Updated: 16 minutes agoPower lines are highlighted by the setting sun along Turnagain Arm and the Seward Highway south of Anchorage, Alaska on Sunday, March 26, 2017. “Carbon capture could expand Alaska power options”
It would take at least 10 years to design, obtain permitting and construct a plant such as the one described. A new coal plant is not a short- to mid-term option for diversification. Hilcorp’s contracts for “all requirements” gas delivery to the electric utilities will end before a coal plant could be built. Homer Electric has already had to make alternative arrangements, next year MEA, then Chugach in March of 2028.
Chugach is actively making short- to mid-term plans to obtain and store enough natural gas to meet our utility’s needs even in the face of adverse conditions. In the mid-term we can reduce pressure on our existing gas supplies by aggressively integrating renewable energies and conserving fuel so that we can use it to balance our loads. As an example, we are evaluating a wind project proposal on the West side of Cook Inlet. We estimate this wind project could reduce gas consumption by up to 3.
If we follow through, this kind of mid-term planning can complement and facilitate the examination of long-term solutions: hydro power, geothermal, tidal or even a coal plant. Long-term planning gives us the opportunity to develop more complete cost evaluations so that we can realistically evaluate the costs and impact on rates of such projects.