Aug. 21--The Alaska Energy Authority is about halfway through disbursement of $100 million in state renewable energy grants approved by the Legislature last January, the authority's board was told August 13. Applications have been processing and funds transferred or approved for 49 of 78 mostly rural energy projects approved for the program, said Peter Crimp, AEA's renewable program manager.

The 49 projects funded so far involve about $51 million of the $100 million in funds available, Crimp said. Remaining projects on the list of 78 are at various stages of finalizing financing and other information needed before the AEA can disperse funds, he said.

Meanwhile, project grant approvals for a second round of $25 million in funding approved by the Legislature later in the spring will be made in late August or early September.

A variety of renewable energy projects including wind, small hydroelectric, biomass and solar are being funded under a three-year state program that is to total $250 million, although the actual amounts available will be determined by annual appropriations by lawmakers.

The intent was for $100 million in the first year with increments of $50 million over the following three years. However, only $25 million was appropriated for the current state fiscal year, FY 2010, because of revenue constraints due to lower oil prices.

Two projects among the 49 funded this year are actually operating, said Crimp and Steve Haagenson, the state energy director. One is a 4.5-megawatt wind project on Mount Pillar in Kodiak, where three large General Electric wind turbines are now installed and operating.

The wind project will displace 1.2 million gallons of diesel per year that Kodiak Electric Association, the local utility, would otherwise have had to purchase. Kodiak Electric also relies on power generated from the Terror Lake hydro project, which it owns. With the addition of the Mount Pillar turbines the community is now completely off diesel, Haagenson told AEA's board.

A second project now operating is at Gustavus, where privately owned Gustavus Electric has been able to complete a long-planned small hydro program at nearby Falls Creek. A $750,000 grant under the renewable energy program gave the utility the final amount of money needed to complete the $10 million project, Crimp said. The hydro plant will allow Gustavus to displace 117,000 gallons of diesel it would have had to purchase yearly, he said.

Crimp mentioned three other projects funded by AEA that are well along in construction. One is the Denali Solar Heating project being done near Denali National Park where solar heat warms water that is stored in a tank and used later to heat a community center. The project, which is near completion, will displace 5,700 gallons of diesel per year that would have been purchased.

Another initiative is a ground heat source project near Juneau's airport that brings higher temperature groundwater to the surface to help warm airport buildings. Ten 175-foot wells have been drilled as a part of the project. This will displace 29,500 gallons of diesel that would otherwise have had to be purchased each year, Crimp said

Tim Bradner can be reached at

tim.bradner@alaskajournal.com.

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