PennDOT Saves Millions with Demand-Response Transit
July 10, 2020
For over 30 years, Pennsylvania DOT has helped provide transportation services for disadvantaged populations. Ideally, transportation services are based on demand, not an arbitrary schedule, to reduce costs in running transit options during sub-optimal times. Over the years, Pennsylvania has seen localities independently procure systems without significant improvement in the service to customers. In response,......
Trash to Treasure Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
March 07, 2017
One man’s trash is Lancaster County’s energy or recycled material. The county’s Solid Waste Management Authority has a diversion rate of 98%–less than 2% of trash collected ends up in a landfill. To accomplish this, the municipality employs a two-pronged approach: first, it minimizes the volume and toxicity of waste by concentrating on recycling and......
Turning Food Waste into Renewable Energy
March 07, 2017
Each year, every American family throws out an average $640 worth of food. Much of it goes into landfills, decomposes, and turns into methane. Several cities have found new ways to convert leftovers into biogas to produce electricity. The City of Philadelphia mandated in-sink garbage disposals in all new construction in the hopes that residents......
Bundling Bridge Projects to Save Money and Build Faster
February 16, 2017
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) has embarked on an ambitious $899 million Rapid Bridge Replacement Project with construction to begin the summer of 2015 on 558 bridges across the state. The final list of 558 bridges was determined after screening more than 2,000 bridges. The private sector team will manage the bridges’ design, construction and......
February 16, 2017
The Philadelphia Water Department has its share of old water pipes to contend with – in fact, they have increased investment in water pipes by 25 percent in their latest capital improvement program. However the Department’s Strategic Energy Plan also looks to better manage future expenses – it includes a facility that will extract energy......
Smart Meters Improve Power Response Time
February 16, 2017
While city officials don’t oversee the local power grid, the energy conservation coordinator for the city of Philadelphia has started creating contingency plans for what every city office must do in the case of a power outage. In addition, the Office of Emergency Management established a local energy access plan to coordinate widespread emergency response.......
February 16, 2017
Altogether, the 140 harbors and channels that comprise the Great Lakes are the fourth largest economic zone in North America. The Great Lakes are also the largest freshwater system in the world. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) has the responsibility to operate and maintain these harbors and channels, but turned to a P3......
