OPINION: Don’t let NIMBYism stop green power

Electric power from natural gas has had a good run, but as Cook Inlet gas suppliers become less reliable and gas more expensive, it is time to look to other sources of electric power. Fortunately, Alaska has new renewable resource options waiting in the wings. One of these options is the Shovel Creek Wind Farm, proposed by Alaska Renewables LLC, a small group of Fairbanks and Anchorage entrepreneurs.

The farm’s windmills would be built on land leased from the state of Alaska, and the power sold to the Interior electric cooperative, Golden Valley Electric Association. As Alaska Renewables explained their project, the north-south trending hills bordering the eastern side of Minto Flats northwest of Fairbanks are an attractive site for intercepting west winds.

An obvious limitation of wind power is that it is a variable resource — sometimes the wind is not blowing at a particular site. This project reduces that limitation by adding geographic diversity to the existing portfolio of Railbelt wind farms near Delta Junction, Eva Creek, Fire Island, and more. This project will help fill in during the times when the wind was not blowing at those other sites. The project would directly support low-cost power to GVEA by avoiding high-priced and unpredictably priced naphtha and diesel fuels. Via existing and new distribution lines, this project will also generate power into the Railbelt intertie. Diverse locations for wind farms will also allow different areas of the state to share the visual impacts of the windmills.

New ideas and development are often greeted with a not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) attitude — why not put all new development in somebody else’s backyard? While picking berries near Murphy Dome, do we see a wind farm as a blemish on the skyline? Or do we see a collaborative compromise between Alaskans that helps power our homes, schools and businesses? In this case, I say YIMBY (yes in my backyard), because this renewable resource, developed by a local group and sold to our local community electric cooperative, will benefit Fairbanks as well as the larger Railbelt community.

Through a series of public meetings, hosted by Alaska Renewables, Interior residents have learned about the proposed wind farm plans, suggested design compromises and challenged the developer’s assumptions. Alaska Renewables has answered many of those questions with site-specific data and offered some compromise alternatives. A summary of the presentations presented at the community meetings is available at https://www.alaskarenewables.com/projects.

The Alaska Department of Natural Resources is now seeking public comment on the proposed lease and proposed easements for the project. The project will have an aesthetic impact on public land users and nearby residents that will vary with each resident or visitor’s personal values and experience. I urge local and Railbelt residents to support the Shovel Creek Wind Project and submit your own support and/or concerns to the Alasak DNR. Details about the project, including maps and descriptions of this proposal and invitation for public comment, are on the state of Alaska’s website.

Bill Witte is a GIS specialist. He lives in the Goldstream Valley near Fairbanks.

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