Fuel Quality Improves with a Cover-All Building

Located 100 miles east of Pittsburgh, PA, the Colver Power Project is the largest independent power producer in Pennsylvania. The 102-megawatt project has been supplying electricity to the Pennsylvania Electric Company since 1995.

In 2006, a 160' wide by 260' long (48.7m by 79.2m) Cover-All® TITAN® building was installed at the Colver Power Plant for the storage and drying of coal. "The building has worked as expected and has improved fuel quality," says Jeffry Zick, Deputy General Manager, Inter-Power/AhlCon Partners. "The fuel is dryer and it burns more efficiently."

A front end loader is used to turn the coal, a process that used to take up to three days to have the coal dry enough to burn. "We chose a Cover-All building because we liked the technology," says Zick. Available in widths from 18' to 160' (5.5m to 48.8m) to any length, Cover-All® buildings provide clear-span space and are pre-engineered to meet structural requirements. "This building is a benefit to our business as there is less downtime to improve fuel quality."

A conveyor system located at the end of the building transports the coal out of the building. Before the Cover-All® building was used to dry the fuel, $8-$10 million was spent per year on propane to get the coal to burn as it was quite wet. "The Cover-All building has drastically improved fuel quality and the building has paid for itself in six months," says Zick. With an availability greater than 98 percent, the Colver Power Plant is one of the most reliable producing generating plants of its type anywhere in the world.

The interior building span and clearances in the Cover-All® building are superior to a conventional building. "The building is well-lit even on cloudy and rainy days," says Zick. "Once the foundation was complete, construction moved very quickly. We were very pleased with the foundation and erection teams." Engineered for temporary or permanent use, Cover-All® buildings can be expanded or relocated with relative ease and provide maximum free floor space for equipment and operations.