Shawn Smith has over 30 years of management and leadership experience in the electric power industry. His skills cover a broad range of disciplines, including hands-on power plant operations and maintenance, project management, and human performance improvement. His professional experience covers both the regulated utility and independent power production industries. His background includes Nuclear, Coal, and Natural Gas - fired Turbines.
At Olympus Power, Mr. Smith is responsible for managing the Operations and Maintenance teams at each of its power plants. Mr. Smith first joined Olympus in 2015 and has served as the Plant Manager at the 80MW Panther Creek Power facility in Nesquehoning, PA and the 154 MW Bayshore cogeneration facility in Toledo, Ohio. Between those assignments Mr. Smith Served as the Assistant Plant Manager at First Energy’s 3830 MW Bruce Mansfield Station coal-fired power plant. Mr. Smith also served as the interim transition plant manager at the Scrubgrass facility in Kennerdell, PA.
In 2010, Mr. Smith joined PacifiCorp at its 190 MW Carbon Power Plant near Helper, Utah as the Plant Director. While there he instituted a successful Human Performance Improvement program. In 2012 he was transferred to the 448 MW Naughton coal-fired power station operated by PacifiCorp near Kemmerer, Wyoming. There he served as the Managing Director of the Naughton facility and was asked to lead a team to implement a Human Performance program throughout the PacifiCorp fleet of power generation facilities.
From 2000-2010, he was the Operations Manager at the Cheswick Station, a 585 MW pulverized coal station. There he led a team to improve unit flexibility, increase the unit ramp rate from 2 MW/min to 10 MW/min and reducing minimum load from 265 MW to 100 MW. This led to significant improvements in regulation revenue and reduced operating cost during low-priced off-peak hours.
From 1993 through 2000, he worked as an Operator and Shift Supervisor for Ultrasystems / Constellation Operating Services during which time he was on the commissioning crew at the Roanoke Valley Energy Facility, a 240 MW coal-fired power station near Weldon, North Carolina and the Gregory Cogeneration Plant, a 393 MW combined cycle plant in Corpus Christi, Texas.
From 1984 through 1993, Mr. Smith served in the US Navy as a nuclear trained Machinist Mate. Following his training he was assigned to the commissioning crew on the USS Oklahoma City, SSN-723, where he qualified as an Engineering Watch Supervisor. Following that assignment, he transferred to the USS Puget Sound, AD-38 and worked as a Nuclear Planner and Nuclear Repair Coordinator.