Rocky Mountain Contractors built the Chamberlain Substation applying cutting-edge technology and workmanship to help ensure reliability while saving the client time and money.
Constructed with 9,800 lineal feet of ground wire and 250,000 thousand pounds of steel, the structure is striking. It was built with heavy steel and bus to handle the region’s ice buildup. Chamberlain Substation utilizes a breaker-and-a-half configuration consisting of two normally energized buses. This configuration is reliable, safe and secure.
Rocky Mountain Contractors leveraged several emerging technologies to save the client money and increase reliability. They used gas breakers instead of boil breakers in their insulating material. The PT, CT and radio breakers are all new designs. They also incorporated a ring distribution system. These are designed so that every distribution transformer connects with two feeders using different paths. The feeders form a loop that begin at the substation bus bars, travels through the load area feeding distribution transformers and returns to the substation bus bars. This results in fewer voltage fluctuations.
The substation was required to be built at a low elevation causing water drainage issues which was compounded by heavy rain during construction. The consistent and heavy rain during construction combined with inconsistent soil composition increased the complexity of foundation construction Rocky Mountain Contractors worked through these problems with confidence. They dug trenches to redirect drainage and reset the foundations multiple times. Despite these challenges, they built a pristine substation that will supply dependable power for the growing needs of Chamberlain, SD and the surrounding area.
Rocky Mountain Contractors, an Everus company, constructs state-of-the-art substations such as the Chamberlain Substation across the United States.