SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Summit Power Group, a Seattle-based developer of low-carbon power projects, has added to its approximate 1,000 megawatts (MW) of Summit-developed renewable energy projects in commercial operation with the Fire Island Wind Project, which has now achieved commercial operation in Anchorage, Alaska. The Fire Island Wind Project, developed with the project owner, Cook Inlet Region, Inc. (CIRI), is the largest wind project currently on-line in the state. The wind farm is located on Fire Island in Cook Inlet, three miles west of Anchorage.
The project, jointly developed by CIRI and Summit Power, is owned and operated by Fire Island Wind, LLC (FIW), a wholly owned subsidiary of CIRI. CIRI asked Summit to join it as the project’s developer several years ago, when it seemed for a time that the decades-old dream of clean wind energy reducing Anchorage’s dependence on natural gas-fired power might fail to be achieved. Working together, CIRI and Summit brought the project successfully through financing, construction, commissioning, and to commercial operation.
Chugach Electric Association (CEA), the largest electric utility in Alaska, will buy the power from the project. The Fire Island Wind Project is Alaska’s first major power project owned by an independent power producer.
Eleven turbines with 17.6 megawatt (MW) nameplate capacity are now complete and operating. Calculations by CIRI and Summit indicate that this is enough energy to offset more than 300 million cubic feet per year of natural gas required to produce equivalent amounts of electricity. The project is estimated to supply four percent of Chugach's power, providing enough electricity for approximately 6,000 homes.
“CIRI has shown admirable dedication and vision with the Fire Island Wind Project,” said Dana Zentz, vice president of commercial development for Summit Power. “We’re proud to be CIRI’s partner in developing this project and expect the citizens of Anchorage to benefit from this CIRI investment for decades to come.”
About Summit Power Group
Seattle-based Summit Power Group, LLC excels in the innovative development of electric power projects. Led by experienced professionals with an extensive knowledge of the energy industry in the United States and abroad, Summit has a remarkable track record of developing large, low-carbon energy projects, with over 7,000 megawatts of electric power plants that it has developed for its clients in operation, and over 2,000 MW in development or under construction. Total Summit-led projects in service or under contract, including O & M agreements, represent over 7 billion dollars of investment.