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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLetters of SupportP.O. Box 82489, Fairbanks, AK  99708  +  907.457.3454  +  Fax:  907.457.3456  www.cchrc.org  TO: AEA Renewable Energy Fund Round III RE: proposal “Alaska Biomass CHP Demonstration Project” The Cold Climate Housing Research Center (CCHRC) is pleased to express its support of the proposal titled Alaska “Biomass CHP Demonstration Project,” as proposed by Alaska Power & Telephone for grant funding to the Alaska Energy Authority. The potential impact this kind of combined heat and power (CHP) can have in rural communities with sustainable biomass resources is profound. Alaska leads the United States in annual heating degree days at 11,584. Many of its rural communities are in crisis situation brought on by the cost of fossil fuels, with some paying in excess of $6.00 per gallon for diesel and $1.00 per kWh for electricity. More than 100 rural communities in Alaska have potential access to biomass, providing extensive markets for CHP systems. Alaska needs to explore and demonstrate biomass CHP systems that can utilize forest and biogenic waste to power and heat rural communities at a lower cost of energy than fossil fuels. These systems produce an additional benefit of creating local jobs and retaining money in the community. The technologies to address the high costs of energy in Alaska are being developed at a rapid pace. It is critically important to test, demonstrate, and deploy the technologies that prove practical in the Alaska environment. The successes of the “Alaska Biomass CHP Demonstration Project,” would provide pre-commercial systems that can become operational, affordable, and dependable. There is urgency to finding solutions quickly. The very economic and physical survival for many communities is at stake. Sincerely, Jack Hébert President/CEO     Corporate Members    Alaska Housing Finance   ARXX Building Products  BP  Capitol Glass/  Northerm Windows        Demilec, LLC  DuPont   GW Scientific  Hébert Homes  Hoffer Glass  Insulfoam, LLC  Maxximum   Construction Inc.   Pioneer Glass  Siemens  Spenard Builders Supply  Thermo‐Kool of Alaska      Foundation Members    Denali State Bank  Hall Quality Homes  Heat‐Line, A Division of  Christopher MacLean   Lucky Distributing/  Monitor Products Inc.  Mt. McKinley Bank   NCP Design/Build, Ltd.  Rasmuson Foundation  Remote Power Inc.  Usibelli Foundation  Wallace Research   Foundation  Wells Fargo Bank      Board of Directors    Chair  N. Claiborne Porter, Jr., AIA  Vice­Chair  Alan Wilson  Treasurer  Brent LeValley  Secretary  Richard Green  Members  Dave Miller  Jess Dilts   Jess Hall  Chuck Renfro  Kelley Roth  Bill Semple  John Straube, Ph.D.    420 L Street, Suite 305 Anchorage, AK 99501 Ph: 907.271.3633 www.nrel.gov October 30, 2009 Alaska Power and Telephone, Tok PO Box 207, Milepost 1314 AK Highway Tok, AK 99780 Dear AP&T: This letter is to support your “Alaska Biomass CHP Demonstration Project” proposal being submitted to the Alaska Energy Authority under the Renewable Energy Fund round 3 solicitation. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is the nation’s primary laboratory for energy efficiency and renewable energy research and development. NREL has been following the technology readiness of the gasification and combined heat and power systems you propose and believe they could provide an excellent fit for some Alaska applications. More broadly, it is necessary to field test and demonstrate the viability of biomass energy conversion technologies in rural Alaska. The technology must meet the requirements of cold climate operations, and must include heating in addition to electric power generation. We believe AP&T is an excellent candidate to implement this effort, which is designed to augment or replace existing diesel generation. By considering the local social and economic implications of such a project, widespread benefits and long-term project success are more likely. We wish you the best in pursuing this project and hope to be able to provide additional resources to assist the project team. Please contact me if you have any questions. Sincerely, Brian Hirsch, Ph.D. Senior Project Leader – Alaska Brian.Hirsch@nrel.gov ! ! ! ! November!1,!2009! ! To:!!Alaska!Energy!Authority!Renewable!Energy!Fund!Review!Committee! From!:!!Gwen!Holdmann,!Director,!Alaska!Center!for!Energy!and!Power! Re:!! !Proposal!“Alaska!Biomass!CHP!Demonstration!Project”! ! To!Whom!It!May!Concern:! ! Please!accept!this!letter!in!support!of!the!Alaska!Power!&!Telephone!proposal!titled! “Alaska!Biomass!CHP!Demonstration!Project,”!which!they!are!submitting!under!Round!III! of!the!Renewable!Energy!Fund.!!! ! Biomass!CHP!projects!such!as!the!one!proposed!by!AP&T!afford!the!best!opportunity!for! medium!sized!communities!to!displace!diesel!fuel!for!both!heating!and!electricity.!! While!CHP!projects!have!been!developed!in!many!other!places!in!the!world,!they!have! not!recently!been!demonstrated!in!Alaska.!!The!technology!proposed!by!AP&T,!including! installation!of!a!biomass!gasification!system!connected!to!an!internal!combustion! engine!with!heat!capture!will!allow!maximum!system!efficiency,!using!off"the"shelf! components.!!In!addition,!by!installing!the!system!on!the!road!system!and!having!a!well" organized!utility!such!as!AP&T!manage!the!project!will!give!this!technology!the!best! chance!at!a!successful!pilot!project.!!!!! ! A!large!number!of!communities!in!Alaska!have!been!identified!as!having!economically! developable!biomass!resources!by!the!Alaska!Energy!Authority.!!Should!this!project! prove!successful,!it!could!be!duplicated!in!other!regions.! ! ! Sincerely,! Gwen!Holdmann! Director,!Alaska!Center!for!Energy!and!Power! University!of!Alaska!Fairbanks! gwen.holdmann@alaska.edu! 907.590.0879! UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA Office of the Dean &Director P.O. Box 757140 Fairbanks, Alaska 99775-7140 Phone (907) 474-7083FAIRBANKS Fax (907) 474-6567School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences email: fysnras@uaf.edu Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station MEMORANDUM TO: Alaska Energy Authority / Y7 'i FROM: Caml E. Lewis. Dean and Di,ecto, Ljlll.{ji'U zS DATE: November 9,2009 RE: Support letter for Alaska Power & Telephone and Dalson Energy This letter is in support of the proposal titled "Alaska Biomass CHP Demonstration Project," as proposed by Alaska Power & Telephone, and Dalson Energy to the Alaska Energy Authority under the Renewable Energy Fund -Round III. The proposal supports advancing the research, development and implementation of potentially commercial renewable energy technologies. The School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences and the Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, as a part of their research, education, and outreach in the supply side of biomass that can be used in energy generation, appreciates the opportunity to support this project and looks forward to future work with Dalson Energy to assure that appropriate biomass management is in place that will lead to a continuous supply for the new technology for power generation proposed here. Alaskans experience high energy costs and isolated generation grids. Emerging technologies that may not yet be viable elsewhere should be economical today in rural Alaska. Alaska also has significant renewable energy resources, including woody biomass. In order to make the most effective use of these resources, it is necessary to field test and demonstrate the viability of biomass energy conversion technologies in rural Alaska. The technology must meet the requirements of cold climate operations, and must include heating in addition to electric power generation. This project is designed to demonstrate the operational and financial viability of a gasification system connected to an IC engine with heat capture. It will be designed to augment or replace existing diesel generation. This project also considers the local social and economic implications of such a project, which are critical to ensuring long-term project success. The proposed project dovetails with a number of ongoing initiatives in Alaska, including assisting with community energy planning in rural communities and assessing existing biomass systems. We hope you will consider funding this project, and are willing to lend whatever resources we can make available to assist the project team.