COOLING WATER SYSTEM CONTRACT AND CONSTRUCTION FOR THE SEABROOK NUCLEAR POWER PLANT.

The 2,300-MW, two-unit Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant will take advantage of the cold waters of the North Atlantic for cooling. A once-through cooling water system with a capacity of 850,000 gpm, a significant improvement in efficiency over other condenser cooling systems, had to be designed for the project to make maximum use of available sea water while causing minimum disruption to the area's delicate ecosystem. Twin tunnels designed to pass under problem areas answered the requirement. The contract, developed through close cooperation among owner, engineer, and contractor, could serve as a model for the contract development process. It contained a two-part, risk-sharing concept established by the contract philosophy. These are discussed in the article, along with the risk sharing contract philosophy, tunneling operations, and offshore work.