Combination of Conventional and Clean Energy Adds to Diverse Portfolio to Meet Energy Demand in Alabama and Northwest Florida
Black & Veatch to design, engineer and manage construction of
combined-cycle facility that will allow PowerSouth to take advantage of
affordable natural gas market
Black & Veatch, a global leader in the design and construction of
natural gas power generation projects, announced today it has been
selected by PowerSouth Energy Cooperative to engineer and manage
construction of a combined cycle gas turbine facility that will deliver
clean and efficient energy to customers across Alabama and northwest
Florida.
PowerSouth is a generation and transmission electric cooperative serving
16 electric co-ops and four municipal electric systems in the two
states. The new facility, to be located near Leroy, Alabama, is expected
to begin construction in mid-2020, featuring the latest, high-efficiency
combustion gas turbine technology. The plant will also include robust
water-cooling and air-quality strategies to efficiently meet rising
demand for cleaner energy among PowerSouth customers.
“Our expertise in power plant conceptual and detail design, and
construction management gives PowerSouth a focal point to streamline the
project for on-time and on-budget delivery,” said Mario Azar, President
of Black & Veatch’s power business. “Combined cycle technology offers
clear advantages in terms of efficiency and scale, and the cost of
natural gas means PowerSouth can take advantage of an affordable and
plentiful energy source well into the future.”
Capacity generated by the new facility will replace the output of three
PowerSouth coal-fired units now scheduled to cease operation in 2020.
The addition of the natural gas unit also complements PowerSouth’s
existing diverse generating mix that includes natural gas,
hydroelectricity, compressed air energy storage and purchased power
agreements.
“As technology evolves and natural gas continues to be an efficient
source of energy, we’re prepared to meet the changing demand for power,”
said Gary Smith, PowerSouth CEO. “Our Lowman plant has served as a
strong source of baseload generation for decades and has been an
important part of our reliable and cost-effective portfolio. With Black
& Veatch’s expertise in advanced combined cycle units, we’re confident
that as we meet the changing needs of our members, we’ll continue to
deliver safe, reliable and efficient power to the region.”
Black & Veatch was recently honored with a Project of the Year award by
the Engineers’ Society of Western Pennsylvania for the company’s
engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) work on Tenaska's
Westmoreland natural gas power generation station. Advanced gas turbine,
water-cooling and air-quality technologies are helping Tenaska meet
rising power demand in the Northeast while satisfying state and federal
emissions standards.
About Black & Veatch
Black & Veatch is an employee-owned, global leader in building critical
human infrastructure in Energy, Water, Telecommunications and Government
Services. Since 1915, we have helped our clients improve the lives of
people in over 100 countries through consulting, engineering,
construction, operations and program management. Our revenues in 2018
were US$3.5 billion. Follow us on www.bv.com and
in social media.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190319005588/en/
Copyright Business Wire 2019
Source: Business Wire
(March 19, 2019 - 10:24 AM EDT)
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