McAbee successfully completed the modularization, fabrication, construction and commissioning of a 25-megawatt carbon capture plant. Awarded the Associated General Contractors of America Project of the Year Award, McAbee was recognized for excellence in owner-assist design work, innovative module fabrication, outstanding construction, and on-time startup and commissioning.
McAbee utilized its Tuscaloosa, Alabama-based 85-acre facility to complete the modular construction of the unit. The pipe was fabricated by United Association (UA) pipefitters and welders in McAbee's 145,000-square-foot pipe fabrication shop, and the equipment was fabricated in the 35,000-square-foot pressure vessel shop. McAbee completed the full erection in its 45-acre module yard before disassembling and transporting to the site. The modular construction yard is conveniently located on the Warrior River, just off the Gulf of Mexico. Once the modules had been transported to the site by barge, McAbee erected them on the foundations it placed in advance, set the equipment, and completed the electrical and instrumentation scope.
Contributing strongly to the success of the project were the exceptional safety and quality of the UA pipefitters and welders. Through its partnership with McAbee on the project, the UA provided safe, skilled, productive craft workers to the shop and field.
It is the world's largest demonstration of carbon capture and storage technology on a coal-fired power plant. Approximately 150,000 tons of carbon dioxide -- the equivalent of emissions from 25 megawatts -- are being captured annually. Permanent underground storage in a deep saline geologic formation was begun by partners Southeast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership and Denbury Resources.
Carbon is captured using Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.'s Kansai Mitsubishi Carbon Dioxide Recovery Process technology, which uses an advanced amine solvent. The carbon dioxide is transported by pipeline and injected 9,500 feet underground at a site within the Citronelle Oil Field.
For more information, visit www. ua.org or call (410) 269-2000, or contact Kevin Shipp of McAbee at (205) 349-2212 or kshipp@mcabeeconstruction.com.
