Palomar Energy Project
Escondido, CA
Palomar Energy is sited on the Escondido Research and Technology Park. This $410 million, 554 megawatt plant is a natural gas-fired combined cycle power plant with associated
combustion turbines, a steam turbine, a heat recovery steam generator, a seven-cell cooling tower, and reclaimed water supply and brine return pipelines.
A major challenge to the project was the site location which was an extremely rocky portion of land in the heart of an urban community. Six million tons of granite was blasted
and visual screening was achieved through excavations up to 70 feet deep to lower foundations. Fill from the excavation was used to construct a ridge-way between the plant and
anticipated surrounding developments. Reclaimed water for the project is supplied from a nearby wastewater treatment plant via a specifically constructed 1.1 mile, 16-inch pipeline.
Brine is returned to the plant via a parallel eight-inch return pipeline.
QCSW provided construction QC/QA management, inspection, and materials testing including associated engineering review and support for the project.
QCSW provided the special inspection of concrete, masonry, visual welding and non-destructive examination of welds for the construction of plant generators, tanks, pipelines, and the cooling tower.
QCSW’s soil technicians provided all site soils compaction testing of the pad, fill material, roadways, and pipeline trench backfill.
All materials testing of concrete, masonry, steel, and soils was provided by Construction Testing & Engineering, Inc. laboratory.
