DOD awards $12.8M grant for Black Rapids Training Site electric project

“The training our Northern Warfare Training Center does at the Black Rapids Training Site is unique across the Army and vital for the 11th Airborne Division’s work toward becoming a dominant Arctic force as described in the Army Arctic Strategy,” Eve Baker, the media relations chief for Fort Wainwright, said. “It hosts courses in basic and advanced military mountaineering, cold weather leadership, winter survival and other topics for active duty and reserve military personnel, ROTC and junior ROTC groups, and federal and state civilian personnel, as well as our foreign military partners.”

Diesel generators power the Black Rapids training area as of now. Golden Valley’s Meadow Bailey said there is “a lot involved in the logistics to support a generator, plus the cost of fuel, which tends to fluctuate greatly.”

The expansion of electric transmission lines will create stability and reduce operational costs, she said. The powerline will become the primary source of electricity, with the diesel generators serving as a back-up source.

“Having a primary power source and a back-up will bring us into greater compliance with Department of Defense requirements for energy resilience and redundancy and reduce the likelihood of having to stop training due to a power failure,” Baker said.

The change is expected to save approximately $24 million dollars over the next 25 years in operations and maintenance costs for the generators

Secondary benefits include bringing power to Eielson Air Force Base sites along the route as well as small landowners that use generators, Bailey said.

The expansion wouldn’t be possible with the help of the Alaska Energy Association, Bailey said, as AEA helped secure funding for the project and while GVEA developed the project.

Construction is expected to begin in 2023 with an expected completion in 2025.