Prepared for
“100-year Storm”

katrina
katrina

Cat® Power is Always Ready

Customer: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Location: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Customer Business Issue: Independent power solution for new flood prevention system

Solution:

30 Cat® C175-16 diesel generator sets

Two Cat C27 diesel generator sets

One Cat C18 diesel generator set

Cat switchgear

Cat Automatic Transfer Switches (ATS)

Cat® Dealer: Louisiana Cat

of

New Orleans PCCP pump station

of

C175

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“Caterpillar and Louisiana Cat were able to provide the best solution for the PCCP pump stations.” Anthony Bertucci, Commissioning Manager, M.R. Pittman Group

U.S. Army Corps
U.S. Army Corps
U.S. Army Corps

POWER NEED

In the aftermath of the widespread damage caused by Hurricane Katrina in August of 2005, federal, state and local authorities have undertaken numerous infrastructure projects to bolster defenses against flooding and storm damage in and around New Orleans. Faced with consistent threats of flooding from the Mississippi River, hurricane storm surge and heavy rainfall, planners sought to replace interim closure structures that were constructed along Lake Pontchartrain a year after Katrina devastated the region.

To mitigate flood risk, engineers developed a system of three permanent canal closures and pumps (PCCP) located at the 17th Street, Orleans Avenue and London Avenue outfall canals as the final major post-Katrina improvements to the regional levee system.

During storms, massive pumps feed water from the canals into Lake Pontchartrain at a rate that keeps the water levels in the canals low enough to avoid overtopping or damaging the floodwalls.

To keep the pumps operating in even the fiercest of storms, each station was designed with a standby power system, including diesel generator sets that can supply multiple redundancies independent of the utility grid. Additionally, all of the generator sets were required to meet seismic regulations.

“When a storm event occurs, we will go off city power and onto our own power, and utilize our own fuel,” explained Anthony Bertucci, a commissioning manager for M.R. Pittman Group, one of three companies participating in a joint venture responsible for constructing the system. “The stations needed be totally independent of the grid on power, water and sewerage. The system had to be designed to handle everything on its own.”

SOLUTION

Project leaders selected Caterpillar and Louisiana Cat to supply a total of 33 Cat diesel generator sets, switchgear and Automatic Transfer Switches (ATS) across the three facilities to power the pump systems and support basic life safety operations.

“It’s a good design as far as multiple redundancies without having multiple pieces of equipment, and it’s the same basic design philosophy through all three sites,” observed Ken Johnson, the project manager for Louisiana Cat.

All of the Cat generator sets have been certified to meet the seismic provisions of all published editions of the International Building Code (IBC), and they are mounted on isolators to stabilize the equipment in the event of an earthquake.

“What led us to pick Caterpillar for this facility was a combination of economics and longterm reliability,” Bertucci noted. “From my perspective, Cat engines are very reliable. I’ve used them on many of the projects that we’ve completed. We’ve done a lot of drainage pump stations and facilities in the area that are part of the overall flood control system, and they are a very reliable generator and reliable engine package.”

RESULTS

Since the project was completed in December of 2017, technicians from Louisiana Cat have trained personnel from the New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board on the operation and maintenance of the generator sets. Additionally, Caterpillar representatives have provided training on the operation of the ATS and switchgear.

“Caterpillar and Louisiana Cat were able to provide the best solution for the PCCP pump stations,”  Bertucci said. “We’ve had great service so far with startup and testing of the engines. We’ve had a really good relationship with Louisiana Cat personnel on this project and past projects.”

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Featured Products

  • C175-16 (60 Hz)
    Standby Rating
    3365(no fan)/3250/3100(no fan)/3000 ekW
    3365(no fan)/3250/3100(no fan)/3000 ekW
    Prime Power Rating
    3115(no fan)/3000/2825(no fan)/2725 ekW
    3115(no fan)/3000/2825(no fan)/2725 ekW
    Emissions/Fuel Strategy
    Low Fuel, Tier 2
    Low Fuel, Tier 2

    C175-16 (60 Hz)

    Producing reliable power from 2500 - 3365 ekW at 60 Hz, our C175-16 diesel generator sets are made to meet your mission critical, continuous, standby and prime applications. We've designed each to ISO 8528-5 transient response requirements and to accept 100% rated load in one step. The generator set is Low Fuel Consumption, U.S. EPA Certified for Stationary Emergency Use Only (Tier 2 Nonroad Equivalent Emission Standards) certified.

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  • C18 (60 Hz)
    Maximum Rating
    750 ekW
    750 ekW
    Minimum Rating
    500 ekW
    500 ekW
    Emissions/Fuel Strategy
    U.S. EPA Certified
    U.S. EPA Certified

    C18 (60 Hz)

    The C18 diesel generator sets developed for critical, standby and prime applications. Producing reliable power from 500 to 750 ekW at 60 Hz, meeting ISO 8528-5 transient response requirements and built to accept 100 % rated load in one step. Our C18 generator sets range from low fuel consumption systems to EPA Stationary Emergency (Tier 2) certified Emissions / Fuel Strategy.

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  • C27 (60 Hz)
    Maximum Rating
    800 ekW
    800 ekW
    Minimum Rating
    635 ekW
    635 ekW
    Emissions/Fuel Strategy
    Low Fuel, Tier 2 Nonroad Equivalent
    Low Fuel, Tier 2 Nonroad Equivalent

    C27 (60 Hz)

    The C27 diesel generator sets have been developed for your mission critical, standby and prime applications. Producing reliable power from 635 to 800 ekW at 60 Hz, each generator set has been designed to meet ISO 8528-5 transient response requirements and to take on 100 % rated load in one step. The C27 is certified as a low fuel consumption system as well as having a certificate for EPA Stationary Emergency (Tier 2).

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  • Cat EGP Switchgear
    Configuration
    Configurable PLC based switchgear capable of controlling and monitoring multiple generator sets, tie and load breakers in conjunction with downstream transfer switches for standby or emergency applications
    Configurable PLC based switchgear capable of controlling and monitoring multiple generator sets, tie and load breakers in conjunction with downstream transfer switches for standby or emergency applications
    Modes of Operation
    Multi-unit Island and multi-unit standby mode with optional redundant controls and components.
    Multi-unit Island and multi-unit standby mode with optional redundant controls and components.
    Application
    LV and MV (208V - 38 kV)
    LV and MV (208V - 38 kV)

    Cat EGP Switchgear

    Caterpillar offers standard Switchgear products, which can support a wide variety of applications, or provide a custom designed system to meet your specific project needs. The Emergency Generator paralleling (EGP) product supports paralleling on an isolated generator bus and is commonly used in prime power or emergency standby systems. Caterpillar Standard Switchgear products provide a solution able to combine all elements of monitoring and control for Caterpillar generator sets in a single-source package. Caterpillar also designs and manufacturers custom switchgear to meet specific customer requirements and functionality.

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Electric Power products

Any size or shape. In any regulatory environment. When you need power, Caterpillar is equal to the challenge. Our generators are used in a variety of applications.

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Generator Set Sizing Calculator

Caterpillar Electric Power is excited to introduce you to our latest generator set sizing software, Cat Electric Power SpecSizer.

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Municipality

You’re trusted to provide the power your community lives on — and makes a living with. Whether it’s standby power for emergency use or additional systems to handle peak hours, be there when the people you serve need it most.

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Municipality

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