Energy is a major concern in rural Alaska. Households in many regions
spend over 20 percent of their annual income on heat and electricity.
In some communities, more than half of average household income goes
toward home heat and electricity. Although many of these homes consume
very little electricity, electric rates and fuel costs are high, and the
cold climate means that lots of energy is required to heat even
energy-efficient homes.
Numerous small and remote Alaskan communities
run on stand-alone electric grids and rely heavily on diesel fuel
generators. Because Alaska does not have a statewide highway system,
fuel is barged from Seattle to regional distribution centers, then
delivered locally by air or boat. Winter weather can make deliveries
impossible, so rural communities have to store 8 to 13 months’ worth of
fuel onsite in tank farms to avoid fuel shortages.
Alaska is investing in renewable energy projects to provide remote
communities with more secure and lower-cost energy. One notable example
is the City of Kodiak on the Gulf of Alaska. Before 2008, Kodiak
produced about 60 percent of its electricity from hydro and the balance
from diesel fuel. Today Kodiak generates more than 99 percent of its
power from hydro and wind energy, thanks to grants from the Alaska Renewable Energy Fund.
The Renewable Energy Fund, administered by the Alaska Energy
Authority (AEA), was created in 2008. Its goal is to help the state
generate 50 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2025.
The fund awards about $25 million yearly to utilities, independent power
producers, local governments and tribal councils. AEA evaluates
proposals, then recommends projects to the state legislature for
funding. AEA focuses on projects that it judges will deliver significant
public benefits and that are located in high-cost areas.
Kodiak’s Transition to Renewable Energy
About 14,000 people live on Kodiak Island, which is home to
Alaska’s biggest fishing port and the largest Coast Guard base in the
United States. Kodiak Electric Association (KEA), a local cooperative,
operates the island’s microgrid. In 2007, KEA’s board set a goal of
generating 95 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020.
By 2014 it had already surpassed that goal, producing more than 99
percent of its power from wind and hydropower supported by a battery
energy storage system.
The Renewable Energy Fund awarded a total of $16 million to Kodiak
to install six 1.5 megawatt wind turbines; add a third 10-megawatt
turbine to its existing hydropower facility; and a three-megawatt
battery storage system, which eliminates the need to curtail generation
from Kodiak’s wind turbines and provides spinning reserve capacity in
combination with the island’s hydropower facility. In 2014, Kodiak
installed the newest phase of its renewable upgrades: two one-megawatt
flywheels to power a new electric crane at the busy port of Kodiak,
replacing a diesel crane.
“Without the Alaska Energy Authority, we could not have done it
nearly this fast,” says Darron Scott, president and CEO of the Kodiak
Electric Association. “These have been very cost-effective projects for
our community, but without the help and support and financing, it would
have been too hard on our balance sheet to do all of this so quickly.”
Multiple Benefits
Displacing diesel fuel with renewable power has produced multiple
benefits for Kodiak. Scott estimates that the island has avoided use of
6.9 million gallons of diesel fuel at roughly $3.50 per gallon since
2009. Kodiak residents paid approximately 2.5 percent less for
electricity in January 2015 than they did in January 2001, without any
adjustments for inflation. And because the island’s diesel generators
now are used mainly for backup, residents are insulated for the long
term against oil price spikes. By virtually eliminating diesel
generation, KEA has also avoided about 77,000 tons of greenhouse gas
emissions, 2.2 million tons of NOx, 86 tons of carbon monoxide, 47 tons
of particulate matter and 43 tons of volatile organic compounds.
AEA hopes to replicate Kodiak’s success in other remote
communities. “It’s incredible how much Alaskans have learned since this
program started,” says Sean Skaling, AEA’s program development and
project evaluation director. “We’ve really dialed in on what works and
what doesn’t, and we’re still learning.” In summarizing the achievements of the Kodiak project, Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski remarks
that: “Both the Alaska Energy Authority and the Kodiak Electric
Association are putting into practice five principles that I believe are
in our national interest. And those are to make energy abundant,
affordable, clean, diverse, and secure.”
http://blog.renewableenergyworld.com/ugc/blogs/2015/10/alaska_helps_remote.html
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