Photos from August 2008
A simple snip of the scissors and the new Weston 4 unit was officially dedicated. From left to right: Eric Callisto, Chairperson of the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin; Neal Torney, Village President of Rothschild; Charlie Schrock, President of Wisconsin Public Service; Bill Berg, Dairyland Power Cooperative President and Chief Executive Officer; Geraldine Kowalski, Trustee of Village of Kronenwetter; and Larry Weyers, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Office of Integrys Energy.
The Weston 4 Management Team gathered for a photo. The team guided the complex process of licensing, designing, constructing and starting up the new 525 megawatt electric generating unit.
Attending members of the Community Advisory Panel were instrumental in being the community eyes and ears of the project as it progressed from conception to operating. From left to right are: Darien Schaefer, Executive Director of the Wausau/Central Wisconsin Convention and Visitor Bureau; Dr. Anna Haines, Professor at the College of Natural Resources at UW-Stevens Point; Terry Hayden, Business Manager, Plumbers and Steam Fitters Local #434; Dan Mortensen, Village of Rothschild Trustee and Vice President of Peoples State Bank; Charlie Schrock, President of Wisconsin Public Service; Bill Berg, President and CEO of Dairyland Power Cooperative; Gerald Yarie, Northern Wisconsin Regional Council of Carpenters; Mark Kramer, Northern Wisconsin Regional Council of Carpenters; Jeffery Schaaf, Construction Manager at Babcock & Wilcox Construction Company Inc.
Union and craft representatives celebrated the dedication of Weston 4 on a job well done.
Proud contractors, many of which were local, took a group photo celebrating the dedication of the huge project they worked on.
A lot of local support is needed to build a power plant. These state and local elected officials helped get the Weston 4 project approved and licensed and provided local assistance as the plant was built.
Wisconsin Public Service President Charlie Schrock answered the news media's questions as the buses took interested folks to the Weston Power Plant's new unit for a tour.
Project Manager for Weston Unit 3, Dick Krueger, congratulated Dave Harpole, Vice President of Energy Projects on a job well done at Weston 4. Krueger was responsible for constructing the 300-megawatt Weston Unit 3 in the late 1970's which began operating in 1981. Krueger is now enjoying the retired life.
Wisconsin Public Service's Phil Hayes explains plant operations to a group that was touring the new unit as part of the dedication ceremony.
About 1,500 local residents and employees got a first-hand look at the new Weston 4 facility during tours. Buses transported the tourists to and from the plant from the Rothschild Pavilion.
Local residents were greeted by Louie the Lightning Bug as they arrived to tour the new Weston 4 facility.
Tourists learn about the state-of-the-art mercury removal system at the new Weston facility. The carbon injection system is designed to capture mercury before it reaches the unit's exhaust stack.
The new turbine floor features a 525-megawatt electric generator. The new Weston 4 generator along with Weston Units 1, 2 and 3, gives the power plant nearly 1,000 megawatts of electrical power output when all units are operating at 100 percent.
The control room of the new Weston 4 unit is controlled and monitored using large screen monitors in state-of-the-art control applications. Those touring were most impressed with the latest power plant technology.
Wisconsin Public Service President Charlie Schrock thanked everyone involved in the total team effort of constructing the new Weston 4 unit on-time and on-cost and for keeping worker safety at the forefront of the thousands of job tasks that were performed to construct the newest addition to the Weston Power Plant site.
Wisconsin Public Service's Gary Oudenhoven (left) assembled a model train and included the Weston Power Plant site as a part of the display, including the 110-railcars that haul low-sulfur coal from Wyoming to central Wisconsin.
A model train greeted visitors at the Rothschild Pavilion as the facility provided a staging area for those interested in touring the new power plant during the two-day dedication event. The impressive model train was a replica of the facilities at the actual Weston Power Plant.
A group of acquaintances talk about the good-old days during the two-day Weston 4 dedication and the celebration of the 125th anniversary of Wisconsin Public Service Corporation.
Nearly 1,500 interested local community members, employees, elected officials and dignitaries toured the new Weston 4 unit during the two-day celebration event. Tours were coordinated from the Rothschild Pavilion that was once owned by Wisconsin Public Service as a terminus of the Wausau area electric car trolleys in the early 1900's.