A ribbon cutting ceremony was held March 12, 2024, to mark the completion of the 138kV Power Transmission System Replacement Project at the Nevada National Security Site.
National Nuclear Security Administration
April 18, 2024
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A ribbon cutting ceremony was held March 12, 2024, to mark the completion of the 138kV Power Transmission System Replacement Project at the Nevada National Security Site. This project is an important piece of infrastructure that will increase the reliability of electrical power supply and enable vital communications and data transmission across the site.
“The 138kV Project is crucial to our national security missions at Nevada,” said Nicole Nelson‐Jean, NNSA Associate Administrator for the Office of Infrastructure. We are leveraging commercial entity support to solve problems and modernize infrastructure across the complex.”
Originally constructed in 1963, the NNSS power distribution system was well beyond its useful design life and warranted enhancement and replacement in the site’s Mission Corridor; the 138kV project modernized the power lines and poles from Mercury Switching Center to Tweezer Substation. Operations continued without disruption during project execution.
Throughout this project, NNSA designed, constructed, replaced, and upgraded approximately 26 miles of power lines, degraded poles, and fiber optic lines that are critical for delivering reliable power and communications. The modernization supports ongoing national security mission activities conducted by the Department of Energy and NNSA, as well as the Department of Defense, Homeland Security, and other federal partners.
“This project is, in a very literal way, energizing the site – it will provide enduring power security and represents tangible revitalization, signifying to everyone that there is an important, enduring mission to support here in Nevada,” said Dr. David Bowman, Nevada Field Office Manager.
The project was fully funded in FY 2020 at $69.7 million, and was later baselined in March 2021 at $50.3 million. This project’s acquisition was the first in the Nuclear Security Enterprise to utilize what is known as a Firm Fixed Price Management and Operations contract.
The completion of this project provides the following benefits:
- Mitigates the risk of losing power to mission-critical programs by replacing aged wooden power poles with new steel structures.
- Upgrades the segment’s power to 65 megawatts to support future mission work in the Mission Corridor.
- Mitigates the risk of losing mission-critical data from stockpile stewardship experiments, which are a significant federal investment of dollars, labor, and special nuclear material.
- Improves the reliability and capability of security, safety, and emergency management and response systems.
- Provides uninterrupted communications and data transmission in support of normal NNSS site operations.
The project was successfully completed through the exceptional skill, leadership, and dedication of many key players, including Federal Project Director, Desiree Ang. NNSA is not only pushing the frontier of scientific research and technology development but is also striving to accelerate infrastructure modernization by piloting novel acquisition approaches.