What will become of retired coal-fired power plants? A new "playbook" outlines a plan

2019-07-05T18:35:00-04:00

Nearly 300 coal-fired power plants have been "retired" since 2010, according to the Sierra Club. It's a trend that continues despite President Trump's support for coal. That has left many communities worried that those now-idled places will simply be mothballed.

In an NPR segment, which aired in May, Jeff Brady discusses the Department of Community and Economic Development's plans to reuse and redevelop retired coal plants. Plans of action are listed in a "playbook" that outlines the attributes of listed coal plants and the pros and cons of each site. Through these assessments, it will help the Department realize what types of business would be an appropriate fit to relocate there. With the increased number of coal plants shutting down opportunities for coal cities will change for the better thanks to plans of introducing new businesses to the area by promoting these unused sites.

Examples of the playbook in action are happening now in the small Pennsylvania town of Shamokin Dam. The coal-fired plant in town provided power for over six-decades before it was shut down in 2014. However, with the Department's new plans for redevelopment, the once forgotten site is teeming with activity. In the segment Brady shares, "Environmental groups cheer...

According to NCARB, the number of Architects in the U.S. has increased

2019-06-07T10:13:00-04:00

According to the upcoming July 2019 issue of NCARB by the Numbers, there are now over 115,000 licensed practitioners across the 55 U.S. jurisdictions. And with 5,000 individuals completing their final core licensure requirement in 2018 and almost 41,000 candidates actively working toward licensure, the architecture pipeline remains strong.

Since 2018, the percentage of licensed architects in the U.S. has increased by 2%. NCARB has collected data from its 55 Member Boards in all 50 states, including the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Image courtesy of NCARB

"The number of architects has risen over 13 percent in the last decade, while the total U.S. population has only risen 7 percent, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Compared to the population, there is now roughly one architect for every 2,800 people in the United States. [...] number of candidates completing their final core requirement for licensure dipped to almost 5,000 in 2018. However, this number still remains the second highest on record."

Image courtesy of NCARB

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What will become of retired coal-fired power plants? A new "playbook" outlines a plan

According to NCARB, the number of Architects in the U.S. has increased