Hanna Schenkel

#SolarPower #CommunitySolarPower #DairyFarms #Vermont #KevinDavis #NorwichSolar #NickFrancis #SolarisEnergy #GreendayFinance "Two off-site community solar projects in Vermont were recently completed, built and developed by Norwich Solar, and financed by Solaris Energy and Greenday Finance. These two Vermont community solar projects will provide over 2 MWh of renewable energy annually, at a lower cost, for 6 locally run dairy farms. “We are very fortunate to work with engaged property owners to site these solar projects on underused land, enabling additional value to be unlocked for them.” said Kevin Davis, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Norwich Solar, a Certified B Corp. The Vermont dairy industry itself generates over $2.2 billion annually, but increasingly thin margins are leading local farmers to seek out new ways to compete without losing use of any of their land. Community solar projects are a great solution. These community solar projects consist of two 500 kW (864 kWdc) ground-mount solar arrays on less productive land in Newbury and Jamaica, Vermont. The solar projects are designed to help reduce fixed energy costs so the farms can increase profit margins. The Jamaica site (a former gravel pit) furthers the focus on a community coming together. It lies adjacent to a neighborhood of trailer homes and response from residents has been overwhelmingly positive. Several people have come out to the site to ask questions and express general excitement for the project. The Newbury site is a previously logged hillside. “The Jamaica project, in particular, was a former gravel extraction site that posed some design and installation challenges, but the final project is quite compelling to see,” Davis said. Fellow B Corp, Solaris Energy, provided late-stage development and capital through the final completion of the projects. Investor partner, Greenday Finance took over long-term ownership and will continue to work with Solaris Energy and Norwich Solar for asset management, operations and maintenance services on both sites. “It’s a beautiful thing to see locals come together to care for a community resource – especially one that helps their fellow neighbors and local economy. It really hits the mark on what community scale solar is all about.” Noted Nick Francis, Solaris Energy’s Director of Project Development. These two projects in rural America encapsulate what community scale solar is truly about. A group of value-aligned solar partners came together to provide a local economic resource that is well-supported by the neighborhood, and developed projects that support regional renewable energy goals."

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🌧️🏙️ Dive into Current Issues in New York Stormwater Management! Join 5 Qualified Speakers on May 22, 2024, 9:00 am–4:00 pm EDT for a comprehensive session. Webinar Link-->https://buff.ly/3UDUHYw Here's what's on the agenda: -Discuss updates to stormwater design manuals. -Design with the five principles of construction stormwater management. -Manage extreme precipitation and flooding through design. -Explore options for surface and subsurface stormwater detention and retention. -Add multi-functionality to stormwater solutions. -Discover innovative approaches to urban stormwater resiliency. Stay ahead in stormwater management! 🌊🏗️ #StormwaterManagement #NewYork #WebinarAlert

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I will be presenting about groundwater management under climate change and innovative use of integrated water resources models in decision making. If you are at the conference, let’s connect. #gw #sustainable #waterresourcesmanagment #climatechange #innivation #ewri2024 #asce

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Last Thursday and Friday, Craig Musselman and I, representing #CommitteeOnAdaptationToAChangingClimate(CACC), attended the annual #CTA Spring Workshop at the American Society of Civil Engineers headquarter with other Chairs, vice chairs of the Executive Committees and representatives of the other constituent committees of #CTA including #AerospaceDivision, #CommitteeOnSustainability, #ComputingDivision,#CommiteeOnCodesStandards,#ColdRegionsDivision,#EnergyDivision,#ForensicsEngineeringDivision, #InfrastructureResillienceDivision, and #ASCE directors and managers Thomas Smith, Edward Stafford, Lindsay O'Leary, PE, CAE, LEED AP, F.ASCE, Parsons, Brian, Jay Snyder, Catherine Tehan and too many others to tag. We spent two days reflecting on what technical advancements these committees achieved, discussing the future of these professions, and how to advocate new techniques to prepare a better future community. These 9 CTA Constituent Committees now consist of 40+ technical subcommittees and task groups, and are responsible for 7 ASCE journals, including the ASCE Journal of #AerospaceEngineering, #ComputingInCivilEngineering, #CodeRegionsEngineering, #EnergyEngineering, #PerformanceOfConstructedFacilities, #NaturalHazardsReview, and #RiskAndUncertaintyInEngineeringSystemsPartACivilEngineering. CACC, established in 2011 and dedicated to mainstreaming climate adaptation through engineering solutions (grey, blue and green), has produced numerous technical articles, a few books, and ASCE #MOP140ClimateResilientInfrastructure. Generations of CACC’s leadership teams and members have been advocating, hosting, and continuously supporting multi-disciplinary collaborations for climate adaptation and actions. For example, the recent strategic initiative of the ASCE-NOAA task force on Climate Resilience and Engineering Practice, the Arctic NbS workshop, and some active ASCE code developments for climate adaptation. I am grateful for the guidance from many to learn and grow and for the opportunity to lead mainstreaming climate adaptation and fostering multi-disciplinary collaborations. There are still many challenges to overcome, solutions to be innovated, practices to be incubated and scaled, and more to explore from grey to green. If you are working or interested in climate adaptation and action related to infrastructures or other frontier areas, please consider joining #CACC and other fantastic #CTA committees. David Prusak, J.P. Mohsen, Ricardo A. Medina, Ph.D., P.E., Jay Snyder, Laura Sullivan-Green, Silky Wong, PhD, SE, PE, CEng MICE, F.SEI, LEED AP, Alaina Roberts, P.E., Christina Ammens, Felipe Mejia, Ph.D., P.E., Chuck Hookham, Matthew Edel, Donald Kinney. Thanks, Yinhai Wang, for taking photos, but not be able to show in this photo. #CTA https://lnkd.in/gku8kr9N #ASCEChangingClimate https://lnkd.in/gabRtFnC

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Everybody wants more inclusive, equitable public engagement on infrastructure projects. In this article, my HDR colleague Katie Caskey explains how compensating participants for their time can help make that goal a reality. Agencies are increasingly interested in this strategy but it's still an emerging practice, and it's great to hear from early leaders in the field like Katie. Read the article here: https://lnkd.in/gDmbGXCu #Transportation

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Did you know NCEES administered over 78,000 #engineering and #surveying exams in its 2022–23 fiscal year? For more facts and figures, check out the latest issue of Squared, the official NCEES source for engineering and surveying licensure statistics. https://bit.ly/3oc8rxd

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Although I’d like to believe it may one day be feasible to develop statewide floodplain maps in a matter of months, the reality is that the level of detail that goes into a local floodplain study can’t be scaled up to a state level (at least not quickly and easily), and stories like this are a disservice to the engineering community as it portrays to the public a false narrative that it’s so easy that someone could map flood risk for thousands of miles of stream and hundreds of communities accurately in a span of several months. This might be useful at a statewide scale for some type of risk screening, but that’s not how this is portrayed.

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Kristel Shu Bassett, PE, PTOE and I are presenting at the Great Lakes ITE Conference as part of Session 5C on Friday. Come check us out if you want to learn about how Big Data can take your work zone monitoring and decision-making to the next level! See you there! #ThisisITS

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Driving change on one of the most scenic highways in North America! HDR's expertise shines in the transformation of the Seward Highway. The project not only improved traffic flow but also prioritized safety and environmental conservation. Dive into the details of the project, which is now a candidate for the top national award from the American Council of Engineering Companies. https://lnkd.in/g-2kk9uB #Transportation

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Thanks to the Asset Management Grant from The Massachusetts Clean Water Trust, EP joined forces with Town of Marshfield to update their stormwater asset inventory mapping. This crucial data empowers Marshfield to make well-informed decisions on resource allocation and funding for maintenance. As a coastal community, Marshfield faces additional climate-related challenges such as rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and increased flooding. Adequate funding is crucial for asset management and Marshfield must balance limited budgets with the need to maintain and upgrade critical infrastructure. The secure, streamlined stormwater database combined new and old data into a cost-effective and efficient web-based dashboard, supporting the DPW’s goal to provide essential public works infrastructure and support services for the residents of Marshfield. #AssetManagement #Sustainability #ClimateChange #Infrastructure #Funding

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The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation is announcing "More Than $21.5 Million for Nature-Based Solutions to Lower Emissions and Sequester Carbon" SEE LINKS IN COMMENTS FOR APPLICATIONS AND WEBINAR From the NYSDEC newsletter: " More than $13 million is now available through Round 2 of the Challenge for projects that mitigate the impacts of extreme heat and reduce building emissions with a focus on providing direct benefits to those most vulnerable to extreme heat, including disadvantaged communities. Round 2 - $13 Million Now Available Through Round 2, NYSERDA is seeking proposals from private companies, research institutions, and other organizations for two challenge areas designed to address heat islands and building emissions in underserved communities: Innovations in Green Cooling for Extreme Heat - $5.5 million is available for research, development, and demonstration of tools, technologies, and strategies to increase adoption and benefits of nature-based approaches to passive cooling, prioritizing disadvantaged, heat vulnerable communities to catalyze a greater scale and effectiveness for green infrastructure across New York State. Innovations in Carbon Negative Buildings - $7.5 million is available for demonstration, introduction, and scale up of carbon negative products in New York State that support building energy efficiency. Projects will evaluate market growth potential, feasibility for local manufacturing with local raw materials, and other benefits to local communities. Applications will be accepted through August 20, 2024 by 3:00 p.m. EST. Additional details on the evaluation criteria, including requirements to describe how proposed activities support diversity, equity, and inclusion, can be found within the solicitation. An informational webinar will be held on July 23, 2024 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EST to provide more details on the challenge, proposal and project requirements, and the application process. " #sustainability #newyork #dei

Great AWWA OpFlow article by HDR's Dan Ellison and David Spencer about helping utilities to make cost-effective decisions about infrastructure renewal. It is definitely worth following the link to read! https://lnkd.in/eZ_2M3JA

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The FFRMS beta tool is here!

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Discover how functioning alluvial floodplains can enhance ecosystem services such as sediment and nutrient storage, flood attenuation, groundwater recharge, and habitat creation. Learn about the Vermont Functioning Floodplain Initiative (FFI) tool and its role in prioritizing and tracking floodplain reconnection projects by joining us for our upcoming webinar! 🌊🌿 Register now: https://bit.ly/3RQ0glY

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I just came across an excellent article on how hydraulic modeling software is transforming water infrastructure planning, especially in rapidly growing regions like Florida. 🌴💧 As population growth surges, the demand on water systems is unprecedented. This piece highlights how advanced hydraulic modeling is crucial for understanding capacity challenges and planning innovative infrastructure improvements. 🚀 Check out the full article by Kevin Kennoy for a deeper dive! 📖 #Water #HydraulicModuling #Software #JacksonHogg https://lnkd.in/e4Ac8Zfd

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Across our nation, coastal marshes face threats from climate change and erosion. According to my HDR colleagues, Nick Brown, Robert Lewis, and other industry experts, sediment replacement is one strategy used to counteract eroding coastal marshes and improve their sustainability. Check out this article published in the ASBPA American Shore and Beach Preservation Association’s journal for a comprehensive breakout of this solution.  https://lnkd.in/eZ4kYUVz

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