Op Ed: Chugach Electric Association’s Progress on Clean Energy Goals

By: Bettina Chastain and Arthur Miller

The energy transition has a greater sense of urgency in Southcentral Alaska than almost anywhere else in the nation.

Renewables in the Railbelt

Today the Railbelt system—the interconnected grid that stretches from Homer to Fairbanks—is powered by approximately 85 percent fossil fuels and 15 percent renewables. At Chugach Electric Association, we recognize that we must diversify our energy resources to include new renewable generation that complements our dwindling natural gas resources to maintain reliable, economical, and low-carbon power for a sustainable future. We are aggressively pursuing new clean energy projects in a manner that allows us to maintain the lowest rates on the Railbelt, supported by new technologies that enhance the potential of our existing assets to balance, or integrate, variable clean energy resources.

Today, Chugach’s annual energy mix is about 82 percent natural gas, 15 percent hydro, and 3 percent wind, plus 0.1 percent solar we buy back from our members. This is a dynamic mix and varies by the hour, season, and year. By diversifying our sources of energy, we can achieve long-term energy security by reducing our dependence on any single resource. A reliable and sustainable energy grid can be compared to a foundation with multiple supports working together to share the load. We must expand our generation mix to include proven technologies such as hydro, wind, and solar energy. Together with our efficient natural gas generators, energy storage technologies, and modern control systems, we can diversify our energy mix and provide reliable power when it is needed throughout the year.

Meaningful Progress

Chugach has made meaningful progress integrating variable clean energy with firm power from natural gas and hydro generators.

• With support from the Alaska Energy Authority and the Emerging Energy Technology Fund, Chugach deployed a hybrid flywheel and battery energy storage system to help integrate power from the Fire Island Wind project. This system has successfully helped Chugach integrate the variable wind resource and has informed our strategy to scale this concept to enable larger wind and solar projects.

• In 2021, we initiated a request for proposals for renewable energy projects that could provide 100,000 megawatt-hours, or approximately 5 percent of our annual energy need. In the fall of 2022, we advanced two proposed utility-scale projects (one wind, one solar) and initiated feasibility studies. If economically viable without negatively impacting rates, these renewable projects together may exceed our original goal and provide nearly 20 percent of our annual energy—pushing Chugach to almost 40 percent renewables.

• In 2021, Chugach requested and received approval from the Regulatory Commission of Alaska to more than triple our allowance for net metering which provides value for renewable energy generated by members with small-scale solar and wind. In 2022, 781 Chugach members participated in the net metering program.

• In 2022, the Chugach Board of Directors added decarbonization goals to our Strategic Plan which include reducing our carbon intensity by at least 35 percent by 2030 and at least 50 percent by 2040, using 2012 as the baseline year without a material negative impact on rates.