Fire Island Wind Power

For the last 15 years, Chugach Electric actively pursued and assessed wind resource potential and development throughout our service territory, including the wind resource potential of Fire Island. Over the last several years, Chugach has been conducting the necessary studies to provide the insight we need to evaluate the project impact on our system and consumers. These efforts have resulted in Chugach entering negotiations with Fire Island Wind LLC (a Cook Inlet Region subsidiary) to purchase the output of a wind project located on Fire Island (Anchorage area map).

The original project proposed by Fire Island LLC was a 52.8 MW wind farm intended to provide power to the entire Railbelt. Now, the project has been right-sized to provide energy solely to the Chugach service area. FIWP purchases represent 4% of retail sales The project serving the Chugach service area is comprised of eleven 1.6 MW GE XLE wind turbines, with maximum capacity of 17.6 MW (Fire Island wind tower location map). The wind resource on the island produces a capacity factor of 31.5%, resulting in average expected project output of 5.5 MW, or 48,500 MWh per year. The average output of 48,500 MWh represents about 4% of Chugach's retail sales.

In the long-run, Chugach is expected to require about 9 Bcf of natural gas per year to meet its retail requirements. FIWP purchases represent a fuel reduction of about 3% Expected gas offset through the purchase of wind energy is expected to reduce gas consumption up to 300,000 mcf, or 3% of Chugach's long-term annual gas requirements.

The wind project will be connected to Anchorage via a double circuit 34.5 kV transmission line. The transmission line is comprised of submarine, overhead and underground segments. The bulk of the transmission line will be paid for by a $25 million grant awarded by the State Legislature in 2008. This grant was specifically for the purpose of building a transmission line to Fire Island.

The Fire Island Wind Project provides Chugach with the experience required to transform the challenge of integrating a variable energy resource into a long-term opportunity of diversifying our power supply portfolio. The knowledge Chugach gains from understanding and dispatching this resource increases our opportunities to provide a stable, responsible energy future for our consumers.