Electrical Power for Valdez and the Copper River Basin-1981

These are the sites closest by. Other sites could also be consideredbut are judged not alternative to Allison Creek~ If the very largeprojects, Wood Canyon or Cleave, are developed for energy export elsewhere;feasibility of serving the Glennallen-Valdez interconnectionshould be considered.Tidal PowerTidal power is not considered an 'alternative to Allison Creek. The mainreason is sizing and economics. The size needed for.tida1project1 feasibility is much too large for indigenous use. In qddition, a Valdezarea tidal project would certainly conflict with port traffic (oiltankers, etc.). If a tidal project is· constructed in the Cook Inletarea, it would be considered as exogeneous supply to the Valdez/Glennallenarea by new transmission facilities.Steamp1antsSteam turbines can use many types of resources: coal, oil, gas, nuclear,biomass, sun heat. The availability of each resource, economics, andinstitutional constraints preclude steamp1ants from consideration asalternatives for the Valdez/Glennallen area.Coal-FiredCoal is Scarce in the Valdez/Glennallen area. One deposit has beendefined in the Chugach Mountains, east of the Copper River delta. Noothers are evidenced. This deposit is ranked low in probability ofdevelopment. A State report of Alaska's resources (see bibliographyreference 13) lists it as ninth out of a dozen possibilities.Several recent report~/ have indicated small size (less than 50 MW)coal-fired steamp1ants cost between $4,000 and $5,000 per kW. Thisincludes scrubbers. Other environmental equipment would increase capitalcosts. Adding escalating fuel costs, fuel transportation costs (coalwould have to be imported), and high maintenance costs would causesteamp1ant energy to be more expensive than Allison Creek.Oi1- and Gas-FiredOil and gas provinces in the Gulf of Alaska area are evaluated in theState study of Alaska's resources (see bibliography item 13). Evaluationsrank an off-shore province as promising, a province surroundingGlennallen as possible, and a province east of Cordova as very improbable.In addition to the lack of local fuel supplies, oil- and gas-firedsteamp1ants are considered as unlikely alternatives to Allison Creekbecause shortages and national policy indicate that in a few years thesefuels will not be availablp for powerplants. In the sizes needed forgeneration at ValdeZ/Glennallen, other forms of energy supply are morepractical and economic.1/ 1979 Susitna Power Market Study; Alaska Study Committee SouthcentralAlaska Level R Studies.24