Energy infrastructure
Global mega trends have a bearing even on modern energy infrastructure. Handling the shortage of resources, reducing carbon emissions, and improving the energy balance are central issues in this day and age, and are at once an opportunity and a challenge.
We have the experience in energy infrastructure contracting to deliver efficient, advanced energy generation assets. Our capabilities in this segment include power plant design, construction, and decommissioning. The huge demand for energy—in industrialized nations and developing economies alike—holds yet more potential for HOCHTIEF. The German government, for example, gauges that transforming the country’s energy supplies will require up to EUR 550 billion in investment by midcentury.
Here are some examples for HOCHTIEF's commitment to a sustainable, forwardthinking energy infrastructure:
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Calaveras Dam
The Calaveras Dam is part of a system that provides drinking water to 2.5 million people in the greater San Francisco area. In 2001 the existing dam was deemed seismically unsafe and has been operating at less than full capacity ever since. HOCHTIEF subsidiary Flatiron has been working since 2011 to replace it with a stronger structure. During the course of the work, a total of 5.5 million cubic meters of rock and earth will be moved in order to construct the new dam, which will measure a good 64 meters high. The project also includes the construction of approaches and tunnels. When the replacement is complete, the old dam will be submerged underwater. Flatiron pursued a series of measures to minimize the environmental footprint, such as fish passages and constant monitoring of the air quality to prevent asbestos contamination.
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City East Cable Tunnel
Power tunnels are an intelligent way to lay cable safely in large cities while ensuring easy maintenance. CIMIC subsidiary Thiess is currently building such a tunnel in Sydney. The 132-kilovolt tunnel with a diameter of 3.5 meters will connect two substations. With a total length of 3.2 kilometers, the tunnel will run through the city at a depth of 25 to 45 meters below ground. In addition to construction of the tunnel, this contract also includes building two concrete lined connectors, extending another cable tunnel as well as installing and commissioning all tunnel mechanical and electrical services.
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ILM Transmission Lines
Our US subsidiary Flatiron has been working since March 2011 to build a new 255-kilometer transmission line in Canada. The 500-kilovolt line will run between Merritt and Vancouver, crossing topography that includes mountains, ravines, thickly-forested areas, and stretches of coast. Flatiron is building on a total of 620 sites along the route. The new overhead line is the first 500-kilovolt
line in Western Canada in more than 25 years. Most of the country’s grid dates back to the 1970s and now requires refurbishment
and upgrading.
More on Flatiron services in the field of power generation & transmission
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Queensland Curtis LNG
Between 2010 and 2012, Thiess took charge of a package of work that fell within the scope of the Queensland Curtis LNG project. The CIMIC subsidiary built various compressor stations, pipelines as well as water storage ponds and completed site preparation for additional work. The Thiess contract was part of a major network of facilities for transporting and storing LNG (liquid natural gas). LNG is a relatively clean and efficient source of energy, with about 40% lower carbon dioxide emissions than coal for the same amount of energy.
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Lillgrund Wind Farm
The largest offshore wind farm in Sweden, and one of the largest in all of Europe, is located seven kilometers off Malmö’s coast. At Lillgrund, HOCHTIEF Solutions built the foundations for the 48 large wind plants and one transformer. A special technical challenge inherent in this project was the precision placement of the massive foundation elements. With an output of 110 megawatts, the wind farm generates some 350 gigawatt- hours of electricity—enough to power about 60,000 Swedish homes. The facility saves 300,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year as compared with traditional energy sources.
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La Confluencia hydroelectric power station
HOCHTIEF Solutions designed and built a turnkey run-of-river power station around 220 kilometers southeast of Santiago de Chile. The contract included an above-ground power plant, several tunnels, and a pressure shaft driven some 360 meters vertically into the ground. HOCHTIEF was also responsible for the construction of the access roads, all the concrete work for the catchment system, the turbines/generators, all building services, the steel construction for the isolated water catchment vessels, and connecting the system to the grid. La Confluencia’s watershed has a capacity of 1.2 million cubic meters. The new hydroelectric power station will cut annual CO2 emissions in Chile by more than 400,000 metric tons.