Uncategorized By Roger Maynard, on December 28th, 2009  The strongly opposed political factions in Haines have more similarities than are apparent at first glance. We’re here for the natural beauty, the recreation opportunities and the Alaskan lifestyle. We all want Haines to be an outstanding place to live, but we have different opinions about how to make this happen.
For example, the December 10, 2009 Chilkat Valley News commentary speaks of signs that Haines is not the winter wonderland that it could be, and we couldn’t agree more. And when he says our leaders should encourage commerce and shopping at home, he’s right on target.
But then the writer quickly moves on Read more->
Uncategorized By Roger Maynard, on December 14th, 2009  This just in from AP&T:
Just a heads up, Friday the 11th of December, the AP&T Upper Lynn Canal Power System required the use of diesel generation to meet the peaking requirements.
The official start of the holiday season beginning at sundown on Friday may have played a role in the load on Friday. The system operator will be closely monitoring the loads in the evenings. The typical peak times start as early as 3:00 PM and can last through 7:00 PM, usually on weekdays.
With the cool temperatures forecasted, it is possible that additional diesel for peaking will be required this week.
Uncategorized By Roger Maynard, on December 9th, 2009 The Haines Energy and Sustainability Commission kicked off its second year on Wednesday, December 9th with an afternoon meeting in the Assembly chambers. The Commission’s term was recently extended another year by the Borough Assembly. Read more->
By Roger Maynard, on November 14th, 2009 Guest Opinions are presented as a public service, and do not necessarily represent the editorial opinions of the Haines News.
Guest Opinion by Bill Kurz
Haines is a wonderful place with much to offer. The problem is that many have forgotten much of what we have to work with. We have come to a point where we do not have enough business / industry to support our community. There is no way we can continue having more and more government with little more than fishing and tourism to support the community. Read more->
By Roger Maynard, on March 6th, 2009 Senate Bill 31 encourages the development of Alaska’s vast alternative energy resources by offering power producers and utilities a valuable production tax credit for each kilowatt-hour of electricity they produce from geothermal, wind, hydro, tidal, wave, biomass, in-river, or solar energy. The program applies to energy systems capable of producing at least 400 kilowatts of electricity.
We believe this is the right way to encourage development in Alaska; This program would apply to AP&T’s Connelly Lake hydropower project.
We were please to hear testimony in support of this bill from the Alaska Conservation Alliance, Legislative and Communications Manager Sue Ely. Here is a summary from the energy committee transcript on February 12, 2009:
11:44:31 AM
SUE ELY, Alaska Conservation Alliance, Juneau, said her group represents over 38,000 Alaskans. Alaska is at an energy crossroads and volatile fuels prices are negatively impacting its citizens. Many electrical generation facilities are at or near the end of their life spans and will need to be replaced. Alaska should take full advantage of its vast clean energy resources. The governor wants to produce 50 percent of Alaska’s electricity from renewable resources. An alternative tax credit could help get there. Geothermal, reasonably-size hydro, wind, solar, biomass, hydrokinetic, and tidal can all provide stable-priced power. It can fill batteries in electric vehicles and warm and illuminate greenhouses to secure Alaska’s food source. Germany has already used a clean energy incentive to build an $8.7 billion renewable energy industry. It created 170,000 jobs. The bill is a strong first step in an energy plan for Alaska.
Lynn Canal Conservation, is a member organization of the Alaska Conservation Alliance.
Read SB 31 Bill Packet.
By Roger Maynard, on March 5th, 2009 On March 2, 2009 the Skagway News printed a letter to the editor from Kathleen Menke opposing the Connelly Lake project. We understand some folks have strong feelings about this issue, but when they publish false or misleading information we are compelled to respond. The following is the text of Ms. Menke’s letter with our comments:
No Chilkoot Valley Hydro
As Juneau faces its second year with avalanches wiping our their hydro power to the community, Alaska Power and Telephone is lobbying state and local officials for funding for a hydro-project in the Upper Chilkoot River Valley in Haines.
This is true, but we’re not sure what Juneau and avalanches have to do with anything.
Upper Chilkoot is a known avalanche area and also wetlands spawning grounds to wild sockeye and wild coho, and as such was designated part of the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve.
It is not certain if the proposed dam is in an avalanche area, Read more->
By Roger Maynard, on February 19th, 2009  I’m not a biologist, and I don’t study fish, but since some opponents to the Connelly Lake Hydro project are predicting dire consequences to the fish and spawning beds in the Chilkoot River above Chilkoot Lake, I had a few questions. One of our local enviro-types has even been spreading a rumor that water flowing through a 6300 foot penstock would heat up to the point that it might hurt the fish.
Anecdotal Information:
A couple of weeks ago I received a call from a friend who is a long-time Alaskan — a retired logger who spent most of his career in the woods and by the streams of southeast Alaska. He pointed out that some of the state’s most productive hatcheries are located at the bottom of power company penstocks because of the ideal water flow year-around. Read more->
By Roger Maynard, on February 19th, 2009 With the political climate in Washington D.C., it’s likely someone will be trying to lock up ANWR from any resource development. The Alaska Legislature is considering a resolution asking Congress to think twice about taking any such restrictive action. Here’s the full text of HJR 18: Read more->
By Roger Maynard, on February 13th, 2009  DOT file photo Roads, a Port Facility and More
On February 10, 2009 Jeff Ottesen, Director of Program Development for the Alaska Department of Transportation (DOT), addressed the Haines Borough Assembly Committee of the Whole regarding the Alaska gas pipeline project and how it will affect the Haines area.
There were two parts to this presentation: First, the gas pipeline and how that project will affect Haines; then mineral exploration and development in Canada and Alaska. Both subjects are driving road and infrastructure developments in the Haines area.
Here are links to Powerpoint presentations on the gasline, and on mining exploration and development. (PDF format, large files)
Below are some notes from that meeting: Read more->
By Roger Maynard, on February 4th, 2009  Google map of area During the past few weeks some members of Lynn Canal Conservation (LCC) have announced their unequivocal opposition to Connelly Lake as a hydroelectric site. At a January ESC meeting Tim Shields told the Energy Commissioners that if AP&T decides to pursue the Connelly Lake site, “There’s going to be a fight.”
Shields, a director of Takshanuk Watershed Council, and Rob Goldberg, a past member of the LCC board of directors and present member of the Haines Planning Commission, have presented Schubee Lake as an alternative. In his letter to the Haines ESC, Tim Shields says Schubee Lake offers “solutions to almost all of the problems presented by Connelly Lake.” Goldberg presented a paper comparing lake sizes, elevations and other factors to show that the two lakes have similar hydroelectric potential.
The folks at AP&T, to their credit, have agreed to consider Schubee Lake and will look at it when weather permits this spring. Wisely, they will continue with the permitting process for Connelly Lake. In the end, it’s AP&T’s decision which lake is best. Read more->
By Roger Maynard, on January 30th, 2009  Yesterday Skagway’s Goat Lake hydroelectric power plant was supplying power for Skagway, and for Haines via undersea cable, when heavy wet snow brought several trees into contact with the transmission line along the Klondike Highway. At 6:50 p.m. the lights went out in both cities.
Haines was without power for several hours while the Skagway crew worked to get their other power source up and running. But when I went for a walk at 6:00 a.m. today, the Haines diesel-fired generation plant was running.
Before the power outage Haines residents were enjoying power at the reasonable rate of just over $0.07 per kilowatt hour (kWh). If it becomes necessary to use the diesel power plant for a protracted period of time, the rate could go up to over $0.23 per kilowatt hour — over three times the cost of hydroelectric power, due to the high cost of fuel.
The diesel fired plant in Haines consumes 138 gallons per hour. Using the EPA emissions calculation for diesel, we are pouring 3063.6 pounds of CO2 into the air over Haines for every hour of power generation.
Additionally, a modern high conversion fuel refinery will end up producing about…10 gallons of low sulfur diesel from one barrel of crude. So it takes roughly 13.8 barrels of crude oil to produce the amount of diesel we are burning per hour.
Now tell me again what is environmentally unsound about AP&T’s proposed Connelly Lake hydroelectric project?
Sources:
United States. Environmental Protection Agency. Emission Facts: Calculating CO2 Emissions. 30 January, 2009. <http://www.epa.gov/oms/climate/420f05001.htm#calculating>.
Yahoo answers. “How many gallons of diesel per barrel of oil?” Online posting, source not verified. 30 January, 2009. <http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080202063522AAMikd7>
Uncategorized By Roger Maynard, on January 28th, 2009
| Opponents of Alaska Power and Telephone’s Connelly Lake hydropower project have begun a letter writing campaign to everyone from legislators to borough officials. Apparently they’re trying to make it look as if the whole community of Haines is against this project. We’re not. We need to fight back. Read more-> |
Uncategorized By Roger Maynard, on January 28th, 2009  How else are we to interpret this?
A few years ago LCC and SEACC challenged the tailings disposal plan at the Kensington Mine. They were able to get the tailings plan thrown out. Coeur Alaska offered to work with them for a better tailings plan. They worked that out, but then LCC and SEACC brought up the herring issue, nixing a supply dock at Cascade Point. Finally, Coeur gave up, and they are now fighting back in court.
And last year LCC challenged Alaska Power & Telephone’s environmental assessment for a single microwave site on Endicott Ridge that would have improved telephone communications and Internet service for Haines residents, thus setting that project behind for at least one season.
So now that AP&T has proposed a low-impact hydropower project at Connelly Lake that would meet all of Haines needs for the forseeable future; one that would result in lower energy costs, less fuel consumption and less pollution in Haines, LCC is apparently feeling pretty powerful. Not content to police this project and work toward an environmentally sound solution, LCC has made it clear to the Haines Borough officials that UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL THEY TOLERATE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONNELLY LAKE HYDROPOWER SITE.
So that’s it. They’ve had their say. We know where they stand. Maybe we don’t need to listen to them any more.
By Roger Maynard, on January 26th, 2009 I never knew there was such a commission, but this probably bears watching in case if affects hydro development in the Haines area.
Here’s the public notice from the State of Alaska’s website at http://notes4.state.ak.us/pn/pubnotic.nsf/PNByPublActive/AC2FDC2ED752C08C89257547007E9BD4?OpenDocument.
By Roger Maynard, on January 21st, 2009 Economist Thomas Sowell writes,
“Many desirable things are advocated without regard to the most fundamental fact of economics, that resources are inherently limited and have alternative uses.”
No matter how much wilderness or open space we have, there still could be more. Yet an open-ended demand for more wilderness ignores the fact that some development could result in a net gain for people AND for the environment.
An example is the proposed hydroelectric project at Connelly Lake: By building a low-impact hydro project capable of providing plenty of electric power to Haines in the foreseeable future we can significantly reduce fuel use, air pollution, transportation of fuel (and therefore less oil spill potential,) and cruise ship emissions (while docked.) The net gain in consumer savings, increased home values, clean air and water, and reduced carbon emissions undoubtedly exceeds the environmental costs of two miles of road and one small power plant.
Sources used:
Sowell, Thomas. Economic Facts and Fallacies. New York, NY: Basic Books, 2008.
By Roger Maynard, on December 9th, 2008 The Haines Borough Assembly meets at 6:30 p.m. in borough building (firehall.) Read a copy of the agenda, or go to the Haines Borough Website to pickup a full packet of information for the meeting. Of special interest tonight will be the Haines Energy & Sustainability Commission report, and the borough’s legislative priorities for the upcoming legislature.
Interested in Hydropower? Be there.
By Roger Maynard, on December 7th, 2008 Note: This letter was emailed to each person listed. But it’s only one letter. If YOU want to see ample hydropower in this valley, please write to the mayor and the assembly and let them know.
To: The Honorable Jan Hill, Mayor, Haines Borough jhill@haines.ak.us
Sent via email
RE: PLEASE SUPPORT AP&T’s CONNELLY LAKE HYDROPOWER PROJECT
Dear Mayor Hill,
Today we have an opportunity to make a difference in the future of Haines by supporting creation of a low-impact hydroelectric project proposed by Alaska Power & Telephone (AP&T.) Based on our own research, plus attendance at many meetings of the Haines Borough Assembly and the Haines Energy & Sustainability Commission (HESC), we have learned that no other power source can provide the quantity of clean, safe, renewable energy for Haines that hydropower can.
Read more->
By Roger Maynard, on December 5th, 2008 In the interest of full disclosure, I need to let everyone know that I will benefit personally if AP&T completes the Connelly Lake Hydropower project as proposed:
Read more->
By Roger Maynard, on November 30th, 2008  Chilkoot Lake Alaska Power & Telephone is ready to move forward on the Connelly Lake Hydroelectric Project. During a November 25th presentation to the Haines Energy and Sustainability Commission, Regional Manager Stan Selmer and Glenn Martin of AP&T’s Port Townsend office explained that they are just beginning the public hearing and approval process.
History
During the 1990′s Alaska Electric Light and Power was pursuing the Connelly Lake project and completed much of the feasibility study and other preliminary work before they were purchased by AP&T.
Read more->
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| Nate Beeler
The Columbus Dispatch
May 16, 2012
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Lynn Canal Map & Marine Traffic (refresh for current ship positions)
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P.O. Box 784
Haines, Alaska 99827
Editor:
Roger L. Maynard
P.O. Box 784
Haines, Alaska 99827
editor@hainesnews.net
The Haines Alaska News is a public information service of the Alaska Alliance for Commerce, Inc., a grassroots movement organized to advocate for small business and a free market economy in Alaska.
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