Aerial view of the J.W. Turk Plant under construction. Photo courtesy of AEP/B&W.
Boilermakers played key role in ultra-supercritical facility
EDISON ELECTRIC INSTITUTE (EEI), a leading utility trade group, has awarded American Electric Power (AEP) the 2013 Edison Award, the electric power industry’s most prestigious honor, for the company’s completion and commercial operation of the John W. Turk, Jr. Power Plant located in Hempstead County, Ark.
Starting operations on December 20, 2012, Turk is the first U.S. power plant to employ an advanced ultra-supercritical steam cycle.
“AEP is being recognized for its distinguished leadership and for engineering and operating an extremely efficient power plant that utilizes the most innovative technologies to meet 21st-century electricity needs,” EEI President Tom Kuhn said.
At its peak, the project employed over 350 Boilermakers. Local 69 (Little Rock, Ark.) had jurisdiction over the work, which drew members from across the United States.
The 600-megawatt plant was designed with state-of-the-art emission control technologies, and the ultra-supercritical steam cycle uses less fuel and produces fewer emissions to create the same amount of power as other pulverized coal-based power plants.
With Babcock & Wilcox handling much of the construction effort, Boilermakers faced a substantial workload with demanding deadlines. The B&W scope of work included the boiler, selective catalytic reduction equipment, dry scrubber, baghouse, fans, flues/ducts, pulverizers and piping. Shaw Constructors, Inc. was the prime contractor for the project. Alstom Power, Inc. supplied the turbine/generator and boiler feedwater pump turbine.
“We met every deadline we had,” said Rodney Allison, who worked on the plant for two years before becoming business manager and secretary-treasurer for Local 69.
Tom Householder, AEP’s Managing Director of Labor Relations, said “Boilermakers, with programs such as MOST and Common Arc, and many other training programs, provided AEP the trained workforce with the skill sets needed to complete this project safely, on schedule, and within budget targets.”
