UND College of Engineering & Mines Energy Studies (CEMES)’s Post

🌟 Day Two: Exploring the Garrison Dam and Marathon Petroleum Mandan Refinery 🌟 Our second day on the field trip was packed with incredible learning experiences as we visited two locations. 📍First Stop: Garrison Dam, Coleharbor ND The Garrison Dam is truly an engineering spectacle and stands as the 5th largest earthen dam structure in the United States. Equipped with five Francis-turbine generator units operating at 90rpm, the dam boasts a total capacity of over 583 MW, supplying peaking power to the grid. The facility also features black start capabilities, and grid management functions such as load balancing and frequency/voltage control. Senior Project Engineer, L. (Hellebush) Wimer, PMP gave the AEE a tour of the Dam facility, showing us each of the generator units in operation, intake structure, and surge tanks Key takeaways from our visit: 🔹 Multiple functions: In addition to providing hydroelectric power, the dam also helps reduce the risk of downstream flooding along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. The Dam operation effectively balances hydropower generation, water supply, water quality, irrigation, fish and wildlife conservation, etc. 🔹 Cybersecurity: We discussed the critical importance of robust cybersecurity measures to protect plant control and operations. 🔹 US Army Corps of Engineers Efforts: We learned about the efforts in forecasting and streamflow prediction to ensure efficient plant operations and environmental considerations. 📍Second Stop: Marathon Petroleum Mandan Refinery Operational since 1954, the Marathon Petroleum Mandan Refinery has a crude oil refining capacity of 71,000 barrels per day. Economics and Planning Engineer Cole Bachmeier, P.E. guided us through the plant, showcasing everything from safety equipment and stations to the tank farm and the intricate network of pipelines. Key highlights from the refinery visit: 🔹 Refining Process: The plant primarily refines sweet crude from the North Dakota Bakken, producing gasoline, propane, diesel, and more. Refined products are distributed via trucks and rail. 🔹 Onsite Power Generation: The plant operates gas-fired turbines to power the refining process, reducing grid demand and highlighting natural gas as a transition fuel with a lower carbon footprint. Day two was an eye-opening experience, providing us with a deeper understanding of both hydroelectric power generation and the oil refining processes. We are grateful for the hospitality and insights shared by the US Army Corps of Engineers and Marathon Petroleum Corporation. Stay tuned as we continue to share more highlights from our field trip throughout the week! 🌊🛢️🔋 Association of Energy Engineers , UND College of Engineering and Mines Energy Studies , UND College of Engineering & Mines , Dr. Richard A. Schultz, P.G. , Brian Tande , Olusegun S. Tomomewo, R. Eng., PhD, MBA, PMP, CPAB  #UNDproud #LeadersInAction #EnergyEngineering #FieldTrip #AEEUND #GarrisonDam #MarathonPetroleum