HomeMy WebLinkAboutAlaska Center for Energy & Power WiDAC 2009 Program Report-Draft One 2009Alaska Center for Energy and Power
WIDAC 2009
Program Report: Draft One
Katherine Keith
12/15/2009
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CONTENTS
I Overview Of Wid AG cercecissrczesncooesesnsnsnsonsuccecascooscesasccsoss sous suevev cases ues coyewsseqynnvesesrevusceretestavqrarteraresseascres 6
Qi WiDAGC Partners ...............ce.csceseososesnecosesnesvoncsorsenessgvtsnseesssueussucsnsen os ayeesesrsnsuossoatoxssvauiestetprvenereraetsrnerss 6
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6.5 Task 5. Social, Economic, and Policy Issues Related to Wind Development in the U.S............ 17
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6.6 Task'6. Curriculum Development: and Outreach «.csescsavscerscsssssassesevevsrssessrsasveessesssoresssneerszosssvess 18
6.7. Task 7. Program Management
6.7.1 Task 7a. Initial Meeting of Collaborators.........cccsceseseseseeseseeseeeeeseeeseesseeseeeeeeenenseeeeeeneeees 20
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7 Wind Diesel Hybrid Test Facility .........ccccsccessssessesesesecsesesesescscsesesesessescacscsessecacecssseeetssacenseseneeeeees 20
71 Simulators ccamcnnmmia canes TAS aa
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73 Hybrid System Supervisory Control .........ccccccccescsseseessseseseesescscseeesescscseseseescsescssacssseessneasansneaees 23
7.4 Additional Facilities to Support the Research Agenda...........ccccccceceseseseseeeseeseseseseeeeeeeeneneeeeeseneees 24
7.4.1 Wind-Diesel Control and System Test Center ...........c.ccccsccccseseseseseseseseseeneseesescecscsescseeseees 24
742 Wind Turbine! Test Site sscsssevcsssccsssensvsvssvestensvvssrexsvarsdatenssvessteessasesroseravecaseecawecstoveresviatecssses 24
7.43 Remote monitoring of operational wind-diesel systems .... aaa
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8 Existing Projects........cccccscsessecssseesesesesssesssesssessesesessscscscscscscscscssscsesesevesseasacsesenesesasevessseesnenescasecesecees 25
8.1 K-12 Outreach: Wind for SchOoIS..........ccccscssesseseseseeseseseseseseescscscscscsesseecsesescsessscssseseeeseeneesneneee 25
8.1.1 Current: StATUS...........s-ssoseszsncorosostenszeevessgeseererasosurocnsssessnasssoeersacnasectscertssosgeseeststesoeseerarseortens 26
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8.3.3 Current Status... 28
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11 Looking Forward to 2010
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1 OVERVIEW OF WIDAC
WiDAC was formed in 2008 to support the broader deployment of cost-effective wind-diesel
technologies to reduce and/or stabilize the cost of energy both on an international level and
specifically in Alaska’s rural communities. The increasing global acceptance of wind-diesel
technology combined with the expanded need for intelligent grids, impacts of global
environmental change, and economic uncertainly of continued sole dependence on fossil fuels in
isolated communities, spurred the University of Alaska to develop WiDAC as a dedicated
program that can provide analysis, research, and an educational base for this new market area.
WiDAC is designed as a collaboration between industry and private sector developers and
researchers, organized around a consortium of agencies, national labs, utilities, and private sector
manufacturers and businesses involved in or supporting wind and wind-diesel projects in
Alaska. Founding partners include the Alaska Energy Authority, and the National Renewable
Energy Laboratory. WiDAC has three primary areas of focus, including:
1) Independent Analysis and Testing: Act as an independent organization to supply
technical and analytical assessments of different energy options, including state of the art
hardware and control software. Develop new control strategies as necessary.
2) Technical Support: Serve as a resource to provide information needed to evaluate,
implement, and operate appropriate, optimized, and sustainable wind-diesel energy
systems and develop the related human capacity.
3) Workforce Development and Education: Provide the State of Alaska as well as national
and international organizations with the skills necessary for reliable deployment of wind-
diesel technology through a green jobs workforce development program based at a
technical university to train engineers, operators and project developers in the
implementation of wind and other renewable technologies.
Within the UA system, the Alaska Center for Energy and Power (lead organizing entity), the Mat
Su Campus, the Tanana Valley Campus, the Chukchi Campus, the Bristol Bay Campus, and the
Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Alaska Anchorage are all
partners in WiDAC. WiDAC also has affiliations with other Universities, including the
University of Massachusetts. As we continue to forward our research agenda, we expect to
expand this list to include additional key universities with whom we can collaborate to share our
unique expertise and real-world, statewide laboratory, and take advantage of their respective and
complementary strengths.
In June 2009, WiDAC hosted a three-day Wind Diesel Summit as a springboard to determine
how researchers can move forward on a path that is relevant for private stakeholders and public
agencies. The summit drew international attendance that highlighted the worldwide importance
of this effort and the potential role Alaska has to play on a global stage. Urgent action items
were also identified including an industry workforce needs assessment, international evaluation
of high penetration wind diesel systems, and creating an Alaskan database of information using
existing systems. Significant research targeting these research needs is ongoing at WiDAC, and
a comprehensive research agenda has been set that is largely outlined within the body of this
proposal.
72 WIDAC PARTNERS
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This section includes some background information on many of the partners in WiDAC. In total,
there are 21 formal and informal partners that are playing an active role in meeting the research,
education, or outreach goals for the program.
[2.1.1 UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATION/OUTREACH PARTNERS
The Alaska Center for Energy and Power (ACEP), University of Alaska Fairbanks (lead) -
ACEP is a University of Alaska program centered on applied energy research, including a
significant focus on community energy solutions. ACEP is based in Fairbanks and operates a
Diesel Engine Testbed and Battery Testing Facility. Both programs will be incorporated into
WiDAC.
The Institute for Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska, Anchorage - ISER is
Alaska's oldest public policy research organization, and will focus on economic, social, and
political factors associated with wind energy.
Mat-Su Campus of the University of Alaska, Anchorage - The Mat-Su Campus has developed a
one-year occupational endorsement in Renewable Energy. WiDAC will work closely with the
Mat-Su campus to further curriculum development.
Tanana Valley Campus (TVC) of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks - TVC offers more than 40
one-year certificate and two-year associate degree programs and has close relationships with
industry through their Process Technology curriculum. TCC and ACEP are considering options
for sharing diesel engine equipment and for cooperating in curriculum development.
The Chukchi Campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks - the Chukchi Campus is located in
Kotzebue, Alaska and is interested in supporting and developing curriculum related to renewable
energy systems. The Chukchi campus has held short courses in developing micro-grid wind
systems for remote locations.
The Bristol Bay Campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks - the Bristol Bay Campus is
located in Dillingham, Alaska and recently began a renewable energy/ energy efficiency
program. While their primary interest in WiDAC is education, researcher Tom Marsik will
contribute to the research agenda.
The Alaska Energy Authority - One of AEA’s primary objectives is providing safe, reliable
power to rural communities. AEA’s staff has extensive experience in diesel plant design, waste
heat recovery, and diesel plant operator training. In addition, AEA provides technical assistance
on the implementation of renewable technologies. AEA is a founding member of WiDAC.
Renewable Energy Alaska Project - Renewable Energy Alaska Project is a coalition of energy
stakeholders working to facilitate the development of renewable energy in Alaska through
collaboration, education, training, and advocacy. REAP will assist with outreach.
UAF-Cooperative Extension — A Wind for Schools partner.
Alaska Job Corps — A Wind for Schools partner.
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Alaska Youth for Environmental Action — A Wind for Schools partner.
4-H - A Wind for Schools partner.
Future Farmers of America - A Wind for Schools partner.
[2, 1.2 INDUSTRY PARTNERS
Northern Power Systems - Northern Power Systems has been delivering innovative wind energy
solutions in a changing landscape for over 34 years. Their partnerships with the Department of
Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have helped lay the foundation
for Northern’s advanced wind turbine technology. From Alaska to Malaysia, their installed base
of turbines has logged millions of kilowatt-hours of production to date, demonstrating our
commitment to performance and reliability. The Northwind 100 is now the most common
turbine in the state of Alaska.
Sustainable Automation - Sustainable Automation designs and manufactures controllers for
individual power system components and supervisory controllers for complete distributed power
systems. They also provide power systems integration engineering for both distributed
generation and off-grid applications, integrating our control systems with various third party
components. Sustainable Automation is based out of Boulder, Colorado and has experience with
designing high penetration wind systems.
PowerCorp — PowerCorp also has a history in designing high penetration wind-diesel systems
and innovative solutions to grid stability issues. The company has a number of products that are
of interest to WiDAC, and has extensive experience with remote power sites in their home
country of Australia.
Siemens Building Technologies — This is the Alaska subsidiary of this wind energy giant, and
focuses primarily on energy efficiency and small community scale generation. They are
beginning to move into the wind sector in Alaska, and is a long-time partner of the University of
Alaska.
Prudent Energy - Prudent Energy is based in Beijing, China, and is an energy storage technology
developer, manufacturer and systems integrator, specializing in the patented VRB Energy
Storage System. This is the same technology previously tested at the University of Alaska.
HOMER Energy - HOMER Energy holds the license for the software modeling program
HOMER. They will provide a 10% labor discount and unlimited technical support to the Wind
Diesel Application Center.
EnXco Development Corporation — The Alaska subsidiary of this wind energy development
giant, they are interested in the Fire Island Wind Farm, a proposed 50 MW project, and research
related to undersea transmission cables.
ZBB Energy Corporation — A leading manufacturer of Zinc-bromine energy storage battery
systems to support wind projects. They are interested in working with WiDAC on product
testing.
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Alaska Environmental Power — A private wind developer who has installed the first commercial
turbine (100 kW Northwind) on the primary Alaska utility grid (called the ‘Railbelt’ energy grid)
between Fairbanks and Anchorage, Alaska Environmental is planning a 15 MW project in Delta.
| 2.1.3 UTILITY PARTNERS
Alaska Village Electric Cooperative - AVEC owns and operates utilities in 51 Alaskan villages,
including three wind-diesel systems with 4 additional systems coming on line in 2008. AVEC
has extensive experience in diesel plant design, waste heat utilization, operator training, resource
assessment, and wind integration at lower penetration levels.
TDX Power - TDX Power is a subsidiary of Tanadgusix Cooperation, an Aleut shareholder
owned Alaska Native Cooperation. TDX owns and operated electric utilities and renewable
energy power projects including a hybrid wind-diesel power plant in Saint Paul. TDX is
working with the University to assess options for using excess power from its St Paul project for
transportation applications.
Golden Valley Electric Association - Golden Valley Electric Association, Inc. (GVEA) is an
electric cooperative which generates and distributes electrical power in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Golden Valley is focusing efforts to construct a 24 megawatt wind farm in Eva Creek near
Healy. The project would include 16 turbines at 1.5 MW each. This would represent about 20
percent of their peak load. GVEA is interested in partnering with WiDAC in installing a turbine
at their alternate wind location on Murphy Dome, near Fairbanks.
Kotzebue Electric Association - Kotzebue Electric Association, Inc. (KEA) is a rural electric
cooperative that generates and distributes electrical power in Kotzebue, Alaska. Kotzebue
installed the first wind farm in Alaska in 1996 and now has an installed capacity of 1.14 MW
with current plans to increase this capacity to 4.0 MW. Kotzebue's wind farm consists of 15
Entegritys, 1 Northwind 100, and 1 Vestas. Expansion plans include mid-size turbines, around
600kW, and an energy storage system utilizing a Zinc-Bromide flow battery.
Kodiak Electric Association - Kodiak Electric Association, Inc. (also KEA) is a rural electric
cooperative that generates and distributes electrical power in Kodiak, Alaska. Kodiak recently
installed the first 1.5MW GE turbines for an installed capacity of 6 MW. These operate in
conjunction with an existing hydroelectric plant. Kodiak plans to increase their wind capacity to
9 MW, bringing their total renewable energy capacity to 95%. This will require including
energy storage, and a study is underway to assess specific options, conducted by WiDAC and
Sandia National Laboratory.
3. DEVELOPMENT PLAN
WiDAC is currently in its development phase, seeking base funding to forward its research
agenda and support basic outreach and administrative tasks. The primary focus is in conducting
planning and outreach to lay the groundwork for a successful Wind Applications Center.
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WiDAC is establishing its essential functions and seeking base funding from key stakeholders.
A secondary priority is to grow the application center through further investment from the
private sector and competitive grants. It is essential to the long term viability of WiDAC that its
research program is not compromised to secure funding. For this reason, identifying short and
long-term funding that fit within its established priorities is critical.
WiDAC focuses on research questions unique to Alaska’s distributed grid systems and remote,
harsh environment. In addition, solutions identified here can be exported internationally to other
remote locations far from a large integrated grid system. A successful WiDAC research agenda
could translate to lower, more predictable energy in addition to green jobs and other
opportunities for our residents. The State of Alaska has a vested interest in WiDAC’s success.
Therefore, we will look towards the State of Alaska to utilize available funding mechanisms to
ensure WiDAC is prepared to tackle these issues.
WiDAC is also industry focused, allowing our research agenda to be driven by industry needs.
As our progress achieves results in the private sector, our goal is to gradually shift the funding
profile so the growing wind industry supports the research that drives its success. This model
has proven successful with other wind applications centers.
4 LONG TERM BASE PROGRAM FUNDING
4.1 CURRENT FUNDING PROFILE
Funding for WiDAC’s current development phase covers expenses associated with general
outreach and an extensive planning effort. Currently these funds are derived from two partnering
state agencies, the Alaska Energy Authority which supports a portion of the administration costs
targeting outreach and planning, and the University of Alaska Fairbanks which houses WiDAC
and provides the other half of administration costs to support the outreach and research agendas.
In addition, WiDAC leverages resources from its parent organization, the Institute of Northern
Engineering to provide business operations including proposal support, contract management,
fiscal oversight, human resources and procurement support.
As a complement to the outreach and planning tasks, WiDAC is leading several projects
conducted either as funded research for private sector clients or competitive grants through state
agencies. These projects provide a mechanism to advance WiDAC’s research agenda with
limited general funds. As of November 2009, approximately $200,000 of total WiDAC revenue
was derived from funded research with private sector clients, $533,000 is from competitive
grants, $60,000 from state grants, and $40,000 from the University of Alaska.
4.2 FUTURE FUNDING PROFILE
As the relevance and output of WiDAC continues to grow, we anticipate the funding profile to
shift to respond for increased demand for research to drive industry and national research
agendas. As seen in other wind application centers, we expect state investment of general funds
through their agencies and the university to diminish with further investment from private sector
clients. We also believe WiDAC research is relevant at a national level and as our knowledge
base is leveraged to answer relevant national research questions, WiDAC will continue to seek
competitive federal funding opportunities that allow our program to forward the national wind
agenda. In addition, WiDAC will continue to leverage resources from our funding and research
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partners to offset administrative costs and some research costs including work space, laboratory
space, diesel fuel and generators and other equipment.
In the next 3-5 years, the ideal funding profile will be shift towards 25% state resources in
recognition that the state should continue to invest in this capability for the benefits of its remote
and rural residents. WiDAC also plans to secure 25% federal funding, 25% competitive grants
and 25% funded research to round out its funding needs.
4.3 OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY
To date, part of the success of WiDAC is its lean organization. One of WiDAC’s core values is
to successfully leverage our partner’s resources. Utilizing INE and ACEP support staff, outreach
instruments and business office, WiDAC can offer professional service to our funding partners
and reach a broader audience while keeping support staff costs low. WiDAC also utilizes
resources from our research partners within and outside of the university system to provide
equipment, supplies and research and office space when possible. By tapping the vast faculty
and research expertise at the university, WiDAC can operate with fewer permanent staff and
only pay for expertise when it is warranted by the project. These cost saving measures will allow
WiDAC to thrive in a range of funding environments and optimize the use of allocated and
awarded funds.
5 WIND DIESEL SUMMIT JUNE 22%? — 24', 2009
5.1 OVERVIEW
WiDAC hosted a three day Wind Diesel Summit on June 22nd-24" which was sponsored by the
Renewable Energy Alaska Project (REAP), Alaska Energy Authority (AEA), National
Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) and the Alaska Center for Energy and Power (ACEP). The
purpose of the summit was to discuss the future of wind diesel technology and specifically to
develop a mission and vision for the newly formed Wind Diesel Application Center.
The summit drew international attendance that highlighted the worldwide importance of this
effort and the potential role Alaska has to play on a global stage. The summit focused on three
areas, including: research and development, technical assistance, and workforce development
and education. Priority action items were identified so WiDAC can begin moving forward on a
path paved by wind diesel stakeholders including utility and industry representatives such as
STG, TDX Power, Kotzebue Electric Association, and EnXco.
Urgent action items were also identified including an industry workforce needs assessment,
international evaluation of high penetration wind diesel systems, and creating an Alaskan
database of information using existing systems.
Senator Lesil McGuire, Representative Bryce Edgmon, and Representative Charisse Millet
provided opening remarks. All of them espoused the inherent value of using wind to displace
diesel fuel in our rural communities.
5.2 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
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In general, it was determined that WiDAC is one of many organizations in the state that is
providing technical support to communities that are installing renewable energy projects.
Therefore, it was deemed necessary that WiDAC work within the framework of existing state
institutions. Additionally, in order to avoid conflict with private industry, WiDAC should focus
on pre-commercial technologies. This is well suited to the mission of the Alaska Center for
Energy and Power, which focuses on applied energy research.
During the Summit, over half a day was spent on technical assistance and determining what role
WiDAC should play. Most discussion revolved around the following topics:
1. Outreach and education
2. Support for communities developing projects
3. Expanded resource assessment
4. Clearinghouse of experience
5. State support
6. Operation and maintenance support
7. Support to industry
8. Assisting in standards & protocols for wind diesel systems
Each topic area was voted on according to priority and the ability of WiDAC to work within
those tasks. The following action items were agreed upon by consensus following the
discussion:
1. WiDAC should assist AEA with the Met Tower Loan Program.
2. There is a need to develop an Alaska database, which includes statewide data collection on
both economic, technical performance parameters, and long term O&M data.
3. A clearinghouse of wind-diesel systems on an international basis is needed that would
include installation and implementation experience.
5.3. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
There were a few underlying themes that persisted throughout the half day discussion on
research and development. First was the idea that all systems should be installed with remote
monitoring, and that WiDAC could play an important role in collecting this data and creating
useful information that should be accessible and distributed within the community.
Three areas stood out as being of a high priority for WiDAC to focus on immediately:
Technical baselining - Project developers are too busy implementing projects to deal with
analyzing performance data. Yet, there is a plethora of field data available for such analysis.
The wind diesel community at the summit determined that collecting this data for more accurate
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modeling and system optimization was a critical next step. Systems that are operational, but
without modern instrumentation, such as Wales, should be updated.
Development and deployment of high penetration wind systems — It was agreed that the future of
wind diesel lies in the successful implementation of high penetration wind diesel systems. To
assist in this process, WiDAC will initially generate a paper study, which will highlight
international and domestic high penetration installations. It was also noted that energy storage
holds the key to power stability and load shifting. WIDAC will continue its research in this area.
Optimization of component integration - WiDAC will pursue the installation of a wind diesel
simulator to proof test control strategies and hardware.
5.4 WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATION
Throughout the discussions on Wednesday morning, it was clear that the gathered stakeholders
wanted WiDAC to focus only on wind-diesel technology in remote communities. In other
words, grid connected wind farms along the Railbelt should not be the focus of the Wind Diesel
Application Center.
The gathered group decided that it was not within the role of WiDAC to support the Wind for
Schools program that brings wind technology to local grade schools. While the folks at WiDAC
respect the views of the stakeholders, we have decided to continue working with community
schools to assist them in bringing this program to k-12 students. This was reinforced when
follow-up emails were received after the Summit asking for the vote to be reconsidered.
All people attending recognized the importance of a proper Needs Assessment. This assessment
will analyze all sectors of industry such as the private sector, organized labor, municipalities,
native organizations, etc. From the results of this Needs Assessment a State Education Strategy
will be developed.
5.5 NEXT STEPS
There is clearly no shortage of tasks that has been identified through the Summit. However, a
few tasks emerged that could be completed in the near term and would provide a clear positive
benefit to the state.
1. High Penetration Wind Diesel Survey
a. Generate a paper detailing existing high penetration systems to compile
information in one place.
b. Create a model to start analyzing optimal system configuration for Alaska.
c. Verify models with existing systems or start working with manufacturers to get
needed data.
2. Revive Wales
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a. Update communications so that remote operation and data collection is possible.
b. Determine what hardware components need to be replaced.
c. Determine what operational changes must occur for successful operation.
3. Alaska Database
a. Gather economic data-including O&M data.
b. Enhance remote monitoring in existing systems.
c. Create system of data collection.
d. Determine best model for method of analysis
e. Disseminate information
4. Workforce Needs Assessment
a. Work with ALL education sectors to create a survey of existing programs
b. Collaborate with stakeholders to develop the assessment
c. Create a Statewide Education Strategy
5. WiDAC Business Strategy
a. Forma Steering Committee
b. Develop working groups for each of the target focus areas:
i. Technical Assistance
li. Research and Development
iii. Workforce Development and Education
6 RESEARCH AGENDA
6.1 TASK 1: SYSTEM DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE OPTIMIZATION
[6.1.1 TASK 1A. MODEL VERIFICATION
There is significant wind diesel operating experience in the State of Alaska, and at least some
of these systems are producing less power than projected by models. It is not clear at this
time why this discrepancy exists, but there exists significant opportunity for system
optimization. Existing models lack the ability to analyze these systems in depth and evaluate
them for system optimization. As part of this task, WiDAC will monitor and evaluate
existing wind turbine and wind-plant performance by routing existing data from utility
SCADA systems to UAF for centralized analysis. This data network will enable the
development or implementation of full systems health monitoring. A standardized method of
instrumentation will be used to minimize system downtime.
“15|Page
| 6.1.2 TASK 1B. CONTROLS STRATEGIES
WiDAC partners recognize the need to develop and verify plug and play controller logic.
WiDAC will work with partners to develop a uniform equipment strategy to create
economies of scale, which will involve testing equipment with simulated village loads based
on collected profiles in the Wind Hybrid Test Bed. Power components will be characterized
in order to verify performance claims, to document and investigate reliability issues, and to
verify unanticipated interactions between components. Using simulated village load profiles
and wind resource regimes, the Wind Hybrid Test Bed can analyze various dispatch
strategies to determine the optimal control strategy in medium and high penetration systems
in a low risk lab setting instead of in remote communities, and then compared with real world
experience and analyzed. In addition, WiDAC will investigate and test decentralized load
controllers for dispatchable loads by collecting data from utilities that utilize dispatchable
loads under and test various load controllers in the Wind Hybrid Test Bed.
[6.1.3 TASK 1C. INVERTER DESIGN
Northern Power Systems claims that the inverters of the NW100Bs potentially have the
ability to stabilize the power quality of a micro grid in a diesel off mode. This task will test
this ability — if successful the capital cost of high penetration systems would be greatly
reduced. Full scale testing of new technology should be accomplished prior to introduction
in rural communities. This can be done at the Wind Diesel Test Bed and will be ongoing
throughout the project as needed.
6.1.4 TASK 1D. DEVELOPMENT OF HIGH PENETRATION SYSTEMS
High levels of wind penetration can be defined as an instantaneous amount of wind of 50%
or higher on the grid at any one point. There are no high penetration wind-diesel systems
with an average load of over 300kW in the world. Alaska has three high penetration systems,
one of which serves as an excellent field site to mirror the work being completed at the Wind
Hybrid Test Bed, including the system installed at Wales, Alaska, designed and installed by
the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The system has degraded in functionality over
the past eight years and upgrades are needed included installation of remote monitoring
equipment, and perhaps operator re-orientation. A new system design, and plan for
upgrading the communication system and repairing the existing wind turbines is proposed
under this task.
6.2. TASK 2. ADDRESSING GRID STABILITY ISSUES
As the 20% by 2030 Department of Energy report concluded, increasing the level of wind
penetration in the United States would begin to create an instable power supply. Multiple
technologies and options exist to resolve this issue, and some are addressed as part of this task.
6.2.1 TASK 2A. GRID INTEGRATION MODELING
Integrating low levels of wind penetration (less than 20%) is relatively simple compared to
medium and high penetration levels. In order to design more appropriate systems more
research needs to be done on integration. This would include expanding existing models to
incorporate dynamic analysis. Before further work is done, a literature review of high
penetration wind diesel systems will be done.
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[6.2.2 TASK 2B. ENERGY STORAGE
WiDAC will test the ability of various energy storage systems to stabilize power quality on
Alaska’s isolated micro-grids, which are well suited to examining the impacts of wind in a
small and low risk setting. WiDAC will procure appropriately sized energy storage systems
for analysis (including flow battery, flywheel, advanced lead acid, etc) and incorporate them,
when possible, into the Wind Hybrid Test Bed for analysis. Ultimately this is expected to
validate and demonstrate improvements to grid stability and power quality, and provide a
basis for economic analysis of these storage systems.
6.2.3 TASK 2C. SMART GRIDS
Smart Grids refer to the use of modern control systems with central and distributed electric
generation, load management, and storage options to optimize utilization, efficiency, and
economic operation of an electric power grid while maintaining stability and reliability. The
controls are often implemented at the individual residence level (demand side management),
but can also be centralized at the power station (economic generation dispatch). In wind-
diesel hybrid systems the utilization of storage is not only necessary, but also vital to store
excess power for use during periods when the wind resource dissipates and to control
transients and the general stability of the system particularly in high wind penetration
scenarios. These small wind-diesel hybrid systems are an ideal test bed for exploring how
high penetration wind effects system operation and smart grid capabilities. WiDAC
researchers will work closely with the wind and diesel industry and utilities to develop and
enhance models and simulations of wind-diesel hybrid systems to optimize the efficiency and
economic operation of these systems and investigate smart micro-grid energy distribution
and storage applications. Optimization strategies and lessons learned will be used as a basis
for subsequent research.
The Smart Grid task is directly integrated with Task la and 1b, model verification and
control strategies, and Tasks 2a and 2b, grid integration modeling and energy storage. Issues
such as robustness and response time are critical if these are to be used in these small wind-
diesel hybrid systems. In many of these systems when excess power is available, dump loads
for residential heating or hot water can be deployed, or small residential batteries can be
charged. When the wind dissipates below minimum operating levels, these loads can be
turned off, and stored power returned to the system for use in displacing costly diesel fuel.
These systems are currently under development, so the goal of WiDAC is to keep abreast of
advances in this field and test them when they are available. WiDAC is also investigating the
use of excess wind power in a smart wind-diesel micro-grids for plug-in hybrid electric or
strictly electric vehicles, and has been exploring these opportunities in partnership with TDX
Power.
6.3. TASK 3. ADDRESSING ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
6.3.1 TASK 3A. ICING
Rime ice build up is known to cause significant amounts of turbine downtime and reduction
in capacity factor. WiDAC will enhance ice prevention techniques by the testing of anti/de
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icing technologies on the proposed test turbine site to be located on Murphy Dome, and
existing turbines in Nome and Kotzebue, Alaska.
6.3.2 TASK 3B. FOUNDATION STUDIES
Alaska is home to many areas of permafrost and
unconsolidated soils, and firmly anchoring a wind
turbine to the ground is often an issue. However,
over design and over building add considerable
expense to installation costs, especially in remote
communities. Developing robust, simple,
appropriate foundations for turbines through
evaluation of current practices will be done. This
task will expand on an existing project at the
University of Alaska Anchorage to monitor loads on
Figure 1: Rime ice buildup on anemometer on existing wind turbine foundations in areas of Murphy Dome test site, One of two 90 m weather discontinuous permafrost.
stations installed at the site collapsed during its first
winter due to icing.
6.3.3 OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
While the primary goal of increasing the use of wind is to reduce the consumption of diesel
fuel and lower greenhouse gas emissions, other environmental issues need to be considered,
especially if new battery technologies are proposed, which may have environmental issues of
their own. In addition, issues such as bird interactions and impact to other species will be
considered.
6.4 TASK 4. ADVANCED TURBINE DEPLOYMENT STRATEGIES
Taller towers and larger turbines require larger equipment for field assembly. This occurs at a
different scale in rural Alaska than in the lower-48 where most communities do not have access
to cranes of any size, but the basic issue remains the same. The crane requirements for larger
systems are very stringent, and based on the combined factors of nacelle mass, height of lift, and
required boom extension. As these factors increase, the number of available cranes decreases
dramatically. This task will assess the opportunities for crane-free turbine erection options, as
well as alternatives to traditional cranes in erecting turbines.
6.5 TASK 5. SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND POLICY ISSUES RELATED TO WIND
DEVELOPMENT IN THE U.S.
While technological challenges are one of the primary considerations, effective policies, which
provide incentives or reinforce renewable energy investment, can be one of the tipping points for
successful full-scale deployment. This can be seen most vividly in looking at the development of
wind energy in the US over the past 40 years. There clearly is a relationship between growth and
18|Page
the reinforcing federal policy of production tax credits. Likewise, growth slowed during years
when the policy expired.
The same pattern can be seen in the history of Alaskan wind energy growth, not through policy,
but in relation to state and federal investment dollars. A significant number of turbines were
deployed in Alaska during investment in the 1980's. Unfortunately, many of these turbines are
no longer functioning which illustrates how a lack of coordinated policy driving research, private
sector incentives and corresponding workforce development and training can result in failed
projects. New federal energy dollars in addition to designated tribal funding is resulting in new
deployment of wind systems in Alaska. The Alaska Center for Energy and Power is actively
engaged with local tribal entities and other key stakeholders to ensure that funding results in
success as defined by all parties.
ACEP is currently serving in an advisory capacity to the Alaska Energy Authority and the State
Legislature as they create a comprehensive energy plan for the state and corresponding policies.
Leveraging partnerships with the Institute of Social and Economic Research at the University of
Alaska, Anchorage and conducting applied research to solve current and projected
implementation issues, ACEP is providing key insight into how to set Alaska up for success with
reinforcing policies for a broader energy agenda. ACEP also serves a critical role in bringing
private and public sector stakeholders together in discussions and as project partners to identify
the issues that drive the agenda.
Alaska is also starting to tackle this issue, creating a collaboration of utilities that are a part of the
inter-tie grid to work through energy integration issues. Using work currently being done in
Alaska, ACEP can reach out to energy policy centers around the nation such as the Center for
Energy and Environmental Policy at the University of Delaware, the Center for the Environment
at Harvard, University of Maine's Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center among others to consider
policy that will reinforce collaboration for large-scale implementation.
6.6 TASK 6. CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT AND OUTREACH
Alaska is the home to the vast majority of wind-diesel systems installed in the U.S., however
most of the training on these systems is currently conducted outside of the state. To support
these projects, it is critical to develop curriculum geared toward training current and future
generations of wind-diesel operators for Alaska, the U.S., and the world. Currently there are no
U.S. programs that support specific educational training in wind-diesel applications, with ad
hock experience-based programs at UAF and UMass being the only closely comparable
exceptions for large hybrid applications.
WiDAC (UAF) and 5 other campuses in the University of Alaska system including the
Anchorage (UAA), the Mat-Su, the Tanana Valley, the Chukchi, and the Bristol Bay campuses
will work together to develop curricula in the form of semester long and short courses as part of
WiDAC for training students, engineers, technicians, and operators about wind-diesel systems.
The courses are needed in Alaska to train utility engineers, industry professionals, and operators
about the unique operating characteristics of wind-diesel systems, particularly cold climate
applications, as there are currently a number of systems in operation with many new systems
scheduled for or under construction in rural villages of Alaska. The proposed curriculum at UAF
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would be in the form of semester long and short courses focusing on basic through more
advanced engineering principles which could also be delivered at UAA, while curriculum at the
other UA campuses would be in the form of technician and operator training courses and
distance delivery of semester length and short courses. The specific tasks for developing the
UAF and UA Mat-Su wind-diesel curriculum and outreach are:
Task 6a. Perform an assessment of the skills required for understanding wind-diesel systems
and identify any deficiencies that will need to be addressed in semester length and short
courses.
Task 6b. Submit proposals to the University for two 3-credit hour semester length
engineering courses through UAF specifically focused on training in wind-diesel systems with
a laboratory centered around the UAF INE ACEPs WiDAC and remote off-grid sites.
Task 6c. Develop the curriculum so that the material can be delivered to individuals with
diverse educational backgrounds, therefore, individuals working towards or with existing
degrees at the university or technical college level, wind and diesel industry professionals,
system operators, and utility managers.
Task 6d. Administer two, semester length courses, on site (UAF) and through distance
delivery courses as engineering courses and a certificate based program so that individuals
successfully completing the courses receive engineering credit and/or a certificate of
specialization in wind-diesel systems and/or specific topics (short courses) related to wind-
diesel systems.
Task 6e. Deliver short courses on specific wind-diesel topics as determined by the skills
assessment using existing programs for distance learning to allow for instruction at UAF as
well as through distance delivery and outreach programs to remote communities where wind-
diesel systems are employed.
Task 6f. Develop collaborations between the University, community colleges, and industry to
ensure more formal certification processes for individuals working with wind-diesel systems.
Task 6g. Organize, conduct, and participate in wind-diesel forums and workshops at the state,
national, and international level as an outreach component for training and educating and
dissemination of knowledge to engineers, researchers, and the wind and diesel industry.
6.7 TASK 7. PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
WiDAC is managed through the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Alaska Center for Energy and Power.
Gwen Holdmann is the Director of the Alaska Center for Energy and Power. Julie Estey is the Business
Director of ACEP.
Katherine Keith facilitates the overall coordination of WiDAC. In this capacity Katherine provides
technical assistance to wind-diesel stakeholders, promotes education and training opportunities, and
works to identify both near and long term research priorities. Katherine is an engineer with a background
in Wind-Diesel systems with experience working on the Kotzebue wind farm. Katherine is funded
through a grant from the Alaska Energy Authority to organize wind related research activities in Alaska.
She is also responsible for outreach activities, meeting planning, and data collection. She is employed at
ACEP, but is physically located at the Mat-Su Campus where she has also been active in curriculum
development.
* 20/Page
[6.7.1 TASK 7A. INITIAL MEETING OF COLLABORATORS
An organizational meeting is to be held in 2009. Thereafter, meetings will be quarterly
between via teleconference and in person when possible.
| 6.7.2 TASK 7B. SELECT TURBINE SITE AND PROCURE EQUIPMENT
Two sites have tentatively been selected for the installation of a test turbine installation. At
this time, a single Northwind 100 is planned for installation at either the Mat-Su Campus, or
at an alternate location on Murphy Dome outside of Fairbanks. The Murphy Dome location
appears to be the more appropriate choice at this time, with documented average annual wind
speed of 7.14 m/s at 80 m and a year-round resource with penetration levels exceeding 30%.
The site is within 50 miles of the UVAF campus.
6.7.3 TASK 7C. DEVELOP BUSINESS PLAN
A Business Plan will be developed incorporating input from all partners.
6.7.4 TASK 7D. DEVELOP COMMUNICATIONS PLAN
A Communications plan will be developed as a companion document to the Business Plan.
A functional communication plan that can be implemented between consortium members
during the duration of this program is essential to successfully carrying out its objective.
This Plan will include the following components:
Communication Tool Inventory Development
Marketing and Public Relations Plan
Detailed Communications Implementation and Tracking Plan
Feedback and Data Acceptance and Processing Plan
7 WIND DIESEL HYBRID TEST FACILITY
In order to implement the program objectives for WiDAC, development of a centralized Wind Hybrid
Simulator is critical. The planned Simulator will be housed at the Alaska Center for Energy and Power
facility in Fairbanks. This simulator will build on experienced gained from an existing diesel engine test
bed at ACEP, which is built around a 4-cylinder Detroit Diesel Series 50, turbocharged, industrial duty
diesel engine operating at 1200 RPM coupled to a 125 kW 3-phase 208 volt electric generator. The test
bed has been used extensively over the past decade for research on new fuels, waste heat recovery,
emissions, and efficiency. This project will involve the purchase of a slightly larger generator, but
instrumentation will be similar.
The simulator is essentially a village scale power generation system, and can be used for both research
and training purposes. The equipment needed for the simulator includes a 200 kW diesel gen-set with
electronic controls (which are a source of much of the data that needs to be collected), electronic load
bank, nacelles from a Northwind 100 wind turbine, appropriate switchgear, inverter and DC bus, battery
bank, instrumentation, and data acquisition equipment. The research agenda is focused on optimizing
existing wind diesel systems, developing high penetration systems in a diesel off mode to greatly reduce
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diesel consumption, examining energy storage technologies for power stability, load leveling, and
transportation, and creating residential heat using excess wind power.
WiDAC will utilize a hub and spoke method for research and development. Field experts recognize that it
is critical to collect data from these systems in order to evaluate and optimize performance. WiDAC will
utilize community installations to enhance the research being done in the simulator. There are systems
currently being installed which could greatly add to our knowledge of wind diesel opportunities, such as
the “Smart Grid” in Kwig/Kong, pumped hydro in Kodiak, and flow batteries in Kotzebue. Being able to
collect data in a standardized format in one centralized location will allow this education coalition to
analyze the effectiveness of these systems in reducing diesel consumption and will allow for excellent
training opportunities.
This Hybrid Test Facility will be used to meet three primary objectives, which include 1) training and
education, 2) testing and validation, and 3) research. There are a number of secondary objectives under
each area as follows:
Training and education to develop a workforce to meet industry needs, including: 1) Teaching laboratory
for graduate and undergraduate students; 2) Training for village power plant operators; and 3) Training
for utility engineers and technicians.
Testing and Validation of Equipment and Performance, including: 1) Characterization of commercial
power components; 2) Verify manufacturer performance claims; 3) Document and investigate reliability
issues; 4) Document and investigate undesirable interactions between components; 5) Validate and
demonstrate grid stability and power quality provided by proposed hybrid power system configurations;
and 6) Validate control system strategies, and improve as necessary.
Meeting Current and Future Wind-Diesel Research Needs, including: 1) Investigate component dispatch
strategies for various wind and load profiles including: a. diesel starting/stopping, b. diesel selection
(which diesel(s) to run), c. secondary load management and prioritization, d. energy storage management;
2) Develop and validate dynamic models (e.g. Matlab/Simulink/SimPowerSystems) for individual power
system components and complete systems; 3) Develop standards to measure 3 phase imbalance, and
standard procedures to correct the imbalance; and 4) Develop and test methods to incorporate artificial
intelligence into wind-diesel control strategies.
The drawing in Figure 3 shows a proposed design of the WiDAC Wind Hybrid Simulator, as designed by
consortium partner Sustainable Automation. There are two categories of power components, real and
simulated. A real component is a piece of equipment that might actually be found in the field on a real
power system (though perhaps at smaller scale). Real components would include diesel generator sets,
secondary loads, synchronous condensers, battery/inverters, etc. Real components may either be fully
commercial or prototype equipment. A simulated component, or simulator, is a device designed to
realistically simulate the actual electrical characteristics of a particular power system component, but
using a significantly different method for energy conversion than the corresponding real component. A
generator simulator will draw power from the grid rather than from diesel fuel, the wind, a battery, etc. A
load simulator will inject power back into the grid rather than dissipate energy in a real load or charge a
real battery.
22|Page
Referring to Figure 3, all of the components connected to the switchgear cabinet labeled “Utility Power
Bus” would be considered simulators. The diesel generators have their own switchgear. The remaining
components (flywheel, synchronous condenser, and secondary load) are real power components,
equivalent to what would be used in actual wind-diesel systems. Each component, whether simulator or
real, has its own manual transfer switch (MTS) which allows it to be connected to either of two Power
System Buses. Having two separate power system buses allows the facility to support testing of two
separate power system configurations simultaneously. Additional power system buses could be added to
support more simultaneous tests, but the switching becomes more complicated and in our experience, the
rare cases when that would be required would not warrant the additional cost and complexity.
7.1. SIMULATORS
The heart of the test bed will include two simulators, which together allow maximum flexibility in
designing research projects. These include:
Northwind 100 Wind Turbine
Northern Power, a consortium partner, has proposed to provide a wind turbine simulator consisting of two
NW100 nacelles (generator and inverter) mounted back to back. One machine would be operated as a
motor to drive the other machine. The driving machine would be configured to simulate the wind turbine
rotor response to a give wind input. Even though this component would use the same generator/inverter
combination as used on the actual wind turbine, we consider this component a simulator because it is
simulating the interaction with the wind.
Multi-Purpose Power Component Simulator
For the other simulators, a standard four quadrant inverter (both real and reactive power can flow in either
direction) with a controller capable of adopting various 3 “personalities”, will be used, depending on what
type of component was being simulated. Some of the devices that could be simulated are an induction
wind turbine, PMG/Inverter wind turbine (such as the Northwind 100), a village load (at various power
factors), a battery/inverter system, a secondary load controller, and a diesel gen-set.
There are various advantages to this approach: 1) with relatively few devices, a large number of
components may be simulated, simply by changing to the appropriate control program, 2) maintenance of
the test facility would be simplified because most of the simulators would use exactly the same
hardware, and 3) if a particular test requires a new type of power component, there is a good chance that it
can be simulated with no additional hardware investment, only software development.
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Figure 2: Simulator Designed by Sustainable Automation
7.2 REAL POWER SYSTEM COMPONENTS
For some purposes using simulators is not sufficient. If the purpose of the test is to characterize a piece of
commercial equipment (a flow battery, for example), then it will be necessary to be dealing with the
actual component, not a simulator. Similarly, if the goal is to validate a software dynamic model of a
component against the measured response of the real device, then it is best to test the actual device, not a
hardware simulator. We have included the following real components, because either they are already in
common usage in wind-diesel hybrid systems or because we anticipate that they will play a very
important role in the future deployment of high penetration wind-diesel systems in Alaska: 1) Flywheel
Energy Storage System; 2) Synchronous Condenser; and 3) Secondary Load (Electric Boiler or Air-
cooled Load Bank).
7.3 HYBRID SYSTEM SUPERVISORY CONTROL
To conduct any meaningful test on hybrid power systems, as opposed to individual components, a
supervisory control system will be required. For both for training and research purposes, we plan to equip
24|Page
the test facility with at least on supervisory control system that is representative of what is used in real
village wind-diesel systems. As other manufacturers step forward with their own control systems, they
can be installed in the test facility as well.
7.4. ADDITIONAL FACILITIES TO SUPPORT THE RESEARCH AGENDA
7.4.1 WIND-DIESEL CONTROL AND SYSTEM TEST CENTER
WiDAC would be built around a wind-diesel control and system test center modeled after the NWTC
Hybrid Power Test Bed and located in conjunction with the Alaska Center for Energy and Power on the
University of Alaska Fairbanks campus. The center would serve as the hub of WiDAC and include both
operational and simulation equipment to allow assessment of new technology options and control
systems.
[7.4.2 WIND TURBINE TEST SITE
A test facility is planned that would allow the testing of wind turbines and controls for Alaskan
environments. The current site planned for this project is on Murphy Dome, approximately 20 miles
distant from the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus with telemetry to the wind-diesel control and
system test center.
7.4.3 REMOTE MONITORING OF OPERATIONAL WIND-DIESEL SYSTEMS
In collaboration with rural communities and power suppliers, selected operating wind-diesel or other
renewable energy power systems will be instrumented and data will be used to assess of different system
configurations and components, providing high quality long term data for analysis and research.
7.4.4 LABORATORY COMMUNITY
A community that agrees to host a living wind-diesel test bed would be selected to coordinate with
WiDAC. The test bed would allow incorporation of new renewable energy and storage technology as a
bridge between the laboratory and commercial implementation, and permit testing of different control
strategies and operations paradigms in real life settings. The community should have a good wind
resource and be reasonably accessible from Fairbanks. Several consortium utility partners are likely
participants.
7.4.5 PUBLIC EDUCATION CENTER
WiDAC would propose a partnership with one or more renewable energy education centers planned
around the state to offers the general public an overview of wind-diesel systems.
* 25|Page
8 EXISTING PROJECTS
8.1 K-12 OUTREACH: WIND FOR SCHOOLS
Alaska Wind for Schools is currently focusing on ten communities which are the closest to
project implementation. These schools are in Palmer, Dillingham, Togiak, New Stuyahok, St.
Paul Island, Pt. Hope, Kodiak, Kongiganak, Gambell, and Savoonga. Five of these
communities: St. Paul Island, Kodiak Island, New Stuyahok, Dillingham, Togiak, and
Kongiganak all have completed an individual community plan and have provided letters of
support which are included in the appendix. Each school has various levels of funding support.
For example, Kodiak Electric Association will be able to purchase the turbine for Kodiak
Elementary. However, there are countless other schools which are in various stages of project
development. These include, but are not limited to, Cordova, Bethel, Kasigluk, Toksook Bay,
Kwigillingok, Chevak, Emmonok, Elukonok, Kaktovik, Kotzebue, Selawik, Unalaska, and
schools within the Anchorage School District. Every day, new schools are contacting both
WiDAC and REAP to learn more about how they can be involved with the Alaska Wind for
Schools Program. Each school is compiling an individual community profile and project plan.
This will include detailed information about the partners within each community as well as the
financial and in kind contributions which have been identified and will be leveraged for the
project. Many of the interested small communities already have NW100 turbines installed and
are looking forward to adopting the Wind for Schools curriculum to add depth to the local
excitement and knowledge. Northern Power Systems is also very excited about this potential as
there will be 15 communities with the NW100 installed by 2010 and the potential for positive
impact is large.
The Alaska Wind for Schools team consists of core organizers WiDAC and REAP, as well as
identified committees that can expand collaborative opportunities. This includes a marketing
committee, finance committee, curriculum committee, and the technical review committee.
These committees help to bring together a wide variety of knowledge and experience to the
Alaska WfS Program from all around the state including: Anchorage, Fairbanks, Dillingham,
Kotzebue, and Homer. This will also help to establish clear lines of communication which will
be required when working amongst so many entities. The committees have met twice in
preparation for this proposal.
There are 530 Alaska public schools with a total of 133,933 students. This is a smaller number
when compared to other WfS states such as Colorado but more than Montana and Wyoming.
However, Alaska is unique in the fact that the 530 schools are spread out across land twice the
size of Texas. The large distribution increases the challenge of coordination amongst community
partners. Therefore, WiDAC and REAP will rely heavily on other regional or state wide
partners, such as AYEA and the Yukon Intertribal Watershed Council, to assist with project
implementation. In order to build up long term longevity into the Alaska WfS Program efforts
will be coordinated amongst all the schools across the state, meaning that all schools will be on
the same curriculum schedule. These schools will have the continued option to collaborate
collectively throughout the school year to keep the wind program challenging and fresh.
WiDAC and REAP, along with its numerous partners, will provide the curriculum support and
create educational opportunities throughout the school year.
* 26|Page
| 8.1.1 CURRENT STATUS
There are two pending proposals for this project. One is with the National Renewable Energy Lab for
$60,000 for three years. The other is with the Round Three Renewable Energy Fund Program at the
Alaska Energy Authority for $300,000. In addition, REAP has put in a proposal with the Environmental
Protection Agency for $30,000.
The curriculum is current being created to allow for all schools to work together on a similar time scale.
Numerous partnerships have been formed and there is tremendous enthusiasm for the Wind for Schools
Program.
8.2 TDX POWER
8.2.1 OBJECTIVE
Tanadgusix (TDX) Corporation operates four (4) buses to transport tourists and local elders on
remote St. Paul Island, Alaska. The rising price of imported fossil fuels makes this, and all
transportation, increasingly cost prohibitive. TDX Foundation has a vision to meet this
challenge in their wind rich homeland by using the clean electricity from three 225 kW Vestas
wind turbines to produce an alternative fuel for a new fleet of transit vehicles.
TDX Foundation and team partners will conduct a feasibility study and evaluate the economics
of both hydrogen and plug-in electric vehicle technology, engaging and educating the
community of St. Paul Island throughout the process. Community interest, concerns, support,
and workforce readiness will be considered in the Foundation’s next step with the most
appropriate technology.
8.2.2 SCOPE OF WORK
This project will evaluate the technical feasibility, commercial availability, environmental
benefits, climate and geographic challenges, costs, additional applications for hydrogen, training
needs and opportunities, operations and maintenance requirements, and economic offset of
diesel. The team will document the real life experience with hydrogen based on visits and
discussions with existing alternative fuel fleet operators.
Vendors will be located and contacted to ascertain actual purchase (or lease) prices for the
vehicles to be transported to the island. Both the hydrogen powered Internal Combustion Engine
(ICE) vehicle and hydrogen powered fuel cell vehicles will be examined. In addition, prices and
vendors for plug-in electric vehicles - along with the required support equipment and facilities -
will be collected. The base case for comparison will be conventional high efficiency diesel and
gasoline powered buses.
Other uses for hydrogen, in addition to transportation, will be researched and included in the
economic feasibility of producing hydrogen. This may include applications in potential
marketable products. Also hydrogen as energy storage for stationary fuel cell power, due to the
variability of wind power, may further offset the demand for imported diesel.
27|Page
Assessment metrics for comparing technologies will be developed to present the information to
the community in a meaningful and logical manner for discussion and decision making.
Stimulating interest and participation from the St. Paul community is a key objective for TDX
Foundation. Outreach activity will include an introductory community meeting, participation
with school science classes, site visit to transit agency, and a follow-up community workshop to
discuss the results and seek community input. The results from the study and feedback from the
community will be considered before a decision is made on the choice of non-fossil fuel
technology. It is anticipated that a preliminary engineering design and NEPA review for the
technology selected will be initiated. Note that a hydrogen and fuel cell pilot scale
demonstration is outside the scope of this project.
8.2.3 CURRENT STATUS
This project is 75% complete. After the initial technical and economic feasibility report, TDX
decided that at this point the hydrogen option was too costly. Therefore, the focus has shifted
towards electric cars. In order to do so, a re-scope was required by the Department of Energy.
This is still pending. WiDAC will still play a role in the writing of a final report.
8.3. KODIAK ELECTRIC ASSOCIATION MODELING
8.3.1 OVERVIEW
Kodiak Electric Association (KEA) has served as a model for efforts to successfully lower the
consumption of fossil fuels in rural Alaska through the use of renewable resources for their
electricity generation needs. With the construction of Phase I of the Pillar Mountain wind farm
and possible further expansion with Phase II, KEA is in a position to lead the way into high
penetration wind and push the limits of known grid stability under these conditions. KEA’s
customers include a major US Coast Guard installation and other DoD assets. The Alaska
Center for Energy and Power (ACEP) will work with EPS to identify viable grid management
strategies for KEA to incorporate high penetration of renewable resources (up to 95%) while
maintaining a secure supply to residential and commercial loads ACEP views Kodiak Island and
the Kodiak grid as an excellent case study and prototype for high-penetration integration of
renewable energy into community power systems. KEA is committed to achieving 95%
renewable power solutions by the year 2025. The aim is to use the findings of this study as a
model that could benefit other rural, grid isolated Alaskan communities with significant wind
resources by identifying and assessing strategies and technologies for making optimal use of
their renewable resources.
A separate entity (EPS, Anchorage) will develop a PSSE model of the current KEA system and
will simulate three additional wind turbines on the KEA grid. They will develop parameters of
voltage and frequency stability. This information will be shared with ACEP. Energy storage
and control options to be considered include but are not limited to the following:
e Battery storage — candidate technologies limited to lead-acid, lithium ion, sodium sulfur
batteries, flow batteries, and flywheels. We believe that other storage technologies such
as UltraCapacitors are not yet mature enough for deployment at KEA.
e Pumped hydro using a load shedding pump at the Terror Lake Hydroelectric Facility.
e Active load management schemes to balance generation and demand.
28|Page
[8.3.2 SCOPE OF WORK
The focus of this study will be on voltage and frequency stability of the electric power grid on
Kodiak Island with addition of wind turbine generators on Pillar Mountain. Three 1.5 MW GE
wind turbine units were added to the KEA system in 2009, and three additional turbines may be
added in the future as Phase II of the project. As part of the workplan for this project, the
following tasks will be completed:
1. Task 1: A high-level review of energy storage options for Kodiak. These options include
pumped hydro-electric, battery, flywheel, and other new storage technologies. We will
perform a first-order cost/benefit and feasibility study for these storage technologies with
respect to application at Kodiak. Detailed studies of how these storage options will affect
the Kodiak system will be considered in future studies and are beyond the scope of the
proposed study.
2. Task 2: ACEP will review energy storage projects in Alaska with relevance to Kodiak to
collect lessons learned and guide a new design. (e.g. the Metlakatla energy storage
project, the VRB flow battery tested at the University of Alaska, the Chena Hot Springs
2.25 MW battery, and the proposed Kotzebue Premium Power battery).
3. Task 3: ACEP will run various scenarios to model the integration of storage and other
grid management strategies with existing and future wind turbines using the model
developed by EPS.
| 8.3.3 CURRENT STATUS
EPS is currently developing a PSSE model of the current KEA system.
8.4 DENALI COMMISSION POWER ELECTRONICS REVIEW
[8.4.1 OVERVIEW
Diesel-off hybrid power systems represent the next generation wind diesel systems. In
traditional systems, the diesel gen-set regulates both the voltage and frequency of the grid. In
order to maximize fuel savings the diesels need to be shut off when other renewable resources
are available, but to do so power electronics must be advanced enough to meet the needs of the
grid. The Alaska Center for Energy and Power proposes to analyze state of the art power
electronics to determine the status of diesel-off technology. The review will be broad to
incorporate both a systemic analysis of diesel-off technology as well as a component analysis-
which will look in depth at flywheel, energy storage, and inverter dynamics.
8.4.2 OBJECTIVES
1. Address technical issues related to higher penetration of wind as part of overall
generation portfolio in order to reduce the amount of diesel fuel used and improve the
economics of existing and planned wind-diesel systems.
2. Address issues specifically related to operation of turbines and ancillary equipment in
remote locations.
3. Take high penetration systems to the next level by enhancing the rate of success of
diesel-off operations.
" 29] Pace
4. Solidify Alaska as the leader in wind-diesel technology worldwide and expand
employment and economic opportunities in the sector.
8.4.3 CURRENT STATUS
This has been funded for $433,000 although a contract is not yet in place. Work will start on
January 1“.
8.5 FLOW BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE ANALYSIS W/ KOTZEBUE
ELECTRIC
| 8.5.1 OVERVIEW
In August, 2009, the University of Alaska and Kotzebue Electric Association applied separately
for funding to test advanced battery systems through the Denali Commission Emerging
Technologies Grant Fund. These projects were organized differently based on the different
project management needs of two classes of batteries, and the level of technology readiness. The
larger Premium Power battery is most appropriate for Kotzebue, given KEA’s excellent track
record of integrating new wind turbines in with their existing diesel system, with some support
from ACEP on data collection and analysis. The smaller batteries were proposed as laboratory
tests at ACEP, which proved of considerable value during previous testing of the VRB battery,
as clean performance data could be collected to assess the validity of the claims made by the
supplier. During Round II, the Denali Commission requested that the two proposals be
combined, followed by the funding of the combined project at a significantly reduced level. Our
team has developed this rescoped work plan to address the reduced funding level, while meeting
the original objectives of the project — to demonstrate viable storage options to augment wind-
diesel systems in rural Alaska. The process is further complicated by the existence of another
proposal by KEA through the Cooperative Research Network (CRN) to the Department of
Energy which will affect the prioritization of effort on this project.
Large scale batteries for wind diesel systems that could provide village utility grid stabilization
and load shifting are currently being developed by several suppliers. If these batteries become
commercial products at the price points currently being anticipated, they could provide
significant diesel fuel savings in communities with wind resources. The original proposal
submitted by Kotzebue Electric Association (KEA) and the Alaska Center for Energy and Power
(ACEP) proposed purchasing and testing a 500 kW Premium Power battery in Kotzebue, and a
smaller less commercial battery in the laboratory at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. The
current list of batteries of interest include (list prioritized in order of our interest at this time):
1. The Premium Power Zinc Bromine system (500 kW, 3,2 MW-hr, price of $1.05M,
installed $1.25M, initial commercial deliveries)
2. The Prudent Energy Vanadium Flow Battery, formerly ZBB (10 kW, 25 kW-hr, price of
$55K, initial commercial deliveries)
3. The NGK Sodium Sulfur battery (1 MW, 7.2 MW-hr, price of $4M, installed $5M, low
production commercial)
4. The ZBB Zinc Bromine Battery
30|Page
5. The Cellstrom Vanadium Flow battery (10 kW, 100kW-hr, $150K, not commercially
available in the US)
8.5.2 SCOPE OF WORK
We have reorganized our project through prioritization of battery technology. Because the
awarded level of funding is inadequate to purchase one of the larger batteries but our team
continues to consider that our highest priority, we will proceed down the following list as
funding permits. If KEA’s proposal through CRN to procure a Premium Power battery is
successful, all 4 tasks listed below can be completed. If it is not funded, then either Task #1 or
Tasks #3 and Task #4 can be completed. Task 2 will be completed under all scenarios. A go/no-
go decision chart is included in Figure | to simplify this logic.
Task #1. Demonstrate a Premium Power battery in Kotzebue ($325,000 from Denali
Commission budget if the CRN proposal is funded, $425,000 if it is not funded. Total
required budget for this task is $1.25M. Led by KEA)
Task #2. Gather additional information on advanced battery technologies and
testing and demonstration projects around the country ($75,000, led by UAF)
Task #3. Continued testing of the Prudent Energy Battery ($/00,000, led by UAF)
Task #4. Additional Battery Testing at Either ACEP or in Kotzebue. ($200,000, led
by UAF)
. 31|Page
Determine whether KEA has other
funding avenues to purchase the
KEA Proposal through CRN to test a Premium Premium Power Battery, using Power Battery is funded partial funding of $425,000 of the
Denali Commission funding
Complete first 3
tasksin rescope document ($325k
to KEAto support
Premium Power project).
Cancel Tasks 3 and 4 | ( Proceed with Tasks 2-4 isunts toning and consider options
constraints. to continue to monitor other Premium Power | demonstration | projects. Reserve $25k for KEA reporting and
involvement.
FINAL a PRODUCT: PRODUCT: FINAL
Task 1 Task 1 PRODUCT: Task2 Task 2 Task2
Task 3 Task3
Task4
Figure 3: Go/no-go Decision Point for Tasks
8.5.3 CURRENT STATUS
This has been funded for $500,000 although a contract is not yet in place. Kotzebue Electric Association
is waiting to hear about a prior grant proposal with NRECA. When KEA hears yeah or nay-a decision
will be made based on go/no-go diagram in Figure 2.
8.6 HORIZONTAL AXIS WIND TURBINE TESTING
8.6.1 OVERVIEW
The Norton Sound Economic Development Corporation acquired two Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines
which are installed in Nome and Unalakleet. WiDAC is most interested in verifying performance of the
HAWT to determine whether this system is economic to deploy in this sort of configuration. This falls
under ACEP’s mission of providing information to Alaskans to help them make educated choices about
their energy options. To this end, ACEP is able to contribute the following at no cost to the project:
8.6.2 OBJECTIVES
32|Page
To evaluate the performance of the VAWT in the Nome environment in order to make recommendations
on whether it should be used more widely. The main reason for recommending this test period is because
there are questions as to whether VAWT are appropriate for the region, and as such it seems logical to
invest as little time and funding as possible in installation before certain basic questions are answered.
These include:
What wind speed is required for the turbine to start producing power?
What power is produced during the test?
Even though a wide range of conditions may not occur during a short term test, how does the turbine
performance compare with the manufacturers data?
Is an inexpensive dump load strategy reasonable to implement?
8.6.3. PROPOSED WORK PLAN
We propose the turbine be installed on a temporary mount, such as an empty storage container. Loads
and instrumentation could reside within the container.
We propose the system be installed with the supplied charge controller and inverter, using a 48 volt
battery as a buffer between controller and inverter. Loads would include a hot water resistive heating
element and high wattage incandescent bulbs, with manual switching between loads. We also propose a
recording meteorological station be set up near the wind turbine.
If the turbine performance seems promising after a period of several days with a range of wind speeds
observed, the next step would be to investigate the feasibility of simplifying the loads to reduce capital
costs.
[8.6.4 CURRENT STATUS
Tom Johnson is ready to go out to Nome and Unalakleet to install data monitoring equipment.
8.7 UGASHIK SYSTEM MONITORING
8.8 COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF INSTALLED WIND SYSTEMS IN RURAL
Alaska's coastal communities are known for having a tremendous wind regime which, due to the
remoteness, coincides with a high cost of energy. To reduce diesel consumption and ultimately,
the cost of electricity, utilities such as Alaska Village Electric Cooperative and Kotzebue Electric
Association have installed wind turbines to displace fuel. There are over 250 wind turbine hours
of experience in Alaska, yet the true benefit of these turbines has not clearly been quantified.
Numerous considerations must be made including the impact of lost recovered heat, life cycle
operations and maintenance cost, and diesel efficiency reduction due to load reduction.
Similarly, there is no set standardization for such items. This much debated issue is complex to
pinpoint and properly analyze due to the unique circumstances of every installation. Power Cost
Equilization, PCE, information publicly available shows that many of the installed wind systems
in rural Alaska are not providing the expected level of fuel savings. Using data obtained from
PCE reports and from existing wind-diesel installations, performance data will be modeled using
a proposed set of wind-diesel standards. Thereby quantifying what exactly the economical and
33|Page
technical benefits of wind-diesel systems are and propose how such systems can be improved to
provide optimum public benefit. This study will likely involve both technical analysis (how
small wind turbines interact with diesel generators in real isolated systems) and economics.
8.8.1 CURRENT STATUS
The Institute of Social and Economic Research is working with the Alaska Center for Energy
and Power to undertake this report. Interviews were done with major wind diesel stakeholders to
gain a better understanding of economic and technical performance of existing systems.
Economic data on the capital cost of wind turbines has been acquired by STG, Denali
Commission, AEA, TDX, and AVEC. The HOMER modeling done by NREL was examined.
This project is challenging in that data on completed wind projects is inconsistent and/or
incomplete. The project results will be presented at the April 2010 Rural Energy Conference.
8.9 ALASKA ENERGY AUTHORITY CONTRACT
[8.9.1 TASK ONE
Develop scopes of work, schedule, and milestones for at least 10 grant agreements from the RE Fund or
Alternative Energy Solicitation.
DELIVERABLES: 10 GRANT AGREEMENTS
TIME SPENT: 80/155 HOURS
1. GENERAL GRANT INFORMATION
1, TIME SPENT: 20 HRS
2. GRANT 1: MEKORYUK, AVEC
1. TIME SPENT 10 HRS
3. GRANT 2: TOKSOOK BAY, AVEC
1. TIME SPENT 10 HRS
4. GRANT 3: QUINAHOK, AVEC
1. TIME SPENT 10 HRS
Ds GRANT 4: DAVE LAPPI
1. TIME SPENT 15 HRS
6. GRANT 5: HOOPER BAY
1. TIME SPENT: 5 HRS
Ts GRANT 6: CITY OF BETHEL
1. TIME SPENT: 5 HRS
8. GRANT 7: DAVE LAPPI-BETHEL
1. TIME SPENT: 5 HRS
9. GRANT 8: TOK WIND CONSTRUCTION
8.9.2 Task Two
Collect and analyze performance data from existing wind diesel systems in the state and analyze wind
diesel technology options.
34|Page
DELIVERABLES: REPORTS AND/OR DATA FROM ANALYSIS
TIME SPENT: 110/300 HOURS
ps OVERVIEW: Katherine has been working with Ginny Fay and Nick Szymoniak, UAA Institute
of Social and Economic Research, on the cost of wind energy in remote wind diesel systems.
This work has included an all-inclusive phase of data collection where we are getting material
from the Denali Commission, the Alaska Energy Authority, and the Utilities themselves. This
will include a period of data analysis and performance analysis of existing and proposed systems.
8.9.3 TASK THREE
Assist with Meteorological Tower Loan Program. This will include collecting and processing raw data
and coordinating and assisting in the movement of at least 5 towers.
DELIVERABLES: METEOROLOGICAL DATA COLLECTED AND ANALYZED AND
TOWERS MOVED.
TIME: 32/300 HOURS
1. OVERVIEW: The Alaska Energy Authority Wind Program Manager and the Wind Diesel
Coordinator have been discussing how best to approach this. It has been decided that it would be
appropriate for the Alaska Center for Energy and Power’s Wind Diesel Application Center to
slowly adopt this program. This would allow for graduate students to have access to the data for
more in depth analysis and take some of the burden off of the Alaska Energy Authority. The
AEA Wind Program Manager is researching funding options for this.
8.9.4 Task Four
Provide education and outreach explaining wind diesel opportunity and potential in the State; also attend
and assist with the organization of workshops and fairs.
DELIVERABLES: PROVIDE AEA WITH MONTHLY REPORTS UPDATING THE PROGRAM
MANAGER ON ACTIVITIES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
TIME BUDGET: 315/400 HOURS
1 Wind Diesel Summit: June 22"-24", 2009
1. OVERVIEW: The Wind Diesel Application Center (WiDAC) hosted a three day Wind
Diesel Summit which was sponsored by the Renewable Energy Alaska Project (REAP),
Alaska Energy Authority (AEA), and the Alaska Center for Energy and Power (ACEP).
The purpose of the summit was to discuss the future of wind diesel technology and
specifically to develop a mission and vision for the newly formed Wind Diesel
Application Center. The summit drew international attendance as Alaskans are looking
for innovative ways to move this technology forward. Three areas were focused on:
research and development, technical assistance, and workforce development and
education. Priority areas of action were identified so that WiDAC can begin moving
forward in a path paved by wind diesel stakeholders such as various utility and industry
35|Page
10.
representatives such as STG, TDX Power, Kotzebue Electric Association, and EnXco.
Some urgent items include an industry workforce needs assessment, international
evaluation of high penetration wind diesel systems, and create an Alaskan database of
information using existing systems. Opening remarks were provided by Senator Lesil
McGuire, Representative Bryce Edgmon, and Representative Charise Millet all of whom
stated the inherent value of using wind to displace diesel.
2. TIME SPENT: 200 hours
Wind Diesel Conference: Ottawa, Canada June 1-3", 2009
1. OVERVIEW: The 2009 International Wind Diesel Workshop brought together a
focused group of interested parties-government, private industry, and non-governmental
organizations with experience and interest in wind diesel. The Wind Diesel Coordinator
gave two presentations titled
1. “Alaska High Penetration Wind Diesel Systems”
2. “Alaska Wind Diesel Application Center”
2. TIME SPENT: 45 hours
Alaska Center for Energy and Power’s Community Energy Lecture Series
i OVERVIEW: This lecture series is sponsored by ACEP, UAF’s Cooperative
Extension, and Renewable Energy Alaska Project (REAP) and is held on the third
Wednesday of every month. One presentation was given titled:
1. “Alternative Fuels for Transportation and Energy Storage”
= TIME SPENT: 10 hours
Grant Writers Association: Anchorage, Alaska October 1“, 2009
L, OVERVIEW: Gave a presentation on Emerging Wind Diesel Technology in Alaska.
iz TIME SPENT: 10 hours
Wind Working Group Meeting: Kodiak, Alaska October 14", 2009
L OVERVIEW: Gave a presentation on an Update of the Wind Diesel Application Center
as well as a project update for TDX Power on St. Paul Island.
2. TIME SPENT: 20 hours
Mat Su College Lecture Series: Palmer, Alaska October 30", 2009
1. OVERVIEW: 2 hour lecture on Wind Energy in Alaska
2. TIME SPENT: 10 hours
Mat-Su College Lecture In Class: Palmer, Alaska November 5" 2009
1 OVERVIEW: | hour lecture on Wind Energy in Alaska
2. TIME SPENT: 5 hours
Coop Extension: Anchorage, Alaska December 1 1", 2009
1. OVERVIEW: 25 minute lecture on Wind Energy in Alaska
2. TIME SPENT: 5 hours
Cascadia Green Builders: Anchorage, Alaska December 15", 2009
ll OVERVIEW: 40 minute lecture on Wind Energy in Alaska
2. TIME SPENT: 5 hours
Job Corps Presentation: Palmer, Alaska December 17", 2009
ds OVERVIEW: 1 hour lecture on Wind Energy in Alaska and training opportunities
2. TIME SPENT: 5 hours
ye 36| Pa ge 8.9.5 Task Five
Grow and manage the Wind Diesel Application Center through the development of outreach, technical
training, and educational components.
DELIVERABLES: PROVIDE AEA WITH MONTHLY REPORTS UPDATING THE PROGRAM
MANAGER ON ACTIVITIES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
TIME SPENT: 340/400 HOURS
11. Mat-Su Renewable Energy Occupational Endorsement Curriculum support.
l., The Wind Diesel Coordinator has been assisting with the UAA Mat-Su Community
College in developing a curriculum, which will help train individuals to work in the
renewable energy field. This program will start spring 2010. This support has consisted
of steering committee meetings and the development of 2 Course Curriculum Guides
(CCGs).
2. Time Spent: 57 hours
12. Wind for Schools Program
1. Time Spent: 200 hours
13. Wind Powering Working Group Meeting
L. The Wind Diesel Coordinator will continue to help assist in the planning for the October
WPA working group meeting.
oe Time Spent: 3 hour
14. Uncategorized phone calls, emails, and discussions
1. The Wind Diesel Coordinator has been providing overall support to the wind diesel
community. This can include email requests for information, phone calls about existing
information, or meeting attendance, such as the REAP board meetings.
2. Time Spent: 80 hours
9 PENDING PROPOSALS
9.1 DOE EPSCOR
[9.1.1 OVERVIEW
Many of the wind-diesel deployment challenges faced by Alaska today -- including high
penetration of renewable energy flows, energy storage, and advanced control systems -- are also
important to the nation as a whole. Alaska can serve as a national laboratory for modeling and
testing strategies to address these challenges. The University of Alaska can play a critical role
by leveraging existing strengths across numerous institutes and programs throughout the
University system and by engaging the talents of private industry, tribal and community
governments, and local people.
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This project will first focus on improving our understanding of the performance of existing wind-
diesel systems. We will accomplish this by working with the State of Alaska Energy Authority
to develop a comprehensive database of wind system experience, including underlying climatic
and socioeconomic characteristics, actual operating data, projected vs. actual capital and O&M
costs, and a catalogue of catastrophic anomalies. This data base will form the foundation for the
rest of the research program, with the overarching goal of delivering low-cost, reliable, and
sustainable energy from a wind-diesel platform.
Specifically, we propose to address:
1) Penetration: Technical issues related to higher penetration of wind, such as power
stability, long term energy storage, and advanced control technologies, including the use of
excess wind power to supplement residential and commercial space heating and
transportation.
2) Cold Climate: Issues related to operation of turbines and ancillary equipment in cold
climates and remote locations, such as production loss due to rime ice buildup, remote
monitoring, and foundation design in areas with geo-technical problems.
3) Socioeconomics: Social, economic, and political barriers to the development of wind,
including local capacity to develop and support sustainable systems.
The existing Wind-Diesel Application Center (WiDAC) and its associated participants will serve
as the backbone of a broad collaborative effort for accomplishing these goals. Because WiDAC
is a strong partnership between manufacturers, the research community, and the technology end-
users, it will serve as a practical and effective mechanism to ensure the program laid out in this
proposal can be successfully met.
9.1.2 CURRENT STATUS
This proposal was for the amount of $1,000,000 per year for three years. Pending.
9.2 DOE NREL WIND FOR SCHOOLS
9.2.1 OVERVIEW
Alaska has 530 k-12 schools that are potentially eligible for the Wind for Schools program. The
Department of Energy’s Wind Powering America Program recommends that a university-run
Wind Application Center (WAC) establish a state’s Wind for Schools program in coordination
with a state facilitator. Alaska plans to accomplish this by utilizing the existing Wind Diesel
Application Center at the University of Alaska as the WAC and the Renewable Energy Alaska
Project (REAP) as the state facilitator.
Alaska is a large state with world-class potential for wind energy development in many regions.
In addition, Alaska has some of the highest energy costs in the U.S., with the cost of energy in
remote communities crippling their ability to flourish. 53% of identified schools are in rural
Alaska areas in which there are limited available opportunities. In 2008, 41% of the schools did
not meet the requirements set forth by the No Child Left Behind Act. In addition, Alaska’s
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suicide rate is twice that of the nation’s second highest ranking state. There are numerous
reasons why there is a tremendous need for a unique program which captures the interest of both
the students and the community. The Wind for Schools Program fits these prerequisites.
9.2.2 OBJECTIVES
1. To install a Skystream 3.7 2.4kW turbine near the k-12 schools, which will incorporate a
specific Wind Energy Curriculum, NEED, into the existing school program. The turbine
components will be connected as a standalone system charging a battery bank, or as a
grid connected system depending on the community. The Skystream turbines will be
shipped on the first barge of 2010 and will be erected in September 2010. The NEED
curriculum and any supporting programs will be incorporated into the school for the first
time in the fall of 2010.
2. To spark the interest in renewable energy, math, and science in school age children
throughout the state of Alaska. This will be done in general with the Wind for Schools
NEED curriculum, but will be augmented by establishing energy mentoring programs,
travel scholarships to energy conferences, and statewide energy fair competitions.
3. To provide a relief in energy costs, however small, to the schools of Alaska by offsetting
portions of their electricity with the Skystream or Northwind 100 wind turbine.
4. To help communities with existing wind-diesel systems to incorporate the Wind Energy
Curriculum into the existing school program. This will allow for the students of these
communities to be more attuned to the project in their community and offer opportunities
for greater involvement with future development.
9.2.3. CURRENT STATUS
This proposal requested $60,000 per year for three years. The application was submitted Nov.
20", 2009. Awards should be made early 2010.
9.3. DOE NREL SMALL WIND TURBINE REGIONAL TEST CENTER
9.3.1 BACKGROUND
The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) is in the process of developing standards for
the testing and evaluation of small wind turbines. The lack of independently tested and certified
small wind turbines has created a market for cheap, unreliable, and unsafe turbines. The
National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL), a DOE national laboratory, National Wind
Technology Center (NWTC) proposes to subcontract with other entities to establish Small Wind
Regional Test Centers (RTCs). These RTCs will expand small wind turbine testing capability
within the United States and will allow for cost effective testing of small wind turbines to the
IEC standard. The test results gained can be used to obtain third party certification by the Small
Wind Certification Council (SWCC). The Alaska Center for Energy and Power’s Wind Diesel
Application Center proposes to subcontract with NWTC to establish a Small Wind RTC.
[9.3.2 OBJECTIVES
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1. To establish a Regional Test Center (RTC) capable of testing small wind turbines to IEC
small wind turbine test standards.
2. To conduct independent testing, per the IEC small wind test standards, to provide high
quality, independent test results for two small turbines.
3. Provide a focus for workforce and curriculum development efforts at the University of
Alaska.
9.3.3. SCOPE OF WORK we 1. To establish the infrastructure (facilities, staff, procedures, and equipment) necessary to
conduct certification testing of small wind turbines. The turbines shall be tested to the
IEC SWT test standards; the AWEA SWT test standard shall be used when it is more
rigorous than the IEC standard.
2. Coordinate with Tempest Wind for pre-test inspection, installation, instrumentation,
commissioning, and post test inspection of the wind turbine systems at the RTC test site.
3. Evaluate the turbines through testing and other observations over a test period of up to
eighteen months (for a total duration test standard of 2500 hours of operation) per the
IEC standards.
4. Write reports of test findings (one per test) and post on a publicly available web site.
Enhance ice prevention techniques by testing anti/de icing technologies. i
9.3.4 CURRENT STATUS
The funding request was for $150,000 and awards should be made around February 2010.
9.4 UNIVERSITY FY10 DIRECT FUNDING FEDERAL INITIATIVE
[9.4.1 OVERVIEW
We are requesting consideration for funding for a wind-diesel simulator testbed for the Wind-Diesel
Applications Consortium (WiDAC) at the University of Alaska. WiDAC was formed in 2008 as a
consortium of university, national laboratory, and industry partners with the goal of supporting
deployment of cost-effective wind-diesel technologies. There are numerous competitively funded
research projects ongoing under WiDAC, which involves researchers throughout the University system.
Our research agenda is driven by industry and community needs in Alaska and is focused on improving
performance of existing and planned systems. There are significant unknowns related to system
configurations and equipment identified as having high potential for reducing diesel fuel use, and even
operating systems in a diesel-off wind-only mode. To properly test alternative controls, advanced inverter
options, and integration of storage it is necessary to develop a testbed configuration that can simulate
conditions in a village without risk of interrupting power supply to a community. Many of these issues
are also relevant to other renewable energy grid integration questions, and also can inform research on
larger grids in the lower-48 as higher levels of renewables on electric grids becomes more common.
9.4.2 OBJECTIVES
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The reasons for this request are four fold:
1) There is not currently any other testbed/simulator in the world that is appropriate for the type of
research we would like to perform. By developing this platform, the University of Alaska could
fill a nitch that is not only relevant to Alaska but is global in scope, as the worldwide need for
distributed wind and renewable energy is significant. This testbed would result in significant
expertise being developed in Alaska, and form a basis for developing an export market around
becoming leaders in this critical new technology field.
2) WiDAC has applied for funding for equipment related to this testbed concept on numerous
occasions, but because the primary market and focus for this testbed is so Alaska specific, it has
not qualified for federal DOE funding opportunities as they have been written to date. The
national focus is on large turbines and wind farms, and not the small, isolated grid and distributed
generation systems that are common in Alaska. While we are receiving competitive funding for
our research, we are limited in scope by the lack of an appropriate testbed.
3) Rural villages in Alaska have the highest energy costs in the nation, with electric costs as high as
$1 per kWhr. The need is great, but the opportunity is just as significant. Even small
improvements in efficiency and performance can have dramatic effects in energy cost to the end-
user. The type of research we are conducting and would be able to expand with the use of the
testbed simulator, has significant potential to dramatically reduce energy costs by investigating
options for operating in a diesel-off mode. This research is too risky to do in the field and is best
suited to laboratory conditions.
4) The testbed has already been designed with help from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory
and Northern Power Systems. The need is well understood by our industry partners, and many
are willing to contribute in-kind or equipment support to developing the simulator testbed.
Alaska is already considered a world leader in wind-diesel technologies. With 11 systems in operation
and 25 additional systems under construction or development, significant opportunities exist to improve
the performance of these systems, develop significant in-state expertise, and reduce the cost of energy to
remote communities. By funding this testbed, significant strides can be made toward accomplishing these
goals.
| 9.4.3 CURRENT STATUS
This request for $1,000,000 is the top priority of the University.
10 ADVISORY COMMITTEE
10.1 MEMBERS
10.2 MEETING SCHEDULE
10.3 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
11 LOOKING FORWARD TO 2010
a 41|Pa ge e Be SEO Se Anemometer Loan Program
Wind for Schools Program
Wind in Alaska Video
Power Electronics Review
Energy Storage Testing
Wind Diesel Meetings?
Conferences?
Publications
Collaboration with other Universities
Dec coe
IDAC ADVISORY COMMITTEE
AGENDA
Thursday December 17, 2009 from 10:00-11:30: First Quarterly Meeting
1 ATTENDEES
Gwen Holdmann, Julie Estey, James Jensen, Brent Petrie, Ian Baring-Gould, Martina Dabo, Jim St.
George, Per Lundsager, Jito Coleman, and Katherine Keith
2 CALLIN INFORMATION
1-800-893-8850
pin 8417297
3 ANCHORAGE MEETING SPACE
Alaska Energy Authority Conference Room One
4 AGENDA
I, Introductions (10 minutes)
2. Role of the Advisory Committee (15 minutes)
3. Who else should be involved? (15 minutes)
4. How ofien should we meet? (10 minutes)
5. Review of Mission Statement. (10 minutes)
6. WiDAC 2009-Reviewed by Katherine Keith (20 minutes)
7. Goals for 2010? (20 minutes)
8. Outstanding Questions:
a. What else should WiDAC be doing?
b. Who else should we be working with?
c. What value would you like to see?
9. Set next meeting date.