HomeMy WebLinkAbout02032021 PACAB Laydown - Phil Kaluza Letter - Generator Switch Alternative 210203 PACAB Laydown -
Phil Kaluza -Generator Switch
Alternative
1/29/21
To: Honorable Mayor & Council Members
PACAB
Subject: Generator Switchgear Alternative
Spending a quarter million dollars for new switchgear for a half century old diesel
generator is a big pill to swallow. Have we investigated alternatives? How many labor
hours are we actually eliminating?
$250K could be a modest down payment or grant match for a battery. A large battery,
maybe the size of a battery Homer Electric recently installed to reduce their cost of
maintaining spinning reserve requirements and reducing their carbon emissions as well.
What a big battery could do for Seward:
- Provide additional backup power during a power outage. The size of the battery
would determine how long the city could operate on battery alone. Say, one hour
or two? That would be long enough to get the other backup generators fired up
and on-line or repair the problem, avoiding a power outage. Unlike the diesel
generators, the battery could be instantaneous backup power. The diesel
generator with the bad switchgear could become simply a large battery charger
not requiring any sophisticated switchgear. As a battery charger, that generator
would still be part of the total backup generation capacity.
- The battery capacity could be sold as a spinning reserve and peaking power for
the railbelt. Generating revenue for the City.
- A battery can act as a flywheel maintaining the quality of power from surges.
- The battery could be used to manage our demand charges from Chugach by
picking up some of those peak loads and reducing our costs. As time-of-use
charges become a norm, the battery could also help minimize those peak
charges.
- As loads increase in the near future from electric vehicles, heat pumps and other
new electrical demands could be better managed. Charging the battery during
off-peak rates and assisting in managing all the new loads on the system in the
future.
- The battery would assist in integrating future renewable energy in both storage
and reliability.
Whether the City can manage for a year or two without replacing the switchgear is
obviously critical. We should ask our large facilities; SeaLife Center, Hospital,
Safeway, AVTEC, who have backup generation on-site, if they would be willing to pay
for the new switchgear to assure more reliable power during a power outage? Or
instead, receive a utility credit for maintaining and upgrading their back-up equipment,
such that the City does not need to invest in additional and redundant back-up power?
Or, do we spend a big chunk of money on a dinosaur?
There will be funding opportunities to invest in new greener technology and we should
be ready with our proposals.
Are we chasing the past or preparing for the future?
Phil Kaluza
Seward Resident