Sand Hill Energy Center Expansion

WSP provided detailed design in joint venture for this fast-track, design-build project to expand the Sand Hill Energy Center by 100 megawatts. The expansion was needed to meet rapidly increasing electricity demand in the Austin area, Texas, US.

The joint venture was selected by the City of Austin to engineer, design, procure, construct, install, integrate, start-up and commission the new gas turbine generators and associated auxiliary equipment. Additional services included site work and interface/modification to existing equipment and facilities.

Phase 1 included review of the owner's design criteria, proposed schedule, budget, and turbine manufacturer’s specifications and arrangement drawings to clarify design details. The purpose of the review was to identify exceptions taken to the owner's technical specifications and preliminary design drawings. Preliminary site survey and geotechnical investigations were conducted to prepare a mobilization site plan and layout drawings, including equipment lay-down area and storage plans. A quality control plan was also developed.

A design criteria manual developed during the preliminary phase included an engineering design drawing list and preliminary schedules for detailed design, construction, start-up and commissioning for the completed expansion. Recommendations for alternative technical specifications were also provided.

In Phase 2, WSP provided full engineer-procure-construct (EPC) services to commercial operation. The additional units enabled the plant to produce a total of 580 megawatts of electricity.