Native corporation considers huge power plant in Bethel
ANCHORAGE - An ambitious project that would put a coal-fired power plant in Bethel, string electric lines across the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta and add wind generators along the Bering Sea coast could dramatically cut power costs in dozens of Western Alaska villages, says a new study financed by the state.
"Low-cost power is something that a lot of people want out there," said Bob Charles of Calista Corp., the Native corporation for the region. Electric bills absorb an inordinate amount of most families' income, he said, even after state subsidies.
The system envisioned by Nuvista, a nonprofit subsidiary of Calista, could also provide power for the proposed Donlin Creek gold mine in the Kuskokwim Mountains upstream from Bethel.
The Alaska Legislature was interested enough in both the gold mine and the economy of the region to provide $250,000 for the study of regional power needs, Charles said. The work, performed by Anchorage engineer and attorney Frank Bettine, is seen as a precursor to full feasibility studies. Results of the study were announced recently to Calista shareholders.
Diesel-powered generators in each village currently provide electricity across Western Alaska. Prices are high.
In Anchorage, 500 kilowatt-hours of electricity costs $47. In Chuathbaluk, not far from the Donlin Creek site, it's $360 before subsidies, according to the Alaska Rural Electric Co-op Association. The power cost equalization program, a rural subsidy, cuts that Chuathbaluk bill to $217.
Last year, such subsidies statewide totaled $17 million, according to the Alaska Energy Authority.
The Nuvista study looks at several alternatives.
If the mine doesn't open, the study suggests building a new, efficient diesel plant and bigger fuel storage tanks in Bethel by 2005. Overland electric lines would send electricity to nine nearby villages.
By 2020, the study calls for a small coal-fired plant in Bethel, wind turbines at Nunam Iqua (formerly Sheldon's Point), Newtok and Kipnuk, and extending the lines to 27 more villages.
The cost estimate is $192 million. But the system would save nearly $440 million over 40 years compared with the cost of diesel generators and continued subsidies, the study says.
If the Donlin Creek Mine is developed, the plan would be different. A large diesel generator would be placed at or near the mine as early as 2006, as well as a small diesel plant in Bethel, plus the village interties.
Over the next 20 years, a high-power transmission line would connect the mine to Bethel, where a large coal-fired plant would eventually be built. Wind turbines would also be installed on the coast.
Building such a system would cost nearly $450 million. But savings under are projected at $694 million over the 40 years.
Coal would initially be imported from British Columbia, the study says. Healy coal is too moist, while northwest Alaska coal is not yet available.
Other power sources were considered, such as running transmission lines from Anchorage or Fairbanks, installing fuel cells and using North Slope natural gas.
The preliminary study suggests those alternatives aren't cost effective, but a second study has already started to look more closely at all options, Charles said.
The village electric intertie would be the first to string lines over long stretches of the Alaska Bush. Three long spans out of Bethel and a fourth down the Yukon River -- totaling 860 miles -- would connect all but nine villages in the Calista region.
Engineers propose using "single wire ground return" technology. Widely used in rural areas worldwide, a single wire carries the power and the earth itself is the ground. Construction costs two-thirds less than standard power lines, the study says. While the technology is no longer approved by the National Electric Safety Code, the study says it's as safe as conventional power lines.
The intertie could also carry fiber optic cable, providing villages with better telecommunications links.
A feasibility study already started will bring costs and benefits into sharper focus, said Calista's Charles. Long-term financing is expected to come from state and federal loans and grants.
Support is strong in the area for both the mine and the generation and transmission project, said Rep. Mary Kapsner, D-Bethel. "Any opportunity for employment in this region is welcome with open arms," she said. "We're not going to see industry out here or great leaps in employment without energy."
Meera Kohler, executive director of Alaska Village Electric Cooperative, which operates half the region's electric plants, said she likes the idea of a gold mine and the employment it would bring, but fears the electric system will be too expensive. "The proposal to extend a distribution system to 40 villages . . . is just a little far-fetched, in our opinion," she said.
Economically, it might make more sense to invest the construction money and use the interest to buy diesel fuel, Kohler added. Diesel generators are relatively cheap, their efficiency is continually improving and village residents know how to operate and maintain them, she said.
As for the Donlin Creek Mine, exploration work continues, but Greg Johnson, NovaGold's vice president of corporate development, says it will take another 18 months before the company decides if it's feasible to extract the estimated 19 million ounces of gold there. Electric power is essential to the project, he noted.
Construction would require upwards of 300 people, while the mine would employ 300 to 400 full-time workers in full operation.