The cloud factory
When I told a friend I was moving close to the Pleasant Prairie Power Plant, he said “That’s where my kids think clouds come from.”
How cute! I can totally see that:
Sometimes you can’t tell where the factory starts and the clouds begin!
I’ve been affectionately calling it the “cloud factory” since, and told my parents about it when they helped us move. They thought the story was adorable. Now I send them text updates on cloud production status:
Ha ha.
But since I’m an adult and have to live in reality (booooo) I decided to actually look up what is being burned there, to create all that steam.
Coal! And lots of it! 13,000 tons a day (according to a potentially outdated wikipedia page)! Maybe that’s what’s on all those trains.
I was curious, so I got a few more stats from the Wisconsin Energy Corporation’s (WEC) 2014 (the most recent available on their site) Corporate Responsibility Report:
- The plant generated 6,231 GWh of electricity in 2014 (the Oak Creek Site generated 11,148!).
- The plant emitted 7,120 1,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions (CO2) in 2014.
- A chilled ammonia pilot project is (was?) used to reduce CO2 emissions as it escapes the flue gas (this pilot began in 2008… I think it’s still going on?).
- I’ll just have to quote this one: “Pleasant Prairie Power Plant (PPPP) and Oak Creek Power Plant (OCPP) units 5-8 have been retrofitted with selective catalytic reduction systems for NOx emissions removal and wet flue-gas desulfurization units (scrubbers) for SO2 emissions removal. These projects, along with additional measures taken at other facilities, have resulted in more than an 80 percent reduction in SO2 and NOx emissions combined when compared to 2000 emissions.”
- Now it gets interesting! Falcons were living at their power plants, so in 1991, they released “15 captive-bred peregrine falcon chicks in support of the Wisconsin Peregrine Falcon Recovery program” at the Pleasant Prairie location. Since then, they’ve installed nesting boxes on power plant chimneys (I am interpreting this to mean across multiple locations), and 200 falcons (20% of the population in Wisconsin) have been born at them!
- WEC provides its combustion products, including from the Pleasant Prairie landfill location, for use in building materials and used 102% of its systemwide products in 2014. They’re also re-burning combustion products at the Pleasant Prairie location (meaning less coal needs to be purchased).
Don’t worry – this isn’t some sneaky sponsored post – I am just interested in learning what is going on where I live, and like sharing what I learn, here!
And the other good thing about the plant? I see it every time I leave my house for a run and it lets me know how challenging the wind will be that day. If the steam is going out horizontal from the chimney? That’s a bad sign. I want to see this (straight up!):
Ha!
Themocracy
I love the expression on that bird’s face, very “No Photos!” And that is handy for a wind gauge.
Ha ha ha! He’s totally making that face!
When I was a kid I thought the power plant in town made the clouds, too! I think it’s so fun that you text your parents photos with updates on the “factory” 🙂
There’s some kind of plant that we can see from our apartment that also has steam coming out that we use to gauge the weather, too! So handy 🙂 I think it’s also a power plant for the UIC campus but I should probably look into that.
Aww, cute!
I wonder if that’s what it is! I bet so! I remember our campus had one 🙂
What a cute idea to think that’s where clouds come from. And awww, those falcons are pretty cute. You know, there’s a huge nuclear power plant just outside of my hometown, and I never really researched it. I think it’s cool that you want to learn so much about your new area!
“Cloud Factory” is the name of a song Terry and I like too 🙂 It was one of the first things he and I talked about!
There is a nuclear power plant in ZY-IN, too! I am not sure if it’s active? We should both research and report back 🙂
Neat! What is the band? I should give it a listen! 🙂
Yeah, that’s more interesting than work 🙂 Mine was constructed in 1970, started operating in 1978 and was the source of two of the top 5 most dangerous nuclear incidents in the US. So… that’s fun LOL.
The song is by Sonata Arctica. It’s definitely more of a Terry song. It came up when we were working at 3am, and wouldn’t it be nice to sleep in a cloud factory now?
Ooo! Eek! Do you recall the incidents? Did Homer cause them?!
Ours was built in 1973, and started working in late 1973, with a second unit in 1974. It was retired in 1998 (after someone messed something up with the rods in 1997!). They determined it wasn’t worth the cost of energy to keep it going. Demo can’t happen until 2026 due to the materials there.
Ha, thanks for the warning that it’s a “Terry” song. I will check it out tonight, before I go to the cloud factory to sleep 🙂
Haha, that’s what happened. I kind of remember the plant being shut down while I was in college, which was one of the major incidents. But the other happened a few years ago, so not while I was living there.
Wow, demo won’t happen until it’s been shut down almost 30 years? Yikes.
Interesting! I wonder if it freaks local people out, or if they even know.
I wrote the wrong date! 2013 demo was to begin, with closure on 2026. I wonder if that is what’s going on? Hmm.
Wow, that is a lot of “clouds”!!! Is it just steam coming from the pipes? I would wonder about any potential pollutants?
It’s steam. They have other programs to deal with the CO2, NOX, SO2 and the combustion products. 🙂
Oh great! Just had to ask, LOL! I loved looking at the clouds when I was a kid, deciding what they looked like always made me happy! 🙂
You’d never get bored of that here! It’s always “cloudy!” 🙂
I remember the cloud factory from the triathlon. 🙂 I wondered what was going on there. I love that those baby Falcons seem to be thriving as well and creating more and more Falcons! I love hearing the history of your area 🙂
Yes! You know you are getting close to the race when you see it! 🙂
I would LOVE to see one of those falcons! I wonder if they release them here or what. Or if they stay there?! Confused!
Yay! I am happy you do! I am enjoying reading about it!
I love this! Cloud Factory. So cute.
🙂 🙂 🙂
Aww that is cute :). Oh the things we think as kids! It’s neat that you took the time to look all this up. Most of us aren’t so curious about our surroundings these days. And I love that you use it to gauge the wind on your runs 🙂
Thanks for reading it! I really want to learn more about our area since we plan to be here for a very long time! 🙂
The steam wasn’t moving too much yesterday for my run 😉
I love Pleasant Prairie because that’s where I stop for food at Culver’s on the way up to Wisconsin!
Awesome 🙂 I am guessing it’s off 50?
It’s just north of the outlet mall off of 41/94. They have some outdoor tables so there is somewhere to sit with my dog while I eat!
“Cloud factory”! That’s so cute! I’m amused you send updates on the cloud factory to your parents. You have a really great relationship with your family!!
Oh yeah – we’re always texting silly stuff to each other. It’s been really fun since my mom got a smart phone last summer! She is super in to emojis and always finds the perfect ones, hee hee.