INNOVATION July-August 2012

BC Place Revitalization BC Place is the largest sports, exhibition and entertainment venue of its kind in BC, hosting the province’s most notable events including the ceremonies of the Vancouver 2010 OlympicWinter Games. The new BC Place reopened in September 2011 after completing a major revitalization that included the installation of the largest cable-supported retractable roof of its kind. Representing the owner, Levelton provided Quality Assurance (QA) during the installation and commissioning of the new retractable 8,500 m 2 roof; revitalization of the facility; communication systems; power, gas, water, sewer and drainage installations;

related seismic upgrades; and new infrastructure that resulted in a world-class, 55,000-seat venue. The QA activities included review of the project specifications, inspection and test plans design, regular site visits for QA surveillance, monitoring of progress and compliance of performed work, QA audits, monitoring of nonconformities, and preparation of regular quality surveillance reports. Owner: BC Pavilion Corporation.

Pocaterra Penstock Replacement TransAlta’s 15 MW Pocaterra Hydroelectric Facility, located in the Peter Lougheed Provincial Park in Alberta, is undergoing a major upgrade. Commissioned in 1955, the original 1,330 m long surface-mounted, wood-stave, low-pressure penstock has reached its end of service life. The wood-stave penstock has deteriorated and is leaking at numerous locations. It will be replaced with a buried 3.35 m diameter steel low- pressure penstock. This upgrade will not affect the generation output of the facility. Knight Piésold designed the replacement to allowTransAlta to keep the Pocaterra facility operational duringmost of the work with only a short shutdown period. Replacement works are currently underway and are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2012. Owner: TransAlta Generation Partnership. Consultant: Knight Piésold. Contractor: Spirit Pipe Lines.

Victoria General Hospital Solar Thermal Array This 180 m 2 solar thermal array offsets natural gas use at the hospital facility by preheating the water when solar is available. It incorporates a closed loop steamback design for overheat protection and uses antifreeze and heat exchanger diversion for freeze protection. This project is expected to contribute more than 600 GJ annually and reduce emissions by more than 50,000 kg of CO 2 . Owner: Vancouver Island Hospital Authority. Installer: Terratek Energy Solutions. Designer: Stage 3 Renewables (Jason Dunkley PEng).

41

J U LY/AU G U S T 2 012

i n n o v a t i o n