|
|
Link: Juneau Empire A big, expensive snow-diverting wall is being built around a transmission tower on Juneau's 43-mile-long Snettisham hydropower line. Two towers were wiped out last year by an enormous avalanche, and the city was forced for weeks to rely on diesel-fueled generators for expensive electricity. The cost of the wall could reach $2 million, but it was the cheapest way to go. "It's a very expensive structure," said Scott Willis of Alaska Electric Light & Power. "Remote construction in a very steep location is expensive. ... The cost of these avalanche protection structures will be rolled into rates."