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Kodiak Electric Association named DOE Wind Cooperative of the Year

February 12, 2010

Alaska's Kodiak Electric Association was named the 2009 Wind Cooperative of the Year by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and National Rural Electric Cooperative Association at the TechAdvantage Conference in Atlanta, Georgia today. This ninth annual award honors the Alaska cooperative's outstanding commitment to developing the Pillar Mountain Wind Project, the state's first utility-scale wind facility. Pillar Mountain paves the way for large wind turbine manufacturers to do business in Alaska while gathering experience on integrating megawatt-sized wind energy systems into other isolated grid systems throughout the state. Basin Electric Power Cooperative will also receive a Special Achievement Award at the ceremony for its continued leadership and innovation in wind power.

The Wind Cooperative of the Year Award, created by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and DOE's Wind Powering America outreach and education initiative, recognizes electric cooperatives that demonstrate a high degree of leadership in advancing U.S. wind power. The criteria used to judge the nominees include corporate leadership, innovative marketing, benefits to customers, and project creativity. A panel of wind industry, government, national laboratory, and electric cooperative experts selected Kodiak Electric Association for the award over eight other nominated electric cooperatives from across the United States. For more information on DOE's Wind Powering America outreach and education initiative, please visit the Wind Powering America Web site.