In previous issues of Innovations, you may have read about a partnership between Acres International and Parsons Energy & Chemicals Group. Since then, the venture has been formalized as Acres Parsons E&C Limited (APEC), headquartered in Calgary and targeting major EPCM projects in Canada. APEC recently announced an assignment from TransAlta which comprises condition assessments for four TransAlta thermal plants - in Alberta, Washington State and Ontario. APEC engineers based in Calgary and Oakville will lead the assignment, with support by specialists from Acres and Parsons E&C.

Robin Charlwood, Manager of Operations at the Acres Seattle, Washington office, chaired a session (“Q82: Ageing on Concrete and Masonry Dams and Appurtenant Works”) at the 21st Congress of the International Commission of Large Dams (ICOLD) in Montreal this year. He also provided an authoritative review of the aging process in concrete dams, largely based on his many years of experience in the design, assessment and rehabilitation of dams and hydroelectric plants. To download the text of his address, click here.

The Palestine Ministry of Energy awarded Acres with a feasibility study for a national electricity system control center. Project scope includes configuration and overall functionality of the control centers, substation and power plant requirements, communication solutions and staff training. The assignment is funded by the World Bank.

The Millennium Overpass is being constructed in three stages and scheduled for completion in spring 2004. The 350-metre long, post-tensioned concrete bridge in Astana, Kazakhstan is nearing the end of the first construction stage, while the second stage is already started. The transverse and longitudinal post-tensioning of Stage 1 was successfully completed in October, and removal of the falsework begins shortly.

The Oakville T&D Division has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with E Cubed of New York City, related to representation services in New York State and the Mid-Atlantic region. E Cubed will represent Acres in the target area and provide marketing assistance for Acres T&D Studies & Planning and Design & Construction products. The two companies will also jointly pursue targeted opportunities including the market for demand side management, demand response and distributed generation. This MOU is similar in scope to one signed in 2002 between Acres and Prime Directions of Boston for representation of Acres products in the New England area.

Our very own George Davies, President of Acres Management Consulting, will speak at a conference this January, titled “Building Capacity, Creating Reliability in the North American Power Grid.” Mr. Davies will address the impact that various legislative, economic, technical and investment issues will have on the transmission system. Delegates will leave with a better understanding of how their day-to-day operations will be affected by policy decisions inside and outside the transmission industry. To register for the conference, please click here.

On August 23, 2003, the Ministry of Canadian Heritage unveiled a plaque commemorating the national historic significance of the Red River Floodway. Between 1962 and 1968, Acres designed, specified, and supervised construction of several primary structures for the 100 million cubic-yard, 29-mile floodway. The channel and associated works were completed at a cost of $63 million - and have since diverted flood waters to avoid damages estimated at several billion dollars. Since completion in 1968, it has been utilized 23 times, most notably in 1997 for which Sheila Copps, Minister of Canadian Heritage, credits it with saving Winnipeg from the “Flood of the Century”.