Barnhart Crane & Rigging has signed a contract with Mirant Corporation to transport and store equipment for a delayed power plant project. Generators, turbines, HRSG modules, and MSD components are to be kept at Barnhart’s Memphis facility until the project is ready to restart.
Barnhart project manager Art Porter explained: ‘The power industry is in the middle of an unexpected construction slowdown caused by limited financial resources as a result of the Enron crisis and other economic factors. The slowdown has resulted in power construction projects being put on hold throughout the country. However, some key power plant construction components have a long lead-time. In some cases, the project has been slowed down, but the equipment has already been manufactured, creating a need for storage.’
Barnhart’s facilities next to the Memphis Defense Depot and the Port of Memphis provide three types of storage: open, open air warehouse and an enclosed warehouse. The facilities are accessible via rail, truck and barge and include 40ha of storage and warehouses.
The Mirant contract calls for Barnhart Crane & Rigging to transport and store a variety of power plant components ranging from duct sections to combustion turbine/generator units. ‘These components will be transported to several project sites for construction of power plants in 18 to 24 months,’ Porter said.
