Herrenknecht E-Power Pipe Successfully Completes Pipeline Installations in Squamish, Canada
The expansion of energy infrastructure requires innovative construction methods that minimize environmental impact while ensuring safe and precise installation. E-Power Pipe combines microtunnelling technology with prefabricated thrust pipes. These thrust pipes include self-contained ports for electrical cables and fluids, providing a trenchless solution for pipeline installation and reduced timelines for connections relative to comparable methodologies.
Similar to HDD, the product pipe string is prepared on the exit side, offering flexibility in site layout. As part of FortisBC’s Eagle Mountain – Woodfibre Gas Pipeline Project in Squamish, British Columbia, The Tunnelling Company recently completed two successful E-Power Pipe drives, each approximately 650 m long. The project involved the installation of a 24-inch steel gas pipeline using the E-Power Pipe with backreaming. For both drives, the slurry MTBM created the pilot bore with 505 mm diameter before enlarging the bore to 790 mm during subsequent backreaming and pipeline pullback. The first drive was completed in less than 3 weeks’ time, from pilot bore launch to pull-in completion.
On the second drive, duration of the pilot bore was reduced to 7 days. Despite challenging ground conditions, including significant amounts of wood debris along the alignment, both installations were successfully completed. In New Zealand, a similar set of E-Power Pipe equipment is planned to be put into operation by the end of 2026.
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