A group of ASME members and their spouses spent the evening of December 9th at the The Toys for Tots fundraiser banquet at the Bellagio with other local affiliations. There were over six-hundred guests. Thank you to the Stockinger’s, the Colton’s, The Trabia’s, The Bruninga’s, and the Scott’s for representing ASME at this prestigious event. We look forward to bringing a larger contingent at next year’s event.

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On September 30, 2011 our members had the opportunity to tour the Bureau of Reclamation’s new building in Boulder City, Nevada.  At approximately 50,000 gross sq. ft. for around 170 staff, the building will achieve a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification, the highest level attainable and the third DOI project to reach this standard.

The $17.3 million design-build project, funded by the 2010 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), included planning, regulatory compliance, contracting, design, construction, and construction management for the building, site improvements, and solar field.

Features include 38% less gross energy consumption than a typical office building as well as using reclaimed water from the cooling towers at the central chiller plant to flush toilets. We’ll see many more features during the tour, including how this new efficient building maintained historic appearance requirements.

The photovoltaic solar panel farm is estimated to produce 240 MWh per year, around half the annual building energy use.

When

Go here for the flyer with more details:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/41577454/ASME-NovProgramFlyer01.pdf

November’s event is a very special opportunity to learn about a major solar project in our backyard, BrightSource’s Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System (ISEGS) in construction near Primm, NV.

Todd Stewart P.E., BrightSource’s Senior Director for Project Development, is our guest speaker. BrightSource‘s main office is in Oakland, CA, however as a fellow engineer Todd is visiting for our event – please cometo this rare opportunity! There will be a follow-up to this meeting with a site tour early next year as the project will be further along by then - another unique event organized specially for you by your section executive board.

Project Overview
ISEGS is a 3-plant, 392-megawatt solar complex using mirrors to focus the power of the sun on solar receivers atop power towers. The electricity generated by all three plants is enough to serve more than 140,000 homes in California during the peak hours of the day. The complex is located in Ivanpah, about five miles from the California-Nevada border, on federal land managed by the Bureau of Land Management.

The first project that will deliver power to serve the company’s signed contracts with PG&E and Southern California Edison. The project – which counts NRG Solar, Google and BrightSource as equity investors – is currently the largest solar plant under construction in the world. The project is being constructed by Bechtel.

For more detailed information on the project, visit www.IvanpahSolar.com.
See you at this special event!

Warm Regards,
Bill Bruninga, PE
Chair, Silver State ASME
(702) 606-1777

“Providing Opportunities for Professional Growth and Community Service”

Engineering Ethics in Action Webinar
Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST

ASME International Gas Turbine Institute Gas Turbine Training Week
Feb. 27 – March 2, 2012
Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas.
Sessions Include:

• Gas Turbines and Compressors
• Root Cause Failure Analysis
• Rotor and Blade Dynamics
• Field, Factory Testing and Dynamics

ASME International Gas Turbine Institute European Gas Turbine Training Week
Nov. 7 – 11, 2011
Helmut-Schmidt University, Hamburg, Germany

• Monday-Tuesday, Nov. 7-8, 2011
  “Introduction to Gas Turbines and Centrifugal Compressors”
  Instructors: Dr. Klaus Brun, SwRI, Dr. Rainer Kurz, Solar Turbines, Inc., Dr. Franz Joos, Helmut Schmidt University and  Mr. David Ransom, SwRI

• Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011
  “Machinery Performance Testing and Troubleshooting”
  Instructors: Dr. Klaus Brun, Dr. Rainer Kurz, Mr. David Ransom

• Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011
  “Root Cause Failure Analysis of Gas Turbines”
  Instructor: Mr. David Ransom, Dr. Klaus Brun

• Friday (Morning only), Nov. 11, 2011
  “Rotor and Blade Dynamics”
  Instructor:  Mr. David Ransom