Power from Fire Island: wind turbines may have a promising future in Alaska.

• Author: Martin, Gary L.
• Position: Municipal Light and Power

The bad news is that within 10 years, Anchorage could lose a major chunk of its electricity that is currently being created by natural gas generators. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, that could happen when the current deposits of natural gas in Cook Inlet become exhausted. It is the fuel used to run generators that produce 80 percent to 90 percent of Anchorage's electricity. Hydro generators create only about 15 percent of the electricity made by Chugach Electric Association.

GOOD NEWS

But there is good news, too. Help is on the way--windmills. Actually they are giant wind turbines.

For more than a decade, wind turbines have been used in the United States as well as Canada to supplement the primary technologies used to generate electricity. In the Lower 48, currently there are more than 30 states using wind turbines, including California, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin. And throughout Europe, there are many countries building wind farms, including Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain.

Following a six-year study, Chugach Electric Association has partnered up with Municipal Light & Power, serving North Anchorage, and Golden Valley Electric Association in Fairbanks, to further pursue the feasibility of a team project to bring wind farms to Alaska. Homer Electric also is taking a close look at the project and its potential.

Kate Lamal, vice president of power supply at Golden Valley Electric Association, feels good about the project. She said, "Looking out 20, 30, 50 years, reusable and alternative methods of producing electricity will be the norm rather than fringe technology.

"And since wind is a proven technology, attempting to bring it to Alaska is a good idea, especially since it can reduce the cost of electricity."

PLANNING STAGE

According to Jim Posey, general manager for Municipal Light and Power in Anchorage, a wind farm could become a reality within a couple of years. He said, "Right now we are in the preliminary design and planning stage. There still is a lot of work to be done, but if I had to guess, I'd say that it (a wind farm) might become a reality as early as late 2006, but more likely in 2007."

Many steps are still to be made, including obtaining financing, choosing the wind turbines to purchase and getting the power cables to transport electricity from Fire Island to Anchorage. Because the cables are made in Europe, getting them could take from a year to year-and-a-half...