Denton Energy Center
Denton, Texas
Award of Merit

Owner: Denton Municipal Electric, City of Denton
Lead Design Firm/General Contractor: Burns & McDonnell
Mechanical: AZCO Inc.
Concrete: Utility Contractors Inc.
Electrical: NGI National Constructors LLC (as Agent for Triad Electric & Controls Inc.)
Building: Schwob Building Co. Ltd.

Substantial completion of the project, one of the cleanest natural-gas-fired facilities in the U.S., required innovative engineering, procurement and construction techniques. As the city’s largest-ever capital investment, the quick-start plant can deliver up to 225 MW of power to the grid in less than five minutes. The low-emission facility has 12 natural-gas-fired, 18.8-MW reciprocating engines and generators, providing the city with additional resources as it moves toward total renewable energy by 2020.  

Permitting and design of the plant began immediately so the team could launch sitework two months after contract execution. In addition, custom-made waterproof void boxes allowed for construction of foundations through the rainy season to maintain an expedited timeline.

The team completed the facility ahead of schedule in 20 months in May 2018 and under budget, with zero recordable incidents during more than 420,000 worker-hours. Quality craftsmanship kept rework costs at less than 0.1%.

Back to "ENR Texas & Louisiana Best Projects 2018: Building the Best Across the South"