Today the gang went to a CEZ power plant. We started out at the power plant for a presentation on the history of Ledvice and how it works. The company is trying to focus on reducing their reliability on coal for other energy sources, like renewables and in CEZ’s case, mostly nuclear energy (Above 40% according to the presentation given). The Czech government has certain requirements regarding renewable energy, and it’s important for CEZ to hit said specifications not only to be in accordance with the law, but also to better the environment.
After the tour of the plant, we got in two Mercedes Unimogs that took us to the open pit coal mine. We drove all the way to the bottom of the mine, and got a great view of some functioning bucket wheel excavators, these massive pieces of machinery used to literally dig into the Earth using the bucket teeth on the edge of the claw. The guides emphasized how this particular mine was nearing the end phase of its life, as CEZ is going to be focusing on more renewable energy sources and phasing out coal over time. The guides also mentioned that typically, a singular bucket wheel excavator can take up to 5 years to construct. They build them nearby the site and then bring them in on rails. I’m curious as to what will happen to these machines once this mine is actually phased out, whether that be scrapping them for parts or attempting to ship them to a different site.
Swanson School of Engineering 