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Ruby testing innovative solutions to energy needs

by Rhonda McBride
Tuesday, June 2, 2009

RUBY, Alaska -- It's often said Alaska has a future as a testing ground for renewable energy projects.

Ruby is a case in point and the Senate Energy Committee went to take a closer look.

The high cost of fuel here is just one of the many challenges.

"I think the price per kilowatt then was about 12 cents per kilowatt (in 1967 when the community hall was built)," Billy McCarty Jr., Ruby's traditional chief, said. "It's gone sky high since then."

Today Ruby pays one of the highest rates for electricity in the nation.

"I think our cost is 98 cents per kilowatt hour," said Don Honea Jr., member of Ruby's Tribal Council. "It's humungous."

Humungous when compared to Anchorage's 13 cents per kilowatt hour. But this is Ruby, where people pay seven times more.

"Rather than reinventing the wheel, let's just figure out what public policy can help you get lower-cost energy," Sen. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage, said at a town hall meeting last week.

Ancient technology used to harvest salmon is being repurposed to harvest electricity -- the first in-river hydro generator of its kind in the United States.

"It's a technology people recognize right away out here along the rivers," said Jon Waterhouse with the Yukon River Inter-tribal Watershed Council.

Blades are shaped like airplane wings to create lift in the water, which in turn makes them spin and create hydro-kinetic energy -- literally energy that comes from the movement of water.

The generator sits on a pontoon boat that can be anchored in the river in the summer and moved out in the winter.

"This one is five kilowatts. Next year, we're looking at moving it up to 25 kilowatts," Waterhouse said.

The in-river hydro prototype cost about $60,000 to build, including the boat. The 25-kilowatt project will probably run around $200,000 to build.

Five kilowatts is enough to power three homes. Twenty-five kilowatts bumps that up to 30 homes, or about half of the community's summer power consumption.

The Watershed Council performed tests last summer to map the river bed. Although people have navigated the Yukon for generations, not much is known about what lies below.

"We're able to identify where there's rock, where there's gravel, where mud exists," said David Oliver with TerraSond, a sea floor mapping company.

When it comes to generating electricity, you have to have a very clear picture of the river bottom - the underwater terrain determines the speed of the current.

Here in Ruby a bluff extends below the river where it naturally constricts the water and speeds up its flow. It's a sweet spot with a current that moves at the optimum speed to generate electricity.

Unlike conventional hydro, which diverts water to create power, this system just sits in the river and takes its energy naturally.

"I think that they're proving out the technology," Oliver said. "Proving that it can be accomplished, and I think that their intention is to empower the people along the Yukon to be able to harness that power themselves."

The Senate Energy Committee's mission is to help communities like Ruby help themselves, and people brought many ideas to the table, like tapping area hot springs.

Natural hot water might also be part of the cure for Ruby's diesel addiction -- one that is robbing the community of its future, but not without a fight.

Edna Peters has lived here 30 years and asked lawmakers to help Ruby tap the wind.

"Ways to assist homeowners to buy a wind turbine," she said. "And if you're thinking of testing one, we're your people."

Wind is one of many options, and Ruby will need more than one to meet its energy needs.

"The state can't do it all," Sen. Hollis French, D-Anchorage, said. "The best we'll be able to do is deliver a toolbox to each village. And they will have to pack that toolbox and shape tools that fit their specific community."

Lawmakers took with them a lot of food for thought, and hopes from the people here that some of their ideas will fly.

"When things are at their worse, we're at our best," Peters said.

Lawmakers have seen a lot of innovation on their energy tours, but a lot of the advice they got in Ruby was practical.

One man testified that Alaska's educational system needs to play a bigger role in helping communities share information about renewables, as well as basic energy efficiency. Otherwise, he said, we'll look back 20 years from now with a lot of regrets.

Contact Rhonda McBride at rmcbride@ktuu.com