124MW Power Barge Constructed by Cascade General Enroute to Guatemala

PORTLAND -- The Esperanza, a 124MW floating power barge constructed by Cascade General at the Portland, Oregon shipyard, is completing trials prior to delivery to Guatemala in May. Esperanza is designed to provide a reliable, electric, power supply to the Guatemala power grid.

This self-contained electrical generating facility is constructed on a deck barge 279' (86m) long and 104' (31m) wide and will be transported on a submersible cargo ship. It is the largest diesel-powered, mobile unit ever built in the US. The overall design is by Kvaerner Masa Marine of Vancouver, Canada and the prime contractor is MAN B&W Diesel AG.

The system is powered by (7) seven MAN B&W V-18 engines each weighing 330 tons and producing 25,000 hp, coupled to seven Siemens 13.8kv generators, with a total output of 124 MW, sufficient to supply 60,000 typical US homes. The engines arrived from Europe on a heavy-lift ship and were unloaded directly onto the barge at the Portland Shipyard in December, 1999. Testing of the individual generators has proceeded since February, with 20 MW of power being fed into the local power grid via the yard's sub-station/transformer.

The massive engines are serviced by seven 40-ton engine-support modules, containing oil recirculation pumps and separators. From the air-conditioned control room, the engineering staff are able to view all engine parameters and monitor performance via an advanced computer control system. The emissions will be regularly analyzed by instruments in the exhaust stacks to ensure compliance with environmental standards set by The World Bank for new power generation projects.

"The barge's advanced design has enabled us to use the most efficient building systems throughout this project," emphasized Suren Menon, Cascade General Executive Vice President. "These have included modular construction on numerous systems and structures and the pre-outfitting of much of the seven miles of piping and thirty-five miles of wiring. A 15 year paint system was applied at all steel surfaces including the interior of tanks, voids and bilges. The first steel was cut on June 15th, 1999 and mechanical completion was achieved on April 10th, 2000 - a total contract period of less than 11 months. Engineering of the Power Barge was performed concurrently with its construction."

The two-story deckhouse, which accommodates the sound-proofed workshops and control room, including all the switch gear, was prefabricated undercover in one piece and lifted into place by a floating crane. All the auxiliary machinery involved in fuel filtering and pumping was assembled into modules and lowered into place under the main deck. The stern module was also assembled onshore with the integrated cooling system, which consists of seven 18" intakes and pumps, and was then floated into a notch in the transom. The engine hall, which rises 50' (15m) above the main deck, was erected on the dockside and lifted into place in three sections using dockside cranes. It is topped by the exhaust stacks, which rise an impressive 131' (40m) above the waterline.

The power barge is owned by PQP Limited, a joint venture between Enron, one of the world's leading electricity, natural gas and communications companies, and Centrans Energy Services, a consortium of Guatemalan and foreign investors, that develops and operates projects in Central America and the Caribbean.

Under the leadership of CEO Frank Foti, Cascade General has been the sole operator of the Portland Shipyard since 1995. "This is the largest marine construction project to come to Portland in twenty-five years and represents an important step forward for this company. It is a landmark in the long history of the shipyard," he declared during the christening ceremony. "The power barge project is a key element in our strategy to diversify and develop the full potential of the yard into new construction in the coming years."

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Cascade General operates Portland Shipyard, the largest and most complete ship repair and industrial facility on the West Coast of the United States. We provide full-service repairs and conversions for tankers, cruise ships, bulk carriers, container ships, government vessels, tugs, barges and workboats. Cascade General's Portland facility includes a 60-acre (24.2 ha) yard, 550,000 square feet (51,096 square meters) of craft shops, more than 7,600 ft. (2,326 meters) of full-service repair berths, and two floating dry docks.