In 1893, President Grover Cleveland addressed a massive crowd for the opening ceremony of the Chicago World’s Fair. “Surrounded by the stupendous results of American enterprise and activity and in view of magnificent evidences of American skill and intelligence, we need not fear that these congratulations will be exaggerated…” He then pressed a gold and ivory button that activated the “monster” 12,000 horsepower (9,480 kilowatt) Allis Engine. Within moments, fountains sprayed water, flags unfurled, and the crowd roared as 100,000 electric lights illuminated the fairgrounds. This dazzling scene marked more than an opening ceremony. It began the electric age.
As the nation took shape around the power and promise of electricity, Sundt Construction grew alongside. Today, our team brings craftmanship and experience in high-performance turbine installation to lead the next generation of power and energy construction. Whether for renewable, industrial or municipal applications, clients know they can rely on Sundt for our self-perform capabilities, experienced team and award-winning quality and safety culture.
Building To Meet Energy Demand
With the increased use of modern technologies like home electronics, electric cars and the shift to electric power for businesses, the need for power continues to rise rapidly.
“The growth in demand for power itself comes from environmental permitting changes, aging infrastructure and increased industrial demand. Take all that, you know, a half a percent here or 1 percent there, and before you know it, we’re 20 percent deficient on need of megawatts in the U.S.” said Sundt Senior VP of Heavy Industrial & Mining Patrick Bulman.
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) reports that half the U.S. may face an increased risk of power supply shortfalls over the next decade due to rising power consumption.
Clients and communities have trusted Sundt Construction for over 135 years to build the essential infrastructure and innovations to allow for a brighter future.
- Environmental permitting changes
- Transition from coal power
- Aging infrastructure
- Increased electrification of businesses
- Population growth
- Rising power needs from electronics and electric vehicles
- New AI and data center markets
The Power of Experience
Sundt’s power generation construction team has extensive experience delivering successful projects. The team has worked with major utilities nationwide, bringing extensive experience and the ability to identify economical solutions for power plant construction and equipment installation.
Keeping project timelines in check and staying under budget requires diligent planning and the ability to maneuver when issues arise. Our team’s ability to self-perform around 85% of our projects’ scope helps ensure timely, high-quality delivery.
“A lot of clients like that we can self-perform the critical path of a job. We’re not just subcontracting everything. Managing the critical tasks such as concrete foundations, steel erection, mechanical and electrical installations internally allow us to control timelines and maintain quality standards,” said Sundt Project Executive Jim Bergin.
With experience comes the ability to offer flexibility to our clients. We’ve worked with various types of power generation plants from the major turbine suppliers: General Electric, Siemens, Mitsubishi, Pratt & Whitney and more. This allows us to tailor construction and installation to match the unit and configuration needed for operational demands.
- Aeroderivative Units: Compact gas turbines derived from aviation technology, offering rapid startup and high efficiency, ideal for quick-response power needs.
- Frame Units: Industrial gas turbines designed for durability and reliability, typically used in base-load power generation scenarios.
- Advanced Class Units: Cutting-edge turbines with superior efficiency and performance, optimized for large-scale and high-efficiency power generation applications.
- Simple-cycle plants: Designed primarily for peak demands, these plants can quickly ramp up and down, providing critical flexibility for power grids.
- Combined Heat and Power (CHP) facilities: Also known as cogeneration plants, these produce both electricity and useful thermal energy from a single fuel source, significantly improving energy efficiency.
Meeting The Needs of Mission-Critical Clients
Our team recently completed a project at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. Sundt constructed a power plant that is capable of forming a microgrid for the south Tampa area, even if the regional grid fails.
Sundt completed the project in 2025 for Tampa Electric Company (TECO). The state-of-the-art facility includes installation of four Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engines (RICE), each with a gross output of 18 MW for a combined output of 72 MW. The facility can start and be online generating full output for customers in less than 30 minutes.
Read more about the South Tampa Resiliency Project.
A current engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) project for a confidential utility company in Virgina requires building a new 1,000 MW natural gas-fired generation facility. This includes installation of sound-attenuated enclosures for climatic protection. It also includes thoughtful planning for quicker grid restoration with black-start capabilities, integrated auxiliary systems and redundancies. Working with our client we have emphasizes maintainability, efficient field assembly, and operational flexibility to meet the rigorous performance and reliability requirements of the facility.
Click here to see more power and energy projects.
Building The Infrastructure for Today and Tomorrow’s Future
The future will bring continued rapid growth driven by the expanding demands of data centers, manufacturing, electric vehicles and the ongoing replacement of outdated power facilities.
Sundt understands what these pressures mean for utilities and municipalities. And our team stands ready to work with clients to proactively plan and expand infrastructure to ensure reliable, efficient and sustainable power solutions. We offer services delivered by Engineer, Procure & Construct (EPC), General Construction (GC) and Construction Management at Risk (CMAR). We can work with your team to bring power where it’s needed now and for the generations to come.
Power Construction Capabilities:
- Simple Cycle (SC)
- Combined Cycle (CC)
- Engine Power
- Combined Heat & Power (CHP)
- Battery Energy Storage System (BESS)
- Front-End Turbine Cooling
- Net Zero Water
- Coal to Gas Conversion
- Coal Combustion Residuals Treatment (CCRT)
- Air Quality Control System (AQCS)
Working with Sundt means more than understanding our capabilities. It’s having a partner you can trust and collaborate with integrity. “When it comes to power and utilities, we’re trying to do what’s best for the client. Every job could change here and there, and we’re flexible enough to accommodate that, to get the job done,” said Bergin. At Sundt, we’re ready to power what’s next, coast-to-coast, bringing skill, grit and purpose to every project.
