3.0 MW Generator Upgrade

Restricted access, dust-sensitive systems, services crossing several floors and a hard rule that the facility could never be without emergency backup.

Bell Aliant needed a generator upgrade in its Uptown Saint John tower to keep up with ever-increasing server data load, consolidating data and technical support services in one central location while fully using existing infrastructure.

The constraints

We provided engineering support, tender document control and construction phase services for the design, planning and construction of a 3.0 MW backup generator. The project came with a long list of challenges: restricted access and minimal laydown space for the contractor; existing infrastructure and electrical systems sensitive to dust, water and intrusion; services penetrating the multi-storey structure at several elevations; and strict compliance with building and fire codes. Above all, the existing system could never be without emergency backup power.

Delivered

Generator ventilation, fuel delivery, structural, mechanical and electrical phases were coordinated simultaneously to meet the owner’s schedule. System design, tendering and contractor selection ran through the winter of 2009 to 2010, with construction supervision, commissioning and handover in spring 2010.