Wales, Alaska High Penetration Wind-Diesel Hybrid Power System: Theory of Operation

Abstract

To reduce the cost of rural power generation and the environmental impact of diesel fuel usage, the Alaska Energy Authority (AEA), Kotzebue Electric Association (KEA, a rural Alaskan utility), and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), began a collaboration in late 1995 to implement a high-penetration wind-diesel hybrid power system in a village in northwest Alaska. The project was intended to be both a technology demonstration and a pilot for commercial replication of the system in other Alaskan villages. During the first several years of the project, NREL focused on the design and development of the electronic controls, the system control software, and the ancillary components (power converters, energy storage, electric dump loads, communications links, etc.) that would be required to integrate new wind turbines with the existing diesels in a reliable highly automated system. Meanwhile, AEA and KEA focused on project development activities, including wind resource assessment, site selection and permitting, community relationship building, and logistical planning. Ultimately, the village of Wales, Alaska, was chosen as the project site. Wales is a native Inupiat village of approximately 160 inhabitants, with an average electric load of about 75 kW.