Basin Electric Power – Dry Fork Station
- Owner: Basin Electric Power Cooperative
- Project: Coal Handling System
- Location: Dry Fork Station and Mine, Gillette, Wyoming
- Scope: Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management
Project Background
Roberts & Schaefer Company was awarded a turnkey contract from Basin Electric Power Cooperative for engineering, procurement, and construction management of the coal handling system at Basin Electric Power Cooperatives Dry Fork Station and Mine in Gillette, Wyoming. The system will be completed in 2011.
The coal handling system is designed to receive coal from the top of existing mine Silo 3. The existing mine system includes truck dump, crushing, and three 6,400–ton mine storage silos. The received coal is transferred at 2,500 TPH to two new mine storage silos with 5,400–ton capacity each. The coal is discharged from these two silos by multi–directional mass flow gates to a variable speed reversible conveyor. The conveyor capacity is 4,000 TPH to the existing system and 1,200 TPH to the first transfer house in the new system.
Two in series overland conveyors transfer the coal from the mine area to the power station. The coal is stored in two 13,000–ton yard storage silos with provisions for a future third silo. The coal is reclaimed from each storage silos by four variable rate belt feeders onto dual reclaim conveyors. The conveyors have a capacity of 800 TPH each. Truck coal can also be delivered to the power station and unloaded at a truck hopper with provisions for a second future truck hopper. Two conveyors in series transfer the coal from the transfer tower at the silos and truck hopper to the power station transfer house. The second conveyor has a manual belt plow to form an emergency coal pile and an ash analyzer. These two conveyors have provisions for future second conveyors.
At the power station transfer house the coal is conveyed to the Unit 1 plant silos. A conveyor feed the five silos in a single row with traveling tripper. The transfer house has provisions for feeding coal to future Unit 2. All areas of the coal handling system are provided with bag house dust collection with processed dust return or fog type dust suppression.