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Natural gas powered City Center opens in Vegas
The MGM Mirage City Center Project opened last month and it is the talk of the town. Attendees to the 2010 International Builders Show are flocking to see it.
City Center is a dazzling array of towering hotels, condos, restaurants and high end shops and boutiques occupying 67 acres with more than a quarter mile of frontage on the Las Vegas Strip. With more than 18 million square feet of development, it is truly a city within a city.
One million tons of concrete were used in its construction, enough to build a four foot wide sidewalk from Las Vegas to New York City and back. The steel that was used would be enough to build ten Eiffel Towers and the fiber optic cable in the project could circle the equator four times! Clearing the site produced more than 300,000 tons of construction debris but 93 percent of it was recycled.
This, plus the fact that natural gas is used throughout the project has enabled City Center to receive LEED Gold certification for energy and environmental excellence.
A ten megawatt natural gas fueled cogeneration plant provides much of the electricity. Every residential condo unit features a top of the line gas cooktop and all of the hotels and restaurants have huge kitchens filled with natural gas cooking equipment. I think the only chef in the project that does not cook with gas is the guy that makes sushi.
The MGM Mirage City Center is an outstanding example of how the direct use on natural gas provides builders with a pathway toward high efficiency, high performance and a low carbon footprint.
U.S. Natural Gas Supply-Then There Was Abundance
I’d like to call attention to a prolific report on U.S. natural gas supply written by my colleague Chris McGill. The report, U.S. Natural Gas Supply- Then There Was Abundance, was released today by AGA with the purpose of addressing common questions about the natural gas supply picture in the United States and North America.
Written in Chris’ usual “cut to the chase” style, the report includes an informative Q&A section along with graphs to illustrate many of these points. It provides critical information about both conventional and unconventional sources of gas (deep-water! subsalt! arctic sands!) and about the transmission and importation of gas (what about Canada & Mexico?).
I always find it interesting that there are a healthy number of misconceptions about U.S. natural gas supply, despite the fact that natural gas fuels over half of American homes comfortably and reliably. Chris’ report addresses many of these unknowns.
Take a look and let us know what you think.
Natural Gas and The New American Home
Every year one of the highlights of the International Builders Show (IBS) is The New American Home (TNAH), the official showcase home of the convention. The 2009 TNAH, which features the revolutionary AISIN Gas Heat Pump, has been such a huge success that it remains open for tours for an 18 month period.
The 2010 TNAH, however, has met a different fate and is, in some ways, the poster child for the state of the new home construction industry. The home was about 75 percent complete in November when the builder ran out of money and could not, even after a concerted effort by the NAHB and allies throughout the country, obtain financing to finish the job. The bank foreclosed on the home on December 28 and the builder has gone out of business.
To its credit, the NAHB made lemonade out of this lemon by producing a very professional “virtual tour” of TNAH, and builders are lining up to view it. Numerous natural gas appliances are in the home, including the “Phoenix” solar/gas water heater from Heat Transfer Products, Inc. That product is in the AGA exhibit booth as is the Ecopower Microcogeneration (CHP) appliance sized for residential and small commercial applications. This unit, made by Marathon Engine Systems and fueled by natural gas, is running full time in our booth, producing all the electricity for the entire exhibit. We are not connected to the electric grid!
Despite the current condition of the housing industry, builder traffic in our exhibit has been excellent and there appears to be a lot of interest in the natural gas technology we are showcasing. The Natural Gas Home is truly a Green Home.
True Blue Natural Gas Blog from the American Gas Association (AGA)- Beating the Heat with Summer LIHEAP Action Day
- “The Future of Natural Gas,” Meet Dr. Ernest J. Moniz, MIT
- Renewable Gas – Vision for a Sustainable Gas Network
- The Natural Gas Revolution
- The natural gas grid…the really smart grid
- Meeting the Route 66 guys
- Drilling 101
- ‘Drive To Inspire’ Rides Through Tulsa
- Congratulations to the AGA Awards of Merit Recipients
- Summer LIHEAP Action Day
