Lab Equipment
Online students in the Electric Power Technology program have access to several remote laboratories that simulate the operations of a hydroelectric power plant.
The WebLab Power Grid Laboratory (PGL) project began in 2003 with the development of a live miniature power system showing generation, transmission, and the power distribution in a mock city. The platform contains two hydroelectric generators, a transmission system and a distribution system with electrical loads. Students learn the distinct steps required to run a power system by using WebLab, which also includes lessons targeted towards specific topics related to the course objectives. The WebLab live system is housed on the second floor of the National Energy Center of Excellence.
A powerful upgrade to the PGL provides additional capacity for students through a web-based simulator allowing up to 40 students at a time to use a simulated platform. This platform still includes all of the steps and lesson objectives of the live version, but is not associated with a real-life model.