Pleasant Valley engineering and job shadow students went on a field trip to visit the Exelon nuclear power plant in Cordova on Nov 29.
The group was accompanied by Grant Housman and Mary Johnson, who spent their time visiting the training facilities of the plant. They were welcomed by key speaker Bill Stoermer, the communications manager at the Cordova power plant.
Following initial briefings on the processes of the plant, the group went from presentations to scenario training control rooms and virtual reality experiences. Accompanying the activities in the training center, there were multiple engineers and an information technology worker, along with Stoermer to shed light on their careers at the plant.
Sophomore Jonathan Chiles shared his thoughts on the trip. “The field trip really clarified a lot of unknowns I had about nuclear power regarding how it works, its safety, and how efficient it is.”
The nuclear power plant is run by Exelon, a FORTUNE 100 company that runs plants supplying power in the eastern and midwestern parts of the United States. The company runs plants ranging from natural gas to nuclear, wind, solar and hydroelectric power.
Exelon’s complex in Cordova is a two reactor system that draws coolant water off of the Mississippi River and recycles it back in. According to Exelon this makes it, along with its other stations, “one of the nation’s cleanest and lowest cost power generation fleets.” The Exelon power plant creates and supplies enough energy for over two million homes, doing so without carbon emissions.
Despite aging nuclear reactors, the United States leads the world in nuclear generated energy, accounting for 99 of the 450 reactors across the world, which together make up 11 percent of the world’s energy (20 percent for the United States).
Afterwards, students were asked to reflect on the field trip and its strengths. Junior Ella Rekow explained her admiration for the trip. “While it didn’t make me want to go into nuclear engineering, it reminded me why I want to go into engineering: to help people. Being able to see what happens with your own eyes may interest some people who never knew these opportunities existed.”
