The Boldt Company and Sargent and Lundy finish construction on Gas Plant

The Westside Energy Partners which is a joint project venture between the Boldt Company and Sargent and Lundy asserted construction of the Westside Energy Station.

The natural gas-fired generation station is in Rochester, Minnesota is possessed by Rochester Public Utilities.

Walter Schlink, director of power resources at RPU said “This facility will help meet RPU’s capacity obligation with the reliability and reduced emissions of a natural gas powered plant, and keep prices low by being able to hedge against the risk of volatile electricity prices.”

The plant utilizes five 34SG natural gas fired reciprocating internal combustion engines supplied by Finland’s Wartsila manufacturing. The RICE units are a newer technology that provides quick-start emergency backup power generation. The units can go from sitting idle to providing power to the grid within two and a half minutes. Each unit is 9 MW, totaling 45 MW for the plant.

RPU selected the WEP team of engineering firm Sargent & Lundy and constructor Boldt to design and build the $62.6 million facility, the largest power development project undertaken by RPU. Boldt was charged with coordinating all aspects of construction including self-performing the installation of concrete substructures, structural steel, and overseeing installation of mechanical and electrical systems.

Mark Osten, vice president of business development for Boldt said “We were fortunate that together with the owner and partner engineer we created a culture that allowed all parties to work collaboratively.”

he construction replaced RPU’s 1949-vintage Silver Lake coal-fired plant.  It provides double the efficiency and significantly less carbon emissions than the former plant. Construction was completed two months ahead of schedule and the plant is slated for commencement in March, 2018.