Wind power saves Kodiak, Alaska 1 million gallons of diesel

Kodiak appears to be happy with its new wind farm. The Kodiak Electric Association estimates the new turbines on Pillar Mountain above the city have saved almost 1 million gallons of diesel fuel, reducing consumption by about half since the turbines began spinning in August 2009. Officials told the Alaska Journal of Commerce they aim to add turbines and eventually have 95 percent of power generation come from wind and hydro.

"These turbines took half of our diesel away," says Darron Scott, chief executive of Kodiak Electric Association. ... "It gets us that much closer to the 95 percent. It makes us less dependent on the oil being barged here. It also keeps the energy on island. It's a self-sufficiency Alaska is known for and gets us closer to controlling our own destiny. We won't be as susceptible to the ups and downs of the price volatility found with fossil fuels."

Continue Reading

The Kodiak Electric Association website has a page detailing the proportions of electricity that they get from wind, hydro, and diesel generation. It also has a more up to date estimate on the amount of diesel that has been saved from the existing wind turbines in service. The current estimate is that 1.1 million gallons of diesel have been saved.