📈 Low carbon diet

Good morning! ⛵ It’s not every day you see a century-old schoolhouse set sail. Rather than demolish the historic yellow structure in Vancouver’s Kitsilano community, crews floated it to the North Shore on a barge where it will be used by First Nations people.

MARKETS

*Stock data as of last market close; currency, oil and crypto data as of 11:05 PM ET August 7th, 2023.

Economy: Employment fell this July, with construction leading the decline. The unemployment rate rose 0.1 percentage points to 5.5% in July. This was the first time the unemployment rate had increased for three consecutive months since the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. In construction, employment decreased by 45,000 in July, following a smaller decline of 14,000 in June. Since January 2023, employment in construction has decreased by 71,000, offsetting recent increases.

THE BIG STORY

Carbon capture is starting to cash in

Feeling hot? It’s not just you. This summer has been one of the hottest ever for planet Earth. And scientists say it wouldn’t have been possible without climate change. A huge contributor to climate change is man-made carbon emissions.

What’s being done: To address these emissions, carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) technology is gaining traction. In addition to recent milestones, CCUS is also beginning to attract major investor attention and larger customers. Canada is shaping up to be a major player.

How it works: Companies are using technology to snatch carbon before it enters the atmosphere during cement production, capturing it directly from the air and even injecting it into cement so it can be permanently stored.

Following the money:

• Halifax company CarbonCure raised $100M in its latest investment round this July.

• Calgary-based Carbon Upcycling recently closed a $34 million Series A funding round co-led by BDC Capital’s Climate Tech Fund and Climate Investment

• In November, Air Canada announced an investment/loan of $6.75 million into Squamish, B.C.-based Carbon Engineering.

• Last December, Svante raised a whopping $424M from a group of investors led by a unit of Chevron Corp.

How it’s being used: The companies stated that they will use the money to accelerate research, implement their technology at more industrial facilities

Looking ahead: According to the International Energy Agency, around 40 commercial facilities are already in operation applying CCUS to industrial processes, fuel transformation and power generation. The group noted that CCUS deployment has trailed behind expectations in the past, but momentum has grown substantially in recent years, with over 500 projects in various stages of development across the CCUS value chain.

NEED TO KNOW

The week's headlines

⚾ The Toronto Blue Jays revealed plans to demolish and then completely rebuild the 100 level seating bowl at Rogers Centre. The work is part of a multi-phase project to make the facility better suited for baseball events.

🌊 The main contractor for the Site C Dam project is facing a $1.1 million fine for polluting the peace river during construction work. Environment Canada stated that the project team discharged high-aluminum drainage that can be harmful to fish.

⚡ Alberta is halting approvals of new large renewable energy projects. Approvals of new renewable electricity generation projects over one megawatt are paused until Feb. 29, 2024. Officials plan to review development policies and procedures after receiving complaints that the sector was proceeding too rapidly.

📈 According to Statistics Canada's, the second quarter of 2023 witnessed a sustained increase in building construction expenses. Residential costs experienced a growth of 1.9% compared to the preceding quarter's 1.8% expansion. Similarly, non-residential costs saw a rise of 1.5 per cent during this period, building upon the 1.7% uptick seen in the initial quarter of the year.

GOOD READS

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PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

The Barron

Old is new: Sometimes you can teach an old building some new tricks. Strategic Group has begun work on revitalizing Calgary’s historic Barron Building. Built in 1951, it’s known as the city’s first skyscraper. Now it is being repurposed into 100,000 square feet of new residential space and 8,500 square feet of retail space. The project plans to maintain the Barron’s facade and much of its inside structure. Strategic noted that by revitalizing the building rather than demolishing it, they will save more than 4,000 tonnes in greenhouse gasses and prevent 56,000 tons of material from being wasted.

PROJECT UPDATES

Simon Fraser University breaks ground on new art museum

The Site C project’s 1-km earthfill dam has been completed 

CentreCourt announces mixed use community for downtown Pickering

Newfoundland and Labrador award $59 million in road work contracts

Toronto Blue Jays reveal plans to demolish, rebuild seating

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

LIST: 📈 9 of the biggest publicly traded construction companies

VIDEO: 🚧 Toronto teens hijack construction equipment 

READ: 🏠Canadian cities see home sales explode 400% 

PHOTOS: 🌿 Net-Zero building takes Inspiration from the Bayou

READ: ☕ Tim Hortons launches ‘boat-through’ location on Ontario lake

HOT JOBS

🔥 Check out the best roles up for grabs in construction right now:

• Project Manger – Odessa, Ont. – Umicore

• Senior Project Manager – Calgary, Alta. – Catch Engineering

• Regional Operations Manager – Toronto, Ont. – SNC-Lavalin

• Senior Substation Project Manager – Ottawa, Ont. – Bird Construction

• Environmental Program Manager – Vancouver, B.C. – Transportation Investment Corp.

• B.C. Director of Operations – Chemainus, B.C. – GFL Environmental

• Senior Project Manager – Toronto, Ont. – Buttcon

• Health, Safety & Environment Manager – Vancouver, B.C. – Marcon

• Senior Civil Engineer – Calgary, Alta. – Green Cat Renewables

• Operations Project Manager – Calgary, Alta. – Blue Earth Renewables

Check out all roles at SiteNews Jobs or put your job post in front of tens of thousands of construction professionals here. . Hurry up before our free trial ends!

Struggling to fill a role? send us an email at [email protected] to connect with one of our specialized recruitment experts.

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Here’s to a great rest of the week!pin’as