Engineering and Consulting Projects

Assignments range from conceptual designs, pre-feasibility studies, and assistance with bids and proposals to preliminary engineering and project specifications, preparation of tender documents, detail design for upgrades and retrofit projects at existing plant facilities, condition assessments, useful life studies, system/performance evaluations and reviews, failure investigations, and technical assistance in dispute resolution. The following include representative and showcase projects:

NST Transloading Operating Company, LLC is adding a fracking sand terminal to its existing facility at Fairview, North Dakota. Energy Associates is providing technical consulting services to NST Transloading in support of the EPC Contracting and Implementation Phases of the project.

Sable Mining Africa (SMA) is undertaking the development of an iron ore mine and export port. Energy Associates provided support to NIRAS Ports and Maritime in support of pre-feasibility investigations for the export and transloading facilities at Port of Buchanan, Liberia.

The Government of Malaysia is funding a new bulk port and industrial park, which caters to energy intensive (metal, chemical, and mineral processing) industries. Samalaju Industrial Port is primarily a four (4) berth jetty for Handymax size vessels. The berths are arranged in-line, along the roughly 0.90 kilometer jetty. To handle the assortment of dramatically different commodities, four (4) unloaders (grabs and pneumatic) and a conveyor transport and stacking system are being constructed. Energy Associates assisted CH2M HILL on their efforts for KTA Sarawak (the local engineering firm), to develop the concept and prepare the technical portions of the tender documents and drawings for the conveyor system.

Quarles & Brady engaged Energy Associates and Metal Forensics as consultants to advise and assist in their representation of Salt River Project (SRP) in connection with a dispute by SRP against BRUKS Rockwood/Rockwood Materials Handling. Case No. 2:2013cv01519 was filed by SRP on July 26, 2013 in Arizona District Court for Breach of Contract and settled by the parties on October 13, 2014.

The $2.0 billion Longview Power Plant is a 695MW supercritical PC plant constructed in Maidsville, West Virginia. It is one of the cleanest, most efficient solid-fuel power plants in the US, with advanced combustion control technologies. This is a mine-mouth plant from which coal is delivered by a five-mile, overland conveyor system. Adjacent to Longview is a coal preparation plant and coal blending yard. The mine-mouth coal can be diverted to these facilities and/or directly routed to Longview’s receiving conveyor, which is fitted with an on-line coal analyzer. Energy Associates was engaged by Longview Power as their engineer for the four (4) coal handling systems needed for the project.

The Central Plant for the Cerrejón Coal Mine was developed by Exxon in 1985 to provide high rail loading rates for a dedicated, 150 km unit train rail link to the export port. Production capacity increased to today’s 32 MTPA. Currently there are five (5) unit trains operating. Energy Associates assisted Ingetec, S.A., who was engaged by Cerrejón, to study alternatives for increasing production capacity of the existing Central Plant’s facilities to either 50 or 60 MTPA or construct a new 20 or 30MTPA Satellite Plant in the Caypa area.

Drax Power owns/operates the 4000MW pulverized coal-fired Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire, UK. They engaged Mott MacDonald, Ltd for engineering services for three (3) 300MWe biomass CFB (circulating fluidized bed) plants. Energy Associates assisted Mott MacDonald on the biomass handling, storage, and processing system, including studies, plant layouts, and preliminary technical specifications.

Assistance was provided to Bechtel Power Corporation on a couple of projects including a failure investigation at We Energies’ $2.15 billion Elm Road project and a review of the lignite and limestone systems for the Red Hills Generating Facility.

A number of our projects are at port and terminal facilities, for the import, export, and transport of coal and other bulk materials. Energy Associates has assisted CH2M HILL (New York office, originally Han-Padron Associates and later Halcrow), one of the most respected engineering firms in marine structures and port facilities, on several projects. These include projects at the Port of Takoradi in Ghana, alumina and bauxite system improvements at Bauxilum’s plant in Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela, a condition assessment for an aragonite facility in Ocean Cay, Bahamas, an expansion of the IMT terminal on the lower Mississippi River, an export terminal development in Venezuela for ACBL, a capacity expansion feasibility study review of the Puerto Bolivar Coal Terminal, the review of tender documents for the expansion of the Port of San Lorenzo Grain Terminal, a feasibility study for retrofitting the shore side facilities for Georgia-Pacific Gypsum's Camden, New Jersey Plant, and design development and tender documents for the belt conveyor system for Samalaju Industrial Port.

The 50-year old AES Cayuga Plant consists of Units No. 1 and 2 commissioned in 1955 and 1958 and the plant is rated roughly 300 MWe. The coal handling system remained essentially unchanged, the original equipment since the middle 1950’s, from the rail dumper, reclaim though the belt systems. Generating cost is a key factor for plant dispatch. In 2005, plant personnel began to seriously examine how its largest operating cost, the price for fuel, might be reduced. AES Cayuga engaged Energy Associates for a coal blending study that progressed into the retrofit of a blending system that included changes made to the stockpile area (enlarged coal pile liner area), new second reclaim tunnel, a unique feeder/conveyor, a transfer house, and related equipment.

The Meramec Plant is an 880MW, four (4) unit, pulverized coal power plant. The units were commissioned between 1953 and 1961. During the late 1990’s, the plant experimented with PRB coal and increasingly focused on using 100 percent PRB coal to minimize both plant generation costs and emissions. Energy Associates was engaged to investigate design options and develop the basic feasibility plan that would assist Ameren in reducing transportation cost and allow the plant to receive PRB coal by unit trains for both the plant itself and transshipment to other coal-fired power plants.

Biomass is renewable energy fuel that can be co-fired with coal or as the plants primary fuel. Assistance was provided to Mott MacDonald for their assignment for Drax Power’s plans for three 300MW biomass plants in the UK, Sigma Energy Solutions for their assignment at the 25MW Tracy Biomass Plant in California, and other projects.

The Nucla AFBC Study investigated upgrading the coal handling systems of Tri-State G&T's 100 MWe fluidized bed Nucla Plant, located in western Colorado. As a result of this investigation, a two stage upgrade program was undertaken. Energy Associates was engaged for the follow-up work to first study potential in-plant system modifications, and then to complete the drawings and specifications and provide construction consulting services for replacing the conveyors that directly feed the coal silos. To solve a fuel related boiler tube wear issue, a rotary breaker retrofit project was later completed.

Union Electric (now known as Ameren) engaged Energy Associates to investigate coal blending and improvements to the 2400 MWe (4x600) Labadie Plant, which is about 35 miles west of St. Louis, Missouri. Recommendations due to this study lead to a magnet retrofit project to decrease trap iron problems at the coal feeders and pulverizers. Problems were also being experience on the reclaim system for Units No. 3 & 4. The two longest conveyors (600+ feet) on the reclaim system were modified in take-up tower retrofit project.

Fuel is the major annual operating cost for power generating plants. The supply and sourcing of fuel are important activities. Disputes and their resolution can broadly impact plant budgets. We have assisted developers in coal purchasing. Law firms have engaged Energy Associates for litigation on fuel related issues. Energy Associates assisted by obtaining information about, and evaluating the existing and potential market for fuel-in-water emulsions and similar technology.

Foster Wheeler has engaged Energy Associates to assist on their power plant development projects. A coal handling system design review was completed for Sierra Pacific's 100 MW IGCC Tracy Plant. Proposal support services were provided for projects being developed in India and the addition of AFBC units to the Lagisza Power Plant in Poland.

CMS Generation engaged Energy Associates for the due diligence investigation to evaluate joining the new 1650 MWe coal-fired Prairie States Energy Campus as a major partner and the operating entity for this project. Energy Associates was assigned technical issues concerning all aspects of the Power Plant itself including the boiler, air quality control system, coal/material handling systems, etc.

Steel structures are a major portion of our projects. Towers, transfer buildings, walkways, frames, etc. are primary elements of conveyor systems and industrial facilities. In the US, steel shop fabrication drawings are normally completed by the fabricator. This is not true internationally. Balfour Beatty, an English Contractor engaged Han-Padron Associated for the design of support structures for the electrification of Amtrak's North Corridor. We assisted Han-Padron by preparing the erection and shop fabrication drawings for this project.