MARA Substation Expansion

MARA needed to double capacity at its operating Hannibal, Ohio site as it moved into AI data centers through a joint venture with Starwood Capital Group. Spark Power had supported the site’s existing data center operation for three years across engineering, construction, commissioning, and substation upgrades.

• Brought engineering and construction together from day one through progressive design-build, feeding constructability, procurement, and outage planning into the design as it advances through 60% and IFC.
• Used three years of in-house knowledge of the existing yard to give MARA certainty on design, estimating, scheduling, and field execution at a live, operating substation.
• Paired Spark Power’s Canadian engineering team with its U.S. construction crews under one accountable EPC structure, from engineering studies and utility coordination through energization and turnover.

• 200 MW of capacity with N+1 redundancy. Expands the existing 138/13.8 kV substation from roughly 100 MW to 200 MW to support AI data center load.
• New 20 MVA and 120 MVA transformers. Installed alongside new high- and medium-voltage breakers, switchgear, and an expanded MV bus and distribution system.
• New master control room and integrated protection and controls. Grounding, cabling, protection and control systems, and equipment integration tied into upgrades across the existing yard.
• One team from design through energization. Engineering studies, 60% and IFC design, construction, testing, commissioning, and final turnover delivered under a single turnkey EPC scope.