In May, Fairbanks High School students traveled to Brilliant, Ohio, for the rare opportunity to tour the Cardinal Power Plant which supplies much of the electricity used by URE members.
More than 125 students from four Ohio high schools in cooperative service areas toured the Cardinal Plant facilities. They learned about the history of electric cooperatives in Ohio, how electricity is produced, and career opportunities in the electric industry.
Sean Luellen, URE’s crew leader along with recently hired, groundworker, Hunter Hardesty and line tech/ journeyman Daron Downs chaperoned the event to talk with students one-on-one and to answer any career questions from the students.
The students viewed a video about how not-for-profit electric cooperatives formed in 1935 to bring electricity into rural agricultural areas of Ohio. They also learned how the cooperatives’ Buckeye Power, which owns Cardinal Plant, believes in an all-of-the-above approach to power generation, including coal, natural gas, solar, wind, hydropower, and biofuels.
Coal-fired plants like Cardinal play a critical role in providing reliable electricity for Ohio, said Coty Lee, safety and health supervisor. “I think that it’s important to show what sets us apart from nuclear, gas, solar, and wind power generation. At a gas plant, for example, they are solely relying on that supply of gas coming in. Here at a coal plant, we always have two to four months of fuel on hand. We aren’t impacted by supply chain challenges, and we can continue to produce reliable power even in the toughest of elements.”
Cardinal Plant, which will soon be one of only 4 coal plants still operating in the state due to aggressive EPA regulations that have forced many coal plants into early retirement, is committed to delivering reliable electricity while safeguarding the environment, Lee explained. “We do everything possible to meet or exceed environmental standards,” he said. “That’s why we are considered one of the cleanest operating coal plants in the world.”
The students took a guided walking tour inside the plant, which produces 1,800 megawatts of power — enough to light 200 million LED lightbulbs. They saw firsthand how electricity is made from beginning to end and how leftover waste material, called fly ash, is sold and used in the manufacturing of concrete products.
“The students are amazed when we put into perspective how much electricity Cardinal Plant can produce at any given time,” said A.J. Loferski, senior project manager, power generation. He said students appreciated the opportunity to learn at the Cardinal Plant.
“They loved the tour and were impressed with how clean the plant was,” said Chris Yoho, supply chain manager. “It was nothing like what they had imagined. They were also surprised to learn that what comes out of the stacks is mostly water, not pollution.”
Students learned about various career paths available in the cooperative world, including positions available to high school and college graduates, Lee said. Among statewide offices, generation facilities, and local cooperatives, jobs can be found in engineering, finance, IT, communications, human resources, line work, customer service, and other areas. Students on the tour received a career booklet that included job descriptions and salary ranges.
“Many young people work at our Cardinal Plant; you don’t have to have 20 years of experience,” Lee said. “They have an opportunity here.”
“It’s important to show students there are a lot of career opportunities in the cooperative world, opportunities that you can achieve right out of college. Many young people work at our Cardinal Plant, you don’t have to have 20 years of experience."
Coty Lee, safety & health supervisor, Cardinal Plant