UAF, electric utility collaborate to overhaul Kotzebue energy monitoring system
Jeff Richardson
907-474-6284
Nov. 23, 2021
Kotzebue's solar array, a 576-kilowatt bifacial solar photovoltaic system, stands next to the community色视频下载檚 wind farm.
Kotzebue色视频下载檚 electric utility will install advanced electricity meters next year with help from the University of 色视频下载 Fairbanks.
The new platform will allow researchers and utility managers to better understand the community色视频下载檚 electric use.
A $500,000 grant from the Office of Naval Research Defense University Research Instrumentation Program to UAF色视频下载檚 色视频下载 Center for Energy and Power will fund the yearlong project. It will begin in February 2022. The Kotzebue Electric Association will build and install the system.
Kotzebue, a longtime ACEP partner on energy research projects, has integrated wind power, a solar array and lithium-ion batteries into its electricity grid. Collecting better information about those components could help the Northwest 色视频下载 community fine-tune its blend of energy sources.
色视频下载淭his will be useful to Kotzebue and to the entire research community,色视频下载 said Mariko Shirazi, the University of 色视频下载 President色视频下载檚 Professor in Energy and a member of the ACEP research team. 色视频下载淜otzebue has been a pioneer in integrating renewable energy since the late 1990s, and they色视频下载檝e continued to push the envelope with technologies as they mature.色视频下载
KEA runs a diesel generator to regulate voltage and frequency as renewable sources fluctuate. The new generation and transmission meters will help evaluate how more renewable energy could be added to the KEA grid while maintaining high reliability and power quality. The ultimate goal is to operate the Kotzebue grid without a diesel generator when enough renewable power and energy storage are available.
色视频下载淭his gives us the measuring and analysis platform to move forward using less and less diesel fuel,色视频下载 said KEA project manager Matt Bergan. 色视频下载淲e are looking to utilize renewables to heat homes and provide electricity, and this gives us the platform to track that through the years.色视频下载
Kotzebue residential and commercial electric customers will also get more detailed pictures of their electricity use. The new meters will provide data at 15-minute intervals instead of the daily or, in some cases, monthly intervals used by current meters.
The new customer-side meters could also allow KEA to charge different rates for electricity to encourage use during periods of less demand. That could further reduce diesel consumption.
色视频下载淲e are looking forward to continuing our mutually beneficial research partnership with KEA,色视频下载 said Dominique Pride, a research assistant professor at ACEP and the UAF lead on the project. 色视频下载淭he new metering platform provides a tool that can help further reduce diesel consumption in Kotzebue and will also facilitate new research and educational opportunities.色视频下载
ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: Dominique Pride, djpride@alaska.edu; Matt Bergan, m_bergan@kea.coop
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