As the Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA) listens to arguments about whether Chugach Electric Association should be allowed to incorporate wind energy into its power portfolio, another government body – the FAA – is taking steps to make sure development on Fire Island won't interfere with navigation signals beamed to planes flying overhead.
On Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration announced its plans to replace the island's existing beacon with a new one. A recently constructed beacon at the Ted Stevens International Airport will provide navigation data for flights in the area once Fire Island's old beacon is taken out of service.
According to a press release from Murkowski's office, the announcement "allows the Fire Island Wind Project to proceed" during the transition period to the new tower.
"I'm glad the FAA sees what I see at Fire Island: a project being managed collectively to both help Southcentral Alaska's energy needs while also addressing safety concerns for air travel in and out of Alaska's largest city. I continue to support this project and have confidence that the FAA will develop any necessary changes to the navigational system in the most safe and comprehensive manner for Alaskan aviation," U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said in the press release.
Fire Island Wind, LLC, a subsidiary of Cook Inlet Region, Inc., one the state's 13 regional Alaska Native corporations, hopes to begin construction on a wind farm on Fire Island this year. The island is located close to Anchorage across from Turnagain Arm.
In 2008, the FAA determined that Fire Island Wind would not be able to construct 36 turbines, as originally planned, because of the turbines' interference with the radio tower. The FAA concluded that 24 turbines, with some at lower heights than others, would be more realistic. Since then the project has been scaled down even further, adjusted to accommodate the financial constraints of having a lone power buyer -- Chugach Electric Association.
The FAA agreed to allow for a replacement beacon. CIRI picked up the $5 million price tag for the upgraded, digital model now located at the Anchorage International Airport, and it did not incorporate this cost into its purchase agreement with Chugach Electric.
Until Thursday, however, an unresolved issue had been whether the FAA could get the new tower up and running quickly enough.
Construction of the wind farm must begin in 2011 in order for Fire Island Wind to take advantage of nearly $19 million in federal stimulus money, and being able to prove to the bank that the navigation tower won't be an obstacle is an important step in the financing process, CIRI President Margie Brown said in an interview Thursday. Hearings before the RCA's commissioners, underway this week, are also crucial. Commissioners are being asked to decide whether to sign off on the project.
Brown received written confirmation Thursday morning that the FAA would switch towers by next April.
"I was very happy, very relieved," she said. "The bank would like to see that the project is a go and one of the things that we really needed to get was a statement by the FAA that they would switch off the old VOR and get the new VOR switched on by the time we needed to start construction."
The letter included an official "determination of no hazard" from the FAA, Brown said – a significant step because it means the FAA has concluded that if the wind farm goes up, it won't interfere with the relocated tower's signals.
Once the new navigation beacon comes online, it will bear a new identification code. Where the Fire Island VOR uses the code "ANC" for Anchorage International Airport, the new one will instead be "TED" -- named after the late U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens.
Contact Jill Burke at jill(at)alaskadispatch.com