Profile Park and Athlone Power Plant

Greener Ideas Limited, a strategic joint venture comprising Bord Gáis Energy and Mountside Partners Limited, was tasked with enhancing Ireland’s power generation capacity.

To reach this goal, they initiated the Profile Park and Athlone Power Plant projects.

Each of these projects integrated five MAN 20MW engines to provide 100 MW of electrical energy to the grid as backup, delivering a combined output of 200 MW.

By reinforcing the national grid, these projects would provide enough flexible, gas-fired power generation to keep 100,000 homes fully powered all year round.

Since these generators can be quickly switched on and off as demand peaks, they help meet fluctuating energy demands, support further integration of renewables by compensating for their inconsistent output, ultimately making Ireland’s energy supply more stable and secure and helping reach its net zero ambition.

Timelines for project delivery were compressed, due to Ireland's security of supply requirements. As a result, Greener Ideas Limited opted for a non-traditional project delivery approach to help bring these innovative power plants to market.

Rather than procuring the traditional EPC model for these projects, they chose a hybrid-model contracting approach. This involved procuring the main equipment themselves and subcontracting the remaining EPC works.

To help facilitate this strategy, they wanted to involve a capable partner with a wealth of experience to act as a representative and help bridge the gaps in their project management and execution.

Shanahan Engineering was chosen to fulfil this crucial role thanks to their expertise in the field and track record of success.

Tasked with navigating the complexities of managing multiple suppliers and contractors, Shanahan’s focus was on ensuring that the project hit key milestones on time and adhered to budget constraints.

Embracing the challenge, Shanahan knew they had to quickly get to grips with what gaps there were in the project plans and focus on the key issues to ensure the projects started on time.

To help facilitate this, they deployed a senior management team directly within the client’s operations, developing a “one team” integration structure.

This was underpinned by a comprehensive project management mandate, including engineering support, tendering processes, contractor selection, overseeing construction, supporting local and international procurement.

Initially, the team prioritised going to market to procure main contracts, all while ensuring the client was kept up to speed with monthly and quarterly updates.

The next step was mobilising the team to both sites, where they began the essential groundwork and management for the projects. Given the parallel construction timelines, Shanahan’s expertise in resource allocation proved invaluable, optimising both cost efficiency and productivity across the sites.  

As the Profile Park and Athlone projects continue to progress towards their anticipated completion dates, Shanahan Engineering’s good work is clear to see.

By adapting to a hybrid contracting model, maintaining rigorous communication, and ensuring agile resource management, Shanahan has been instrumental in advancing these projects towards their goal of enhancing Ireland's energy infrastructure.

Once completed, these plants will strengthen the national grid's capacity and, crucially, as key components of the energy infrastructure for transitioning to renewables, they will support the integration of more renewable sources by compensating for their inconsistent output. By meeting these essential national energy security needs, these projects demonstrate the potential of innovative energy solutions to address the demands of modern society and support Ireland in achieving its net zero ambition.