A push for greater investment in renewable energy sources dominated Golden Valley Electric Association’s annual membership meeting Thursday night as the utility took testimony from its member-owners.
“Make no mistake, the electric industry of the future will not be the industry of today,” said GVEA president John Burns. “Advances in technology and member demands are accelerating changes, as are governmental regulations.”
GVEA already invests in renewable projects, including the Eva Creek wind farm near Healy, a large solar panel farm in Fairbanks and its battery energy storage system facility.
In addition, it operates a Sustainable Natural Alternative Power (SNAP) program, which encourages member-owners to install wind or solar energy sources on their homes and connect them to the utility’s grid.
Burns noted GVEA plans to embrace a combination of renewable energy and conventional energy changes as part of the strategic generation plan adopted by the board of directors last June.
“The goal is to stabilize and ultimately reduce the cost of electricity to our members and significantly reduce carbon emissions without sacrificing reliabilities,” Burns said.
GVEA’s current goal is to reduce its carbon emissions 26% by 2030.
Golden Valley plans to close down Healy Power Plant Unit No. 2, formerly the Clean Coal Project, by the end of 2024 as part of an Environmental Protection Agency consent decree settlement.
The utility will also upgrade Healy Plant Unit No. 1’s environmental systems for $26 million to reduce emission levels. The board chose the 56-year-old Healy No. 1 over the newer plant due to its reliability as a workhorse.
GVEA officials cited the need for partnership and to increase the resiliency of the Railbelt intertie that provides power from Homer to Fairbanks.
GVEA will also invest in a power purchase agreement with a large-scale wind energy project slated to be built by 2026, barring any complications. The request for proposals is expected to be released within the next week, with a call for between 40 and 150 megawatts of power.
Burns said the wind energy purchase agreement directly relates to the size of its future battery energy storage system (or BESS) replacement. The utility launched its current system 20 years ago, heralded at the time as the largest in the U.S., but it nears the end of is operational life.
The utility will also purchase 30 to 40 megawatts of power from Southcentral Railbelt utilities, who use natural gas to generate electricity, to increase its baseload power needs. Closing Healy No. 2, which generates as much as 60 megawatts, is reliant on securing the additional Railbelt power.
“It was based on the assumption we could achieve that with gas from the Cook Inlet, but have since learned differently,” Burns said, referring to the unpredictable future supply. Burns said GVEA will work with other utilities and the Interior Gas Utility to secure the replacement energy “from any combination of sources.”
The majority of owner-members who spoke during the meeting supported the utility’s strategic plan, but called for a more aggressive approach.
Prior to the meeting’s start, members of the Fairbanks Climate Action Coalition conducted a “positive picketing” rally outside Hering Auditorium.
“We’re hoping to see GVEA pass a resolution of support for a statewide Renewable Portfolio Standard and to quickly implement a community solar and on-bill financing program for all interior community members,” said Kenzley Defler, the group’s energy justice director, in a news release. “GVEA has an opportunity like never before to show leadership in the transition to an equitable and renewable energy system and it’s time for them to take the next steps.”
Fairbanks resident Terry Chapin, an ecologist, expressed pride in the co-op’s accomplishments but said it “only makes sense if GVEA accelerates its move away from coal to renewable energy as its major source of power.”
“Now seems to be that perfect time to make that energy transformation,” Chapin said.
Diane Preston said GVEA’s decision has “been a long time coming but it’s here.”
“I hope you consider all types of renewables … and understand it may require asking other places for energy,” Preston said. “The quicker we can do this transition, the more economic advantage it will be for the entire country.”
Tristan Glowa, a younger member-owner, said it’s time for GVEA to move faster and capitalize on federal grants.
“There’s an opportunity to finance an even faster transition with more clean energy jobs, more innovation and renewables,” Glowa said. “It’s a huge challenge, but I trust GVEA’s staff to do it.”
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