Bringing standby power to a hard-to-access remote lodge

Supply:

• Cummins 1000DQFAD 1000 kW 60 Hz diesel generator set
• Custom enclosure, fuel tank and ancillary equipment
• Design, supply and installation

Power for a uniquely difficult location

Located deep within a canyon environment in the southwestern United States, the site is exceptionally difficult to access and is normally reached only by foot, mule, or river craft.

As part of a broader water-infrastructure modernization program, the customer required a new treatment facility supported by dependable standby power. Backup power was essential to maintain a continuous supply of clean water even during utility outages.

An engineering partner selected Cummins to help design and deliver the backup power package. The remote terrain, limited access for repairs and deliveries, and the need for reliable 24/7 site service made resilience a critical requirement.

Cummins worked with the project team from concept through equipment delivery to develop a package aligned with the site’s acoustic, transport, and fueling constraints. That collaboration helped shape a robust standby solution for a uniquely remote installation.

“We help customers from engineering design through to complex equipment delivery. The goal was to create a quiet, robust package that could satisfy transport, environmental, and performance requirements at the same time.”

Chris Scott

Senior Sales Application Engineer
Cummins Sales & Service, Henderson, CO

Beating heat and harsh terrain to deliver on time

Cummins collaborated with the project team on the design and sizing of the standby generator set and its ancillary equipment. The final specification centered on a Cummins 1000DQFAD (1000 kW, 60 Hz) diesel generator set together with a custom weather-protected enclosure, fuel tank, and related accessories.

A key driver in the design was the site’s inaccessibility. Equipment could only reach the site by helicopter, which imposed strict lifting limits and a narrow delivery window before summer temperatures reduced available lift performance.

The design also had to accommodate a number of environmental considerations to satisfy demanding acoustic requirements. The client raised concerns that the generator set’s engine and radiator could cause reverberation around the canyon environment. To help resolve this, Cummins engineers created a highly sound-attenuated enclosure designed to limit noise to 60 dBA at 23 feet. Inlet and outlet hoods were added to direct the sound horizontally, and the enclosure was equipped with dual silencers to minimize exhaust noise, with one hospital-grade silencer to attenuate low frequency sound and a secondary, annular silencer to dampen high frequencies.

Making airlifting possible

Working closely with another project contractor, Cummins rose to the challenge of airlifting the power package, whose 25,000 kilogram (55,000 lb) weight exceeded the helicopter’s approximate 7,000 kilogram(15,500 lb) lifting capacity. Cummins teams first dismantled the equipment into multiple parts, including removing the alternator and dividing the enclosure into three sections, so each piece could be airlifted into the canyon one at a time. Cummins technicians reassembled the equipment on site, completing the successful delivery of the generator set.

Enabling and easing future refueling

From planning to commissioning

In addition to designing and installing the new generator set, enclosure, and fuel tank, Cummins worked with the project team to address the long-term refueling challenges created by the site’s isolation and harsh operating conditions.

To minimize the number of future fuel deliveries, the diesel sub-base tank was sized to maximize storage while still remaining practical for helicopter-supported operations when empty.

The solution also incorporated collapsible helicopter-compatible fuel transport containers and a custom extraction system designed to simplify actual transfer from barrels to tank. A motorized hose reel, suction pump, and permanent fuel polishing system were integrated to support dependable operation in extreme heat.

With the generator set, enclosure, and fuel tank installed on schedule, the project demonstrates Cummins’ ability to engineer, package, transport, and commission standby power solutions for highly constrained environments where reliability, logistics, environmental performance, and schedule discipline all matter at the same time.