Golden Valley Electric Association

GVEA's History

Incorporated in 1946 in Fairbanks, Alaska, Golden Valley Electric Association took shape when a small group of people became interested in bringing electric service to rural areas and furthering the agricultural industry in Interior Alaska. These pioneers applied to the Rural Electrification Administration, which granted a loan to form a not-for-profit rural electric cooperative. GVEA now serves nearly 90,000 Interior residents in the Fairbanks, Delta Junction, Nenana, Healy and Cantwell.

GVEA FE Plant
The 9.500Kw Fairbanks Exploration Co. (F.E.) power plant was built in 1927 to serve the gold dredges operating in the Tanana Valley. GVEA purchased power from the F.E. Company until 1952, when they purchased the plant. It was retired in March 1972.

GVEA operates and maintains 3,028 miles of transmission and distribution lines and 35 substations. Our system is interconnected with Fort Wainwright, Eielson AFB, Fort Greely, the University of Alaska-Fairbanks and all electric utilities in the Alaska Railbelt which extends from Homer, Alaska to Fairbanks. Peak system demand increased during the past year, from 207.1 MW in 2006 to 223 MW in 2007.

Golden Valley maintains a diverse fuel mix to help stabilize costs. The new North Pole Expansion Plant adds Naphtha, an extremely clean burning fuel, to our mix. If natural gas comes to the Interior, the new plant will have the ability to burn that, as well.

In 2005, GVEA's Board of Directors adopted a green power pledge. The pledge called for 10 percent of GVEA's peak load to come from renewable energy sources by the end of 2007. GVEA met this goal, matching a peak output of 223 MW with over 22 MW of power from:

GVEA energized the Northern Intertie in October 2003. This 97-mile, 230-kilovolt line is one of GVEA’s initiatives to improve system reliability. GVEA is the northern control point for the Fairbanks/Anchorage Intertie, which serves most Railbelt communities. Both interties allow GVEA to augment our 296 MW generation capacity with an additional 70 MW from the Anchorage area.

Healy power plant
Healy power plant

Golden Valley’s Battery Energy Storage System project came online in November 2003. The BESS can provide 27 megawatts for 15 minutes or up to 40 MW for less time if necessary. Being able to produce 40 MW makes the BESS the most powerful battery energy storage system in the world in terms of MW output. In 2007, the BESS responded to 65 events.

Pie chart of power supply

Construction of the North Pole Expansion Plant was completed in 2006. Fired up for the first time in November of that year, it is now operating commercially. The plant uses combined-cycle technology to add 60 MW of generation at the existing North Pole Power Plant site. The project entails a 47-MW combustion turbine with a steam turbine that allows us to generate an additional 13 MW. As demand increases, we can add another combustion turbine, raising capacity at the new plant to 120 MW. This plant is helping GVEA meet its future power requirements. This plant is GVEA's most efficient power plant, saving co-op members $16 million in 2007. As overall system demand is on the rise, GVEA continues to look towards the future.