Tazimina Hydroelectric Project, Iliamna, Alaska Final Technical and Construction Cost Report

The Iliamna-Newhalen-Nondalton Electric Cooperative (INNEC) provides electrical power to three communities of the same names. These communities are located near the north shore of Iliamna Lake in south-central Alaska approximately 175 miles southwest of Anchorage. These communities have a combined population of approximately 600 residents. There is no direct road connection from these villages to larger population centers. Electric power has been generated by INNEC since 1983 using diesel generators located in the community of Newhalen. Fuel for these generators was transported up the Kvichak River, an important salmon river, and across Iliamna Lake. In dry years the river is low and fuel is flown into Iliamna and then trucked five miles into Newhalen. The cost, difficult logistics and potential spill hazard of this fuel was a primary reason for development of hydroelectric power in this area. A hydroelectric project was constructed for these communities, starting in the spring of 1996 and ending in the spring of 1998. The project site is at Tazimina Falls about 9 miles upstream of the confluence of the Tazimina River and the Newhalen River. The project has an installed capacity of 824 kilowatts (kW) and is expandable to 1.5 megawatts (MW). The project is run-of-the-river (no storage) and uses the approximately 100 feet of natural head provided by the falls. The project features include a channel control sill, intake structure, penstock, underground powerhouse, tailrace, surface control building, buried transmission line and communication cable, and access road