DOE funds new hydroelectric dam and water source in Alaska

Chignik, Alaska (By U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - http://www.public-domain-image.com/free-images/nature-landscapes/coast/chignik-village-in-summer/attachment/chignik-village-in-summer, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24895833)

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) has awarded the Chignik Hydroelectric Dam and Water Source Project, led by the Lake and Peninsula Borough, with nearly $65,000 (of the total federal cost share of up to $7.27 million) to begin Phase 1 activities. 

The project, located in Chignik Bay, Alaska, includes plans to construct a new run-of-river hydroelectric facility and replace a more than 70-year-old wooden dam that is at risk of failure. It aims to improve energy and water security as the current dam leaks frequently, also jeopardizing the community’s only stable source of clean water. The proposed 2.1 MWh facility aims to replace 100% of the microgrid’s diesel consumption and provide excess power for heating, electric vehicle charging, and expansion of local economic activities like tourism and fish processing.

The Chignik Bay Tribal Council will own the facility and plans to sell power to local utilities for 80% of the avoided cost of fuel, reducing total electricity rates by an estimated 7%.

During Phase 1, the Lake and Peninsula Borough will conduct planning, development and design activities, including obtaining easements, providing input into OCED’s National Environmental Policy Act review, and initiating community and labor engagement.

Earlier this year, the project was included in DOE funding of more than $366 million for 17 projects across 20 states and 30 Tribal Nations and communities to accelerate clean energy deployment in rural and remote areas across the country. Of the 17 projects chosen, four were hydropower. The Chignik project received a federal cost share of $7,270,000 as part of the earlier funding.

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