Energy Projects & Utilities
Over the past 30 years, our staff has devoted a considerable amount of its individual business and community economic development expertise solving the unique problems that present themselves in the communities and businesses of rural Alaska. Of all the tasks we’ve undertaken, one of the most prevalent has been the universal need for better utilization or management of community energy resources or utilities.
For example, working with the Alaska Energy Authority, State of Alaska Village Safe Water and the Alaska Village Electric Cooperative, our team has developed more than 100 operating plans for bulk fuel facilities, electric utilities and water/wastewater utilities undergoing upgrades. Additionally, we provided managerial monitoring and business skills training for approximately 75 bookkeepers and managers for rural bulk fuel facilities and electric utilities.
We have worked with Alaska's largest utilities including the Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility and Municipal Light and Power to develop planning documents, policies and procedures and operations manuals.
And, we have worked with coalitions of utilities to advance their collective projects -- Chugachmiut-area villages to develop a strategy for developing utility fees, communities and engineering firms developing new alternative energy projects and Interior Alaska village utilities to assist them in establishing a utility cooperative.
Our Work
STG, Inc –Nome/Unalakleet Wind Energy Project Planning
Working with STG, Inc., our team developed an alternative energy grant application for a wind energy project for Nome and Unalakleet and coalesced the myriad project elements into a cohesive plan, identified and quantified economic and public project benefits and identified project operational and maintenance costs as well as other operational issues. These efforts resulted in an award of $8 million in grant funds for construction of the wind project.
Following up as the project was constructed, our team worked with STG, Inc. and the Unalakleet Valley Electric Cooperative to develop a Wind Project Business Plan that provided a guideline for the electric cooperative’s maintenance, operation and sustainability of the wind project. The Plan included minimum estimates of operation and maintenance needs and costs, general and administrative costs, depreciation and/or renewal and replacement needs and costs, an average per kilowatt hour (kWh) charge and total electrical costs.