Coal-Fired Dry Fork Station Unit 1

Dry Fork Station Unit 1
Gillette, Wyoming
Client: Basin Electric Power Cooperative (BEPC)

Project Highlights:

New Coal Plant/ 422 MW /Powder River Basin pulverized coal
Fuel: Powder River Basin (PRB) pulverized coal
Size: 422 MW

Project Description:

BEPC selected Sargent & Lundy to provide complete detailed design, procurement, and construction management services for the new Dry Fork Station. The plant was designed to add reliable and economical generating capacity to help meet the needs of BEPC’s more than 130 cooperative system members and of the Wyoming Municipal Power Agency. The project was performed with the active input and involvement of BEPC during design and construction as a collaboration to achieve the shared goal of meeting cost and schedule requirements.

The new mine-mouth power plant uses low-sulfur Powder River Basin coal and had to meet stringent environmental standards. The plant is a zero-discharge (liquid) facility and all air emissions were minimized through state-of-the-art air quality technologies and controls:

Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) for NO_X
Circulating dry scrubber for SO₂
Pulse jet fabric filter for particulate control
Activated carbon injection (ACI) system for mercury control

Project Scope:

Specific scope activities included:

Development of plant performance criteria, heat balances, and water balances
Procurement and contract management of equipment for the power cycle, balance-of-plant, electrical systems, structural steel, switchyard equipment, secondary fuel systems, and plant auxiliary systems
Contracting for furnish and erection of the boiler, flue gas desulfurization system, coal handling, air-cooled condenser, activated carbon injection, fire protection/detection/alarm, chimney, and elevators
Contracting for installation of site work, substructures and foundations, superstructures, switchyard, electrical systems, mechanical equipment, piping, and other services
Quality inspection, surveillance, and expediting
Construction management
Material and equipment control

The project was implemented using a multi-contract approach with Sargent & Lundy providing BOP engineering and procurement services not provided by suppliers of engineered equipment and providing project/construction management services. In this role, Sargent & Lundy served as the project integrator, where procurement strategies were established and carefully coordinated, from design through installation and testing to maximize value to BEPC through reduced schedule, minimized cost, and optimal plant performance.

The multiple contracts were selected as part of the customized solution for the station based on geographical considerations, labor resource availability, and market conditions. Eighty-seven contracts were established as follows:

8 furnish-and-erect: boiler, air-cooled condenser, coal handling, fire protection, chimney, flue gas desulfurization, activated carbon injection, and elevator.
12 installation: electrical, mechanical, substructures, superstructures, piping, and heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC).
67 supply: encompassing major equipment, piping, bulk cable, valves, and other BEPC-furnished materials.

Project Awards:

In 2012, Dry Fork Station was named the 2012 Best Industrial Project in the annual Engineering News‑Record (ENR) Mountain States competition. Judging for ENR's Best Project honors is held in nine regions of the United States based on the project's location. Owner Basin Electric Power Cooperative and project engineer Sargent & Lundy were recognized for the project's accomplishments.

Read article in Engineering News-Record

In the 2008 Bentley Awards of Excellence Competition the project won 1st place honors in "Innovation in Power Generation Project Design.” The advanced-generation coal-fired station earned the award for effectively using 3‑D design model exceeding 2000 files to facilitate design optimization and constructibility and to reduce total project cost and ongoing O&M costs.