Operating Engineer - Summer 2013

Feature
Viewed from above, it could be mistaken as an outpost
on the parched surface of Mars. Actually, the glittering
array of towers and mirrors that has been methodically and
precisely constructed by Local 12 operating engineers in
the Mojave Desert may be the next big thing in clean energy
production.
The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System is claimed
by its developers, BrightSource Energy, NRG Energy and
Google, to be the largest solar thermal system in the world.
When all three of its units are operating by the end of the
year, its 392-megawatt output will provide enough energy to
power 140,000 homes in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and, in some
cases, Northern California.
Local 12 members, working for general contractor
Bechtel, are important players in the construction of the $2.2
billion project, which is taking place on approximately 3,500
acres of federal public land managed by the Bureau of Land
Management.
Built under a project labor agreement, it’s estimated that
the Ivanpah project will employ more than 2,100 construction
workers and support staff, as well as 86 operations and
maintenance employees, over its three year build out. Local
12 had around 250 operating engineers working at the site
during the peak of construction.
Ivanpah will produce electricity the same way that most
of the world’s electricity is produced – by creating high
temperature steam to turn a conventional turbine. However,
instead of burning fossil fuels to create the steam, the system
is exclusively solar powered.
Over 300,000 software-controlled mirrors, called
heliostats, will track the sun in two dimensions and reflect
the sunlight to boilers that sit atop three 459 foot tall
towers. When the concentrated sunlight strikes the boilers’
pipes, it heats the water to create superheated steam. This
high-temperature steam is then piped from the boiler to a
standard turbine where electricity is generated. From there,
transmission lines carry the power to homes and businesses.
The energy is so clean, it’s the equivalent of taking 70,000 cars
off the road.
The heliostat arrays require precise placement to direct
the sun’s power for maximum heating of the boilers. In
[left] Local 12 Operating Engineers carfully place one of more
than 300,000 heliostats onto its pylon at the Ivanpah Solar Electric
Generating System in the California desert.
[photo] Local 12
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