HOLYOKE, MA: The American Council of Engineering Companies of Massachusetts (ACEC/MA) has named Tighe & Bond as a finalist of their 2020 Engineering Excellence Award for their transformation of the Mt. Tom coal-fired power plant into the state of Massachusetts’ Largest Community Solar and Energy Storage Facility.

The 2020 Engineering Excellence Awards were recently announced and will be celebrated at the 2021 ACEC/MA Engineering Excellence and Awards Gala. The awards celebrate innovation, ingenuity, and excellence in engineering achievement.

Tighe & Bond’s work with ENGIE North America (ENGIE) and the collaboration with other organizations has led to the completion of a very complex project that showcases what can happen when innovative engineering and a commitment to clean energy and environmental protection come together. The transformation of the coal-fired plant to a fully remediated and safe site has enabled ENGIE to move forward with its plan to use the property for future industrial/commercial/energy development. The completion of the solar and energy storage project in 2018 has continued to positively impact the City of Holyoke. In August of 2019, the City was recognized by educational non-profit Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) as having the third most annual energy storage watt-hours per customer in the entire nation. Massachusetts has an evolving energy market, and with the completion of the Mt. Tom Project, ENGIE can now provide a model of success that can influence future solar and energy storage projects in the State and coal-fired power plant closures across the region.

Overall, the closure of the former coal-fired power plant  included two main concepts; transforming a former industrial site by demolishing the existing facility, remediating many areas of the property, and addressing over 50 acres of on-site coal ash while reusing a portion of the site for renewable energy generation and storage.

“The Engineering Excellence Awards program recognizes engineering firms for projects that demonstrate a high degree of achievement, value and ingenuity,” said Jennifer Howe, President of the American Council of Engineering Companies of Massachusetts and Principal and Vice President at SMMA, Symmes Maini & McKee Associates. “Entrants are rated by an independent panel of judges from the architectural community, the construction industry, academia, the media, and the public sector on the basis of uniqueness and originality; future value to the profession and perception by the public; social, economic and sustainable development considerations; complexity; and successful fulfillment of the client/owner’s need, including schedule and budget. We congratulate them and thank them for their contributions to improving the quality of our everyday lives.”