Power-plant engineering group Babcock & Wilcox Co. earned a new, $75-million contract to manage construction of an environmental equipment installation at Northern Indiana Public Service Co.’s R.M. Schahfer Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant in Wheatfield, Ind., with a total generating capacity of 1,943 MW. The project involves installing flue-gas desulfurizing (FGD) systems to two of the four boiler units there, Unit 14 (465 MW) and Unit 15 (515 MW.)
Flue-gas desulfurization helps to control sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions. Most U.S. coal-fired power plants are under pressure to increase their environmental impact due to federal EPA regulations and enforcements standards. In December 2011, for example, EPA announced a new enforcement standard that will require coal-fired power plants to achieve much deeper cuts in emissions of mercury, acid gases like SO2, and soot.
Environmental interest groups contend that fine-particle (less than 2.5 microns diameter) pollution from coal-fired plants present critical hazards to public health, due to the mixture of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, soot, and heavy metals.
The project at the R.M. Schahfer Generating Station is assigned to Babcock & Wilcox Construction Co. Last summer, another B&W subsidiary, Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group, was awarded a $54-million contract to design the FGD units and related components.
BWCC will build and install the FGD absorber vessels, and associated reagent slurry preparation and dewatering equipment. The assignment also covers procurement of structural steel and construction of the absorber and dewatering island.
The first installation will be completed in the fall of 20113, for Schahfer Unit 14, and Unit 15 will be completed in fall 2015.
“B&W’s environmental project capabilities – from equipment design and manufacturing, to project management and construction services – position us to provide our utility customers with solutions to meet all of their emissions control upgrade needs,” stated BWCC president Pete Waanders.“
