HomeMy WebLinkAboutBowman-Support-Letter - Cascade Creek-MHS_130924September 24, 2013
Sara Fisher -Goad, Executive Director
Alaska Energy Authority
813 West Northern Lights Boulevard
Anchorage, Alaska 99503
RE: Tsaina Lodge Cascade Creek Hydro — Feasibility Study
Dear Ms. Fisher -Goad:
I, Jason Bowman, support and ask the state for funding the Tsaina Lodge (Blue Hole Properties,
LLC) to conduct a feasibility study for a proposed run -of -river hydroelectric project on Cascade
Creek near the Tsaina Lodge in Thompson Pass north of Valdez. The project would sell power
to Copper Valley Electric Association, Inc. (CVEA), displacing fuel burned for power generation.
Cascade Creek drains approximately 6.7 square miles of the Chugach Range. The proposed run -
of -river hydro project would divert an estimated 5 to 20 cfs from Carlo Creek at an elevation of
approximately 2,100 to 2,300 feet, divert it through an approximately 2,000 to 4,000 foot long
penstock to a powerhouse on the lodge property at MP 35 Richardson Highway. Estimated
installed capacity is 200 to 800 kW, and annual energy generation is estimated at 1,000,000 to
3,000,000 kWh. The feasibility study would define the most economic project configuration.
Tsaina Lodge has already completed initial environmental screening and resource agency
consultations, and has not identified any regulatory or permitting barriers to this project. These
reconnaissance assessments indicate the project would be beneficial to the CVEA system and
ratepayers by reducing diesel fuel consumption and increasing the renewable energy used on
the CVEA system.
Thank you for your support of this project and do not hesitate to contact me if you have any
further questions.
Sincerely,
Jason Bowman AIA, LEED AP
Associate
RIM Architects
645 G Street Suite 400
Anchorage, AK 99501
cc: Jeff and Ingrid Fraser, Tsaina Lodge