In total, 750 craftspeople onsite logged more than 3 million hours of work. “Organizing and managing the labor force is the project's biggest challenge,” says Shaw executive director Robert Follett. “We self-performed most of the work, which gives us better control over quality, schedule and safety.”

Other plant pieces include a 525-kV step-up transformer, a switchyard and a single-story concrete-block administration building.

ON Line, a $510-million, 235-mile-long transmission project due for completion in 2012, will enable the plant to transmit up to 600 MW of power to northern Nevada.