A4 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2015
BUSINESS
Construction stops at Boardman electric plant
Contractor
on verge of
bankruptcy
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Staff writer
Construction has come
to a halt at Portland General
Electric’s Carty Generating
Station near Boardman as
the project contractor tee-
ters on the brink of bank-
ruptcy.
Workers were turned
away this week at the Carty
site next to the Boardman
Coal Plant on Tower Road,
leaving the 440-megwatt
natural gas-¿ red power
plant in a temporary state
of limbo.
PGE hired Abeinsa to
build the facility in 2013.
Abeinsa, based in suburban
St. Louis, is an af¿ liate of
Abengoa, a Spanish multi-
national corporation with
investments in solar energy,
biofuels, power plants and
infrastructure.
Abengoa entered into
early insolvency proceed-
ings in November. The
company now has up to
four months to work out a
deal with creditors, or risk
becoming Spain’s larg-
est bankruptcy on record.
Abengoa employs around
20,000 people worldwide.
About 500 workers on
the Carty station are left
wondering if and when
they’ll be back on the job.
Steve Corson, spokesman
for PGE, said they are in
constant communication
with Abeinsa to resolve the
situation.
“We are certainly still
committed to the Carty
project and will be working
to get people back on the
job site as soon as possi-
ble,” Corson said.
A representative for Abe-
insa could not be reached
Monday for comment.
The Carty Generating
Station was identi¿ ed in
PGE’s 2009 long-range en-
ergy plan to meet growing
customer demand. PGE
serves roughly 840,000
customers in the Portland
metro area south to Salem.
Carty is supposed to
come online by mid-2016.
Corson said that schedule
hasn’t changed yet, but re-
iterated the situation with
Abeinsa is À uid.
Construction is well
along at Carty, and major
components of the plant
have already been built, in-
cluding the combined-cycle
gas and steam generation
turbines. Corson said PGE
does have the capacity to
assume control of the re-
maining work should it be
necessary.
“We’ve been monitoring
the situation very closely,
given the circumstances,”
Corson said.
PGE selected Abeinsa as
the general contractor for
Carty after a vigorous bid-
ding process in 2013. At the
time, Corson said there was
no inkling the company’s
¿ nances were in trouble.
“Abengoa is one of the
largest energy ¿ rms in the
world,” he said. “They
Ground work begins on hotel site
were deemed to be able to
deliver, in terms of their
contract.”
Corson said there are
safeguards built into the
contract, including a per-
formance bond which acts
as a kind of insurance pol-
icy for the project. The
plant could cost up to $514
million when all is said and
done.
Corson said he is not
sure when workers will be
allowed back on site, but
reiterated PGE’s commit-
ment to the project.
“We don’t want people
to be left in a state of uncer-
tainty for any longer than
Former Herald reporter
promoted to Blue
Mountain Eagle editor
Blue Mountain Eagle
6T$)) 3H2T2 %< *$5< /. W(6T
Heavy equipment operators start site preparation work Tuesday, Dec. 15, at the location where a four-story Holiday Inn
Express will be build at the corner of West Hermiston Avenue and Highway 395.
Site preparation work has
started at the location where
a four-story Holiday Inn
Express will be built at the
corner of West Hermiston
Avenue and Highway 395.
Heavy equipment oper-
ators were working on the
site Tuesday, Dec. 15.
According to Mark Mor-
gan, assistant city manager
for Hermiston, building
permits were purchased for
the location last week.
A four-story Holiday Inn
Express with 93 rooms, in-
cluding 18 suites, an indoor
pool, spa and ¿ tness center
is planned for the site. Earli-
er this year it was estimated
that the facility could open
as early as July 1, 2016.
The Holiday Inn will
employ 25 full-time work-
ers once it opens, according
to its management compa-
ny, and will be designed in
the company’s newest style,
which premiered in Salt
Lake City earlier this year.
The new style was created
to appeal to millennial trav-
elers and features a more
open lobby with high-top
Shoppers in Boardman
are encouraged to save their
receipts for purchases made
at local businesses for a
chance to win prizes.
Sponsored by the Board-
man Chamber of Com-
merce, Shop at Home for
the Holidays and Always
helps support local busi-
nesses. People can turn in
receipts dated from Nov. 25
through Dec. 28 to be en-
tered into the drawing.
Receipts must show a
Boardman business name
and address, and include
the person’s name and con-
tact information. They must
be turned in by Monday,
Dec. 28 by 5 p.m. at the
chamber of¿ ce, located in
the SAGE Center, 101 2l-
son Road. The drawing will
be held Tuesday, Dec. 29.
For more information,
call the chamber at 541-
481-3014.
The Hermiston Herald
accepts news announce-
ments about job changes
and promotions, business
ownership changes, reno-
vations, remodels, changes
in business hours, new
business openings, busi-
ness owner retirements and
related items. Submit your
business news and photos
to newsroom@hermiston-
herald.com.
portion of West Ridgeway
Avenue between the hotel
property and Sallee Prop-
erties, the neighbor to the
north.
Hart, 31, graduated from
Vale High School in 2002.
He attended Treasure Valley
Community College and
Portland State University
before earning his degree
from the University of 2r-
egon with a minor in
business administra-
tion.
After working as
a wildland ¿ re¿ ghter
during the summers
while attending col-
lege, Hart began his
journalism career at
the Argus 2bserver
in 2ntario, where he
was quickly promoted to
lifestyle editor. Prior to start-
ing at the Eagle, he worked
for the Hermiston Herald
and the East 2regonian.
The Eagle has been
Grant County’s newspaper
since 1868. In 1979, the pa-
per merged into what is now
E2 Media Group, which
publishes the Hermiston
Herald, Wallowa County
Chieftain, the East 2rego-
nian and seven other region-
al newspapers.
LET ‘ER BUCK!
With this Special Holiday Offer for Pendleton Round-Up Fans
VOLUME 109 ɿ NUMBER 65
Gary L. West
Jade McDowell
Editor
gwest@hermistonherald.com
541-564-4532
Reporter
jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com
541-564-4536
Tammy Malgesini
Jeanne Jewett
Community Editor
tmalgesini@eastoregonian.com
541-564-4539
Multi-Media Consultant
jjewett@hermistonherald.com
541-564-4531
Sam Barbee
Kim La Plant
Sports Reporter
sbarbee@hermistonherald.com
541-564-4542
Multi-media Consultant
klaplant@hermistonherald.com
541-564-4538
BRIEFCASE
Shop Boardman
and win
tables and barstool chairs.
InnSight Hotel Man-
agement Group, based in
Spring¿ eld, 2regon, will
manage it.
A dispute over the prop-
erty was resolved in Jan-
uary after the city divvied
up ownership of the gravel
An Eastern 2regon na-
tive and former reporter for
the Hermiston Herald has
been named the new editor
of the Blue Mountain Eagle
in John Day.
Sean Hart, orig-
inally from Vale,
joined the staff Dec.
1. He replaced Scotta
Callister, who left the
newspaper in July.
“I’m excited to
continue my career
reporting the news Sean
Hart
that matters in East-
ern 2regon,” he said.
“The staff here at the Eagle
has been great, and I look
forward to getting out into
the community.”
Hart has worked for
three Eastern 2regon news-
papers since 2007. He has
earned ¿ rst-place awards
from the 2regon Newspa-
per Publishers Association
for best lifestyle coverage
and best graphics and sec-
ond-place awards for best
local column and best per-
sonality feature.
3rinted on
recycled
newsprint
To contact the Hermiston Herald for news,
advertising or subscription information:
• call 541-567-6457
• e-mail info@hermistonherald.com
• stop b\ our of¿ ces at 333 (. 0ain 6t.
• visit us online at: hermistonherald.com
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