The Cordova Electric Cooperative (CEC) has decided to upgrade its Humpback Creek hydropower plant, increasing output there by 36% while ultimately reducing diesel fuel usage by some 85,000 gallons annually.
“Basically, it is an efficiency upgrade,” said Clay Koplin, a professional engineer who serves as chief executive officer of the CEC. “We will get a lot more energy with the same water by upgrading the valves and hydro turbines. We are also upgrading the electrical generators to handle the additional output.”
The decision to proceed with upgrades to the Humpback Creek dam came during a meeting on Nov. 25, where the CEC decided not to move forward with work on the proposed Crater Lake project.
The project is to begin over the next few months and be completed by 2027, Koplin said. Much of the work to upgrade existing equipment, including hydro turbines, electric generators and switch gear, is expected to be done in-house.
Over the long term, this will result in about one million kilowatt hours of additional hydropower, according to Koplin.
Funding for the project is coming from a $4.8 million federal pollution reduction grant awarded to the Native Village of Eyak.
In an average year, the Power Creek dam provides 65%-70% of the community’s electric power and Humpback Creek 10-155. Both facilities are carefully designed to protect spawning habitat for all five species of Pacific salmon.
To date, hydro power development has saved Cordova millions of dollars in diesel fuel alone and kept utility costs affordable, according to the CEC. Cordova also supports a large fishing fleet and several fish processing firms that rely on the lower cost of electricity to keep their own costs in the black.
Back in August of this year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency noted that the upgrades to the Humpback Creek dam would significantly reduce the community’s reliance on diesel fuel for electricity generation, while increasing the community’s energy supply to nearly 90% renewable energy. The project will also enhance public health and wellbeing in the tribal community by reducing emissions of harmful pollutants, leading to improved air quality and healthier ecosystems, while decreasing commercial and residential energy costs, the EPA said.
