Alternative energy: the new age of power; while not expected to replace traditional fossil fuels, alternative energy resources can be particularly useful in remote areas of the state not currently served by the existing power grid.

Alaska's vast supply of traditional energy sources--oil, natural gas and coal-is well known throughout the world. Using conventional and developing recovery methods, these underground accumulations can and will supply energy for years to come.

Yet industry experts here and throughout the United States are looking at ways to develop alternative energy sources, to augment reliance on traditional fossil fuels and to help reduce emissions related to those power sources.

Currently, fossil fuels provide 85 percent of the nation's energy consumption, according to the National Energy Technology Laboratory, one of the U.S. Department of Energy's 17 national labs.

That percentage of fossil fuel reliance is even greater here in Alaska. According to R.B. Stiles, president of DRven Corp., 85 percent to 90 percent of Alaska's electrical power comes from coal, natural gas or diesel generators located within the state's railbelt.

"Except for Southeast, virtually all nonrailbelt generation is diesel based," Stiles said, during an energy conference held at the University of Alaska Fairbanks this spring.

That's with the exception of some hydropower electric generators used in Southeast Alaska, he added.

While adequate supplies of fossil fuels have been identified nationwide, and work continues to mitigate environmental impacts from consuming those traditional energy resources, NETL and other research entities are working to develop alternative sources of energy.

And in the field of alternative energy, Alaska can offer significant resources--wind, solar, hydro and fuel cell power projects, as well as research and development of unconventional fossil fuel sources.

While not expected to replace traditional fossil fuels, such alternative energy resources can be particularly useful in remote areas of the state not currently served by the existing power grid.

From small, weekend cabins to year-round residences to small villages, all can benefit from combining existing natural resources such as wind, sun and water currents with advancing technologies in conventional energy sources.

And continued research in nontraditional fuels, such as gas-to-liquids and methane gas, offers hope to larger, rural communities for a more affordable electric power supply.

CHUGACH EXPLORES ENERGY ALTERNATIVES

Although Chugach Electric Association provides its customers throughout Alaska's railbelt with conventionally powered electricity, alternatives to these traditional generators are currently being explored and developed.

"We believe our customers want us to investigate alternatives," said Steve Gilbert, manager of energy projects development, operation and maintenance at Chugach. "We have seen an upsurge in the number of customers who ask about on-site generation, and there is a great deal of interest in renewable energy."

On-site electric generation involves equipment located at a utility customer's facility, whether it be an office complex, a warehouse or other large building. Whether using traditional power generation sources on a smaller scale or implementing renewable energy technology, these projects allow for onsite control of the power supply.

Such on-site generation projects allows Chugach to add to its existing power supply sources as needed, rather than overbuilding the supply system to meet peak needs.

Chugach serves 57,000 retail customers and also provides wholesale power to other electric providers throughout the railbelL The peak demand for Chugach-provided power is 451 megawatts, a level set in December 2001, Gilbert said.

"Distributed generation allows us to add generation capacity in very small increments, targeting the specific needs rather than the general needs of our customers," Gilbert said.

Currently, Chugach obtains between 85 percent to 90 percent of its needed electric generation from natural gas generators. About 10 percent to 15 percent comes from three different hydro projects Chugach is involved with-the Copper Lake power plant, the Eklutna power plant and the state-owned Bradley Lake power plant.

Of the three hydro projects, Chugach owns 100 percent of the Cooper Lake power plant, which is rated at 19.6 megawatts of electric generation capacity. Chugach obtains a portion of the electricity generated from Bradley Lake and Ekiutna, Gilbert said.

Efficiency of such hydro projects depends on the individual lake's water level. "The more pressure that is available to turn the turbines, the more power is available," he said.

FUEL CELL AND MICRO TURBINE PROJECTS

Gilbert touts quite a substantial list of alternative energy projects that Chugach Electric Association is involved with, which range from fuel cell generators to distributed generation projects to research in wind turbines.

One of those includes a one-megawatt hydrogen fuel cell generator operating at the airport branch of the U.S. Post Office in Anchorage. Until recently, the Chugach fuel cell was the largest of its kind in the nation and perhaps even in the world, Gilbert said.

"Most fuel cells are small, laboratory-sized," he said. "We've actually connected five individual fuel cells together and operated it as one, connected to the electric grid and operating as another power plant"

A high-speed switching system links the fuel cell with the existing power grid, and when the demand from the post office drops below what is generated by the fuel cell, then the excess flows out into the grid, Gilbert said.

In addition, the constant supply of power onsite prevents production delays due to power outages within the existing electric grid, he added.

"With the high-speed sorting equipment there, even a momentary interruption of the power supply affects the machines. They have to be shut down and implement a restarting procedure, which results in a business interruption," Gilbert said. "The fuel cell helps to avoid that."

Cook Inlet natural gas, transported by the Enstar pipeline, provides the source of hydrogen for the fuel cell. The remaining carbon dioxide and water are the only emissions from the chemical energy generating process, Gilbert said.

"Thermally it's more efficient and environmentally more preferable," he said. Heat generated by the fuel cell electric generation process is also used in the building, a source to warm boiler water for the heating system. "It meets a large part of the building's heat needs," Gilbert said.

Federal research grants have helped with the cost of the project, covering some of the development costs so that the fuel cell generation costs are "roughly on par with other sources," Gilbert said. "It's important to recognize that we're pretty early in the development cycle on this."

Chugach also has developed a micro turbine fueled by natural gas, which produces 30 kilowatts of power, enough to power a small office complex, Gilbert said.

Spinning at 96,000 revolutions per minute, it's called a micro turbine because of the size, Gilbert said. "It's so tiny, you can hold it in your hand."

Initially, the unit was tested at the offices of the Alaska Village Electric Cooperative in Anchorage. By day, the unit produced part of the electric needs in the building, and at night, surpassed the power needed by the two-story office building and adjoining warehouse facility, Gilbert said.

The natural gas-fired micro turbine was part of a larger energy research project, in which a liquid-fuel micro turbine was also installed and operated at the AVEC office. For a period of time, both the gas and the liquid-fired micro turbines operated at the same time.

"The gas-fueled turbine worked better ... there were fewer problems in operation," Gilbert said.

Both units contain only one moving part, and require no liquid lubricants nor liquid coolants, he added. "That's a significant advantage over conventional turbines," Gilbert said. "The long-term hope is to reduce maintenance required for this type of generation equipment."

Both the micro turbines and the fuel cell generator fit well into the developing trend of on-site electric power generation. Customers not only benefit from a steady supply of electricity, but also can use heat created by the generation process to augment standard heating systems.

BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. also has joined the research effort in fuel cell power generation, with plans to create electricity at the company's gas-to-liquids test plant in Nikiski.

Next year, BP plans to install a solid oxide fuel cell unit that will convert natural gas directly into electricity using an electrochemical process, according to company spokesman Ronnie Chappell.

The $6.5 million project, which includes federal grants totaling $2.45 million, is designed to generate 250 kilowatts of electricity, enough to power the warehouse and administration building at the GTL facility.

BP's GTL facility and fuel cell also will be connected to the existing power grid, and excess electricity-anticipated to be about 100 kilowatts, according to Steve Fortune, BP Exploration's GTL program manager-will be available for use by Homer Electric Association.

Future uses for such fuel cells could include projects in remote and environmentally sensitive locations like offshore oil and gas platforms, as well as rural Alaska communities that currently rely on diesel for power generation, according to BP.

WIND TURBINE RESEARCH

Alternative uses of natural gas are only one of many renewable energy projects within Alaska. For several years, Chugach has been investigating the best location for the addition of wind generation equipment, Gilbert said. Some of those test sites include the Portage area, Turnagain Arm and in the Chugach Range near the Arctic Valley Road.

"Several sites look promising, so we are continuing with our research to see how persistent the winds are in those locations," he said.

On a much smaller scale, a number of Alaskans have incorporated wind turbines within their own residential power generation system, according to Dalanda Eppley, vice president of ABS Alaskan Inc., an alternative energy supplier based in Fairbanks.

"In Alaska, generally many places tend to have winter winds," she said.

That fits perfectly with hybrid power systems designed by ABS Alaskan for use in the Last Frontier. Such home power systems tend to rely on solar panels to capture electric power during the long hours of sunlight in summer months, and wind turbines to provide an increased volume of electric power during the peak power demand in winter.

And such home-sized wind turbines, which can generate 400 watts of power with a gentle but steady wind blowing, are relatively easy to install and maintain, Eppley said.

In fact, the company has grown from a battery fabrication and supply store to a complete renewable energy supplier in just 14 years. Now, ABS Alaskan offers custom design and fabrication of complete power systems for both permanent installation in homes or businesses, as well as temporary, remote project usage.

"Renewable energy is a worldwide issue," Eppley said. "Demand has really started to grow here."

SOLAR AND HYBRID POWER SYSTEMS

For at least part of the year, solar panels that collect sunlight and transfer it into power work exceptionally well in Alaska, Eppley said.

"In Alaska, we have the two extremes-in summer we have an abundance of sunlight and a small data collection project may be able to get by with one solar panel and a battery for power," she said. "But if you try to do the same thing in November or December, you may be able to acquire only one solar hour for charging each day."

And contrary to a popular misconception, solar panels, or even wind turbines, do not directly provide electric power for consumption. Rather, a complete system includes one or more of those generation elements that feed into a battery system, much like a vehicle battery. From there, the battery power or direct current (DC) is converted into traditional alternating current (AC) that feeds through conventional wiring into the home, office or other building.

Therefore, a critical component of alternative power systems is the battery bank, Eppley said.

"The major hurdle is the upfront investment, but the nice thing about renewable energy is that a lot of it is modular," she said. "You can start out with a basic system and add to the components."

That's where the custom design for system components becomes crucial. Not only must the system be built to meet daily peak demands, but seasonal differences in the alternative power sources must be taken into account, Eppley said. And those climatic changes vary greatly within the different geographical regions of Alaska.

"The colder temperatures also play a factor in the depth of discharge of the battery bank," Eppley added. "It's not safe to have the same depth of discharge when it's 40 below out"

Ken Porter, who recently joined the staff at ABS Alaskan, described his own experience with an alternative energy system. "I haven't been on the grid for seven years ... and our house looks just like anyone else's. The kids have video games; we have a computer, TV, bread machine and microwave," he said. "The estimate to run power poles to my property was $28,000, and my alternative system cost me $5,000 to $6,000, so I'm way ahead of the game."

Such home system usage can be expanded to a village-sized power system. BP Exploration provided 106 additional solar panels for a hybrid power system used by Lime Village, located about 100 miles south of McGrath.

The solar panels, as well as a new DC-AC inverter and a small diesel generator, should help reduce the village's use of fuel oil by 20 percent, according to BP.

Each solar panel should displace about 10 gallons of diesel annually and will require little maintenance during the anticipated 20-year life of the panels. So far, the system reduced the village's diesel costs more than $2,000 during the first month of operation.