Wind Power News: Alaska
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch in its noncommercial educational effort to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Nome wind turbine collapses; exact cause still unknown
A wind turbine in Nome fell down over the weekend, though it remains unclear exactly why. Bering Straits Native Corp. said it is investigating the “wind turbine foundation failure” that occurred Saturday at the Banner Wind Project outside of Nome. The corporation co-owns the project with the Sitnasuak Native Corp. and sells electricity to the local utility. Bering Straits spokesperson Matt Ganley said in an email that the initial investigation indicates that a portion of the foundation “failed” at one . . . Complete story »
Wind turbine topples at Banner Wind Farm
Wind power in Nome is taking a slight decline after a wind turbine at the Banner Wind Farm toppled this weekend. At Tuesday’s Nome Joint Utility meeting, Utility Manager John Handeland said the welding anchoring a tower failed, and the 50 kilo-watt unit was destroyed. That leaves 15 of the original 18 wind turbines at the Banner Wind Farm still standing. Handeland explained, “One was destroyed during first the winter. One had delaminated blades. A then a third one was . . . Complete story »
Compass: Cast a cold eye on Fire Island wind buy
Chugach Electric Association (CEA) Board Chair Janet Reiser’s Compass piece on the Fire Island wind farm (May 3)) is one view of the project. There are others. With the Power Sales Agreement on Fire Island, CEA has opted to make the entire system less reliable, electricity more expensive, and unstable, all in the name of pursuing some ephemeral goal of renewable energy. Chugach members get to pay more for the privilege of powering homes and businesses. Chugach also shoulders the . . . Complete story »
Wind turbine nightmare at remote Alaska refuge may cost millions
The bird-friendly wind turbines that were to power the offices of the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in far Western Alaska are in a pile on the ground on the Alaska Peninsula. And more than 600 miles to the northeast in Anchorage, engineer John Lyons, project manager for a renewable energy project turned nightmare, wishes he’d never heard of a Texas company called Tangarie Alternative Power. “Tan-gary,” as Lyons pronounces it, was the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s pick to supply . . . Complete story »
RCA denies wind farm complaint against Golden Valley
The Regulatory Commission of Alaska has rejected an informal complaint against Interior electric utility Golden Valley Electric Association by an independent wind farm. Alaska Environmental Power LLC owner Mike Craft said the complaint revolved around how Golden Valley decides when it will purchase power from independent producers. The co-op utility currently uses a cost calculation that averages the cost of power produced across multiple sources, from inexpensive hydropower and coal to expensive fuel oil. Craft contends Golden Valley is shutting . . . Complete story »
Wind power capacity at Fire Island set to double by October of 2015
Declaring the first year of generating electricity from wind at Fire Island a success, its Native corporation owner plans to double the number of turbines even as its customer, Chugach Electric Association, hasn’t fully accommodated a power source as variable as the wind. The 262-foot tall turbines just west of Anchorage produced 50,092 megawatt hours of energy at the one-year anniversary Sept. 24. That’s enough power for about 6,422 homes, according to Suzanne Gibson, vice president of Fire Island Wind . . . Complete story »
Wind power complaint against Fairbanks utility rejected
FAIRBANKS—The Regulatory Commission of Alaska has rejected a complaint against Golden Valley Electric Association that accused the Interior utility of unfairly spurning a proposal for a large wind-power facility. Alaska Environmental Power filed the complaint in August, saying the utility hadn’t seriously considered its proposal for the 25-megawatt Delta Wind Farm project. Owner Mike Craft has pitched the idea for a large Delta-based wind farm for years but said GVEA “presented terms so unreasonable that it was essentially just another . . . Complete story »
A limit on wind power
Golden Valley Electric Association is the greenest utility in the Railbelt. GVEA has the capacity to generate more than 20 percent of its peak load from renewable sources. So should the co-op add even more renewable power? Absolutely – as long as it doesn’t increase costs or decrease reliability. Germany is shutting down its nuclear and coal power plants in an aggressive campaign to go 100 percent renewable by 2050. But Germany’s green power push has increased costs dramatically, according to . . . Complete story »
State agency OKs wind-farm developer’s bid for review of rules on power sales to utilities
Wind-power developer Mike Craft convinced state regulators this week to consider changing rules on how Alaska utilities deal with independent energy producers, especially the system used to pay the independent producers for the electricity they produce for the grid. Craft says the changes are needed to get the utilities to comply with state law that requires utilities to buy power from independent producers and sets a goal of generating half of the state’s electricity with renewables by 2025. He also . . . Complete story »
Owner of Delta wind farm files complaint against GVEA
FAIRBANKS – After feuds over buying and selling wind-generated electricity, the owner of a Delta wind farm has filed a complaint against the Golden Valley Electric Association. In a press release Wednesday, Alaska Environmental Power announced that it has filed an informal complaint with the Regulatory Commission of Alaska as a last resort after failing to reach an agreement to sell 25 megawatts to the electric utility cooperative. The wind farm, owned by Mike Craft, produces and sells less than 2 . . . Complete story »
