Alaska's Largest Rural Solar Project Nears Completion in Kotzebue
Kotzebue, around 30 miles above the Arctic Circle, is home to the states second-largest solar panel installation.
's 576-kilowatt project began in May, and a locally hired crew has since clocked in ten-hour days, six days a week. They hauled 1,440 400-watt solar panels across uneven tundra and installed the final panel on June 18.
The solar panels are even generating power through midnight and 1 a.m., says KEAs Matt Bergan. There are no moving parts, they are just pushing electrons.
The location of the solar farm was strategic. KEA removed eight old 66 kilowatt AOC wind turbines and installed the same power rating in solar panels.
Over a year, the wind turbines would likely produce twice the amount of energy as the solar panels, but solar requires far less maintenance, adds Bergan.
KEA plans to install another 500 kW of solar panels in the coming years.
The project was funded mostly locally by the Northwest Arctic Boroughs village improvement funds, Kotzebue Electric Association capital funds, and U.S. Department of Energy tribal energy funds.
The contractor was , led by Edwin Bifelt from Huslia.
The largest project in the state is still Renewable IPPs Willow Solar Farm in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.
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Locally hired laborers wire solar panels. (Photo by Tiffany Creed, KOTZ Kotzebue)