Best Industrial/Manufacturing Project

Photo courtesy of LVI Facility Services
LVI Facility Services served as general contractor/construction manager.

The $11-million project consisted of the decommissioning of El Segundo powerplant units 1 and 2 to facilitate construction of a new state-of-the-art, combined-cycle, rapid-response, natural gas-fueled and air-cooled powerplant.

The project scope of work included the initial tasks of collecting oils and residuals; abatement of asbestos of the boilers—which produced 1 million lb per hour of steam—and support building; removing above-ground fuel oil transport lines; removal of intake and discharge structures; and decommissioning and recycling of plant components and electrical generating equipment.

The project's preparatory phase required demolition of two lead-based-paint-coated environmental stacks. The bases of these stacks were constructed at an elevation of 90 ft above the mean grade elevation. Using specialized mechanical methods of high-pressure water blasting, the team abated the coatings from the exterior of each stack before commencing the demolition.

Due in part to the location of the stacks within the plant and their proximity to the Pacific Ocean, the team developed and implemented a value-engineered plan for demolishing them using company-owned robotic excavators equipped with water misters and collection equipment.

Key Players

Owner: El Segundo Energy Center, Carlsbad

General Contractor/Construction Management:LVI Facility Services, Orange

Lead Designer: El Segundo Energy Center, Carlsbad

Structural Engineer: SIGMA Engineering, Las Vegas

Submitted by:

LVI Facility Services