Renewable Energy

The Wind Farm that Continues to Grow

KEA’s members are aware of the wind farm 4miles south of the airport. The articles on this website are to share the story of KEA’s efforts at increasing wind generation-“a…

Solar Thermal Above the Arctic Circle

Many in our community recognize KEA’s commitment to lowering the cost of electricity by developing renewable energy from our wind farm as well as initiating energy efficiency programs. KEA’s main…

Introduction: A Growing Wind Farm

A Growing Wind Farm Alaska's first utility wind farm more than tripled in size in early 1999 as Kotzebue Electric Association installed another seven turbines at its wind farm site.…

Harnessing the Wind - Wind Energy Basics

Part 1 of 4 Winds come from solar energy. Air moves due to differences in pressure caused by uneven heating of Earth. This fast moving air contains the energy that…

The AOC 15/50 Wind Turbine

Part 2 of 4 Tower The 80-foot lattice steel tower lifts the wind turbine into stronger winds above the ground. Even without trees, there is some ground friction that reduces…

Winds in Kotzebue

Part 3 of 4 The winds in Kotzebue are excellent for use in producing electric power because they are: Energetic The annual average wind speed at KEA's wind farm is…

Wind Energy Production

Part 4 of 4 The AOC 15/50 turbines begin producing electricity at wind speeds of about 11 miles per hour (mph) and produce 50 kilowatts when winds reach 24.5 mph;…

NorthWind 100: New Turbine Powers Up

By Seth Kantner The spring storms off the sea ice spun Kotzebue Electric Association's new NorthWind 100 wind turbine into action last month, producing the machine's first kilowatt of commercial…

Atlantic Orient Corporation’s 15/50 Wind Turbine

Following are brief descriptions of the principal parts of the AOC 15/50 wind turbine. Jump or scroll down to view a description of how the wind turbine and control system…

New Wind Turbines Increase Fuel Savings

The seven new turbines installed at KEA's wind farm in the winter of 1999 will significantly increase fuel savings from the wind project. Most of Kotzebue's electricity is produced using…

Local Hire Powers Kotzebue Wind Energy Project

It takes special people to do hard work in below zero temperatures day after day and still call their job fun. But that's the construction crew at Kotzebue Electric Association…

Raising A Turbine

On March 29, 1999 Kotzebue Electric Association installed another AOC 15/50 wind turbine, one of a batch of seven that went up this past winter, more than tripling the size…

Project Sponsors

Kotzebue's Wind Energy Project is made possible in part via sponsorships from the following organizations:

Alaska Division of Energy
U.S. Dept. of Energy: Sustainable Technology Energy Partnership
U.S. Dept. of Energy: Turbine Verification Program
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Alaska Science and Technology Foundation
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
National Rural Electric Cooperative Association: Cooperative Research Network