PROJECT DETAILS
The Gaston Steam Plant is a coal-fired power station near Wilsonville, Alabama, owned and operated by Southern Company‘s Alabama Power.
In May 2012, Alabama Power announced that it planned to have its four smaller generating units at Gaston, representing 1,000 megawatts, converted to run on natural gas by 2015. The project involved building a 24″ natural gas pipeline to tie into the Transcontinental pipeline, about 35 miles south of the plant.
The pipeline project, called the E.C. Gaston Power Plant Gas Capabilities Project, began construction in 2014 by Latex Pipeline Contractors of Conyers, GA.
Dykon Blasting was selected by Latex Pipeline Contractors to perform the drilling and blasting for this project. The timeframe for the completion of this line was aggressive and called for over 2500 feet of production per day.
A single crew with 3 drills was mobilized to meet the production requirements for this project. Rough terrain and an unusually wet spring created many challenges for the project. About 8 miles of the project paralleled Southern Company’s electrical power line coming out of the Gaston Power plant.
The blasting phase of the project was successfully and safely completed in May of 2014. We at Dykon Blasting Corp. appreciated the challenges of the project and the support provided by Latex and Southern Power. We truly felt like we were part of their team. We hope to be a part of that team again some day.
