Cabin Gas Plant Power Generation, EnCana

The Cabin Gas Plant will be located at units 74, 75, 76, 84, 85, and 86, Block J, Group 94-P-4 in the Peace River District, approximately 75 km northeast of Fort Nelson. The site is accessible by a secondary radio controlled road (gravel) that is maintained year round.

The Cabin Gas Plant is a green field development.

BC Hydro does not have any electrical power infrastructure in the area of the Cabin Gas Plant.  The nearest transmission line is approximately 70 km away that operates at 144 kV and feeds power from Rainbow Lake, Alberta, to the town of Fort Nelson.  The town of Fort Nelson also has local natural gas fired turbine generation. The earliest utility power could be available in the area of approximately 2015.

The power generation for the gas plant is an integral part of the facility given that there are no utility services available in the foreseeable future, and, therefore, will be considered as part of the facility.

Initially, during value engineering, there was a move to outsource power to reduce the plant capital requirements.  Due to significant technical and regulatory issues, the traditional method of incorporating facility generation as part of the facility will be pursued.

The power generation will be sized to accommodate the facility load with an (n+1) redundancy. The current estimate of facility load is in the range of 15 MW of electrical power.            

As part of the scope, DPH Focus was responsible for the engineering and design of other systems, which included the following systems and facilities:

  • Civil and mechanical engineering, including the building and foundation;
  • Fuel gas supply to the building;
  • Accommodate related equipment, such as exhaust stacks and aerial coolers;
  • Diesel power generator and low voltage (600 VAC and less) supply to the building;
  • Integration to the BPCS and SIS; and,
  • Building lighting and HVAC.
Cabin Gas Plant Power Generation, EnCana
Cabin Gas Plant Power Generation, EnCana
The Cabin Gas Plant will be located at units 74, 75, 76, 84, 85, and 86, Block J, Group 94-P-4 in the Peace River District, approximately 75 km northeast of Fort Nelson. The site is accessible by a secondary radio controlled road (gravel) that is maintained year round.