MEDICINE HAT, Alberta — The City of Medicine Hat recently hired Burns & McDonnell to perform detailed design engineering for the installation of a new General Electric (GE) LM6000 aeroderivative gas turbine engine. The new generating unit will not only allow the city to increase its total generation capacity to meet greater energy needs throughout Southeast Canada but also act as a backup power supply when needed.

Under the contract, Burns & McDonnell will create the layout design, coordinate with GE, develop specifications for the balance of plant equipment and construction, and produce issued-for-construction drawings. The new LM6000 unit will add 44 megawatts (MW) of power to the existing generation facility. Work on the project started in September, with anticipated completion in April 2022.

The firm’s steadfast approach to health and safety for all project stakeholders has incorporated innovative technology during recent challenging times. During the bidding process, Burns & McDonnell implemented a wearable technology solution — RealWear wearable glasses with voice-activated computer tablet — to complete the site walkthrough, requiring only one person on-site while relaying crucial project information back to professionals throughout North America in real time. For field data collection, the wearables proved to be extremely effective in collecting data while protecting users.

“We’re thrilled to be working with the City of Medicine Hat on the implementation of a new natural gas combustion turbine generator, expanding the primary generation asset within its generation portfolio,” says Darcy Wagner, who leads power operations for Burns & McDonnell in Canada. “Our integrated design engineering team has extensive experience working on diverse gas turbine projects and knows the local area well. Our firm also has worked closely with municipalities since our beginning more than 120 years ago, and they remain the backbone of our operations today. We hope to continue building upon this new partnership in the future.”

In addition to this gas turbine project, Burns & McDonnell has been involved in more than 30 gigawatts of gas-fired generation throughout North America in the last 10 years as owner’s engineer, design engineer and engineer-procure-construct contractor. To date, the firm’s project list includes more than 3,300 MW of aeroderivative experience and more than 1,800 MW specifically with GE LM6000 gas turbine engines.

While LM6000 simple-cycle unit 17 is the firm’s first project with the City of Medicine Hat, Burns & McDonnell is actively executing and managing several power projects throughout Canada. The firm has completed major critical infrastructure projects from British Columbia to New Brunswick in sectors ranging from electric power generation, transmission and distribution to manufacturing, food processing and mining. Adding to its offices in Calgary and Toronto, Burns & McDonnell sets up local offices near project sites that support seamless project execution and promote local communities, businesses and Indigenous participation opportunities throughout project life cycles.

About Burns & McDonnell

Burns & McDonnell is a family of companies bringing together an unmatched team of 7,600 engineers, construction professionals, architects, planners, technologists and scientists to design and build our critical infrastructure. With an integrated construction and design mindset, we offer full-service capabilities with more than 55 offices, globally. Founded in 1898, Burns & McDonnell is a 100% employee-owned company and proud to be on Fortune’s 2020 list of 100 Best Companies to Work For. Learn how we are on call through it all.