HomeMy WebLinkAboutCBY COMMITMENTx BOROUGH of YAKUTAT
P.O. Box 160
Yakutat, Alaska 99689
Phone (907) 784.3323
Fax (907) 794.3281
September 16, 2013
Alaska Energy Authority
813 West Northern Lights Boulevard
Anchorage, Alaska 99503
The City and Borough of Yakutat hereby commits our support for the Yakutat Biomass
District Heating Loop Project, as we are applying for the Renewable Energy Grant
Program Round VII.
To this application we are attaching a resolution of support passed by the Assembly of
the City and Borough of Yakutat on September 5, 2013. The CBY has embarked on a
multi -faceted Renewable Energy Self -Sufficiency Program, which is focused on biomass
energy, energy efficiency / demand side management, and near -shore wave energy
development. Biomass is an intuitively good fit for Yakutat because of the proximity of
abundant forest resources to the community. We have a history, since time immemorial,
of heating our community with local wood.
We have catalogued our biomass resource through several reconnaissance and feasibility
studies that are attached to this application. Most recently, we are pleased to have the
support of the Alaska Center for Energy and Power and have partially funded a forest
inventory conducted by ACEP staff in the summer of 2013. We contributed $22,000 from
a National Science Foundation grant towards this work in relation to our biomass project.
CBY is committed to operating the wood fired boiler that will be installed through this
project. We have demonstrated a solid history of utility management through Yakutat
Power, our municipally owned and operated power utility. CBY also has extensive
experience in project management, and has the supervisory and financial accounting
capacity on staff to properly administer this grant. Our public works department includes
boiler operators who have the mechanical expertise to take on the work to operate the
biomass district heat system. We envision hiring one position to be responsible for
operating and maintaining the system, and we will train existing staff to act as back-up
and interim operators. CBY will contract with a local cordwood supplier to harvest and
deliver the biomass. We will build and maintain the wood storage facility and a boiler
housing building, both of which will be located on land owned by the City and Borough
of Yakutat.
CBY has also already harvested, split and dry -stored 52 cords of wood that is on -hand
and dedicated to this project. The wood will be well —seasoned to appropriate moisture
content by the time we enter the construction and commission phase of this project.
CBY is excited about using this project to test the suitability of beach driftwood as a
source of biomass for district heating. Yakutat has an abundance of wood located along
the ocean beach from the mouth of the Situk River to Ocean Cape, an area that has
several access roads and is close to the location of this project. We have received written
authorization to use this wood from the Alaska Division of Forestry (whose support letter
is attached.) This source of driftwood is relatively low is salt content because the trees are
mostly from the banks of the nearby Situk River. They wash out from the river and are
deposited at the high water mark of the beach after spending less time in salt water than
some driftwood. We are hopeful that emissions testing of the boiler system will
demonstrate acceptability of this biomass. The results of this testing will provide data to
inform boiler manufacturers and the AEA about the possibility of using driftwood for
heat in other locations in Alaska. It will also be useful to know if the data show any
problems with emissions, as local residents are already using this driftwood in their
homes in small quantities. The CBY would like to verify that this is a safe practice.
In summary, the City and Borough of Yakutat views this project as one that clearly
involves significant public benefit. We will reduce our own consumption of heating oil,
and do the same for the Yak -tat Kwaan, the ANCSA Corporation that is committing their
Yakutat Community Center building to the project. This project will take important steps
towards realizing the goals of our Renewable Energy Self -Sufficiency Program and
generate important momentum towards comprehensive replacement of diesel fuel with a
renewable energy heating source throughout the community. We are very grateful for the
opportunity to submit this project for your review, and we look forward to working with
you on this project.
Sincerely,
r y n, Manager
City and Borough of Yakutat