Is the solution to the energy problems in the Yukon Delta to build wind farms?

Last week the state proposed spending $14 million to erect wind farms in six villages on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, including Kongiganak. It's part of a plan for spending $100 million on renewable energy around Alaska to reduce consumption of expensive diesel fuel and bring down local electric bills.

"The wind turbine is a blessing for us," Harvey Paul, general manager of the local power company, Puvurnaq, said Monday. "We have some of the highest fuel prices in the state and some of the best winds."

No longer will seal hunters have to complain when rough weather keeps their skiffs on the beach, Paul said. "Now they'll stay home and enjoy the wind and be happy that their electric rates are going down."

The problems in rural Alaska posed by high energy costs and a poor fishing season swept into the news this month with dramatic reports from Emmonak and nearby villages on the Yukon delta. Some critics accused the state of being slow to respond to a humanitarian crisis.
But last year, with oil prices soaring, the Legislature did take aim at the long-term with the Renewable Energy Fund. Lawmakers committed $50 million for the first year, then added another $50 million during a special session on energy.

The six delta wind projects are on a list of 72 renewable energy priorities recommended by the Alaska Energy Authority last week. The list also includes wind projects around Nome and Kotzebue, wood-burning boilers in the Interior, small hydro feasibility studies and help for Railbelt utilities.

Well this is at least a proactive measure to provide a long term solution to a problem that is simply not going to go away. It is pretty clear that high fuel prices are here to stay.

In this YouTube video you can see a working wind farm just outside of Nome, Alaska.



However this is only one piece of a larger economic jigsaw puzzle which needs to be assembled to head off any future crisis situations in the Yukon Delta areas. Wind farms are a good first step, but something needs to be done about the lack of fish flowing in to this area, the lack of good jobs, and the lack of infrastructure.

But having said that I must give some props to the state of Alaska, for at least putting SOMETHING forward to deal with this complicated problem. I am a HUGE advocate for alternative energy ideas, so I am very intrigued by this plan. I like pretty much anything that begins to move us away from our reliance on fossil fuels and our subservience to the oil companies.

I really believe that Alaska can be a leader in the development of alternative fuel sources in this country and will support any plan that moves that objective forward.