DTE, Dearborn Central Energy Plant

Market:
Location:
Dearborn, Michigan
Size:
100,000 Square Feet
Services:
Construction Manager
Date Completed:
2020
Awards:
TAUC - Joseph R. La Rocca Union Project of the Year Award

Engineering Society of Detroit - Build Michigan Honorable Mention

DTE Energy’s Dearborn Central Energy Plant (CEP) is an incredible undertaking that provides improvements to surrounding infrastructure provides cleaner, ultra-low energy emissions and improves the Ford Motor Company community. The 100,000 square foot facility was constructed over two years with 509,475 total trade hours on the project.

The CEP is built to be a significantly cleaner source than the existing infrastructure to generate electricity and distribute chilled water, hot water and steam to serve buildings at the Dearborn Research and Engineering Campus (REC). The CEP consists of a new combined heat and power (CHP) plant and a chilled/hot water plant for the combined power and steam generation. The energy produced from the CHP is sent to DTE Electric. Steam, hot water and chilled water are sent to the Ford Research and Engineering Campus (REC).

The CHP system generates electrical power and steam. The CHP can generate 35 megawatts (MW) and produce up to 250 kilopounds per hour (KPPH) of 200 PSIG saturated steam. The CHP components include two nominal 15 MW gas turbine generator packages, each with a bypass stack and a single pressure supplemental duct fired, water tube heat recovery steam generator (HRSG). The CHP has one standard steam turbine generator and condenser system, with an approximate capacity of 5 MW at 85 KPPH steam input.

BIM and Prefabrication

One of the critical factors leading to the project’s success was BIM 3D modeling and prefabrication of pipe and cable trays. The site was restricted and did not have much laydown space for material. With a tight schedule, fabrication of process piping/cable tray was done off-site to minimize site work. Throughout a five-month BIM coordination with the five engineers of record and significant trade contractors’ assistance, model coordination rid the project of clashes. It supported the incorporation of a modular build.

Using interactive tools such as Touchplan for scheduling, and 3D modeling, the union trades were able to coordinate and sequence the work in the field, so pieces were installed at the right time, again saving time and money. The trades demonstrated key attributes leading to project success:

  • Coordination – Frequent on-site coordination meetings using the BIM model ensured safety and efficiency.
  • Collaboration – Everyone worked together and was flexible to the team’s needs. Everyone was working toward the same goal.
  • Communication – Open communication and honest reporting of problems allowed the management team to get to the root cause and resolve the issue quickly.