Loading...It’s generating buzz around the world: nuclear energy to power homes and businesses. Construction of the first uranium enrichment facility on US soil in decades is now under way in New Mexico.
There were, however, some significant challenges that had to be overcome before the project got too far down the road. A job of this magnitude would stretch the resources of any contractor, and that’s if it could be handled by any one at all. The remote location also puts the issue of qualified manpower front and center.
The solution? The formation of a unique partnership between three NECA contractors, and the long arms of the IBEW’s talent pool.
We are all too familiar with the high energy costs right now, but people are again starting to look to nuclear power as a way to help solve our energy problems. This is what a uranium fuel pellet looks like. This one pellet provides as much energy as 149 gallons of oil, a ton of coal, or 17,000 cubic feet of natural gas. Just five of these can meet a home’s electrical needs for an entire year. That’s why there is so much at stake in building the facility that will provide the fuel to generate these pellets.
Mike Roberts, Vice President, Field Operations, Rosendin Electric
“This is a big deal. It’s a big deal for my heart, it’s a big deal from a business standpoint, but it’s so much more than that. It’s about the people involved. It’s truly monumental.”
It’s a $1.5 billion construction project – the first nuclear enrichment plant built in America since the 1970s. When word spread that this site would sprawl across the New Mexico oil patch, you can bet NECA contractors wanted in on the action.
Dale Phagan, President, Prime Electric
“A project like this hasn’t been done in the last 3 decades, in the last 30 years. So I think that we’ve built something here to come into this re-emerging energy source, and if NECA and the IBEW are going to survive in this market where the non-union have really come on a lot stronger, we’re going to have to be open and we are going to have to think of ways that we can make it work.”
And they did. NECA contractors Prime Electric, Rosendin Electric, and Budwine Service Electric each bid on the project, but the bonding and labor challenges of this job would require more. So the three companies did something rather unprecedented.
Chris Frentzel, Business Manager, IBEW Local 611
“It was an effort to get three independent NECA contractors together on this. For them to bond together as one and be one entity, Trico Power, was an amazing feat in itself, and it’s working out well. It’s working out real well.”
Prime Electric, Rosendin and Budwine joined forces to form Trico Power, a move that won the bid for the National Enrichment Facility Project.
Maria Granone, Chapter Manager, New Mexico NECA
“It has set the precedent for thinking of a new way of coming together to obtain a market share in our business.”
Gregory OD Smith, Chief Operating Officer & Chief Nuclear Officer, L.E.S.
“That you can take three very experienced, successful companies that have the ingenuity and interest in coming together to form a company called Trico, three different companies, and do work on our site as if they had been working together for years.”
This type of alliance is familiar to the plant’s parent company, Urenco. It created a partnership called Louisiana Energy Services, or L.E.S., for the enrichment plant project.
Lynn White, Barber & Editor of Eunice Newspaper
“We’re just glad that they’re here. We really are. A great company and a great corporate neighbor.”
Curtis Schrader, City Manager of Eunice
“L.E.S. has definitely been part of the community. They have really set the example as far as corporate partnership and being a good partner in the community.”
The National Enrichment Facility is fueling a uranium boom in this remote region. The plant is being built just outside of Eunice in southeast New Mexico. The project demanded economic development in a town of about 2,700 people.
Gregory OD Smith, Chief Operating Officer & Chief Nuclear Officer, L.E.S.
“Well, I think it’s the only way to do business. One of the biggest advantages that nuclear energy has, if you look at whether it is this facility or a nuclear power plant, 90 percent of the dollars spent are usually spent within 150 miles of the project itself. And that’s what makes communities so supportive.”
Chris Frentzel, Business Manager, IBEW Local 611
“What they really wanted was recruitment from the local area. From the Carlsbad, Eunice, and West Texas area.”
Trico and the IBEW mined the area for talented electricians and recruited them onto the project. The advanced job training the IBEW is known for and its focus on productivity are already being recognized on this site. Local 611 is leading the charge.
W.A. Bill Wheeler, Executive V.P., Budwine Service Electric
“We’re the best electrical labor force that you can find in the United States. That can be supplied by the IBEW.”
Gregory OD Smith, Chief Operating Officer & Chief Nuclear Officer, L.E.S.
“These people are sophisticated. They know what they’re doing. They’ve got a good plan together. Every indication is that they are meeting or exceeding not only their schedule, but also your engineering requirements.”
Roughly 500 union electricians are providing temporary, and eventually permanent, power to this site. Safety here is paramount.
Randy Heusser, Regional V.P., Rosendin Electric
“Safety to us is a commitment. It’s a value. It’s a value in the way we do business.”
Edgar Brown, Safety Director, Trico Power
“We have a million and a half man hours without lost time to injury at all.”
Conditions out here are often harsh.
Edgar Brown, Safety Director, Trico Power
“We have actually had to shut the job down three times on account of the wind blowing the sand so hard that you could not see.”
Despite the challenges, the drive and craftsmanship of the of the IBEW mean this project is nearly three weeks ahead of schedule. Production is expected to start late next year, even as construction continues another six to seven years. Once complete, this plant is expected to domestically produce enough nuclear energy to meet 5 percent of America’s power demands.
Gregory OD Smith, Chief Operating Officer & Chief Nuclear Officer, L.E.S.
“It is presently the lowest-cost way of generating electricity on a large scale. It’s come a long way in the last 30 years, coming from the highest-cost generation to the lowest-cost generation. Number two, it has an impeccable safety record, not just from a reactor safety standpoint, but also from an industrial safety standpoint. And number three, it is the best way to make electricity and minimize the impact on the environment.”
Edward Parkes, Construction Manager, L.E.S.
“The work that we’re doing here is starting the renaissance of nuclear power in the Unites States once again.”
The resurgence of nuclear energy in the United States is an opportunity to grow the ranks fo the IBEW and showcase its reputation of pride and professionalism. It’s also empowering NECA contractors to pool resources.
Dick Wells, IBEW Membership Development, 7th District
“From a business standpoint, to the NECA contractors, it makes excellent sense to them. It’s very profitable for them. From the IBEW standpoint, it’s a winning situation. From the customer standpoint it’s an excellent opportunity to get the best of the best.”
The Trico partnership is taking the commitment of NECA contractors and the IBEW to the next level. It is becoming a blueprint for business success.
Mike Roberts, Vice President, Field Operations, Rosendin Electric
“It is monumental for the country, because you won’t build these kinds of projects without it.”
There is a lot of excitement around this project. You can really feel the coming together of everyone involved. Being three weeks ahead of schedule speaks to just how well they’ve come together for that customer.