Energy/Industrial: Best Project: Elk Station 2 & 3
Photo by Marble Street Studio Inc.
Elk Station 2 & 3
Abernathy, Texas
Best Project
General Contractor TIC – The Industrial Co.
Owner Golden Spread Electric Cooperative Inc.
Lead Design Firm/Structural/Civil/MEP Kiewit Engineering & Design Co.
Heavy Civil/Concrete Kiewit South Central
Start Up Kiewit Engineering & Design Co.
Subcontractors Abernethy Fence Co.; Air Hygiene Inc.; American Fire Technologies; ATCO Emissions Management Inc.; B&W Energy Services; Bigge Crane and Rigging Co.; Black and McDonald; Brundage-Bone Concrete Pumping; CMT Engineering Inc.; Drill Pier Construction LLC; EC Source Services LLC; ETEC Industrial Services LLC; Fox NDE LLC; Hessler Associates Inc.; Hi Plains Drilling Inc.; Insulations Inc.; Lonestar West Enterprises LLC; Mobley Industrial Services Inc.; Pittsburg Tank and Tower Co.; Quality Turf Farms LLC; Riley Industrial Services Inc.; River Ridge Construction; Safway Services LLC; Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories Inc.; Secure Logic Systems; Statewide Transport Inc.; Terra Electric Construction Inc.; Texas Fiber Optics LLC; Whaley Steel Corp.; Zahn Paving
The Elk Station 2 & 3 project involved design and construction of two 380-MW simple-cycle powerplants utilizing two General Electric 7FA.05 combustion turbines with a grid-switching switchyard. It supplies power to both the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). Both units were built between May 2015 and April 2016, meaning that 94% of construction took place in 10 months.
The job’s critical path ran through the turbines, generators and filter house, so the contractor started on the underground core first, then worked outward to the other plant structures. Working in a small area also meant that the contractor needed to add a night shift to meet the schedule. That shift was implemented in June 2015 and continued through the start-up phases.
Designing two independent units capable of generating power to the SPP or ERCOT grid required an elaborate protection scheme and redundant, hard-wired interlocks to ensure that the NERC interconnections remained separated at all times. Experts were consulted during the design process to ensure success.
