Golden Valley Electric Association: increased technology produces cleaner energy.

• Author: Colby, Nicole A. Bonham
• Position: 2007 Alaska's Top 49ers: Economic Pipelines to the Future

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Celebrating more than 60 years of service to the Interior, Fairbanks-based Golden Valley Electric Association (GVEA) is enjoying a golden day. Incorporated in 1946, the electric cooperative is 100 percent Alaskan-owned and provides power to nearly 90,000 residents. Bringing electrical service to the Interior is something that GVEA has pioneered-literally.

A GOLDEN HISTORY

Agriculture was a key impetus-along with providing rural residents with a reliable power source--for the pioneers who first applied for a loan from the Rural Electrification Administration more than a half-century ago to initiate a not-for-profit electric co-op. Nowadays, the co-op features nearly 3,000 miles of transmission and distribution lines, along with 35 substations. It employs 245 Alaskans and serves customers in Fairbanks, Delta Junction, Nenana, Healy, Cantwell; also interconnecting with some of the region's heavy-hitters, like University of Alaska-Fairbanks, Fort Greely, Eielson Air Force Base and Fort Wainwright.

Always on the lookout for increased reliability to its customers, the co-op has initiated a number of expansions and improvements through the years. Four years ago, it powered up its Northern Intertie, a 97-mile, 230-kilovolt line. Additionally, the GVEA serves as the northern control point for the Fairbanks/Anchorage Intertie, serving Alaska Railbelt towns. "Both interties allow GVEA to augment our 296 MW generation capacity with an additional 70 MW from the Anchorage area," according to a company history. Similarly, the co-op's Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) powered up in November 2003 and carries the unique moniker as the "most powerful battery energy storage system in the world in terms of MW output," the company Web site states. The system has the capacity to provide 27 megawatts (MW) for 15 minutes, or up to 40 MW for a shorter, more concentrated time. The system has already proven its worth time and again, preventing more than 300,000 potential outages since its start.

HIGH ENERGY

The co-op's electrical capacity is delivered via six regional generating facilities and a distinctive, self-sustaining configuration.

"GVEA is unique in that we own our own generation and transmission facilities. Outside of Alaska, there are only three other co-ops out of the 900-plus that own their own generation and transmission facilities," wrote GVEA President and CEO Steve Haagenson in announcing the co-op's 2006 annual report. "With...