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Clean energy project plans sought Applications due to Alaska Energy Authority by Oct. 8 for projects ready to proceed Stefan Milkowski For Petroleum News
The Alaska Energy Authority is seeking proposals for renewable energy projects under a new program created this year by state lawmakers.
The program offers state grants to utilities, independent power producers, and government entities for the study or construction of economically viable renewable energy projects.
Lawmakers put $100 million toward the program this year and have expressed their intent to contribute another $50 million each year for the next four years.
House Speaker John Harris, R-Valdez, and Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Haines, pushed the renewable energy fund as a way to reduce energy costs, but the idea also received strong support from environmental groups, who touted the environmental benefits of switching away from fossil fuels.
“The number one thing the State should do is get communities off expensive diesel generation and inefficient electrical supplies and work towards zero fuel cost energy resources,” Thomas said in a news release.
The bill, HB 152, passed the Legislature in April, and Gov. Sarah Palin signed it into law in May. Funding was provided in the state’s capital budget and during a summer special session.
Chris Rose, executive director of the Renewable Energy Alaska Project and a member of the advisory committee set up around the fund, called the program a “great boon” for the state.
“It’s an opportunity for the state to leverage outside funds and get projects built that will stabilize energy costs around the state, which in turn is going to make Alaska a more stable place to invest,” he said.
Qualifying projects Projects using wind, solar, geothermal, hydro or other forms of renewable energy will all be considered under the new program. Energy made from fuel cells, biomass or landfill gas will also be considered, as will certain transmission lines and natural gas projects for small communities without viable renewable energy options.
There is no size limit for qualifying projects, and projects that have already received state or federal grants will be considered.
Preference will be given to projects that can provide matching funds, demonstrate local support, and be completed quickly. Local energy costs and regional distribution of grant money will also be considered.
AEA officials will evaluate and rank proposals in consultation with a seven-member advisory committee appointed by the governor and legislative leaders. Committee members include Thomas, Rose, Jodi Mitchell of Inside Passage Electric Cooperative, James Posey of Municipal Light and Power, Brad Reeve of Kotzebue Electric Association, Vincent Beltrami of the Alaska AFL-CIO and Denali Commission, and Sen. Lyman Hoffman, a Democrat from Bethel.
AEA is planning to review proposals and award grants in two separate rounds.
The first round is aimed at projects that are ready to proceed quickly. Applications are due Oct. 8, and awards will be given in December using funds from the current fiscal year, assuming legislative approval.
The second round is aimed at projects that need more time. Applications are due Nov. 10, and awards will be given in July 2009 using funds from FY2010.
All grants are subject to legislative approval, but HB 152 allows the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee to approve grants for FY2009.
Comments on the RFA can be made through Sept. 17.
GVEA looks to wind Kate Lamal, Golden Valley Electric Association’s vice president of power supply, said similar grants awarded this year under a federal and state program allowed the utility to study promising new technologies without spending members’ money.
“It’s a good deal — it’s a great deal, actually,” she said. “They’re all projects that are worth looking at.”
Lamal said Golden Valley is currently studying all four projects for which it received funding. The utility will apply for grant money to build one of the projects, a wind farm near Healy, which is the furthest along, she said. A four-year-old cost estimate put the total project cost at $60 million, although Lamal added that costs have risen dramatically since then.
Lamal said Golden Valley will probably seek additional funding for a waste heat recovery project at an existing power plant in North Pole.
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