Bechtel announced the company is part of a consortium awarded the engineering, procurement, and construction contract to build a natural gas-fueled, combined-cycle power plant for Panda Temple Power, LLC, an affiliate of Panda Power Funds. Bechtel and Siemens will design and build the 758-megawatt facility in Temple, south of Dallas.
“This will be one of the most efficient natural gas-fueled power plants in the United States and will provide much needed energy to approximately 750,000 homes in Texas,” said Jeff Brightman, president of Bechtel’s fossil power business. “We are pleased that Panda has selected our team to develop this important project and look forward to successfully delivering it.”
Bechtel will be responsible for the engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning of the facility. Siemens will provide the power-island package, including the natural gas and steam turbines and waste heat recovery boilers.
Engineering and design work on the plant began in February and construction will begin immediately. Bechtel is one of the largest employers of craft construction professionals in Texas and has hired more than 32,500 in the last 15 years. Commercial operations of the plant are expected to begin in 2014. With more than 60 years of global experience in the power industry, Bechtel has successfully completed combined-cycle projects in the United States, United Kingdom, Egypt, India, Turkey, and Mexico.
