IEEE Members on a Power Trip...

...headed up by Lab Manager Trever Hassell and Vice Chair David Nelms, IEEE MTU Student Chapter members took an inside view of the generation of electricity by coal in a recent trip to Presque Isle Power Plant in Marquette, MI.  All of the various aspects of power system protection, controls, relaying and distribution were studied.  With roughly 50% of all of the United State's power being provided by coal, it was insightful to see how much fuel is required to generate electricity in the hopes that future sources of energy can be found to supplement fossil fuel consumption.  "I really don't think you can appreciate just how much coal gets used until you see it, burning away."  Amazing results have been achieved in the past few years with regards to efficiency and air-quality, but the long-range goal for these future engineers is to eliminate coal as a resource entirely.  In the mean time, with such energy-conscious companies such as Wisconsin Power working at it, maintaining and running the electricity we use every day is a monumental task.  The IEEE MTU Student Chapter thanks them for this opportunity.

WE Energy Presque Isle Plant (PDF)