HomeMy WebLinkAboutLetter report to APT Co re Chisana Mtn (Tetlin Hills) site July 11, 2012
Letter report to Alaska Power and Telephone Co. regarding Chisana
Mountain (Tetlin Hills) prospective wind site
On Friday, July 6, Doug Vaught of V3 Energy, LLC and John Harvey of Alaska Power and Telephone Co.
visited a prospective wind site on Chisana Mountain in the Tetlin Hills area several miles southeast of
Tok, Alaska. This site was proposed by AP&T Co. as a possible alternate location for wind turbines
compared to their existing met tower site in the mountains approximately 24 miles due west of the
Chisana Mountain location. The Chisana Mountain site is located at 63.186° N; 142.553° W at an
elevation of approximately 3300 ft. (see maps below).
Chisana Mountain
prospective wind
July 11, 2012
The Chisana Mountain site is well exposed to wind from all directions and is easily accessible by a well-
maintained all-season road. Further, the site is near existing underground power electrical power
distribution that connects Tok to the village of Tetlin. It is uncertain at present if this distribution line
has sufficient capacity for the addition of several hundred kilowatts or more of wind power, but if not,
presumably it could be upgraded.
State wind prediction modeling predicts Chisana Mountain as a Class 2 (marginal) wind resource. This
may prove accurate, but in many locations in Alaska predictive modeling has underestimated the wind
resource compared to data gathered from a met tower, sometimes by two full class levels.
Data gathered from the existing met tower location (Site 0051) indicates an excellent wind resource for
possible turbine construction, but the site is very difficult to access by surface travel and would require
significantly complex and expensive road and distribution line construction to develop. An economic
analysis may prove the effort to be worthwhile, but Chisana Mountain presents a possible opportunity,
if the wind resource at the site proves sufficient, to develop wind power in the Tok area for much less
expense and effort than Site 0051.
Recommendation
During the site visit on July 6, John Harvey stated that AP&T Co. has a NRG 50 meter XHD met tower
stored at the Tok powerhouse that has never been used. Given ownership of a suitable met tower, easy
road access to the site, low development costs of the site for wind power (lease rates of the landowner
notwithstanding), installation of a met tower is recommended. Further, if installed in the near future,
concurrent analysis of Site 0051 and Chisana Mountain will be possible. Concurrent data is highly
insightful for later comparative economic analysis of wind power for Tok.