Clemson University, LOT C-1 Area Electrical Extension

Burns’ power and utilities team is providing electrical design and bid and construction phase services to expand a medium voltage service loop on Clemson’s main campus self-healing electrical distribution system.

Clemson University has partnered with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to develop a new facility that will provide expanded student and employee health services on Clemson’s main campus. Their work enables the delivery of clinical care, human performance research labs, advanced imaging, and other innovative medical services for Clemson University students and employees.

Burns has ensured that the MUSC facility will be seamlessly integrated into Clemson’s electrical distribution system, which required modifications to the existing raceway, cabling, and overall infrastructure for long-term reliability. The new development, located in Parking Lot C-1, is supported by Circuit 8, which has sufficient capacity and will be reconfigured to serve the MUSC facility. This involved rerouting cabling, abandoning obsolete raceways, and installing new ductbanks to connect key manholes and extend service to the site while maintaining the reliability and resilience of the self-healing grid architecture.

Our team’s scope also included installing pad-mounted smart switches at both ends of Lot C-1 and forming new pathways between them, extending the main ductbank towards the East Campus Switching Station, and providing feeder paths for the first phase of MUSC’s buildout. The engineering team intercepted existing feeders for parking lot lighting and traffic signals, and integrated power and fiber optic cabling, terminations, equipment foundations, civil design, and permitting.

Burns addressed telecommunications needs by designing raceway infrastructure from existing telecom manholes, running parallel to the power ductbank, and extending to support future MUSC buildout. Early procurement packages were prepared for critical equipment due to long lead times, and our team developed contract documents for design, testing, and implementation of SCADA system modifications, including a five-year maintenance contract for the entire system.

Burns’ contributions encompass comprehensive design phases—schematic, design development, and construction documents—covering cost estimates, schedule definition, thermal modeling, technical specifications. Their involvement extended through bid phase services, construction administration, and supplemental services, ensuring technical compliance, quality assurance, and seamless integration of new infrastructure into Clemson’s campus.