engineer in any jurisdiction(s) designing significant structural engineering projects. For purposes of this rule, “significant structural engineering projects” is defined as the design of structural components and structural systems of any of the following:

1. Buildings three stories or greater.

2. Risk Category III or IV buildings, as defined by Table 1604.5 RISK CATEGORY OF BUILDINGS AND OTHER STRUCTURES in the current Florida Building Code in effect at the time of application or equivalent classification in another jurisdiction.

3. Vehicular Bridges

(f) Been Certified as a Special Inspector of Threshold Buildings pursuant to Section 471.015(7), F.S. prior to February, 2016, or if so certified after February, 2016, sought certification based on principal practice in the area of structural engineering as defined in paragraphs 61G15-35.003(1)(a) and (b), F.A.C. Certification as a Special Inspector (Limited) will not

qualify an applicant for recognition.

(g) The license(s) and/or registration(s) must not have been disciplined or otherwise acted against for a violation related to the field of structural engineering.

Any currently licensed Florida Professional Engineer in good standing may apply to the Florida Board of Professional Engineers for recognition under the program. The application form is available as a fillable PDF on the Board’s website (https://fbpe.org/licensure/structuralengineering-recognition-program/).

Upon approval by the Florida Board of Professional Engineers, the Professional Engineer may indicate recognition under the program by using the term “Florida Board Recognized Structural Engineer” or “FRSE.” The engineer may use these designations in their practice and in marketing and advertising materials.

Currently, there are 357 Florida Board Recognized Structural Engineers.

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We tackle the world’s toughest challenges.

Beyond the Books

FLORIDA UNIVERSITIES TRANSFORMING EDUCATION WITH SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVES

By Lauren Heighton, Staff Writer

There are plenty of misconceptions around the idea of sustainability. Dr. Marwa El-Sayed, assistant professor of environmental engineering at EmbryRiddle Aeronautical University hears them from her students.

For one, El-Sayed says, “A lot of times, there’s a misconception about what sustainability really is.”

“Many of my students come in thinking that it's just about recycling,” she said. “And then at the end of the course, they laugh that maybe recycling is not even sustainable.”

For El-Sayed, sustainability is about the choices we make for each situation.

Looking at sustainability as an optimization process, Dr. El-Sayed teaches students in the College of Engineering that there is no right answer.

“There are several right answers,” she said. ”It's just the way of looking at your perspective and looking at the problem.”

Problem solving is at the forefront for universities in Florida as they prioritize sustainability and the environment through their expansion, student involvement and research endeavors.

LAB APPROACH

Dr. Marwa El-Sayed is an assistant professor of environmental engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides support to Embry-Riddle to research contaminants across several sites in Florida. The addition of low-cost sensors to both stationary points and unmanned aerial vehicles, like drones, is a technique EmbryRiddle is using to collect data from different altitudes.

“Many of my students come in thinking that it's just about recycling... And then at the end of the course, they laugh that maybe recycling is not even sustainable.”

— DR. MARWA EL-SAYED Assistant Professor of environmental engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

At Embry-Riddle, moving towards sustainability is implemented on campus in a lab. The Sustainability and Environmental Engineering Lab (SEEL) housed onsite in Daytona Beach utilizes new methods for measuring environmental contaminants and identifying pollutants, with a focus on atmospheric contaminants.

A diverse group of professors and students from the Department of Aeronautical Science and the College of Engineering work on this low-cost sensor project. The team also collaborates with a professor of social sciences from the University of South Florida who conducts quantitative and qualitative research surveys to identify which communities in Florida are affected by environmental injustices.

The research from SEEL doesn’t have a set end date; it will continue as questions are answered and new ones arise.

“The use of the low cost sensors for air quality monitoring hasn't been out there for a long time, less than a decade,” El-Sayed said. “So there's so many questions that could be asked still.”

EXPANDING GOALS

The University of Central Florida (UCF) is prioritizing the environment with a goal of carbon neutrality by the year 2050. While this may seem like a daunting target, the

university has set up guardrails to keep it on track in the coming decades.

One of the guiding metrics used to prioritize sustainability in higher education institutions across the country is the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System (STARS), created by the Association for Advancement of Sustainability and Higher Education (AASHE). The STARS metric comprises categories such as academics, operations, and planning and administration. The University of Miami and Florida State University are the two institutions out of nine in Florida to currently hold gold status. UCF attained silver status with its last submission in 2021.

UCF is working to achieve a gold STARS ranking by 2027. Ryan Chabot’s role as Sustainability Coordinator at UCF is to join the efforts necessary to make the goal a reality.

“Right now, my students and I are doing sort of a reassessment of how we're doing, or trying to better understand in this sort of rebuilding phase, like what areas of the university maybe we hadn't been able to tap into before, to showcase some of the things that we are doing well, but also to figure out what areas we really want to push forward,” said Chabot.

CAMPUS IMPLEMENTATION

Spread across 800 acres, UCF’s enrollment is at just under 70,000 students. With that, the campus must sustain a large population while prioritizing these goals for improvement.

“We actually have our own energy plant on campus for our small solar city energy generation,” Chabot said. ”It just helps increase efficiency and reduces a lot of that line loss that would come from bringing electricity on campus.” Energy purchases were cut by a third with its installation. Other developments include a thermal energy storage tank that reduces energy by taking advantage of cooler ambient conditions at nighttime to run the chillers, which saves megawatts by storing cooled water, reducing 40% of the peak demand for cooling.

STUDENT INVOLVEMENT

Campus implementation of sustainable innovations isn’t the only way that UCF is championing sustainable development. The Learning-by-Leading program was adopted from the University of California Davis in 2018. Since then, it has seen fast success with a 140% growth rate. Teams in the program tackle projects around UCF’s large campus, bringing awareness to problems and areas for improvement.

Natalia Anaya is a senior at UCF and a student in the Learning-by-Leading program, serving as a co-coordinator for the stormwater management team. One of the projects Anaya’s team focused on was looking for harmful pollutants in stormwater ponds on campus.

“We tested about 13 different ponds around campus and now we're doing the analysis for that,” Anaya said. “And then hopefully in the future, we're going to be able to create some green infrastructure to fix those levels

Learning-by-Leading teams at UCF also collaborate with other students at the university to support the Knights helping Knights pantry, growing fresh fruits and vegetables in the community garden that are donated directly to food-insecure students. Photo courtesy of Natalia Anaya.

and balance them out.” In the future, they may explore installing rain gardens or bioswales.

Along with her work as a co-director of the stormwater management team, Anaya is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers.

A MORE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

As for the future of the Sunshine State, these universities serve as an example of the goals and implementations necessary to make progress for sustainability.

For students at UCF, sustainability efforts are immersive and competitive. The university’s event ‘Kilowatt’ is returning for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic this spring, challenging each residence hall to see which can have the highest rate of energy reduction. From turning out lights and regulating air conditioning use, this event brings all students together for a positive outcome.

Learning-by-Leading teams at UCF also collaborate with other students at the university to support the Knights helping Knights pantry, growing fresh fruits and vegetables in the community garden that are donated directly to foodinsecure students.

“I view it as a small city and that's why I love having people involved so early on,” said Anaya. Getting to involve UCF students with her work, she said, “You get to just emphasize that and see how the levels work and how your research can really bring changes within your community.”

Research at Embry-Riddle continues to embrace the arising challenges the community faces, bringing light to pollution issues in Florida and beyond. As students travel to California for the Air Sensors International Conference this semester, they will bring their findings and learn about new strategies to implement.

In the thick of sustainability research, Dr. El-Sayed has a positive outlook.

“The bottom line is you can achieve sustainability and you can grow and develop in a sustainable way,” she said. “It's just a matter of making the right choices.”

SMPS

SOCIETY FOR MARKETING PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

FLORIDA CHAPTERS

Powering Progress: Sustainable strategies for marketing in professional services for a greener future

Cat Olnick

Director of Marketing and Communications: Cummins Cederberg, Inc.

Trends in advertisements and Requests for Qualifications (RFQs) for infrastructure projects vary depending on economic conditions, government policies, funding and demand. With the increase in proposals and growing marketing teams, many of us marketers can agree there has been a general surge in infrastructure spending and public investments driven by factors such as urbanization, population growth, and the need for modernization and maintenance of existing infrastructure.

Following the global financial crisis of 2008, governments around the world implemented stimulus packages and infrastructure investment programs to spur economic growth and create jobs. These initiatives led to an uptick in infrastructure projects and, consequently, an increase in advertisements and RFQs for professional services such as engineering, architecture and construction management.

Additionally, as sustainability and resilience become increasingly important considerations in infrastructure development, there is a growing demand for specialized professional services in areas such as green infrastructure, renewable energy, and climate adaptation projects.

By integrating elements from funding mechanisms into project plans, you increase the chances of securing funding opportunities.

FUNDING MECHANISMS

Florida has access to a variety of grant funding opportunities to support a wide range of initiatives and

projects. Some of the key grant funding mechanisms include:

State Grants: Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO), Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), and Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM)

Federal Grants: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) Mitigation and Disaster Recovery: Provided by the federal government to states and eligible local governments, including municipalities.

Transportation Grants: Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) grants and federal transportation funding programs.

Environmental Grants: Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).

TRACKING

A comprehensive approach to tracking grant timelines involves systematically monitoring and managing key dates, milestones and requirements associated with the grant application, award, implementation and reporting processes. This coordination ensures that municipalities in Florida can effectively plan, coordinate, and execute

grant-funded projects in a timely manner, maximizing their chances of success and compliance with grant requirements.

By closely monitoring grant timelines and identifying funding opportunities in advance, municipalities can position themselves to submit strong, timely grant applications and maximize their chances of securing funding for priority projects. Including funding multiple project elements with several grant sources.

STRATEGIC PLANNING

Incorporating grant tracking and funding into a strategic marketing plan involves leveraging grant opportunities as part of the overall business development strategy. Here's how professional service firms can integrate grant tracking and funding into their marketing plans:

• Identify relevant grant opportunities

• Evaluate fit and eligibility

• Educate clients

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• Build relationships with stakeholders

• Track timelines and deadlines

• Measure and adjust

• Plan for reporting and administration support

By integrating grant tracking and funding into your strategic marketing plans, professional service firms can enhance their competitive positioning, expand their service offerings, and create new opportunities for growth and impact in the market.

As we navigate through an era marked by a demand for modernization, sustainability and resilience in infrastructure, the role of strategic marketing and proactive grant acquisition strategies becomes paramount. Embracing an integrated approach will not only benefit firms but also contribute to the sustainable development and resilience of our infrastructure systems for generations to come.

Advertise With Us

Are you looking to get your company in front of industry professionals, firm leaders, government officials, business leaders and potential clients from every part of Florida? If you are doing business anywhere in the engineering or consulting space in the Sunshine State, this is exactly the valuable audience you want to reach.

Editorial Calendar

ISSUE 2.2 (SUMMER ‘24)

Technology

• Cover Story: Florida’s Space Coast

• Connective Features:

— Digital Twins

— 3D and Digital Workflows

— Infrastructure & Autonomous Vehicles

DEADLINES

Content Deadline: May 17

Ads & Art Deadline: May 31

Print Deadline: June 14

ISSUE 2.3 (FALL ‘24)

Connecting Communities

• Cover Story: How Engineers Are Giving Back to Their Communities

• Connective Features:

— Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program (RCP) in Florida

— Brightline Rail

DEADLINES

Content Deadline: Aug. 23

Ads & Art Deadline: Sept. 6

Print Deadline: Sept. 20

ISSUE 2.4 (WINTER ‘24)

Projects & People of the Year

• Cover Story: Top Projects of the Year

• Connective Features:

— People of the Year

— Young Professionals of the Year

— Industry Roundtable DEADLINES

Content Deadline: Nov. 8

Ads & Art Deadline: Nov. 22

Print Deadline: Dec. 6

For questions or more information, please contact Engineering Florida Managing Editor: Joe VanHoose at joe@trestlecollective.com.