| [an error occurred while processing this directive] |
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
|
Web posted
Ken Gates, the chief executive of Cordova Electric Cooperative Inc., said a 6-megawatt hydroelectric plant on Power Creek cut energy costs by about 13 percent for area processors in its first 10 months of operation. And, he said, that reduction will only continue to grow. "The goal is to have the village be 100 percent hydropower with supplements during the winter months," Gates said. The new plant works on what is called a "run-of-the-river" model. Unlike traditional hydroelectric plants, the model doesn't reserve water through permanent damming. Instead, an inflatable rubber dam diverts water from nearby Power Creek through about a mile of pipeline and into turbines. From there the energy is gathered and the water is released. Water that is not diverted is sent through the dam and back into the natural habitat. The model does not allow for energy storage, Gates said, which means it will require some supplements during the months of hard freeze when the river doesn't run as quickly. That supplement will likely come from diesel fuel. But, Gates said the reduction in the fuel's use has approached 960,000 gallons since the plant went online at the beginning of the year. That sort of reduction means big savings for local fish processors, said Hap Symmonds, the Cordova manager of Ocean Beauty Seafood Ltd. He said his company reduced their energy bills by about 12.5 percent this year, thanks to hydropower. Symmonds added that the money saved on energy should also stimulate the local economy in other ways. "This project would make Cordova competitive with other areas of Alaska (in fish production) and make us competitive with other projects," he said. One upcoming project could include a cold storage unit for fish, Symmonds said. He noted that the facility would eliminate the need for processors to ship the surplus fish they can't handle. Those projects probably wouldn't come to fruition until state funding arrives and the plant is totally debt-free, Symmonds said. Gates said the $24 million hydropower project was funded by money from both the state and federal governments. That is indicative of the response the project has received, he noted. "The project has a broad base of support from the community," he said. "There's a lot of good to be done. It's quite a project." It's a project that is perfectly designed for the area, said Eric Yould, the director of Alaska Rural Electric Cooperative Association. Yould said he is familiar with the run-of-the-river model, and that it is something for which Cordova is uniquely suited. "Cordova ... is lucky in that there is water flow from the ocean all year around," he said. He added that high efficiency and a long economic life span make hydroelectric power a viable energy alternative for rural villages.
|
