City Gets $2.5M Grant for Green Lake Project

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Created on Thursday, 12 September 2024 15:33

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By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
The U.S. Department of Energy has announced that Sitka’s Green Lake hydro rehabilitation project is among 293 projects in the country selected for federal funding.
The $2.5 million is for the rehabilitation of the two hydro-power turbines at the Green Lake power plant. The city qualified to negotiate for federal funding for up to 30 percent of the project cost, said Bri Gabel, the city sustainability coordinator.

Green Lake turbines. ( (Photo provided by Bri Gable)

The original project estimate of $8.2 million took into consideration savings from completing the entire project at once, but the city is currently revisiting its estimates as part of the negotiations process.
“We are trying to make sure we get the full 30 percent the funding can cover,” Gabel said.
Electric Utility Director Ron Vinson said the turbine upgrades are “critical to provide reliable power from that facility.” The Green Lake plant has been providing power to Sitka since it went online in 1982.
“We’ve come about 40 years, and to extend the life another 40 we need to do some retrofitting and refurbishment,” Vinson said.
The Assembly approved a resolution about a year ago to apply for the grant under Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America Agenda. The total $430 million authorized for the program will help 293 projects in 33 states to improve hydroelectric facilities, increase dam safety, mitigate fish and wildlife impacts, and increase access to affordable carbon-free electricity, the Department of Energy said.
In the city’s grant application Gabel called attention to the 45-year average age of Sitka’s electric grid and utility infrastructure, “making it increasingly at risk of failing with each passing year.” She also emphasized the city’s reliance on hydroelectric power, which is 99.9 percent of the electrical generation for the community. Green Lake consistently provides between 30 and 40 percent of Sitka’s power usage. Other power is provided by the Blue Lake hydro plant, and the city has standby diesel generators for emergency backup.
Gabel said the negotiations process under this program can take up to six months. The city has built up funds for the project over the past several years. The federal money will move the project forward faster, and ultimately extend the life of a major piece of infrastructure for the benefit of ratepayers,
“Hydro is a bit of an interesting renewable energy source: it’s one of the most expensive to install but over the lifetime of the project it’s one of the cheapest and most reliable per kilowatt hour, for how much we can produce from that infrastructure,” Gabel said. “Knowing upfront costs are high, if there are ways to mitigate that, that’s what we want to do.”
City Administrator John Leach and Mayor Steven Eisenbeisz learned about the program on a lobbying trip to Washington, D.C., and alerted Gabel about the funding potential for the Green Lake project.
Those with questions about the grant or the project can call Gabel at 907-747-1856.

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