Cross Harbor Freight Tunnel to take 30 years to build? Or, to never be built? It's just another, in a long line of transportation projects, waiting to be funded.

Another 30-year wait for completion of the Cross-Harbor Freight Tunnel?

There is only $70 million for advancing an environmental study along with preliminary design and engineering for the Cross-Harbor Freight Tunnel within the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey 2017 - 2026 Capital Plan. This leaves a $9.930 billion shortfall to complete this project.

From article, (The proposed Cross-Harbor Freight Tunnel may be just another in the continuing series of feasibility studies and environmental reviews sponsored by various governmental agencies and public officials over decades. They generate some money for consultants along with free publicity for elected officials who promise a bright future but all too often move on to another public office before delivering. Taxpayers are frequently left holding an empty bag with unfilled promises. 

There is only $70 million for advancing an environmental study along with preliminary design and engineering for the Cross-Harbor Freight Tunnel within the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey 2017 - 2026 Capital Plan. This leaves a $9.930 billion shortfall to complete this project. Manhattan-Brooklyn Congress member Jerald Nadler claims that there is real progress for his favorite Cross-Harbor Freight Tunnel project. This doesn't add up if you look at past history. This project has been championed by Congress member Nadler as his number one transportation priority for almost thirty years. After all that time, it has yet to progress beyond the federal National Environmental Protect Act review process. In theory, it might move thousands of trucks on a daily basis off the roads and on to railroad tracks for significant portions of the journey between New Jersey and Long Island.

Construction of any new freight, public transportation tunnel or bridge project can take years, if not decades, by the time all feasibility studies, environmental reviews, planning, design, engineering, real estate acquisition, permits, procurements, construction, budgeting, identifying and securing funding is completed. 

 It is wishful thinking that the Port Authority can count on billions in future federal funding to make up the difference. Don't be surprised in waiting another 30 years until future Port Authority ten year 2027 - 2036 and 2037 - 2046 Capital Plans are approved before a complete $10 billion or more funding package is in place. This is necessary to support awarding construction contracts.)

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Me, "This is what happens when you have a lot of great transportation projects, but very little money to move them along."

New News out of Boca Chica. SpaceX's Future SpacePort.

SpaceX seeking additional $5 million in spaceport funding from state

SpaceX is seeking new state funding to build a commercial spaceport in Texas, even though the high-profile project that it began near Brownsville in 2014 is behind schedule and millions in state tax dollars already set aside for it have yet to be spent.

From article, (SpaceX is seeking new state funding to build a commercial spaceport in Texas, even though the high-profile project that it began near Brownsville in 2014 is behind schedule and millions in state tax dollars already set aside for it have yet to be spent. 

Hawthorne, Calif.-based SpaceX — founded by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk with the aim of reducing the cost of space travel and one day facilitating the colonization of Mars — is seeking up to $5 million more from the state to help build infrastructure related to the launch facility at Boca Chica beach outside Brownsville, a Cameron County official has confirmed. 

 A total of $13 million from the Spaceport Trust Fund was earmarked for SpaceX’s project at Boca Chica beach in 2014, but only $2.6 million of it has been spent. In addition, SpaceX has been pledged $2.3 million from the state’s jobs-focused Texas Enterprise Fund, but only $400,000 has been distributed to it — and the company has returned about $81,000 of that sum — because the project hasn’t kept pace with employment targets. 

The slower-than-expected rate of development at the Boca Chica spaceport is partly the result of difficulties building on the beach after the bedrock proved to be deeper than expected and the water table turned out to be higher than expected, prompting SpaceX to bring in hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of new soil to stabilize the site to support future structures. 

Other slowdowns have been caused by the company’s focus on more pressing issues after one of its rockets exploded in 2015 shortly after liftoff from a leased launch pad at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and another exploded on the pad in 2016, temporarily grounding some of SpaceX’s commercial operations both times. 

Musk -- who started electric car-maker Tesla, among other companies, and is known for bold and futuristic pronouncements -- said during the Boca Chica groundbreaking in 2014 that rockets launched from the site would carry commercial satellites at first but it eventually could be critical to establishing a human presence on Mars. 

“It could very well be that the first person that departs for another planet will depart from this location,” Musk said at the time.)

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A Blueprint to save NJ Transit.

Can Murphy use these suggestions to turn NJ Transit around?

Among reports released by Governor Murphy's transition teams are recommendations to Fix NJ Transit. Will they address problems experienced by commuters?

From article, (Recommendations that could become part of Gov. Phil Murphy’s blueprint to save NJ Transit, which he called a national disgrace last month, were revealed Friday in a report from his transition committee that looked at transportation issues.

The report recommends making the Gateway Tunnel project and building a new Port Authority Bus Terminal  top priorities. That would be done by appointing a senior level person in the governor’s office to monitor the projects and act on the governor’s behalf.

While this person would keep Murphy in the loop on both projects, the report also proposed launching an education campaign for both projects. One would be aimed at New York businesses about how much productivity they lose when New Jersey commuters are delayed and late to work because of problems at both facilities.

The report expressed concerns about how much longer commuter trains can use the 1910 Hudson River tunnels until they have to be shut down to repair damage from Hurricane Sandy flooding. It mentions concerns that bus terminal is old, at capacity and needs structural repairs. Currently, Port Authority officials are examining the feasibility of building a new terminal on top of the old structure and renovating the existing building.

The transportation commissioner and state treasurer would have to deliver an “action plan” in 100 days that assesses the financial condition of the Department of Transportation, NJ Transit, New Jersey Turnpike Authority and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Part of that assessment would look at operating funds and the NJ Transit deficit that’s been posted since 2015, when the agency said cheap gas prices were eating into ridership and revenue. Commuter advocates have called for a stable revenue source for NJ Transit so it can properly plan and stop using money earmarked for major projects to cover operating costs.

Part of that assessment would determine if the agencies have sufficient capital finding from the Transportation Trust Fund, federal and other sources to maintain the transportation system in a “state-of-good-repair”, to do major capital projects  and to develop a financing plan to extend the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail line into Bergen County.

The report recommends examining agency operating budgets and proposing ways to stabilize NJ Transit’s and the DOT’s operating funds. This could address NJ Transit’s operating fund deficit and to a lesser extent, the DOT's. The committee recommends proposals to stabilize and increase operating funding at both agencies, which have used capital funds to cover operating expenses. 

The state needs to look at other ways to finance projects that are being done in other states and how to cut construction costs. The report recommends looking at value capture financing, through legislation or working directly with private developers. That concept requires a payment in return for the value that a publicly financed transportation infrastructure project is generating for the private entity or developer.

The report also suggests NJ Transit examine ways to monetize its property and the air rights over what it called some of the most valuable real estate in New Jersey to raise revenue for projects. It also said the agency should maximize potential concession and advertising agreements, since the agency has a captive audience of thousands at some of its stations each day.) 

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There is a high Demand for Electric Car Batteries from Car Companies and, either they, and or, battery makers are investing in new battery factories

Electric Vehicle Battery Factory Race Heats Up In Europe

Battery sources are critical for any companies trying to to keep up in the race to field compelling long-range electric vehicles, and the competitors are already jostling for position. From a slow start, Mercedes, VW, and BMW have changed pace and accelerated battery production plans.

From article, (Scania (VW Group) has announced its intention to be part of the largest battery cell manufacturer in Europe. “Northolt’s Carlsson wants the Skelleftea plant to rival US electric carmaker Tesla’s Gigafactory in the Nevada desert, and aims to produce a total battery storage capacity of 32 gigawatt-hours (GWh) a year by 2023.”

VW is gaining, but it is not racing alone. Rivals BMW and Mercedes-Benz are turning it up a notch on their own battery supplies.

A major South Korean manufacturer, Reuters noted in August 2017 that “SK Innovation supplies batteries to Mercedes-Benz, South Korea’s Kia Motors as well as China’s BAIC Motor Corp.”

Other reporting from November 2017: “The South Korean EV battery maker said it is set to break ground on a 840 million-won plant in Hungary in February. The 430,000-square-meter plant is capable of producing EV cells with a combined 7.5 gigawatt hours (GWh) per year, beginning in 2020.” That factory entailed an investment of approximately $777 million.

SK is also expanding domestically. “Also Thursday, SK Innovation announced its plan to expand EV battery production lines in Seosan, some 150 kilometers south of Seoul. The latest investment will raise domestic production capacity of EV cells to a combined 4.7 GWh.”

So, that’s a targeted 32 GWh from Northvolt (+ Scania/VW Group), 12 GWh from SK Innovation (7.5 GWh in Europe), and a couple other major battery producers in the wings who we’ll get to in a moment.

In a sign of just how rapidly the market and technology are developing, major car companies have been signaling their expectations with a sudden turn in predictions for electric vehicle sales volume. To an extent, this is a message to battery suppliers that they really do want batteries — and need production to grow quickly.

LG Chem has announced expansion plans in Europe with a new factory in Poland, but it will only be the largest in Europe for a while, with Volkswagen and Mercedes/SK Innovation partnerships vying for the lead. The annual GWh capacity has not been shared, but the investment totals approximately $387 million. There was an estimated figure of 100,000 EV batteries a year thrown out there, but it has not been clear what size batteries LG Chem is talking about in those EVs.

All in all, it’s shaping up to be an exciting contest, and EV fans are eager to watch the race. A list of contestants and their battery sources from a previous CleanTechnica article is as follows:

• Panasonic (supplies Tesla and Toyota as well as certain models from Mercedes and Ford)
• LG Chem (supplies Audi, Chrysler, Ford, GM, Hyundai, Nissan, Renault, smart, Volkswagen, Volvo)
• Samsung SDI (supplies BMW, Fiat, Mercedes, Porsche)
• SK Innovation (supplies Kia and BMW)
• BYD (supplies BYD)
• AESC (supplies Nissan, but it looks like Nissan is shifting to LG Chem)
• GS Yuasa (supplies Honda, Mitsubishi, Peugeot, Citroen)

Other lists exist that help to illuminate this market, and the list of car company products and battery suppliers is changing rapidly. But we don’t really know yet where all the batteries will come from to produce electrified versions of every Mercedes-Benz model, electrified versions of every BMW model, millions of Volkswagen electric vehicles a year by 2022, 40 electrified Ford models by 2025, 20 EV models from GM by 2023, 8 fully electric Renault models and 12 more electrified Renault models, etc. The battery factories noted above show progress, but we’ll need a lot more announcements in the coming 3–5 years if those targets are to be correct. Stay tuned.)

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NYS has big plans for Off-Shore Wind Power. The best part is, people will never see these wind turbines, yet, benefit from their Generated Electric Power.

NYS wind plan envisions $6B industry by 2028

New York State on Monday is to release an exhaustive master plan for offshore wind energy that foresees up to 5,000 people employed in and around a $6 billion industry by 2028, with annual health benefits from reduced emissions valued at up to $400 million.

 From article, (New York State on Monday is to release an exhaustive master plan for offshore wind energy that foresees up to 5,000 people employed in and around a $6 billion industry by 2028, with annual health benefits from reduced emissions valued at up to $400 million.

The Cuomo administration plan also makes clear that while offshore wind representing 2,400 megawatts and hundreds of turbines will be in the waters south of Long Island, none is expected to be visible from shore. The state expects more than 1.2 million homes could be powered by offshore wind.

The 60-page report is accompanied by 20 supplemental studies representing more than two years of work and thousands of pages of analysis. The studies examine everything from viable ports to turbine manufacturing and wind-farm construction and staging to the need for cables, pipelines and other infrastructure, as well as the impact on birds, bats and fish.

The state determined that an area encompassing just over 1 million acres can accommodate wind turbines at least 21 miles from land to “ensure that, for the vast majority of the time, turbines would have no discernible or visible impact from the casual viewer on the shore.”

The state this year plans to offer the first procurement for at least 400 megawatts of offshore wind, with another 400 megawatts set for procurement in 2019, with a total 2,400 megawatts expected by 2030.)

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Buy and Store. Energy Storage Market, Heats Up

Power storage new frontier in electric production

The long and often contentious relationship between Pueblo ratepayers and Black Hills Energy over the high cost of power in recent years has gotten the attention of a fast-emerging new field in energy production: battery and power storage. JLM Energy is a California-based energy storage company whose vice president of marketing, Ellen Murray Howe, lives in Conifer, Colo.

 "From article, ("I've talked to commercial users in Pueblo that are spending $150,000 or more a year on electricity," said Howe. "Those are businesses that would benefit from being able to buy and store cheaper power."

For example, Black Hills business customers pay a rate, called a demand charge, that is based on peak use. If the customer could spread out that use so it bought power at a lower demand price, it could use that stored electricity at peak times but without the higher cost.

Similarly, utilities sometimes offer "time-of-use" rates, meaning cheaper power at times of low demand, like at night. With a storage system, customers can buy that power at night, store it and then use it during the day.

It's a simple idea but stayed on the drawing board in past decades because battery technology was so cumbersome. Not any more. Storage batteries are now in cars, attached to solar arrays, even replacing full-blown power plants.

Utilities are investing in the storage systems to cut the costs of power they buy off the grid during peak hours.

"The level of knowledge is growing so fast we're seeing it on both sides of the meter," Howe said.

And, right now, customers who purchase solar-power and storage systems can still get a 30 percent federal tax credit.

As Pueblo looks at creating its own municipal-owned utility, power storage will likely be a larger part of the conversation because it is changing how businesses and even households operate and use power.

"I think we see Puerto Rico moving into power storage in a big way as it rebuilds its power system," Howe said. "We seem to have hit a tipping point.")

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What is a Value-Capture plan? And, How would a Value-Capture plan work to fund the MTA?

To pay for the broken MTA, Cuomo wants to tax landlords near new subway projects

Experts question whether value-capture plan will work in NYC Gov. Andrew Cuomo's value-capture plan to charge real estate owners for the benefits they receive from new transit projects is gaining momentum, but still faces some serious questions regarding how it would be implemented.

 From article, (Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s value-capture plan to charge real estate owners for the benefits they receive from new transit projects is gaining momentum, but still faces some serious questions regarding how it would be implemented.

The proposal, which would require approval from the legislature, would assess property values in neighborhoods where a new transportation project raises property values, both before and after the project is completed, the New York Times reported.

A new tax would be levied on the difference, with 75 percent going to the transit agency and 25 percent to the city.

An existing four-person panel – one of whom is appointed to represent the city – would review projects and have the power to veto proposals. Metropolitan Transportation Authority chairman Joseph Lhota said the pane would work under what he calls “U.N. Security Council rules,” where one opposing member would be able to veto the proposal.

The idea does have plenty of backers, though, such as RXR Realty’s Scott Rechler, who recently said his company should “pay more of a proportion of that cost” for projects that benefit his buildings.

And two New York University economists say that the benefit of being near a subway adds $3.85 a square foot to the value of commercial property in Manhattan’s main business corridors.)

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