Imagine you enter a race, fully accepting the challenge and expectation that you must finish first. How would you feel when you learned that the rules made you start six months behind everyone else! Jon Johnson accepted this very challenge when he took the lead on the Alpine Transmission projects.
In order for the Alpine Power Plant to reach completion, and before it can finish its first testing, all the transmission work has to be completed. Just as the improbable story above described, Jon and his teams could not begin until late last fall, months after the actual Alpine plant began construction.
Yesterday afternoon Wolverine crews energized the last segment of new transmission required for the project. After months of engineering, construction through the winter, and a delicate process of energizing each new segment, the system stands ready for Alpine to put power onto the grid.
You might think, “How hard is it to connect a new generator to the grid?” In truth, sometimes it can be pretty easy. Alpine was not one of these times. We rebuilt several miles of new line, upgraded or built three transmission stations, and rebuilt the high-side of two Great Lakes (GLE) distribution substations, plus built a new one. That’s a lot of work to complete in only six months — especially through the winter!
Thanks go to dozens of people who made this happen. Crews from Hydaker-Wheatlake built most of the new facilities, and Wolverine linemen and GLE linemen worked long days and late nights transferring load and switching in new stations. Wolverine Substation and I&C Technicians supported construction and performed final station checkouts and inspections. The IT department integrated the new data to allow our computers to see and control the new line flows. Wolverine’s Operations and Energy Control Center wrote, reviewed, and managed a number of complicated switching procedures.
They finished their work on time – a remarkable accomplishment, especially under the circumstances. I’m very proud of these employees. We remain only a few days away from firing up Alpine, and the system stands ready. Well done to everyone who met this important milestone!
As someone who has worked on parts of this project, it is an amazing feeling to finally see the end result of all of the hard work that has been done. Great job everyone!!
I echo Ryan’s comment…great job everyone!!! I had the opportunity to visit the Alpine Project last week, and although I have seen pictures and presentations they just can’t do the project justice. As I pulled into the driveway and faced this magnificent structure my mouth dropped open and all I could say was “holy crap” (well, maybe not those exact words). An incredible sense of pride for Wolverine, and gratitude to all who worked and dedicated themselves to this project, was overwhelming. Thank you Brian and Dan for the “mini” tour and providing me with a condensed project process. It was amazing! And probably most importantly….the contributions that our incredibly talented and young engineers contributed to the project was beyond comprehension. Again… great job everyone and you should be very proud of a job well done. I know I walked away with an over-the-top respect for the Alpine Team. Thank you all!!!