{"id":361822,"date":"2025-01-12T17:35:10","date_gmt":"2025-01-12T16:35:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=361822"},"modified":"2025-01-12T17:35:12","modified_gmt":"2025-01-12T16:35:12","slug":"alaska-energy-shenanigans-eklutna-dam-and-the-rps-part-ii-political-highjack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=361822","title":{"rendered":"Alaska Energy Shenanigans: Eklutna Dam and the RPS (Part II: Political Highjack)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ed. Note<\/strong>: With yesterday\u2019s background<\/a>, Part II examines the politicization of one of Alaska\u2019s major hydroelectric projects to reveal ulterior motives from \u201cstakeholders\u201d and elected officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cOnce an RPS becomes law, the boards will be able to point to the new law in effect requiring them to adopt unreliable and expensive sources and be held harmless once things start to spiral out of control, up to and including rolling brownouts and blackouts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPumped energy storage is only necessary as a mitigating backup to the planned 100% unreliable not-so renewables. The Renewable Portfolio Standard will mandate a government-subsidized solar, wind and transmission build-out by grifters and profiteers. Wind and solar power producers should be made to pay for all infrastructure that makes them as reliable as a gas turbine.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

For environmental groups and their political carriers, the question is how to expand wind and solar power in the state, the very resources that are dilute, intermittent, fragile, expensive, and taxpayer dependent. Here is where the proposals, deceit, and back-door blackmail come in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pumped\/Energy Storage<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Per US Department of Energy<\/a>: Pumped storage hydropower (PSH) is a type of hydroelectric energy storage. It is a configuration of two water reservoirs at different elevations that can generate power as water moves down from one to the other (discharge), passing through a turbine. The system also requires power as it pumps water back into the upper reservoir (recharge). PSH acts similarly to a giant battery because it can store power and then release it when needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On February 3, 2020, a report by the Alaska Institute for Climate and Energy (ALICE<\/a>), titled \u201cPumped Energy Storage for Alaska \u2013 A path to lower energy costs for Alaska\u2019s new energy future,\u201d was published.  The idea is to build on to the existing Eklutna Hydropower infrastructure, pumping water uphill for a conversion to stored energy.  With water flowing back down hill, it works as a regulator of sorts for unreliable sources of power.  It is a closed-loop concept involving five reservoirs and new phased-in wind sites for $4.7B.  This project requires massive excavation, adding more dams and tunnels \u2013 all to address the problem of wind and solar intermittency. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The executive summary paints the picture that Railbelt energy is expensive because it is generated from expensive fuel.  Since fuel for the Railbelt is coming from Cook Inlet as a single source, the authors suggest ratepayers are left \u201cvulnerable to swings in price or supply,\u201d and the prices may \u201cincrease further due to taxes and regulations aimed at emissions reductions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For what appears to be the justification for their proposal, they reference Alaska\u2019s non-binding goal<\/a> of generating 50 percent of electricity from renewable sources by 2025 and state, \u201ccurrently, the Railbelt generates only 15 percent of its power from renewable sources.\u201d  To meet the stated non-binding renewable goal, the report compares the idea of the pumped storage hydro and wind combination to Susitna-Watana Hydro. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the authors, the pumped storage and wind combination solution wins.  As this land is located in the Chugach State Park, the report offers the \u201ccareful design and construction of an aerial tram system instead of roads\u201d to build and maintain the reservoirs, while also providing \u201clow-impact access to the high country above Eklutna Lake.\u201d  The time and costs to permit such a project are so staggering they could not be included<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

False Claims<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a April 2020<\/a> letter to the coordinator of the Eklutna Fish and Wildlife Plan, ALICE provided written comment early on in the process to the Initial Information Package (IIP), showcasing their idea of pumped storage, wherein they state they have been working on the Eklutna Pumped Energy Storage concept for several years and that in January 2020, \u201cGovernor Dunleavy became interested in the idea and requested more information.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Egregious claims in the ALICE report include that wind is the cheapest solution.  It states that proposed and existing wind sites would provide a capacity factor of 48-60%.  The report states fallaciously that Fire Island wind is at a capacity factor of 48%.  Chugach Electric actually notes<\/a> the annual capacity factor for CIRI Fire Island wind is 32%.  As stated previously, Fire Island has demonstrated to be much lower than 32% when Alaskans have needed it most. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To justify cost, the authors use Lazard\u2019s Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) to state that new wind projects are less expensive than new gas plants.  The problem is LCOE doesn\u2019t account for the cost of necessary redundancies for non-firm renewable generation, such as the pumped storage itself for $1.5B, which is required for wind.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The authors of the report believe that 100% of the Railbelt energy can be provided by the PES wind combo for a price tag of $4.7B.  The project would require massive and wasteful public financing, and the idea has piqued the interest of other investors, which was brought to light when Governor Dunleavy wrote Berkshire Hathaway in May of 2020 expressing his interest in \u201cTransitioning Alaska.\u201d<\/a>  Additionally, the report mentions that Independent Power Producers (IPPs) \u201c(including Alaska Native corporations) are well placed to build and profit from the wind farms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a November 2020<\/a> comment on the October 2020<\/a> draft study plan, NVE provides a glimpse into their vision for Eklutna, stating \u201cThe Eklutna pumped hydro storage battery would solve the problem of excessive costs to power companies from releasing large flows into the river, while allowing for full restoration of river flows, lake access, and stabilization of lake levels for salmon habitat.\u201d  And \u201cGovernment should supplement responsible restoration of the Eklutna River ecosystem, along with private enterprise that could profit from pumped hydro development.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The October 2023 draft Fish and Wildlife plan referenced other entities conducting studies in the Eklutna basin, two of them include references to pumped hydro:<\/p>\n\n\n\n