MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin is marking its 20th year of having an on-campus power generation facility that not only produces electricity in the event of a shortage but also serves as a classroom for agriculture and engineering students.
Under normal circumstances, the university receives its electrical power through the Weakley County Municipal Electrical System (WCMES). However, if power is lost from the local utility or there is a need from the Tennessee Valley Authority, the on-campus facility can provide electricity to support the TVA during peak times.
Completed in October 2005 at a cost of $4.9 million, the power generation facility is capable of generating 8 megawatts using four diesel-fueled generators, helping the university with its energy costs. The facility is on Jerry Gresham Road north of the main campus.
UTM Physical Plant Director Dana Hagan said UT Martin has an agreement with TVA to export power to that entity.
“When TVA requests us to operate, we actually power the campus with the generators, and the rest is sent out by overhead power lines to the Hawk Road Substation for use by WCMES, so that TVA’s load is decreased by 8 megawatts,” she said. “The campus is on a loop with a transfer switch.
“Essentially, when we power for TVA, we are taking the campus off of their grid and also giving them the leftover amount to use elsewhere. TVA pays UTM monthly to be available for this as well as paying when we run power for them.”
Hagan added that in the event of an emergency, the WCMES can request power originating at the UT Martin facility from TVA. That would entail removing the campus from the WCMES grid, sending power to WCMES at the transfer switch or both.
The power generation plant has one large classroom that allows for viewing of the generators. Agriculture classes use the facility most often, but engineering students have had labs and tours there as part of their electrical engineering and mechanical engineering courses.
The UTM physical plant also uses the classroom for capital projects and staff trainings.
For more information about UT Martin, visit www.utm.edu or call 1-800-829-UTM1 (-8861).
Photo – Shown inside the UT Martin power generation facility are (from left) Randy Pigg, electrical supervisor; Chad McCoy, electrician; Dana Hagan, Physical Plant director; and Ben Graves, Physical Plant assistant director.