 | The plant consists of 74 three-phase generators, with each generator
operating under 60-cycle, 4400 volts, 180 RPM, 600 - 850 KVA. |
| 600 KVA is enough power to supply two Wal-Mart stores. |
| Turbine units are rated at 772 - 935 horse-power @ 20 feet of headwaters
falling from the upper St. Marys River to the lower river. |
| Three manufacturers of turbines (Jolly McCormick, S. Morgan Smith, and
Wellman, Seaver, Morgan), all of which are no longer in existence, built the
turbines, necessitating that the Hydro Plant machine many replacement parts
in-house. |
| The power canal is 2 1/4 miles long, 200 feet wide, and 20 feet deep,
going through the center of town, with many portions lined with timber. |
| Canal water velocity is 7 - 10 feet per second, or 5 - 7 miles per hour. |
| This plant generates between 25 - 30 mega-watts when fully on-line, about
225 million KWH (kilowatt-hours) annually, which translates into about 1/5
of the power needs of the Eastern Upper Peninsula. |
| The Corps of Engineers hydro plant at the Soo Locks generates 150 million
KWH (kilowatt-hours). |
| Cloverland Electric uses about 1/3 of the output of the two plants for its
system in the Eastern Upper Peninsula. |
| Edison Sault and Cloverland Electric serve the Eastern Upper Peninsula,
from Sault Ste. Marie to St. Ignace, over to and including the Garden
Peninsula, a population base in excess of 60,000 people. |
| Edison Sault and Cloverland Electric systems require 860 million KWH
(kilowatt-hours) annually. |
| The balance of 510 million KWH (kilowatt-hours) is supplied either by a
transmission tie at Manistique by WE Energies, or by Consumers Energy
through underwater transmission lines at the Straights of Mackinac. |
| Edison Sault's hydro plant can handle 30,000 c.f.s (cubic feet per second,
a cubic foot of water is 7.5). |
| The plant is allocated water every month by the International Joint
Commission (IJC). The IJC controls the levels on Lake Superior and the lower
Great Lakes by regulating the amount of water the generating plants on the
St. Marys can use. |
| There is a maintenance/mechanical department consisting of eight
individuals who maintain the plant. |
| The plant "ramps up" electricity production during on-peak hours
(8a.m.-10p.m. weekdays) and reduces production at al other times. |
| An Aquatic Research Laboratory, operated by Lake Superior State University,
is located in the east end of the hydroelectric plant. |
| In conjunction with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the
Aquatic Lab performs fresh-water research and plants numerous species of
game fish in the St. Mary's River. |
| Presently, over 50,000 Atlantic salmon are both raised and released
annually by the lab into the St. Marys River. |
| Future pans call for the lab to be involved in a major walleye
rearing/planting project into the St. Marys River. |
| Since its inception, the lab has helped over 50 LSSU graduates obtain jobs
in fish and wildlife management. |
