EPC

GE Wins Nearly $1 Billion Contract To Build SEC’s 1390 MW Waad Al Shamal Combined Cycle Power Plant

GE was awarded an EPC contract valued at nearly $1 billion for gas turbine services for the Waad Al Shamal combined cycle power plant of Saudi Electricity Company (SEC). Scheduled for completion in 48 months, the plant will support the phosphate mining operations in the locality. GE will deliver the turnkey power plant, supplying four advanced GE 7F.05 heavy-duty gas turbines and a GE steam turbine. The 1,390-MW combined cycle plant will be able to provide the equivalent power needed to supply more than 500,000 Saudi homes.

JinkoSolar to Provide 35 MW to Clenera for the Arizona Avalon Solar Project

JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (JinkoSolar) will supply 35 MW of solar PV modules to Clenera, a clean energy finance and management firm, for the construction of the Avalon Solar Project. According to terms of the agreement, groundbreaking is expected to begin during the second quarter of 2014, with an anticipated completion date during the fourth quarter of 2014. Swinerton Renewable Energy will provide EPC services for the project. The power will be sold to Tucson Electric Power.

Quanta Power Generation Awarded EPC Contract for 120 MW Combined Cycle Thermal Power Plant in Alaska

Quanta Power Generation (Quanta) was selected by Anchorage Municipal Light & Power for the George M. Sullivan Plant 2 Generation Replacement Project in Anchorage, Alaska. Under the terms of the contract, signed in December 2013, Quanta will provide EPC services for all equipment and facilities for the 120-MW plant. The facility is designed in a 2x1 combined-cycle configuration and will utilize GE LM6000 combustion turbine technology. Construction of the plant is expected to be complete in September 2016.

PSEG Acquires Two Power Plants from Canadian Solar

Canadian Solar’s subsidiary, CSI Holdco LLC sold two utility-scale solar power plants totaling 4.4 MW to PSEG subsidiary, PSEG Solar Source. The plants have a 20-year off taking agreement with PG&E. The solar installations, together now called the PSEG Shasta Solar Farm, is built at over 3,300 feet in elevation between Mount Lassen and Mount Shasta located in northern California. Construction started in July of 2013, with commercial operation expected in early 2014.

Consumers Energy Contracts Barton Malow for New 105-MW Wind Power Park

Consumers Energy signed a contract with Barton Malow Company for engineering, procurement and construction services at its $255 million Cross Winds Energy Park, a 105-MW wind farm in Tuscola County, Michigan. The contract is subject to approval by the Michigan Public Service Commission. The contract includes designing, engineering and constructing the park's turbine foundations, access roads, an operations and maintenance building; erecting the park's 62 wind turbines; and building the infrastructure that connects the turbines to the electrical grid.

Build to Order

Engineers and constructors adapt to serve an industry in transition.

From gas pipelines to PV arrays, the nation’s contractors are seeing growth in utility infrastructure. Fortnightly talks with executives at engineering and construction firms to learn what kinds of projects are moving forward, where they’re located, and what lies over the horizon.

No Going Back

Free markets are not a fad.

Half-hearted deregulation hobbles the forces of supply and demand before they can get out of the gate.

Benchmarking PM Practices

Project management plays an important role in ensuring favorable outcomes at utility projects. An annual benchmarking survey shows how utility PMs are adapting to their changing workloads and project demands over time.
Project management plays an important role in ensuring favorable outcomes at utility projects. An annual benchmarking survey shows how utility PMs are adapting to their changing workloads and project demands over time.

Last Call

Utilities are enjoying some of the best financing terms anybody’s ever seen. Is the party winding down?

Conditions are ideal for utility financing—but not forever. Although interest rates remain low, policy changes weigh on capital structures.