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CAES construction underway

Big D Construction has moved heavy equipment into the site just off the Snake River to prepare the location and begin pouring the foundation for the 55,000 square-foot, $17 million building, which will be the new home for CAES.

As University Boulevard and the utility corridor near completion, Big D Construction has begun laying foundation supports for the 55,000-square-foot, $17-million building that will be home to the Center for Advanced Energy Studies (CAES) in Idaho Falls.

Doyle Batt, manager for Laboratory Planning and Operations Integration at Idaho National Laboratory, said, "Building construction now is moving rapidly - after the completion of the University Boulevard and utility corridor - to provide power and access to the site on the Snake River. The contractor has moved heavy equipment to the site, and areas are being prepared for the pouring of the building's foundation."

Batt indicated that soon a Web camera will be installed in the area so that CAES supporters can monitor the daily progress. "We hope to have that installed by Sept. 15, and views of daily progress will be available through our Web site."

"When you are moving earth and pouring foundations to a new building, it is a reassuring sign that real change is occurring. As construction progresses, CAES continues to work with its three university partners and INL to build a solid energy research program. Currently, more than forty experts from Boise State University, Idaho State University, University of Idaho and INL are actively partnering on eleven cutting-edge research projects."

The completion of University Boulevard, just north of INL's Idaho Falls administration building on Fremont Avenue, and its accompanying utility corridor, provided access and power to the building site for CAES.

The mission of CAES is to address critical science and engineering issues that will help resolve the grand challenges associated with providing an appropriate mix of energy technologies needed to address critical U.S. and global energy needs. Research will focus on energy affordability, limited environmental impacts, and leadership in the global energy arena. Energy technologies being addressed include those for nuclear, hydrogen, fossil fuels and renewable energy sources.

CAES also is advancing the education of the next generation of scientists and engineers and providing them with skills and experience needed to address critical work-force needs. Educational opportunities include long-term, university-based research activities and a host of national and international events to facilitate an informed dialogue on key questions and issues. CAES is advancing academic pursuits by fostering collaborations and interdisciplinary studies and making the research and development facilities of its partners available to a network of universities.

The new CAES research building represents a unique, collaborative environment for the energy future where cross-organizational and peer-to-peer technical collaboration in areas of nuclear, renewable, fossil and alternative energy will flourish.

Find additonal information at www.caesenergy.org.

Exterior rendering of the CAES building. The building will be managed by Idaho State University. Completion of the facility is projected for summer of 2008.