Helping build major powerhouse Goreway Station is a prestigious project which comes with a very large commitment.
Labour
Goreway power project requires many experts
BRAMPTON, ON
Helping build major powerhouse Goreway Station is a prestigious project which comes with a very large commitment.
“Projects like this do not come along every day,” says Rick Walker, Comstock’s east region vice-president. “Working on a project like this and making sure it is successful would look good on anyone’s resume.”
The Goreway Station is the first new major power station built in Ontario in the last 25 years. SNC-Lavlin is carrying out the engineering, procurement and construction of the plant, which has a $1-billion price tag. The 875 MW plant will be Canada’s largest combined cycle power station, fuelled by natural gas.
Comstock has 375 workers on site, a mixture of pipe fitters, approximately 40 boilermakers and 20 labourers. The company has spent roughly 300,000 employee hours thus far on the project which is worth $80 to $100 million to Comstock.
“I could not hazard a guess on how much pipe we have put in, but there is a lot more still come. We are only 25 per cent of the way done,” says Walker.
The project employs between 800 to 1,000 workers from numerous construction trades. There are 47 sub-contractors on the 20 hectare site in Brampton. Only 21 per cent of the site will actually be occupied by the plant when it is completed.
The site has become a model for inter-related building in the eyes of the Ministry of Labour, site officials have stated in the past.
Its size requires it to have a tremendous pull on the work force, which isn’t always easy to find for any job.
Walker finds that welding “is an art not a lot of trades follow” now. With fewer welders and a greater building demand across Canada, finding manpower can be difficult.
“We have people on site, such as our construction manager, who has co-generation plant experience,” says Walker.
“With aging manpower, it can be tough to find welders. There once was a time I could sign up 200 of the most experienced, top quality people in Toronto.”
The expertise and dedication to the welding craft is very important when involved in a project like Goreway, explains Walker. There are many different alloys and types of pipe to work with and requirements change daily on the Goreway project.
“We once spent an entire shift on one weld,” says Walker.
“Everything has to be stress relieved and pre and post-heat temperatures need to be monitored.”
When it is completed and running at full capacity, Goreway will meet the power needs of over 330,000 homes.
Sithe Global Power was chosen by the Ontario Power authority and Ontario government to build the plant. Completion of the plant is still targeted for the end of 2008.
There almost 1,000 workers from various trades on the Goreway Station build project. There are 47 sub-contractors working on the project valued at $1 billion. SNC-Lavlin is carrying out the engineering, procurement and construction of the plant. The 875 MW plant will be Canada’s largest combined cycle power station, fuelled by natural gas.
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