Sand Hill Power Plant and 100 MW Expansion Projects – City of Austin

The Sand Hill Energy Center was designed as a nominal 300 MW combined-cycle project consisting of one "F" class combustion turbine (CT), one natural circulation, duct-fired heat recovery steam generator (HRSG), one steam turbine, and balance plant equipment and controls.

Encotech Engineering provided construction phase administration services for the construction of this power plant, including observation and inspection of civil and piping work for compliance with contract documents, processing contractor shop drawings and submittal data, evaluation of contractor requests for payment, review of the construction schedule and proposed implementation ideas to reduce construction time, and issuing supplemental instructions to the contractor.

Encotech was retained in 2010 to work on the 100 MW Expansion of the Sand Hill Power Plant, which involved addition of two gas turbines to boost the power generation capacity by 100MW. For the expansion, Encotech provided structural engineering and construction administration services for equipment foundations, elevated structural steel platforms, and miscellaneous pipe supports. Encotech coordinated the project with mechanical, electrical and civil consultants as well as the equipment manufacturers. As part of construction administration, Encotech played an active role in resolving construction issues.

Project Challenges

• Weather complications for an already fast-track construction schedule
• Resolving construction issues across multiple disciplines
• Design required to comply with strict vibration criteria for turbine foundations