Walking Tour 4 - Abbott Power Plant

1/29/15

            Today, we toured the Abbott power plant. Located right on campus, Abbott is responsible for 75% of campus’ energy. With 3 natural gas boilers, 3 coal boilers, and 2 heat recovery steam generators, they are more than capable to fuel our campus. The entrance to the fabled steam tunnels is in the plant as well.

            The plant itself was both smaller and larger than I thought it might be. It was smaller in a sense of floor space, however, it wasn’t cramped or claustrophobic. There was plenty of walking room between the maze of pipes and huge boilers. We encountered fewer people than I thought and I had to marvel at the technology that allowed so few employees to run such a huge power plant.

            As a chemical engineering major, the plant was interesting because we discussed the various reactions that take place in the generators and boilers. We were also told about problems that had occurred and how they had been fixed, which all lent itself to making engineering problems much realer.

            From an architectural standpoint, there wasn’t much to see. I did find the way that the plant was integrated with campus interesting. It took up very little room, relatively, while still outputting considerable energy. That, along with the steam tunnels, the plant was allowed to do its job well, while maintaining as little of a presence as possible.