Alaskan Co-op Optimizes Hybrid Microgrid System
Source: Clay Koplin · T&D WORLD · | January 19, 2021
The cooperative is regulating and maximizing the use of hydroelectric power with a battery energy storage system.
Source: T&D World
About 150 miles from Anchorage, Alaska, the town of Cordova is powered by a remote microgrid owned and operated by Cordova Electric Cooperative (CEC). As a remote, isolated community, Cordova’s electrical system is not connected by roads or electric lines to other communities.
About 2,300 people live in the town year-round, but the population doubles during fishing season, placing highly seasonal electrical loads on the network. Each spring, as seasonal workers arrive and fish-processing plants ramp up for the busy months ahead, the town’s peak electricity demand more than triples from the winter peak.
To provide electricity to the residents and tourists, CEC constructed a hydropower facility and buried its power lines underground to eliminate risk of outages from storms or line contacts. In addition, CEC invested in energy storage to maximize hydropower and provide even more reliable power to its community.
Exploring Energy Storage
Back in 1907, Cordova built hydropower plants for central power to the community, and the town has been operating as a functioning, remote, microgrid for more than 110 years. Recently, CEC optimized its microgrid, and one of the key components of the plan was a battery energy storage system (BESS) to help CEC to regulate the electrical system and maximize the use of locally produced hydroelectric power.