A three-year project to add natural gas capability to Units 1-4 at Plant Gaston is nearing completion.

Work on the new, 32-mile gas line that connects the Shelby County plant to the Transco interstate pipeline has been completed, as well as the gas infrastructure in to the plant itself.

Project Manager David Prater points out the bright orange gas infrastructure at Plant Gaston during a unit outage.

Workers also have completed outfitting the boiler on Gaston’s Unit 4 with new equipment so it can use natural gas as its primary source of fuel. Work to outfit Units 1,2 and 3 to use natural gas is expected to be completed in the fall.

The gas line construction and gas-related work on Gaston 1-4 represent an investment of $180 million, said David Prater, project manager.  “We’re on schedule and on budget, thanks to a lot of people’s hard work,” Prater said.

The project was driven primarily by federal environmental mandates related to air emissions. Once the work is completed, Gaston Units 1-4 are expected to switch from using coal to natural gas as their primary fuel.

Overcoming challenges

One of the biggest challenges with the gas line project was negotiating with more than 100 property owners along the line’s route, Prater said.

Another challenge related to the pipeline was ensuring the protection of sensitive lands or waterways along the route, and protecting wildlife. The company had to secure permits from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management before the project could move forward. That process included a public comment period for interested parties and individuals to weigh in on the project.

Gas infrastructure at Plant Gaston

Once the permits were obtained, more challenges loomed in connection with construction. They included drilling through rocky terrain in some places and crossing underneath the Coosa River. The excavation work and installation of the pipeline took about eight months.

The Gaston gas line runs southeast from the plant to Rockford, where it joins the Transco line – a major pipeline that helps deliver natural gas to the Northeast.  The Transco line stretches from the South Texas Gulf coast to New York, crossing portions of 12 Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states.

A significant milestone

“This project is important for Alabama Power and for the local economy,” said Brian Heinfeld, Plant Gaston manager.  He said the project not only helps to diversify the plant’s fuel mix, it also will reduce emissions from Gaston 1-4 to meet tougher federal environmental mandates,  keeping the units viable for years to come. Plant Gaston employs about 300 people.

Emissions on Gaston 5, the largest unit in Alabama Power’s system, also will be reduced soon, in compliance with new federal environmental regulations. The reductions will be accomplished with a new baghouse under construction for the unit. That project is expected to be completed next year.

The baghouse is just the latest environmental control to be added to Unit 5 over the past decade to reduce air emissions. Already installed on Unit 5 are selective catalytic reduction technology and a scrubber.

While Gaston 5 will continue to use coal as its primary fuel going forward, the unit is also being tied in to the plant’s new gas infrastructure, giving the unit new fuel flexibility. Unit 5 will use natural gas as ignition fuel.