The Power Problem: Developing cost effective and environmentally sound rural energy systems.

AuthorNavarro, Bruno J.
PositionARCHITECTURE & ENGINEERING SPECIAL SECTION

Satisfying the energy needs of Alaska's rural communities requires a diverse set of solutions. Among them is adopting alternative forms of energy generation and using custom system designs to fit each community's energy profile.

These systems are feats of engineering, built to sustain the demands of rugged terrain, unforgiving climates, and scarcity of personnel.

One of the primary features that must be taken into consideration when designing rural energy systems is robustness. Tim Sandstrom, director of rural programs at the Alaska Energy Authority (AEA), recalls one recent incident in Kongiganak, near the mouth of the Kuskokwim River on the state's southwestern coast, in which a relatively new wind turbine was destroyed by extreme conditions.

"They couldn't break the wind, and it broke," he says. "Millions of dollars invested into that, and Mother Nature destroyed it."

Matt Bergan, an engineer with the Kotzebue Electric Association (KEA), also cites Alaska's extreme weather conditions as a consideration for rural energy design.

"The biggest environmental concern we have is snow drifting caused by the panels. We have to design them to minimize the number of snow drifts they produce," he says, noting that solar panel arrays have to be raised off the ground as high as 2 to 3 feet.

Low temperatures can also make certain equipment brittle and cause it to crack. Bergan adds.

Edwin Bifelt, founder and CEO of energy contracting firm Alaska Native Renewable Industries (ANRI), says he keeps winter weather in mind when designing systems: "We account for snow loads and wind loads-we include that within our design."

Bifelt says some of the measures his contracting firm takes include strengthening the racks that hold solar panels and increasing the anchoring force by using 6-foot helical anchors and 10-foot ground screws.

The ground itself can add a layer of difficulty to a project. 'With permafrost covering a large portion of the Arctic, just drilling through that can be challenging."

Customizing the Energy Mix

Bifelt started ANRI in 2017 and says there wasn't much of an interest in solar photovoltaic (PV) in rural Alaska. But Bifelt feels things are beginning to change.

"I believe it's increasing," Bifelt says. "It's tough to quantify, but I'd like to say we're seeing more interest, more awareness about solar PV."

ANRI completed a project in Hughes in 2019 that was the largest solar power system in rural Alaska, and in 2020 it installed a...

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