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IEEE Power and Energy Society |
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| Phoenix Chapter |
| April 2006 Luncheon Meeting |
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| Date: |
Thursday, April 20, 2006 |
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| Location: |
APS Deer Valley Building N-1 (map) |
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2124 W. Cheryl Dr. (North Door) |
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Phoenix, AZ |
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| Speaker: |
Phil Smithers, Design Team Leader, Generation Engineering Mechanical - Civil Design |
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Arizona Public Service Co. |
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| Topic: |
Childs/Irving Power Plant Decomissioning |
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Summary:
Mr. Smithers spoke about the decommissioning of the Childs and Irving Power Plants, located on Fossil Creek in the rugged Mogollon Rim country of Central Arizona. These were Arizona’s first commercial hydroelectric power plants. In 1908, when construction began on the facilities, the design and remote location made Childs-Irving a logistical and engineering marvel. To spin the turbines, nearly all of Fossil Creek’s flows were diverted to Childs and Irving for nearly a century. In the late 1990s Arizona Public Service Company the developer, owner and operator of these facilities decided to decommission these facilities and work to restore Fossil Creek. APS formally filed a surrender application with the Federal Energy Regulating Commission in early 2001. For the past seven years, APS has worked closely with environmental organizations, historical groups, and agencies of the federal, state, county and local governments to support the surrender and removal of these facilities. The Childs-Irving facilities, situated on U.S. Forest Service lands, are listed on the National Historic Register and are American Society of Mechanical Engineering Historic Landmarks. APS has navigated through processes mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic Preservation Act, and addressed other federal, state, county and local issues to move forward with the decommissioning of these facilities. APS is currently proceeding with approved decommissioning of the historic facilities. Following restoration of full flow to Fossil Creek in June 2005, the state’s largest electric utility began the deconstruction of plant facilities, which will be completed by the end of 2010. Thirty persons attended the meeting, including the speaker.
Biography:
Phil Smithers has 23 years of design experience in the Electronics, Mechanical, Structural and Civil disciplines. Phil has been with APS for 15 years as Civil/Mechanical Designer and is currently the Civil/Mechanical Design Team Leader in Fossil Generation Engineering. Phil has also been supporting the Childs-Irving Hydroelectric Project Decommissioning as project manager for the past 5 years.
(Last modified: Friday, April 21st, 2006 @ 14:34:58 Webmaster)