AEP PIONEERS NEW OIL-CONTAINMENT SYSTEM

Like other utilities, American Electric Power (AEP) is responsible for protecting both the environment and the public from potential oil spills. It was a plant tour at Strongwell that sparked the idea of using its COMPOSOLITE system to build oil-containment dikes. The COMPOSOLITE system was originally developed in Europe for use as a bridge enclosure system. Today, it serves as a structural panel system and has a wide variety of uses in numerous markets. Using this technology, Strongwell took the lead in building a prototype. Once the prototype was constructed, field tests were performed. After these promising test results, two pilot projects were planned to determine the ease of installation in actual field conditions. As expected, from a financial and resource savings standpoint, positive results were found. For AEP, the biggest benefits of using the COMPOSOLITE system as an oil-containment dike are the installation time and cost savings realized when compared to the cast-in-place concrete alternative.