Buckland has a well-run powerplant ideally suited for integration of wind turbines and associated control systems, very expensive fuel, and a strong desire to incorporate wind power to reduce their energy costs.  Two wind studies have been conducted in Buckland, one near the village and the other in the hills approximately five miles to the west.   The wind resource is characterized by a lower wind classification near the village and a moderate wind classification in the west hills.  Fortunately with respect to the west hills site area, an existing road to a gravel quarry leads nearly to the site.  This wind resource and distance relationship leads to a tradeoff of options – greater distance and higher capital costs but superior wind resource – for wind power development in Buckland.

Wind-diesel configuration options considered in the feasibility study are low penetration with minimal wind power input, medium penetration with much higher wind power input but no electrical energy storage, and high penetration with high wind power input and electrical energy storage to draw against during periods of calm winds.  An economic analysis of the options concludes that medium to high penetration configurations have positive benefit-to-cost ratios with fuel prices in the medium to high projection range as determined by UAA’s Institute for Social and Economic Research in the 2011 Alaska petroleum fuels cost study. Although this study indicates that a near-village site is possibly more advantageous cost-wise, the difference is not dramatic and further study may be necessary, along with community and utility input, to select the final site for construction of wind turbines.

At present, the City of Buckland and Kotzebue Electric Association desire a medium penetration system as this configuration is most common in Alaska and provides an excellent compromise between significant offset of diesel fuel-generated electricity and relatively low system complexity compared to high penetration designs.  This report demonstrates, however, that because fuel costs in Buckland are so expensive, a high penetration configuration that maximizes the displacement of diesel fuel for electrical generation is highly beneficial as well.

Download Buckland Wind Resource Report

Download Buckland Wind-Diesel Hybrid Feasibility Study