SwiftVets.com

[Kimmymac]

Those of us who have lived through natural disasters or have been to countries with less than reliable electrical service will appreciate this, I think. More proof that America is right, that George Bush is right, and that he is also right for America.

POWER Engineers (Boise, Idaho) has helped bring welcomed relief to Iraq in August 2004 when the new power plant was completed in Buzurgan, Iraq, and connected to the Iraqi electrical grid.

Coming at the height of summer, when temperatures reach in excess of 130 degrees Fahrenheit, the new electric power is a welcome addition for the people of southern Iraq. More importantly, the plant is located in a remote area that had been poorly served by the pre-war electrical distribution system. The plant will also furnish reliable power to a nearby oil field operation, which is critical to maintaining the efficient production of oil and improving Iraq's economy in the short term.

The new plant is a 40 megawatt, GE EM6000PC, which was designed and equipped to utilize either natural gas or diesel as the operating fuel. In October, there was nothing at the site but a high voltage transmission tower, with gas wells burning in the distance. As a subcontractor to Perini Corporation, POWER was part of the team that designed the plant, as well as the adjacent switchyard to connect to the nearby 132-kilovolt transmission line. Perini was the prime in charge of construction of this plant; POWER was the lead design engineer, with Tetra Tech and General Electric's Aero Energy and Industrial Systems divisions providing specialized support.

POWER is involved in another 40 megawatt generator installation at an existing power plant in Southern Iraq that is nearing completion, and has just turned over two refurbished 63 megawatt generators at a second existing plant to the Ministry of Electricity. Together with the Buzurgan plant, these projects will contribute nearly 200 megawatts to the national grid, enough to service an estimated 600,000 Iraqi homes. In April, under a contract with Perini, POWER Engineers completed the rehabilitation of 360 kilometers of high voltage transmission line and towers in Southeastern Iraq. All of these projects were awarded under a previously announced contingency contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The new power will benefit the local population, which now receives 15-24 continuous hours of power a day, according to Colonel Thomas Koning of the Corps. This is in comparison to approximately only three hours of power per day before the war. Colonel Koning recently spent six months in Southern Iraq as the District Engineer of the Corps' Gulf Region Division-South District.
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The last refuge of scoundrels is not patriotism; it is finicky liberal humanitarianism.--Martin Paretz