With the construction of a new hydroelectric project and transmission line near the Canadian border, officials from the Alaska Canada Energy Coalition say they are excited at the prospect of seeing Southeast Alaska communities linked to the North American power grid.
The Northwest Transmission Line (NTL), a 287 kV power project that is currently under construction, will carry power from Terrace, B.C. north to a planned substation at Bob Quinn Lake. A second project currently underway on the Iskut River, the 195 MW “run-of-river” Forrest Kerr hydro generation facility, will deliver power to the NTL after its scheduled completion in 2014.
In terms of size and the capability to generate power, the Forrest Kerr project alone would nearly equal the 240 MW capacity of all hydropower available in Southeast Alaska.
According to Paul Southland, Executive Director of the ACE Coalition, once both projects are completed and linked, a power line connecting North America to Wrangell Island could run through Bradfield Canal, south of the island.
“It will fill the first needed segment that could potentially tie Southeast Alaska to the North American grid,” Southland said. “Right now we have a transmission plant at Tyee that is owned by SEAPA near the Bradfield Canal and is approximately 60 miles from the Forrest Kerr project.”
“Run-of the-river” projects do not dam waterways but divert their flow through a generation facility. Additionally, Forrest Kerr would not store energy on-site but would send power east through transmission lines to the NLT.
Angel Drobnica, the Renewable Energy Coordinator for the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council said that even though “run-of the-river” projects are less detrimental to the environment than most hydro projects, her group still has concerns.
“Run of the river and lake-tap designs are typically considered to have fewer impacts than dams, but we don’t have experience with a project of this size,” Drobnica said. “The Forrest Kerr project will be the largest run-of-the-river in North America and ten times larger than any run-of-river in Southeast. With any run-of-river project we are concerned with avoiding fish mortality at the intake structure and maintaining any stream flows that may be necessary to protect fish habitat.”
ACE Coalition Board President Ernie Christian said he believes the projects will help move the inter-tie process forward.
“We see it as a big step forward toward getting the connection for Southeast installed near the Bradfield Canal,” Christian said.
In a September study from Black and Veatch, a consultancy firm reviewing plans for hydroelectric proposals in the region, they found that an inter-tie would not be financially advantageous – and declined to recommend it as an alternative to other projects in Southeast.
“The AK-BC Intertie will not be considered further,” the report stated. “Since the total delivered price of PNW power to a local load center (PNW purchase power cost, plus wheeling charges, plus AK-BC Intertie costs, plus transmission interconnection cost from SEAPA to the load center) would need to be lower than the cost of local hydroelectric generation delivered to the load center.”
Jim Stranberg, the Southeast project manager for the Alaska Energy Authority, said that while he knows an inter-tie would increase economic development and infrastructure, its development is not currently a priority.
“We know that there is potential, but present market conditions and the report by Black and Veatch conclude it does not point toward capitalizing an inter-tie at this time,” Stranberg said. “We are happy to stay at the table with the ACE Coalition and Southeast Conference, however.”
In addition to Alaska’s aversion to the inter-tie, Canadian opinions are also running high within private industry groups and the government.
A 2008 report issued by the Mining Association of British Columbia said studies such as the Alaska-Canada Electrical Inter-tie Study commissioned by the Alaska Energy Authority have taken into consideration the viability of a transmission connection to Alaska or the Yukon.
That report also acknowledged that a connection to Alaska has environmental challenges and is unlikely to be a priority for BC Hydro and the British Columbia Transmission Corporation, given the B.C. government’s policy of self-sufficiency.
“We merely note that the construction of a transmission line along Highway 37 would facilitate easier connection to Alaska and the Yukon, the southeast region of which has prospective (Independent Power Plant) developments,” the report states.
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