North Wind
Alaska Village
Electric named
top wind co-op
laska Village Electric
Cooperative (AVEC) in
Anchorage is the
winner of the 2007
Wind Cooperative of
the Year award, presented by the U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE) and the
National Rural Electric Cooperative
Association (NRECA). This annual
award, in its seventh year, recognizes
AVEC for leadership, demonstrated
success and innovation in its windpower
program.
AVEC provides electricity service to
53 small, native villages in rural Alaska
and is using wind power to reduce its
dependence on diesel power. In
collaboration with the wind industry,
DOE is striving to help develop
advanced wind energy technologies to
help meet the rapidly growing demand
for energy.
“We applaud the Alaska Village
Electric Cooperative for its
commitment to wind power
development, and for building upon
President Bush’s commitment to
dramatically increase the use of this
clean and abundant source of energy,”
DOE Assistant Secretary for Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy Andy
Karsner said. “With Department of
Energy support, unprecedented growth
rates in emissions-free, affordable wind
production will increasingly help meet
the nation’s rapidly growing demand for
energy.”
AVEC currently has 990 kilowatts
(kW) of installed wind-generating
capacity in four of the communities it
serves. Two of these communities,
Toksook Bay and Kasigluk, represent
the first field deployment of the
Northwind 100/20 wind turbine. This
is a 100 kW turbine with a
20-meter rotor specifically
designed for deployment in
cold, harsh climates. This
turbine, designed and
developed in conjunction
with DOE, received a
Research and Development
100 Award in 2000. AVEC
wind turbines are producing
up to 25 percent of the
annual electricity needs of
Toksook Bay and Kasigluk.
“Alaska Village Electric Cooperative
is very pleased that DOE and NRECA
are recognizing our efforts to meet the
challenges of developing wind power in
remote Alaskan villages,” AVEC
President and CEO Meera Kohler said.
She also thanked Senator Ted Stevens
and the Denali Commission for
providing crucial help. “We see a drop
of diesel not burned as a drop of diesel
saved. AVEC will continue to pursue
wind as aggressively as we can afford
to.”
AVEC was one of six rural memberowned
utilities nominated this year for
the award, which was presented at the
National Rural Electric Cooperative
Association’s TechAdvantage 2008
Conference and Expo in Anaheim,
Calif. Last Mile Electric Cooperative and Wolverine Power Supply
Cooperative were also honored for their
innovation and contributions to wind
technology.
Last Mile is developing the 300-
Megawatt (MW) White Creek wind
project in Washington state. When
completed, it will be the largest publicly
developed wind project in the United
States. Wolverine, located in Cadillac,
Mich., has developed the state’s first
multi-megawatt wind project, Harvest
Wind Farm in Huron County.
Previous awardees include Associated
Electric Cooperative Inc., Illinois Rural
Electric Cooperative, Western Farmers
Electric Cooperative (Oklahoma), Holy
Cross Energy (Colorado), Basin
Electric Power Cooperative (North
Dakota) and Great River Energy
(Minnesota).
DOE’s Wind Powering America
program aims to help the nation
achieve targeted regional economic
development, enhance power
generation options, protect the
environment and help increase our
energy security. In 2007, the United
States installed 5,240 MW of new wind
power, a 45-percent increase over 2007.
The United States has the fastest
growing wind-power capacity in the
world.
