Alaska Hydropower Facility Begins Operations

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The 6.5-megawatt (MW) Allison Lake hydroelectric facility, which is located in Valdez, Alaska, began commercial operations last month following its completion by Copper Valley Electric Association Incorporated (Glennallen, Alaska).

The new facility is a run-of-river hydropower plant that diverts water from the Allison Creek Dam into Allison Lake via a diversion structure at an elevation of approximately 1,300 ft. The project spans about 42 acres across private and state land and is near the Valdez Marine Terminal, which is the terminus point of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. The new hydro powerhouse uses two Canyon 3.25-MW Pelton Wheel Turbine Generators to generate renewable power for south-central Alaska and the surrounding region. The project had a total investment of $40 million.

McMillen Jacobs Associates Incorporated (Seattle, Washington) performed geotechnical design for the powerhouse, penstock, diversion structure, and tunnel design for the access tunnel. McMillen Jacobs performed structural excavation of the powerhouse, installation of cast-in-place concrete for the powerhouse foundation and tailrace and intake/diversion structure at the project's upper reaches, and installation of the steel penstock. The project will reduce annual fuel generation costs by $2.4 million and eliminate 12,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually. The project started construction in spring 2014 and took a little over two years to achieve commercial operations. Copper Valley Electric Association will operate and maintain the facility.

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