Completion 1: Gibson Generating Station
Cost: $600 million

Five selective catalytic reduction units were installed at the Gibson Generating Station in Owensville, Ind.

A Danish crane and Saudi Arabian steel were used to construct the units at the facility with capacity to generate 3,200 MW of energy.

The SCRs are designed to provide cleaner-than-normal emissions for each of the station's five coal-fired turbines.

The boilers' exhaust gasses are routed to the SCRs' reactors, which contain a catalyst that converts nitrous oxides to nitrogen and water, which are benign substances. The SCRs will reduce emission from an average of 0.45 lbs. of NOx per million British thermal units of fuel to an average of 0.15 lbs. of NOx per million BTUs of fuel.

About 9 million tons of coal are burned annually to drive the turbines at the facility in the southern part of the state.

Clinton, N.J.-based Foster Wheeler Zack Inc. served as the general contractor.

The Kroll Giant Towercranes K-10000 unit was used in part because of its lifting capacity and reach. The machine can raise 120 tons of steel at once, and the 500-ft.-tall crane has a boom length of slightly more than 300 ft.

The SCR structures could not have been erected in time to meet the schedule if a different crane had been used.

Each 160-ft.-long, 85-ft.-wide, 250-ft.-high SCR is composed of about 4,000 tons of steel and 500 tons of associated ductwork, and each was erected in a tight site in about nine to 10 months.

The SCR affects almost every component in the units' operation. For example, the two 5,500-horsepower induction draft fans that suck gases from the boiler were removed and upgraded with the installation of three 10,000-horsepower units.

A Crane Adventure

Getting the Kroll to North American was an adventure.

The crane, which was originally built to erect nuclear plants in the former Soviet Union, was located in Norway. It was returned to Denmark to be recertified after a determination was made to lease it.

Once ready, the crane was shipped in sections to the Port of Chicago, and 320 truck deliveries were required to haul the parts to southern Indiana.
Hidada, a steel fabricator in Jedda, Saudi Arabia, was the only supplier that could meet a 16-week, per unit turnaround of the fabrication of steel. The steel is so heavy that the thickness of some members is 4 in.

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