DPS POWER GENERATION SOLUTIONS

Project Profile: DPS Hurricane Response Emergency Power

In August of 2020, Hurricane Laura made landfall with sustained winds of 150mph that knocked out power to half a million customers across the Gulf Coast. The entire electrical grid was devastated and unstable. A local midstream facility that supplies crude to 3 of the largest refineries in the US, as well as ship loading at their port terminals, had power limitations that left the facility unable to meet the starting inrush demands of the critical high horsepower pumps. A backup power source was deemed vital while the damage was repaired.

The midstream facility was temporarily allocated 8MW of power by their utility provider, but that fell far short of the 40MW necessary to supply power to their facility. Working with the facility’s electrical engineering and construction services company, DPS was able to find a creative solution. The solution would require the delivery of enough turbines to generate 40MW of power to the plant substation in less than a week and for the customer to agree to temporarily switch from grid power to island mode with 7 Solar Taurus-60 mobile turbines serving as the interim power plant. On a Monday evening, the plan was approved to move forward.

One hour after getting approval, the first trucks departed the DPS yard to run the 10-hour drive from Odessa to Nederland. At the time, Texas and Louisiana had each issued a state of emergency, which allowed DPS to immediately deploy trucks across highways via emergency declarations. Within 24 hours, more than 30 trucks had arrived with power in tow and were prepared for staging.

The customer had already initiated their own plan to build the pad and deliver fuel gas for the turbines. The same night, hundreds of dump truck loads were mobilized to deliver rock for the pad. By Tuesday morning pipe spools were being fabricated and coated, and preparations for a gas interconnect were made. The customer’s crews worked perfectly delivering the site and fuel gas in record time.

The electrical engineering and construction services company requested technical specifications to fast-track the engineering studies and preparations for the electrical interconnects. This required a significant amount of data from the customer regarding the existing substation, and detailed information on the turbines and associated equipment being delivered to the site. Their procurement department worked diligently with their strategic partners to source thousands of feet of cable and miscellaneous material to the site. 

By Thursday morning the pad was completed, engineering studies were being reviewed, and equipment started moving onto the pad. The next 3 days were a flurry of cable, trays, electrical interconnects, and piping. A delicate ballet of crane lifts and a no-holds-barred approach to calling in the calvary each time an unforeseen challenge arose. After four days, all equipment and infrastructure had been installed. Six days after getting the green light, the electrical engineering company and DPS were ready to deliver over 40 Megawatts of power.

Equipment:

• 7 Solar T-60 MPUs
• 1 2000kW Diesel Engine