Duke/Fluor Daniel to Build Five Power Plants

Duke/Fluor Daniel, one of the largest power-plant builders, has won contracts to design and build five power plants in Ohio, Georgia, Arkansas and Arizona. Terms weren’t disclosed Thursday.

The construction company, a joint venture between Fluor Corp. in Aliso Viejo and Duke Energy Corp. in Charlotte, N.C., got a contract from PSEG Power LLC to design and build a gas-fueled power plant in Waterford Township, Ohio, that will be able to produce 865 megawatts, Duke Energy said. The plant is expected to open in May 2003.

Duke Energy is one of the biggest U.S. energy traders and owns utilities that sell power to 2 million customers in the Carolinas. PSEG Power is a unit of Newark, N.J.-based Public Service Enterprise Group Inc., which owns New Jersey’s largest utility.

Duke/Fluor Daniel also won four contracts from Duke Energy North America, Duke Energy’s merchant-energy company, to build four plants to generate 3,050 megawatts of electricity.

The gas-powered plants will include the 1,240-megawatt Murray Generating Facility in Murray County, Ga.; the 620-megawatt Hot Spring Generating Facility in Hot Springs, Ark.; the 620-megawatt Washington Generating Facility in Washington County, Ohio; and the 570-megawatt Arlington Valley Energy Facility in Arlington Valley, Ariz. The plants are expected to open in mid-2002.

The projects are part of an effort to add 6,000 megawatts of power in North America by 2002, said Jim Donnell, chief executive and president of Duke Energy North America.