Power Delivery
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Client: Colorado River Commission of Nevada
Completion Date: 1999
Burns & McDonnell provided design and construction management for the commission's Power Delivery Project. The project was designed to provide electrical power to pump water from Lake Mead to southern Nevada. The project included two 230/69-kV substations, four 69/4.16-kV substations, about eight circuit miles of underground 69-kV transmission line, four miles of double and quad-circuit 69-kV transmission line, four miles of double-circuit 230-kV transmission line, a fiber optic and microwave communication system, and a PLC-based SCADA system. Burns & McDonnell worked with the commission from inception of the project through construction.
- Engineering design
- Communications design
- Construction management
This project was constructed to provide electrical power to pump water from Lake Mead to the southern Nevada area. The project included two 230/69-kV substations, four 69/4.16-kV substations, approximately 8 circuit miles of underground 69-kV transmission lines, 4 miles of double and quad-circuit 69-kV transmission line, 4 miles of double-circuit 230-kV transmission line, a fiber optic and microwave communication system, and a PLC-based SCADA system.
Burns & McDonnell worked with the Colorado River Commission from the inception of the project through the planning, permitting, design and construction management activities.
New River Electric Corp. provided the Colorado River Commission Power Delivery Project with construction of underground power and communications ductbanks, and installation of 69-kV power and fiber optic.
The increasing demand for water in the desert of Las Vegas required the commission to add two new substations and several transmission lines to feed huge water pumps. Burns & McDonnell's design included all work associated with the new substations, their structure designs and duct bank routings — including a routing across the bottom of Lake Mead. Burns & McDonnell engineers made numerous site visits and attended coordination and construction meetings in pursuing completion of the design.
The underground transmission lines were installed in concrete-encased ductbanks with fiber optic communication circuits that included a 4000-foot underwater crossing of Lake Mead. The 69-kV XLPE power cable sizes ranged from 500 kcmil to 1250 kcmil. The cables were provided by Silec and installed in the fall of 1997 by an independent electrical contractor.
