To help reduce Tampa Electric’s carbon footprint, the company launched a project to modernize a 50-year-old coal-fired power station and create a new combined-cycle facility capable of producing 1,090 MW. The facility includes two General Electric model 7HA.02 combustion turbine generators, two heat recovery steam generators and a steam turbine generator in a 2 x 2 x 1 arrangement.

General contractor The Industrial Co. modernized the oldest of the four units, converting it from coal to natural gas. In addition to eliminating the use of coal in Unit 1, the project also reduced the amount of wastewater produced. The increased efficiency of the combined cycle and the retirement of two additional coal-fired units provide a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions up to 3 million tonnes from the previous full coal-fired operation at the Big Bend Power Station.

Photo courtesy Core Visual

The Big Bend Unit 1 Modernization Project required more than 55,000 work hours of demolition to prepare the existing steam turbine building for new equipment. Crews worked within a small footprint inside the operating coal facility with overhead power lines while self-performing the major demolition work. To minimize impacts and disruptions to the operating facility, the team coordinated daily with the client and plant personnel during the 10-month scope.

New steam piping from the combustion turbines had to cross a canal to the existing Unit 1 steam turbine building. The permit for the new plant did not allow enough footprint on the north side of the site to add a new steam turbine. This meant that the existing Unit 1 steam turbine building had to be retrofitted and a pipe bridge connecting to the existing facility had to be added. Crews constructed a 2,500-ft-long pipe rack, which included three individual bridge sections, to span the canal. The team pre-assembled the pipe rack in sections and placed them using a large crane.

During construction, the team also had to protect local manatees, which are a threatened species. The Big Bend project is located in Tampa Bay’s Apollo Beach, a winter destination for the marine mammals. To safeguard the animals, the team implemented stringent material handling procedures to prevent dropping anything into the water that could harm them. Additionally, the team designated an individual to monitor the canal for manatees while installing the pipe bridge. If a manatee was observed entering the canal, work was immediately halted.

Photo courtesy Core Visual

Throughout the four-year project, the team tallied more than 2.26 million work hours with no OSHA recordable incidents or lost-time accidents. The life safety actions program allowed employees to be proactive in identifying operations with life-changing categories that could result in significant incidents. Crews could then make sure proper safeguards were in place to prevent incidents. Operations start cards were used to identify the crew’s daily tasks, safety risks and mitigations including life-changing categories as part of the life safety actions program.

The project completed on budget and on time in December 2022, delivering residents of West Central Florida a power station that produces a cleaner source of energy capable of powering up to 250,000 homes.