Powering Up

Growing Energy Demand Fuels Two Major Savannah Construction Projects

By Bea Quirk

Savannah isn't just home to historic buildings and old-fashioned Southern gentility anymore. The area is also home to two of the Southeast's larger power projects.

Chicago Bridge & Iron Co. of Sewickley, Pa., is constructing a $100 million storage tank and import facility as part of Southern LNG's plant expansion of its Elba Island LNG terminal in the Savannah River. Including the construction of dock facilities, the total price tag is $150 million. Southern LNG is operated by El Paso Corp. of Houston, an owner of several gas pipelines around the country.

And about 20 mi. north of Savannah, near the town of Rincon, Southern Power of Atlanta is designing and building a $99 million combined-cycle power generating plant that will go online in June. It will be called Plant McIntosh and will be jointly owned by Savannah Electric and Georgia Power. Southern Power, Savannah Electric and Georgia Power are owned by Georgia-based Southern Company Energy Solutions.

The power-generating plant features two combustion turbines that use natural gas to generate electricity, as well as a steam turbine powered by the heat exhaust.

Dale Lloyd, general manager of new generation, environmental and retrofit projects for Southern Power, said the company has brought 14 such plants online since 1999. Seven of them - including Plant McIntosh - are virtually identical.

"We may make adjustments and refine designs for individual weather and soil conditions, but it's basically the same design, construction and equipment and the same vendors," Lloyd added. "That produces construction efficiencies and lets us build on lessons learned."

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He said that, for example, the team has learned to schedule and sequence activities to prevent on-site congestion and backup. That means several tasks don't all need one crane at the same time. Also, Southern Power has learned it is better to weld some equipment on the ground before it is placed in the facility rather than welding it from scaffolding after it has been installed.

Coordinating labor for the project is another demanding aspect. Lloyd said there can be up to several hundred workers onsite at the same time. Southern Power acts as the construction manager and uses a labor broker to provide the workforce.

Lloyd said the focus is on using local labor "to hold costs down and support the community." But sometimes that is not enough. With a project such as this, there is a need for skilled workers who can build such a facility and for workers with technical skills who deal with engineered components and computer-based control systems.

Construction began on Plant McIntosh in March 2003. The new plant will produce 1,240 MW; Savannah Electric will use 200 MW of that total and Georgia Power the rest.

LNG Storage Tank

The growing demand for power is also why Southern LNG is almost doubling the capacity of its import facility in the Savannah River. When the new facility is completed in April 2006, it will be able to process an additional 540 million cu. ft. a day, up from the current 675 million.

Interfacing with the current operations isn't easy. "It's a very busy import facility, and we are working right on top of it," said Dan Tennison, principal project manager for Southern LNG.

To foster communications and good working relationships, Tennison said the team meets weekly with members of the plant operating staff and gives them 30-60 days notice about future activities "We benefit from their perspective, and they give us valuable input," Tennison added. "We each know what to expect so there are no surprises."

The storage tank is a major focus of the project, but, according to CB&I Project Manager Kevin Landfried, it only represents about 30 percent of the budget. "It's basically a big heavily insulated cooler of stainless steel," he said. "Most of our time and energy is spent on the processing area."

In the processing area, liquid natural gas is unloaded from tankers, then vaporized into a gas and shipped by pipeline.

The tank has a capacity of 160,000 cu. meters, with a diameter of 260 ft. and the tip of the roof rising 160 ft. The outer shell was built first, followed by the roof, which was actually constructed at the bottom of the tank and then pressurized using four fans to air raise it to the top of the structure. That was accomplished in late October.

Construction began in June 2003, and there's an average of 120 workers on site. Another 150 workers are building the new docking facilities, which are being built into the island to minimize congestion on the river. This will require dredging. Tennison said that the two projects are separate, but coordination is required between the two.

Natural gas is abundant in other places around the globe, such as Indonesia, Nigeria and Algeria. The gas is turned into a liquid in these places, then shipped via tankers to import facilities, where it is turned back into a gas.

The natural gas industry is an international one, and Landfried said that much of the equipment and materials for the project come from abroad. That requires careful coordination, and once they are delivered, they must be tested and installed.

The construction team must also work closely with several regulatory agencies, such as the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the U.S. Department of Transportation. National security issues are an area of concern.

"This kind of project is heavily regulated for the health and safety of the public, and it takes time," Tennison said.

There are currently only four import facilities in the U.S., and CB&I is expanding three of them. Additional facilities are in various stages of planning.