Birdsboro Power Plant

Birdsboro, Pennsylvania

To supply energy to the northeast United States, Kiewit engineered, procured, constructed and started up this 485-megawatt combined-cycle gas plant. Kiewit carefully planned, coordinated and installed the GE 7HA.02 gas and Alstom D652 steam turbine equipment in a single-shaft configuration, a first-of-its-kind arrangement at the time of construction for the major components. The facility also uses wet-cooling and evaporative-cooling technologies. The project was awarded Engineering News-Record Mid-Atlantic’s Best Project – Energy/Industrial Award.

The site was originally a tank factory for World War II that had been abandoned. Kiewit’s extensive site remediation efforts led to the discovery of undocumented deep vaults and foundations. The team quickly redesigned the site preparation plan without compromising other items of the critical path, and ultimately all underground structures and obstructions were removed.

The facility’s proximity to the local community meant that noise reduction measures were considered heavily in the design. Kiewit worked closely with noise consultants to meet the project’s stringent requirements, including installing a noise wall on the western side of the piperack to limit noise impacts in town. Additional noise attenuation features included higher than typical noise insulation in the turbine building and using low noise baffles on the cooling tower to minimize the sound of falling water.