HomeMy WebLinkAboutEvaluation of Public BenefitDCO 4/2/13
Evaluation of Public Benefit
Proposed change to RFA for Round 7 (page 6 of 28) -
Insert into Section 1.6 Public Benefit:
Projects proposed to generate energy from renewable energy resources whose primary markets are
private sector businesses (such as sawmills, cruise ships, mines, etc.) are required to provide additional
information to demonstrate the public benefit of the project. Private market sales can increase the
public benefit of the RE project if they are accounted for correctly and Alaskans purchase the remaining
RE power. The RE energy price Alaskans pay is calculated as the total cost of the RE generation divided
by the total amount of electric sales to Alaskans. Revenue from private sector sales can be used to
offset the total cost of RE generation so Alaskans pay a price based on a smaller total cost. Using this
approach, an RE project will still need to sell some power to Alaskans in order to produce a net benefit.
The additional support information needed includes: (1) define the available renewable energy resource
(in kWh) by month and (2) to estimate sales (kWh) and (3) revenue ($) for displacing diesel generation
for use at these private sector businesses and (4) to estimate sales (kWh) and (5) revenue ($) for
displacing diesel generation for use by the Alaskan public. The benefit-cost ratio calculated during the
evaluation of the project application will take into account solely the savings to the general public
through reduced unit power sales costs after project completion.