Alaska utility halts study of buying power from company

FAIRBANKS, Alaska – An electric utility in eastern Alaska has stopped a study on the costs of buying power from a Colorado company’s wind turbines and propane generators.

The Golden Valley Electric Association announced last week it had halted the study, saying Eco Green Generation had not filed paperwork with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to become certified to sell power, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported .

The Colorado company in December had approached the Fairbanks utility and Doyon Utilities, which serves military bases in Alaska, requesting to link its proposed power network to the established power grids.

The Fairbanks utility had said it would hire a consultant to study the costs. The company filed an application with state regulators, but the federal commission did not have an application on record, the utility said.

“We’ve suspended our interconnection study, pending an appropriate response from (Eco Green Generation),” said Cory Borgeson, the president and CEO of the utility. “These types of filings consume a great deal of staff time and expense borne directly by our members. Before any more time is invested, we want to make sure EGG is a FERC-certified qualifying facility.”

In addition to the paperwork issue, the utility said it had concerns about the company’s proposal to burn propane, which could potentially worsen pollution problems in Fairbanks and North Pole.

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Information from: Fairbanks (Alaska) Daily News-Miner, http://www.newsminer.com