The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1923-11-30
COMPREHENSIVE PROGRESS STORY OF
POWER DEVELOPMENT IN n. T. MINI,
Construction Program Being Carried Out BY Phoenix Utility Company
for the Minnesota Power & Light Company.

The recently announced consohda-
ton of the Great Northern Power
Company, TIE Minnesota Utilities
Company, the Duluth Edison Elec-
trio Company and the General Light
& Power Company as the Mime
sofa Power & Light Company will
mean for the power users of the
Mesabi and Vermilion iron ranges
service which these companies as
individual units. have heretofore
found impossible to give says Skill
ling's Mining Review. The pro-
gram of construction now being car
ried out by the Phoenix Utility
Company, which is the engineering
and construction company for the
Minnesota Power & Light Company
will provide, not only more power
available for use on the iron ranges
but will also provide for distribut-
ing this power with greater reli-
ability of service.
Sources of Additional Power.
The additional power will be OBJ
tanned in the near future from the
Winton hydro-electric plant on the
Kawishiwi river about miles N.
E. of Ely, and from the Fond du
Lac hydro-electric plant located on
the st. Louis River just above
Fond du Lac.
The Winton plant is designed fol
an ultimate installation of 10000
KVA, composed of two $500 and
one 5000 KVA, phase, 60 cycle
$500 volt generators. These are
vertical machines with direct con-
nected eXciters and mounted on the
same shaft with 5000 HIP Francis
type waterwheels, operating under
a static head of 81 feet, the entire
unit being manufactured by the
Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Com
pany. For the present, the two
$500 KVA units will be installed
while the installation of the 5000
KVA unit will be delayed until ar
rangements can be made to obtain
better regulation of the Kawishiwi
River.
Steel and Brick Station, Copper Roof
The generating units are installed
in a steel and brick station with
copper single roof, the station
dimensions being 112 feet long, 35
feet wide and SO feet high. Two
wood stave penstocks 9 feet in
diameter bring the water from the
forebay to the turbines, a distance
of 240 feet. This station also
houses the switchboard, storage bat.
terry, low tension oil circuit breakers
and low tension buses.
An outdoor structural steel switch
yard provides space for the step-up
transformers and high tension bus
ses. In the switchyard will be in
stalled one 5000 KVA, phase,
self-cooled transformer stepping ur
to 10000 volts, and two 1000
KVA, 8 phase, self-cooled trans
formers stepping up to 44000 volts
The 10000 volt transformers will
connect to the transmission line Just
completed between this plant and a
substation at Virginia, while the
$4,000 volt transformers will serve
the line now being built as far as
the Soudan Mine near Tower. The
entire station design is in accord
ance with the latest developments in
engineering practice and includes
such features as: the White Hydrau-
cone draft tubes; self-contained oil
pressure regulators on the turbines;
recording meters for forebay and
tallrace elevations; differential re-
lay potection for the generators
an oxide film lightning arrester on
the $4,000 volt bus, and the most
improved type of protective relays
for the lines.
Fond du Lac Plant Installation.
The Fond du Lac plant is de-
signed for an ultimate installation
of two $4,000 KVA, 8 phase. GO
cycle, $500 volt generators. These
are also vertical machines direct
connected to Francis type turbines
but do not have direct connected