The long-anticipated hydroelectric energy project on Chignik Lagoon's Packer Creek is now operational.
"They are running 100 percent hydro as we speak," said Nathan Hill, the manager of the Lake and Peninsula Borough, on June 19. "There are still some punch-list items that need to be done … but they are off of diesel right now."
The $5 million hydroelectric project is a relatively simple run-of-the-river system, meaning it has no dam or reservoir. Hill explains that water is taken out at the top of a steep slope, piped to a lower elevation where it runs through a turbine, then flows back into the creek.
The unit provides 174 kilowatts of electricity, sufficient for the needs of about 70 year-round residents of Chignik Lagoon. Users may not see a drop in electricity rates right away, but Hill says reducing diesel use should save on energy costs in the long run.
"With the cost of diesel, prices rise and fall, and we have no control over it," said Hill. "But with alternative energy, the goal is to at the very least stabilize the cost of energy so that it doesn't spike."
In an earlier interview with KDLG, Hill noted that the Packer Creek hydro project is one of a growing tally of alternative energy projects that the Lake and Peninsula Borough has supported. The Tazimina hydroelectric project provides energy to Iliamna, Newhalen and Nondalton; wood-fired boilers are operating in Kohkanok and Igiugig, and wind studies have been held in Egegik and Levelock.
"We're looking forward to helping communities decrease their dependency on fossil fuels," said Hill.
The hydro project on Packer Creek was funded with $4 million from the Alaska Energy Authority, as well as $800,000 and $250,000 contributions from the borough and the village of Chignik Lagoon, respectively.
The project broke ground in the spring of 2014. Hill says the community plans to hold a ribbon cutting ceremony around mid-August.
This story first appeared in The Bristol Bay Times/Dutch Harbor Fisherman and is republished here with permission.