August 2016 – Construction Season is Upon Us.

Posted: August 24, 2016

I was at a conference in the Lower 48 last month, and someone asked me how many seasons we have up in Alaska. Without missing a beat, I responded, “Two: winter and construction season!” While it did get a chuckle, it is nonetheless the truth.

We have small teams of employees and contractors scattered throughout Alaska as we undertake a host of projects. Here are a few of them:

• In Alakanuk, we are installing a standby generator and completing connections to the Emmonak intertie, which will allow us to displace the maximum amount of diesel fuel with wind in both communities.
• New tank farms are under construction in Pilot Station for AVEC, the corporation and the city. Later this year, the power plant will be relocated out of the flood plain.
• The intertie between New Stuyahok and Ekwok is complete and scheduled to be energized later this year.
• A major project in Bethel to refurbish the 30-year-old heat recovery system is underway and will result in more heat being captured for local use. It will protect the generation system against potential problems with the cooling system.
• We have installed new governors on all generators in  Bethel, making it possible to integrate wind energy into the system when it becomes available—we hope within two years.
• We have the engineering design underway to build a significant wind generation system in St. Mary’s, which will provide wind power for St. Mary’s and Pitka’s Point, and for Mountain Village after the two communities are connected. In the future, the system may provide wind energy to Pilot Station as well.
• The engineering design is underway for a new power plant in Togiak. Design work has also begun for a replacement bulk fuel tank farm for AVEC ands other tank farm owners in the community.
• New generators are being installed in Hooper Bay, Mountain Village, Holy Cross and Shageluk. These installations will improve efficiencies at each location and provide additional capacity for community growth.
• A major tank farm refurbishment is underway in Mountain Village that will extend the life of the tank farm, add a new containment system and increase the capacity of the tank farm. This project should be complete this year.
• Design is underway for a new power plant and tank farm for Teller, which will be funded by Federal Emergency Management Agency after years of negotiations following the 2011 and 2013 major storm damages. Construction is expected to take place next year.