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Alaska Map PDF

Alaska has a unique energy infrastructure due to its large landmass and small population. The Railbelt electrical grid provides most of the state's power and connects generation facilities fueled by natural gas, hydroelectric, and fuel oil. Renewable energy such as wind power is also being developed. Maintaining and improving Alaska's energy systems poses challenges due to its remote locations and harsh climate.
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
104 views1 page

Alaska Map PDF

Alaska has a unique energy infrastructure due to its large landmass and small population. The Railbelt electrical grid provides most of the state's power and connects generation facilities fueled by natural gas, hydroelectric, and fuel oil. Renewable energy such as wind power is also being developed. Maintaining and improving Alaska's energy systems poses challenges due to its remote locations and harsh climate.
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Alaska’s Energy Infrastructure INFRASTRUCTURE

With 16 percent of the country’s landmass and less production by an estimated 10 percent.
than 0.3 percent of its population, Alaska’s unique
Wind farms have also sprouted up on the Railbelt,
geography has driven development of its energy
including 17.6 MW on Fire Island near Anchorage,
supply infrastructure — power plants, power lines,
24.6 MW at Eva Creek near Healy and 1.9 MW at
natural gas pipelines, bulk fuel tank farms and
Delta Junction.
related facilities. Alaska has more than 150 islanded,
standalone electrical grids serving rural villages, and Today, a little less than 2,000 MW of installed power
larger transmission grids in Southeast Alaska and the generation capacity exists along the Railbelt. AEA Railbelt Infrastructure
Railbelt. The Railbelt electrical grid stretches from and the six Railbelt utilities are currently studying the
Fairbanks through Anchorage to the Kenai Peninsula benefits of coordinating dispatch of power generation
fuel
and provides roughly 79 percent of the state’s from all sources to maximize efficiencies and cost-
electrical energy. savings. Investments in the Railbelt’s transmission
system would be required to realize all of those
Powered by wood until 1927, Fairbanks switched to
potential benefits.
coal after the railroad provided access to the Nenana
and Healy coalfields. The Anchorage and Matanuska- During the early 1980s, the state completed a total of
Susitna Valley areas have enjoyed relatively low-cost four hydropower projects to serve Ketchikan, Kodiak,
heating and power (by Alaska standards) since the Petersburg, Valdez and Wrangell. At
development of the Eklutna Lake hydropower plant 76 MW, the “Four Dam Pool” projects
in the late 1940’s and major Cook Inlet oil and gas displace the equivalent of about 20
discoveries in the 1960s. million gallons of diesel for annual power
production. Additional southeast hydro facilities
Completed in 1986, the AEA-owned Willow–Healy
are currently being developed in Juneau and Prince
Intertie transmission line now carries power from
of Wales Island communities.
diverse energy sources to the Fairbanks area.
Southcentral Alaska’s heating needs are met almost
Nearly 73 percent of the Railbelt’s electricity
exclusively by ENSTAR Natural Gas Company, which
comes from natural gas. Major power generation
moves gas from the Cook Inlet gas fields through
facilities along the Railbelt include Chugach Electric
over 300 miles of pipelines, and a little over 3,000
Association’s (CEA) 332-MW natural gas-fired plant
miles of distribution mains to the Kenai Peninsula,
west of Anchorage at Beluga, Anchorage Municipal
Anchorage and Matanuska Valley areas.
Light and Power’s (ML&P) 120 MW natural gas-fired
Combined Heat and Power plant in Anchorage, With some notable exceptions, most of Alaska’s
CEA and ML&P’s 204 MW natural gas-fired power remaining power and heating needs are fueled
plant in Anchorage and Golden Valley Electric by diesel barged from Lower 48 suppliers or
Association’s (GVEA) 181 MW facility near Fairbanks transported from refineries in Nikiski, North
fueled by naphtha from the Trans-Alaska pipeline Pole and Valdez. After freeze-up, many
system. Homer Electric Association (HEA) has three remote communities rely on fuel
natural gas fired power plants at Nikiski, Soldotna stored in tank farms,
and Bernice Lake that total 204 MW and Matanuska or pay a premium
Electric Association’s (MEA) 171-MW dual-fuel (gas or for fuel flown in by air
diesel) generation station near Eklutna was added in tankers. State and federal
2015. authorities continue to
support programs to fix leaky
The 126 MW, AEA-owned Bradley Lake hydroelectric
tanks, improve power generation, generation
plant near Homer has been a low-cost source of
efficiency and develop local renewable energy
electricity for the Railbelt since 1991. In 2017,
sources such as wind, biomass and hydro.
AEA financed an expansion that will boost annual

2 Renewable Energy Atlas of Alaska 3

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