$300M APPROVED FOR CLEAN ENERGY PROJECTS & PROGRAMS IN ALASKA 

June 30, 2011

Gov. Parnell on Wednesday approved $303 million in funding for renewable energy development, and for energy efficiency programs to make our homes, businesses, and schools more energy efficient. This funding will support development of wind, hydro, geothermal, biomass and other renewable resources from Nome to Anchorage to Kodiak; encourage development of emerging energy technologies, and continue energy efficiency programs that have helped rural and urban communities across the state. Thank you to all the REAP members who took a moment to tell the governor how they felt about this important funding!

Download a searchable list of projects and programs (.xls)

• $65,700,000 Alaska Energy Authority – Susitna Hydroelectric Energy Plan
• $64,000,000 AHFC Weatherization Program
• $37,500,000 AHFC Home Energy Rebate Program
• $28,500,000 AEA – Sitka Blue Lake Hydroelectric Project Expansion
• $12,500,000 AEA – Mount Spurr Geothermal Project Development
• $10,000,000 AEA – Nuvista Light & Power Chikuminuk Hydroelectric Alternative Energy Project
• $10,000,000 AEA – Copper Valley Electric Association Allison Creek Hydroelectric Project
• $10,000,000 AEA – Golden Valley Electric Association Eva Creek Wind Farm
• $8,025,000 AEA – Ketchikan Whitman Lake Hydroelectric Project
• $6,000,000 AEA – Battle Creek Diversion
• $3,751,840 Kodiak Electric Association, Inc. – Terror Lake Hydroelectric Project
• $3,750,000 AEA – Kodiak Electric Association Terror Lake Hydroelectric Facility Expansion
• $2,695,000 Akutan – Geothermal Development Project
• $2,500,000 Alternative Energy Conservation Revolving Loan Fund
• $2,400,000 Emerging Energy Technology Fund
• $2,000,000 Alaska Power Company – Reynolds Creek Hydroelectric Project
• $2,000,000 ORPC Alaska, LLC – Cook Inlet Tidal Generation Project
• $2,000,000 Alaska Electric Light & Power Company – Snettisham Transmission Line Avalanche Mitigation
• $1,999,972 Ormat Nevada, Inc. – Mount Spurr Geothermal Project
• $1,896,836 Pelican – Hydroelectric Upgrade Project
• $1,463,200 Golden Valley Electric Association – Eva Creek Wind Turbine Purchase
• $1,330,467 University of Alaska Center for Energy & Power – Pilgrim Hot Springs
• $1,300,000 AEA – Gustavus Electric Company Falls Creek Hydroelectric Debt Reimbursement
• $1,265,000 Inside Passage Electric Cooperative – Southern Energy, Inc. Hydroelectric Project Purchase
• $1,184,000 Kenai Hydro, LLC – Grant Lake Hydroelectric Facility
• $1,180,000 Metlakatla Indian Community – Metlakatla-Ketchikan Intertie
• $1,060,500 Kootznoowoo, Inc. – Thayer Lake Hydroelectric Project
• $1,000,000 Alaska Energy Authority – Energy Plan Implentation
• $1,000,000 AHFC Energy Efficiency Monitoring Research
• $750,000 Matanuska-Susitna Borough – Susitna Valley High School Wood Heat
• $700,000 Ketchikan – Whitman Lake Hydroelectric Project
• $600,000 Chugach Electric Association, Inc. – Transmission to Renewable Energy Resources
• $599,200 Inside Passage Electric Cooperative – Tenakee Inlet Geothermal Resource Study
• $576,080 Chugach Electric Association, Inc. – Stetson Creek Diversion and Cooper Lake Dam Facilities
• $565,485 Copper River School District – Kenny Lake School Wood Fired Boiler
• $500,000 Chugach Electric Association, Inc. – Battle Creek Diversion Project
• $500,000 Metlakatla Indian Community – Triangle Lake Hydroelectric Project
• $500,000 Alaska Resource Agency – Biomass Research & Emission Reduction
• $475,000 Inside Passage Electric
• $472,787 University of Alaska Center for Energy and Power – Organic Rankine Cycle Field Testing
• $468,000 Alaska Power Company – Connelly Lake Hydroelectric Project
• $380,000 Alaska Power & Telephone Company – Upper Tanana Biomass CHP Project
• $369,900 Lake & Peninsula Borough – Wood Boilers
• $350,000 Craig – Biomass Fuel Dryer Project
• $347,000 Elfin Cove – Hydroelectric Project
• $300,000 Southeast Island School District – Thorne Bay School Wood Fired Boiler Project
• $298,000 North Slope Borough – Wainwright Wind Turbine Design
• $298,000 North Slope Borough – Point Hope Wind Turbine Design
• $298,000 North Slope Borough – Point Lay Wind Generation Design
• $277,000 Chitina Electric, Inc. – Fivemile Creek Hydroelectric Project
• $275,554 Alaska Village Electric Cooperative – St. Marys/Pitkas Point Wind Construction
• $250,000 Northwest Inupiat Housing Authority – Upper Kobuk River Biomass
• $250,000 Lake & Peninsula Borough – Port Heiden Wind Turbine Project
• $250,000 Fort Richardson – Bryant Airfield Solar Energy Collection System Design
• $237,500 Alaska Village Electric Cooperative, Inc. – Old Harbor Hydroelectric
• $213,690 TDX Power, Inc. – Bethel Renewable Energy Project
• $210,000 North Slope Borough – Atqasuk Transmission Line
• $203,000 Tenakee Springs – Indian River Hydroelectric Project
• $200,000 Tetlin – Biomass Energy Project
• $200,000 Nome Hangar Solar Panel Installation
• $154,477 Interior Regional Housing Authority – Wood Heating Feasibility Assessments
• $145,000 Organized Village of Kwethluk – Wind Feasibility
• $142,500 Alaska Village Electric Cooperative, Inc. – Eek Wind Feasibility
• $142,500 Alaska Village Electric Cooperative, Inc. – Scammon Bay Wind Feasibility
• $142,500 Alaska Village Electric Cooperative, Inc. – Koyuk Wind Feasibility
• $142,500 Alaska Village Electric Cooperative, Inc. – Elim Wind Feasibility
• $137,750 Alaska Village Electric Cooperative, Inc. – Stebbins Wind Feasibility
• $136,750 Chefornak – Wind Feasibility
• $136,500 Independence Power, LLC – Fourth of July Creek Hydroelectric Project
• $132,000 North Slope Borough – Kaktovik Wind Diesel
• $125,000 Sitka – Japonski Island Boathouse Heat Pump
• $111,150 Alaska Village Electric Cooperative, Inc. – Marshall Wind Feasibility
• $110,000 Akiachak Native Community – Wind Feasibility and Conceptual Design
• $105,050 New Koliganek Village Council – Wind and Heat Recovery Feasibility Study
• $100,000 Louden Tribal Council – Renewable Energy Feasibility Study
• $100,000 Village of Atmautluak – Wind Renewable Energy
• $99,075 G&K, Inc. – Cold Bay Electric Utility Wind Energy Project
• $99,075 Nelson Lagoon Electrical Cooperative – Wind Energy Project
• $93,593 Haines – Excursion Inlet Hydro Project
• $90,000 Alaska Village Electric Cooperative, Inc. – Kaltag Solar Construction
• $85,000 Kotzebue – Paper and Wood Waste to Energy
• $85,000 Alaska Village Electric Cooperative, Inc. – Selawik Hybrid Wind Diesel System Turbine Upgrade
• $84,000 Eklutna, Inc. – Hunter Creek Hydroelectric Project
• $80,000 Alaska Power Company – Schubee Lake Hydroelectric Project
• $75,000 Rural Deltana Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. – Deferred Maintenance and Improve Energy Efficiency to Station
• $75,000 Native Village of Eyak – Biomass Feasibility Study
• $75,000 Port Graham Village Council – Biomass Waste Heat Demonstration Project
• $69,075 False Pass – Wind Energy Project
• $67,500 AVTEC – Hydroelectric Training Facility
• $67,000 Wrangell Radio Group Incorporated – ADA Compliance and Energy Efficiency Project
• $61,225 Napaskiak Electric Utility – Wind Power and Heat Recovery
• $50,000 Juneau Cooperative Christian Ministries – Glory Hole Shelter Energy Efficiency Heating Improvements
• $37,000 Bering Pacific Engineering – Eska Creek Hydroelectric Project
• $30,000 Native Village of Cantwell – Jack River Hydro Project
• $30,000 Sitka – Centennial Hall and Library Renewable Energy Feasibility Study
• $25,000 Lime Village Traditional Council – Photovoltaic System Retrofit
• $25,000 Wrangell – Electric Vehicle Feasibility Study
• $20,000 Sitka – Wastewater Treatment Plant Renewable Energy Feasibility Study
• $10,000 Juneau LED Exterior Lighting
• $10,000 Kenai LED Exterior Lighting
• $10,000 Ketchikan LED Exterior Lighting
• $10,000 Kodiak LED Exterior Lighting

Parnell signs capital budget, approves power projects 

June 30, 2011

by Chris Eshleman for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, June 29, 2011

FAIRBANKS — Gov. Sean Parnell signed an annual statewide budget Wednesday that, despite some vetoes, promises millions to help Fairbanks with a nagging air pollution problem and boost renewable energy production.

Parnell cut or reduced proposed spending for a handful of projects, including $6 million to fix up the Noel Wien Public Library and $2 million for a mentoring project. He halved a proposed $10 million grant for Fairbanks’ transportation planning agency.

Parnell also halved a line item that would have let the University of Alaska Fairbanks borrow $67 million for campus projects, saying the $33.5 million balance would be considered “in future budgets.”

The $2.8 billion construction and capital spending act is now seven-eighths the size of drafts inked last month by the state Legislature. Parnell said his cuts will keep state government “at fighting weight.”

Read the full story here.

Blue Lake Hydro expansion survives governor’s veto 

June 30, 2011

by Robert Woolsey for KCAW

SITKA, ALASKA (2011-06-29) Considering the recent past, when the previous administration vetoed almost all of Sitka’s capital projects, the community this year will benefit from significant capital spending. Most notably, $28-million dollars budgeted for the Blue Lake Hydro expansion survived.

Other projects in the capital list for Sitka that survived the veto process are:
$125,000 dollars for a heat pump at the Japonski Island Boathouse, submitted by the Maritime Heritage Society.
$30,000 for a renewable energy study at Harrigan Centennial Hall and the Library.
$20,000 for a renewable energy study at the Wastewater treatment plant.
$41,000 for Sitka Cross Trail improvements.
$3 million in Passenger Vessel Fees for a sea walk.
$63,000 for Americans with Disabilities Act compliance and equipment upgrades at KCAW.
$25,000 for facility upgrades at the Sitka Sound Science Center.
$12,600 for a wheelchair lift vehicle at the Swan Lake Senior Center.
$3.5 million for a UV water disinfection facility.
$116,000 for repairs to the Public Health Center.
$475,000 for deferred maintenance at the Sitka Armory.
$500,000 for new overlay at the Rocky Gutierrez Airport. $4 million for Halibut Point Road resurfacing and bridge replacement.

Not including Blue Lake, that amounts to almost $9-million in capital spending in Sitka next year.

The projects that were vetoed in Sitka total $5.6 million. They include:

$2.2 million for improvements to the Nelson Logging Road.
$1.4 million for a vo-tech shelter at Sitka High School.
$2 million for deferred maintenance at Mt. Edgecumbe High School.

And there were some important vetoes elsewhere in Raven Radio communities which share our legislative district:

$300,000 for the Pelican fuel dock.
$75,000 for improvements to the Elfin Cove ferry dock.

However, both these communities will see state money for their hydroelectric projects. Pelican will receive $1.9 million for upgrades. Elfin Cove, $347,000.

Statewide, the governor’s vetoes totaled just over $400-million.

Read the story here.

GVEA approves Alaska’s largest wind project for Healy area 

June 28, 2011

by Jeff Richardson for Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, June 28, 2011

FAIRBANKS — After years of study, debate and anticipation, Golden Valley Electric Association is officially in the wind power business.

The GVEA board voted unanimously Monday to approve the $90 million Eva Creek project, a 24.6 megawatt turbine farm planned near Healy. With an planned launch date of September 2012, the utility-owned project will be the biggest wind-power source in Alaska.

“I have no question we’re doing the right thing,” said board chairman Bill Nordmark. “This is going to be a good project.”

GVEA has eyed a renewable source of wind energy for years, using much of the past decade to collect wind data at Eva Creek to see if it would be a suitable location. The turbines are engineered specifically for cold-weather conditions found in Interior Alaska, said Mike Wright, the GVEA vice president of transmission and distribution.

But even with board approval, Eva Creek isn’t quite a done deal.

Continue reading here

Energy efficiency — try it: Alaskans could benefit from conservation 

June 27, 2011

Editorial by by Paul Reichardt for The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, June 26, 2011

A major news topic in Fairbanks in the past year or so has been the cost and availability of energy. Virtually all of us know someone who has either left or threatens to leave the community because of increased energy costs.

Those of us who intend to remain here have legitimate concerns about the future supply and cost of energy.

There are two responses to the situation: increase supply at reduced cost or use less energy. While both approaches have been promoted by public and private entities, the emphasis has been on producing more energy at reduced costs. We have lots of proposals — natural gas, Eva Creek, the Susitna/Watana Dam and Healy Clean Coal Plant among others — but no concrete prospects for any of these to come on line in the near future.

On the other hand, reducing our individual (and collective) energy use and expenses through energy efficiency can be achieved nearly instantly without massive infrastructure projects. In addition to our individual efforts, efficiency in schools and public buildings will reduce taxes; and bringing efficiency to local churches and nonprofits will allow them to put more of their money into making our community a better place. My hope is that the following account of efficiency actions we’ve taken in our home will encourage others to take actions to reduce energy consumption and to save significant amounts of money.

Continue reading here

Importing LNG: ‘That’s just the way it is’ 

June 27, 2011

by Patti Epler for Alaska Dispatch, June 24, 2011

Southcentral utilities are working on a plan to begin importing liquefied natural gas by 2014, a measure they have now determined is necessary and a “high priority.”

In a presentation this week to the Regulatory Commission of Alaska, members of the Long Term Gas Supply Work Group said nothing can prevent the state with one of the largest untapped supplies of natural gas in the world from importing gas to provide heat and electricity for the state’s most populous region.

“Our only option to solve with certainty our gas supply needs is through the importation of LNG and we see no way around that,” Dan Helmick, manager of regulatory affairs for Anchorage Municipal Light & Power, told the commission Wednesday. “Whether we like it or not, the conclusion we come to is that’s just the way it is.”

The working group is made up of ML&P, Enstar, Chugach Electric Association, Matanuska Electric Association, Homer Electric Association and Donlin Creek, a proposed mining operation. The Railbelt utilities, along with the Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority, have been warning for years that importing LNG is a real possibility, even if it is politically divisive.

Now, the possibility has become reality. The group believes there will be a shortfall in natural gas in 2014. No North Slope gas line — whether in-state or spur line from a big gas line to Canada — can be built that quickly. A Susitna Dam hydro project isn’t expected to be operating before 2022 at the earliest.

“Inaction at this point in time is just simply not an option for the utilities anymore,” Helmick said.

Helmick said the commission, which will ultimately have to approve the cost of power generated by imported LNG, needs to have a “very, very clear understanding that this is a high priority matter.”

“The take away is that we think 2014 is the number and that’s what we better be working for,” he said. “And there’s no silver bullet.”

Decisions need to be made soon. The utilities will need to start the permitting process with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the state, and, Helmick said, “there will be a lot of engineering studies that have to be done and they require investment decisions this year.”

The group envisions buying LNG on the global market and bringing it in on tankers to Cook Inlet. The ships might need to be “ice hardened” to get in during the winter, when the demand for gas is the highest. Dock facilities will be needed as well as re-gasification facilities that could either be on shore or ship-based.

The Southcentral market is small, which means fewer customers to share the cost, a situation that Helmick called a “regulatory and ratemaking challenge.” The volume needed to meet customer demand will be low at first, but would ramp up by 2018 when the Donlin Creek mine is anticipated to come on line, he said.
Cost of importing LNG substantial — for utilities, consumers

Helmick also cautioned that officials don’t know how long they’ll need to import LNG. “We may need it four years, we may need it 30 years,” he said, adding that will be a factor influencing “how we approach recovering and dealing with the costs associated with this.”

Either way the cost to the utilities as well as the consumers is going to be substantial. “It’s going to require a significant financial undertaking,” Helmick said.

Making sure consumers continue to have reliable power is the top priority for the utilities. “We may end up paying more for something than we otherwise wouldlike to, but we just don’t have certain luxuries,” Helmick said.

Despite warnings in recent months that LNG importation was looming, the commission took the news with some trepidation. Chairman Robert Pickett said he had a “knot in my gut” mainly due to the timing — or lack of time to put it together.

Three years — the 2014 deadline — is barely enough time for the state to build a five-mile gravel road, he said, let alone a completely new system to deliver gas to hundreds of thousands of consumers.

“It does seem that this whole process is going to put some very interesting market dynamics into the market place that are highly unknown as far as how it’s going to affect not just the gas supply for the utilities, but the in-state gas pipeline, renewable energy,” Pickett said.

As for consumers, “we’re throwing a whole new cost element into their utility bill and they’re already convinced they’re being charged too much,” he said.

Chris Rose, executive director of Renewable Energy Alaska Project, attended the hearing and said Helmick actually made a good case for moving ahead with renewable energy projects that could pick up some of the load for the utilities.

“The uncertainty that’s associated with the LNG market supports the move to renewable energy,” he said, noting that Helmick acknowledged the utilities had no idea how much they’d have to pay for gas on the global market let alone the cost of the facilities necessary to process and distribute it.

“We’re moving toward more uncertainty with LNG,” he said, but renewable energy has a fixed cost. The resource itself — wind, for instance — doesn’t cost anything at all so the price tag comes with the facilities.

Chugach Electric Association recently agreed to buy power from the Fire Island wind farm being developed by Cook Inlet Region Inc. ML & P has declined to sign on at the cost CIRI thinks it needs to develop the facility.

Importing LNG is going to mean higher prices for electricity and heating, without a doubt, Rose said.

“It clearly demonstrates why we need to diversify our energy portfolio here in Cook Inlet,” he said.

Contact Patti Epler at patti(at)alaskadispatch.com

Policy, Collaboration Play Heavily In Ritter’s New Energy Economy 

June 24, 2011

by Mark Del Franco on Thursday, 23 June 2011, for North American Windpower

Former Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter used his time in office to build a new energy economy centered around public/private partnerships, research and development (R&D) initiatives, and economic development.

Now out of office, he is spreading the message of how states can replicate what Colorado did to prosper in the new energy economy.

During the opening keynote presentation at the REFF-Wall Street conference, co-hosted by the American Council on Renewable Energy and Euromoney Energy Events, in New York City, Ritter illustrated how – with proper planning – renewables can boost a state’s economic fortunes.

“The one sector that grew in the worst economy since the Great Depression was clean energy,” he said.

Ritter, who did not seek re-election in 2010, was elected in 2006 and now serves as director of the Center for the New Energy Economy at Colorado State University, said the state’s impressive returns were largely the result of its aggressive policy stance on renewable energy. In fact, during Ritter’s four-year term, he signed 57 bills relating to clean energy and bolstered the state’s renewable portfolio standard (RPS).

Colorado became the first state with a voter-approved RPS in 2004 with the passage of Amendment 37, which set a 10% by 2015 goal. In 2007, the RPS was doubled to 20% by 2020. The mandate has since been raised to 30% of electricity coming from renewable resources by 2030.

The policy framework, Ritter said, acted as a magnet for manufacturers, such as Siemens and Vestas, both of which built R&D facilities in the state.

In the case of Vestas, which built what Ritter calls the world’s largest tower factory in Pueblo, Colo., the state was able to bring much-needed economic prosperity to a part of the state that desperately needed it.

Vestas reportedly has spent more than $1 billion building four factories in Colorado to replace turbine imports in the U.S.

“Before Vestas came in, there hadn’t been much good news happening in Pueblo for a long time,” Ritter said.

Colorado is also home to world-class R&D facilities such as the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and several educational institutions.

“Having the R&D side helps move forward the policy,” he explained.

It was fitting that the keynote’s focus was energy because Ritter’s rapid-fire delivery played to the topic at hand. He stressed to the packed crowd that what happened in Colorado was not and should not be an isolated case.

“[The U.S.] needs to continue the R&D message; we need to own it,” he said. “If we don’t keep moving forward, we will lose the global race.”

He also instructed attendees not to wait for help from the federal government.

“We can work state by state. By moving together, we can make it happen,” Ritter explained.

ACHP – Kenai Homeowner Education : Day Two 

Kenai Visitors Center, Kenai AK

ACHP offers a two day course which compiles all of the elements of ACHP’s eight homeowner energy efficiency workshops. Material covered on Day 1 includes: Building Science Basics (8-10 am), Air Tightness (10am-12pm), Ice Dams (1-3 pm), Lighting and Appliances (3-5pm). On Day 2 Heating and Hot Water (8-10am), Doors and Windows (10am-12pm), Insulation (1-3pm), and Ventilation (3-5 pm) will be discussed. Participants can register for one two hour class, all eight or any number in between. Continuing education in varying amounts is available to Builder, Realtors, Home Inspectors, Appraisers, Architects & Engineers.

ACHP – Kenai Homeowner Education : Day One 

Kenai Visitors Center, Kenai, AK

ACHP offers a two day course which compiles all of the elements of ACHP’s eight homeowner energy efficiency workshops. Material covered on Day 1 includes: Building Science Basics (8-10 am), Air Tightness (10am-12pm), Ice Dams (1-3 pm), Lighting and Appliances (3-5pm). On Day 2 Heating and Hot Water (8-10am), Doors and Windows (10am-12pm), Insulation (1-3pm), and Ventilation (3-5 pm) will be discussed. Participants can register for one two hour class, all eight or any number in between. Continuing education in varying amounts is available to Builder, Realtors, Home Inspectors, Appraisers, Architects & Engineers.

ACHP – Juneau Homeowner Education : Day Two 

Juneau Hotel

ACHP offers a two day course which compiles all of the elements of ACHP’s eight homeowner energy efficiency workshops. Material covered on Day 1 includes: Building Science Basics (8-10 am), Air Tightness (10am-12pm), Ice Dams (1-3 pm), Lighting and Appliances (3-5pm). On Day 2 Heating and Hot Water (8-10am), Doors and Windows (10am-12pm), Insulation (1-3pm), and Ventilation (3-5 pm) will be discussed. Participants can register for one two hour class, all eight or any number in between. Continuing education in varying amounts is available to Builder, Realtors, Home Inspectors, Appraisers, Architects & Engineers.