H.C. Price lands contract to construct North Pole naptha-fired power plant

Patricia Liles

Interior Alaska’s electric provider Golden Valley Electric Association announced July 28 it signed a $74.9 million contract with H.C. Price Co. to build a new 60 megawatt naphtha-fired power plant in North Pole. Work is scheduled to begin this summer and to be completed by April 2006.

The new power plant will be located within the security confines of the Flint Hills oil refinery. Feedstock comes directly from the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, although the new power plant can be converted to natural gas, should that fuel become available in quantity in Interior Alaska, GVEA said.

GVEA needs new power generation to meet its future power needs, expected to grow more than 30 megawatts from the Strategic Missile Defense System, the Pogo Gold Mine and conversion to electric power at Alyeska’s Pump Station 9, all in the Delta Junction area.