Tag: Upgrades

Toyota Investing $374 Million at 5 Existing US Factories

Toyota Motor Corp. announced a $374 million investment Tuesday at five U.S. plants to support production of its first American-made hybrid powertrain.

The upgrades at Toyota’s factories in Alabama, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee and West Virginia are part of a previously announced $10 billion in U.S. spending by the Japanese automaker. It “underscores Toyota’s confidence in the capability and global competitiveness of our North American manufacturing,” Jeff Moore, Toyota North America’s senior vice president of manufacturing, said in a statement.

Toyota said 2.5-liter engines made in Kentucky and transmissions produced in West Virginia will be used in North American-made hybrid vehicles, such as the Highlander SUV manufactured in Princeton, Indiana.

Toyota will create 50 jobs at its Huntsville, Alabama, plant, which will build engines for its cost-saving New Global Architecture production strategy to share common parts and components among different vehicles. None of the other upgrades announced Tuesday will result in immediate net job gains.

The investment includes $106 million at the Huntsville plant, a $121 million expansion of a 2.5-liter engine capacity at Toyota’s Georgetown, Kentucky, plant, and $115 million to add hybrid vehicle transmission production in Buffalo, West Virginia.

Toyota also is investing $17 million to increase production of 2.5-liter cylinder heads at its Bodine Aluminum facility in Troy, Missouri. A $14.5 million upgrade at a Bodine plant in Jackson, Tennessee, will accommodate production of hybrid transmission cases and housings and 2.5-liter engine blocks.

“This investment is part of our long-term commitment to build more vehicles and components in the markets in which we sell them,” said Toyota Motor North America CEO Jim Lentz.

Power Companies to Expand Grid in Kanawha, Roane Counties

Parts of Kanawha and Roane counties will see new power lines and electrical upgrades under a $75 million electric grid expansion plan by energy companies.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports the Clendenin-Walton Area Improvements Project will include construction of about 25 miles of transmission line, three new substations and upgrades to other transmission facilities.

Transource Energy says in a news release it will construct and own the transmission line and key substations that will serve as the anchor of the project. Transource is an affiliate of American Electric Power headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.

Transource will own two substations, one near Charleston and one about three miles east of the Roane-Calhoun line. Appalachian Power will operate a third substation in Walton. Transource will also own the transmission line.

Construction is expected to start in 2017 and be completed by mid-2019.

Transource says the project will help meet an increase in electric demand and ensure continued reliable service.

PJM Interconnection, which monitors the electric grid in 13 states, identified the need for the expansion in 2014. It awarded the project to Transource the following year. In June, the Public Service Commission of West Virginia approved construction.

Appalachian Power and First Energy are expected to build new facilities to accommodate the upgrades.

Transource plans to hold a Dec. 8 open house from 5 to 7 p.m. at Walton Elementary/Middle School in Walton to introduce the project and gather public comments. Attendees can come at any time.

“The open house is an opportunity for our project team to speak with landowners and answer questions, view maps and preliminary study segments and learn more about the project,” Antonio Smyth, Transource Energy president, said in a written statement. “It also gives our team a chance to gather valuable information to help us build the best possible project we can.”

FirstEnergy Making Upgrades in West Virginia

FirstEnergy Corp. is working on about $100 million in new transmission projects and evaluating additional system upgrades in West Virginia.

The additional upgrades are aimed to support northern West Virginia’s rapidly expanding Marcellus Shale gas industry as well as enhance electric service reliability for Mon Power’s customers.

The company says the new facilities include high-voltage substations and transmission lines to accommodate expanding natural gas processing facilities and other energy-intensive operations in West Virginia’s Marcellus Shale region.

New gas customer facilities are projected to account for load growth of about 400 megawatts through 2019. That’s about 200,000 new homes in Mon Power’s system.

Mon Power serves about 385,000 customers in 34 West Virginia counties.

WVU Plans Second Phase of Transit Upgrade

West Virginia University is planning a multimillion-dollar upgrade of its Personal Rapid Transit.
 
The upgrade is the second phase of a modernization plan for the 38-year-old system.
 
The university’s Board of Governor is scheduled to vote Friday on authorizing up to $60 million in bond funding for the project.
 
The Dominion Post reports that WVU officials provided details of the project last week during a Board of Governors Finance Committee meeting.
 
Associate vice president Randy Hudak said the work includes electronics that operate the track, the stations, the pay booths and other items.
 
Vice president Narvel Weese said WVU hopes to obtain $17.5 million in federal funding for the project.
 
Hudak said 85 percent of the PRT’s passengers are students. The other passengers are employees or the public.
 

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