# No Wire Leaves Cordova. So the Load Moved In. > What does Cordova do with power it can't sell and can't ship out? Published 2026-08-12 by Alaska AI. 9 slides. Canonical: https://alaskaaihq.com/archive/2026-08-12/ ## The story Nothing leaves Cordova by wire. The amount landed August 11th. $725,000. The nearest line is 56 km away. A fifth of it goes nowhere. Twenty feet from the turbine. Greensparc put 170 kilowatts of computing inside the Humpback Creek run of river plant, several miles north of town. The National Laboratory of the Rockies reported it in March. (C18, C26) The whole co-op, to scale. Over 200 island grids. One got picked. UAF counts over 200 remote microgrids in Alaska. Each one is a closed loop with nothing joining it to the next. Cordova is one of them. (C06) The money is not for the data center. On August 11th UAF published both. $725,000, AURORA-AI, Alaska Utility Resilience and Optimization using Real-time AI, with Richard Wies as principal investigator. It combines utility data, virtual replicas of the power grid and AI to forecast demand and detect abnormal operating conditions. (C01, C02, C03, C05, C07) ## What we verified - The University of Alaska Fairbanks received a $725,000 award from the U.S. Department of Energy for the AURORA-AI project. [University of Alaska Fairbanks](https://www.uaf.edu/news/uaf-leads-ai-project-to-strengthen-alaskas-rural-power-grids.php), primary document, 2026-08-11. - AURORA-AI stands for Alaska Utility Resilience and Optimization using Real-time AI. [University of Alaska Fairbanks](https://www.uaf.edu/news/uaf-leads-ai-project-to-strengthen-alaskas-rural-power-grids.php), primary document, 2026-08-11. - Richard Wies is the principal investigator for AURORA-AI. [University of Alaska Fairbanks](https://www.uaf.edu/news/uaf-leads-ai-project-to-strengthen-alaskas-rural-power-grids.php), primary document, 2026-08-11. - AURORA-AI is a partnership of the UAF Alaska Center for Energy and Power, Colorado State University, the National Laboratory of the Rockies and Cordova Electric Cooperative. [University of Alaska Fairbanks](https://www.uaf.edu/news/uaf-leads-ai-project-to-strengthen-alaskas-rural-power-grids.php), primary document, 2026-08-11. - UAF says AURORA-AI will combine high-resolution utility data, virtual replicas of the power grid and AI to forecast demand, detect abnormal operating conditions and optimize energy resources. [University of Alaska Fairbanks](https://www.uaf.edu/news/uaf-leads-ai-project-to-strengthen-alaskas-rural-power-grids.php), primary document, 2026-08-11. - UAF says Alaska has over 200 remote microgrids. [University of Alaska Fairbanks](https://www.uaf.edu/news/uaf-leads-ai-project-to-strengthen-alaskas-rural-power-grids.php), primary document, 2026-08-11. - UAF published the AURORA-AI release on August 11th, 2026. [University of Alaska Fairbanks](https://www.uaf.edu/news/uaf-leads-ai-project-to-strengthen-alaskas-rural-power-grids.php), primary document, 2026-08-11. - The Alaska Center for Energy and Power published its own AURORA-AI release on the same day, August 11th, 2026. [Alaska Center for Energy and Power, University of Alaska Fairbanks](https://www.uaf.edu/acep/news/2026/uaf-leads-ai-project-to-strengthen-alaskas-rural-power-grids.php), primary document, 2026-08-11. - Richard Wies said Alaska's isolated power systems provide an ideal environment for developing and testing next-generation technologies that can improve electric grid resilience. [University of Alaska Fairbanks](https://www.uaf.edu/news/uaf-leads-ai-project-to-strengthen-alaskas-rural-power-grids.php), primary document, 2026-08-11. - The AURORA-AI award was made under the U.S. Department of Energy's Genesis Mission. [University of Alaska Fairbanks](https://www.uaf.edu/news/uaf-leads-ai-project-to-strengthen-alaskas-rural-power-grids.php), primary document, 2026-08-11. - The Department of Energy selected 278 projects in the first Genesis Mission round. [U.S. Department of Energy](https://www.energy.gov/articles/secretary-energy-chris-wright-announces-first-genesis-mission-projects-selected-accelerate), primary document, 2026-07-22. - Of the first round Genesis Mission projects, 168 are led by universities. [U.S. Department of Energy](https://www.energy.gov/articles/secretary-energy-chris-wright-announces-first-genesis-mission-projects-selected-accelerate), primary document, 2026-07-22. - The first Genesis Mission round spans 342 participating institutions including 16 national laboratories and 142 universities. [U.S. Department of Energy](https://www.energy.gov/articles/secretary-energy-chris-wright-announces-first-genesis-mission-projects-selected-accelerate), primary document, 2026-07-22. - The Department of Energy announced the first selected Genesis Mission projects on July 22nd, 2026. [U.S. Department of Energy](https://www.energy.gov/articles/secretary-energy-chris-wright-announces-first-genesis-mission-projects-selected-accelerate), primary document, 2026-07-22. - The $293 million Genesis Mission figure is the size of the Request for Application announced on March 17th, 2026 and the Department of Energy does not state it as the combined value of the 278 selected projects. [U.S. Department of Energy](https://www.energy.gov/articles/energy-department-announces-293-million-funding-support-genesis-mission-national-science), primary document, 2026-03-17. - Genesis Mission Phase I awards range from $500,000 to $750,000 and support a nine month project period. [U.S. Department of Energy](https://www.energy.gov/articles/energy-department-announces-293-million-funding-support-genesis-mission-national-science), primary document, 2026-03-17. - The $725,000 AURORA-AI award falls inside the published Genesis Mission Phase I band of $500,000 to $750,000. [U.S. Department of Energy](https://www.energy.gov/articles/energy-department-announces-293-million-funding-support-genesis-mission-national-science), primary document, 2026-03-17. - Greensparc delivered 170 kilowatts of computing capacity inside Cordova's run of river Humpback Creek hydroelectric facility. [National Laboratory of the Rockies](https://www.nlr.gov/news/detail/program/2026/in-alaska-a-data-center-inside-a-power-plant-inside-a-microgrid), primary document, 2026-03-05. - In 2025 hydropower provided more than 83 percent of Cordova's overall electrical demand. [National Laboratory of the Rockies](https://www.nlr.gov/news/detail/program/2026/in-alaska-a-data-center-inside-a-power-plant-inside-a-microgrid), primary document, 2026-03-05. - Clay Koplin estimates that 20 to 25 percent of Cordova's hydropower goes unused each year. [National Laboratory of the Rockies](https://www.nlr.gov/news/detail/program/2026/in-alaska-a-data-center-inside-a-power-plant-inside-a-microgrid), primary document, 2026-03-05. - Clay Koplin said the server was literally 20 feet from the generators. [National Laboratory of the Rockies](https://www.nlr.gov/news/detail/program/2026/in-alaska-a-data-center-inside-a-power-plant-inside-a-microgrid), primary document, 2026-03-05. - Clay Koplin is chief executive officer of Cordova Electric Cooperative. [National Laboratory of the Rockies](https://www.nlr.gov/news/detail/program/2026/in-alaska-a-data-center-inside-a-power-plant-inside-a-microgrid), primary document, 2026-03-05. - The Department of Energy and Cordova incrementally developed a smart microgrid from 2017 to 2023. [National Laboratory of the Rockies](https://www.nlr.gov/news/detail/program/2026/in-alaska-a-data-center-inside-a-power-plant-inside-a-microgrid), primary document, 2026-03-05. - A digital twin of Cordova's microgrid was built by the National Laboratory of the Rockies alongside Idaho National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories. [National Laboratory of the Rockies](https://www.nlr.gov/news/detail/program/2026/in-alaska-a-data-center-inside-a-power-plant-inside-a-microgrid), primary document, 2026-03-05. - Greensparc is the edge data center provider that installed the computing on the floor of the Cordova power station. [National Laboratory of the Rockies](https://www.nlr.gov/news/detail/program/2026/in-alaska-a-data-center-inside-a-power-plant-inside-a-microgrid), primary document, 2026-03-05. - Cordova Electric Cooperative serves 1,566 customers. [Cordova Electric Cooperative](https://www.cordovaelectric.com/about/), primary document, 2026-08-12. - Cordova Electric Cooperative has a generating capacity of 18 megawatts. [Cordova Electric Cooperative](https://www.cordovaelectric.com/about/), primary document, 2026-08-12. - Cordova is not connected to the State Highway System and Cordova Electric Cooperative is not connected by transmission line to other communities. [Cordova Electric Cooperative](https://www.cordovaelectric.com/about/), primary document, 2026-08-12. - The Department of Energy renamed the National Renewable Energy Laboratory the National Laboratory of the Rockies effective December 1st, 2025. [U.S. Department of Energy](https://www.energy.gov/cmei/articles/energy-department-renames-nrel-national-lab-rockies), primary document, 2025-12-01. - Alaska DNR has preliminarily decided to authorize a 50 year lease of 715.4 acres to STAK Energy Corporation about 26 miles south of Deadhorse. [Alaska Department of Natural Resources Division of Oil and Gas](https://aws.state.ak.us/OnlinePublicNotices/Notices/View.aspx?id=224224), primary document, 2026-06-17. - The public comment period on the STAK Energy lease closed at 4:30 p.m. Alaska Daylight Time on July 17th, 2026. [Alaska Department of Natural Resources Division of Oil and Gas](https://aws.state.ak.us/OnlinePublicNotices/Notices/View.aspx?id=224224), primary document, 2026-06-17. - The STAK Energy lease notice is a preliminary decision and no final finding and decision has been published. [Alaska Department of Natural Resources Division of Oil and Gas](https://aws.state.ak.us/OnlinePublicNotices/Notices/View.aspx?id=224224), primary document, 2026-06-17. - The state notice describes the STAK Energy campus as a commercial natural gas powered energy facility with on site natural gas power generation infrastructure, so its electricity would be generated for itself rather than drawn from an existing Alaska utility grid. [Alaska Department of Natural Resources Division of Oil and Gas](https://aws.state.ak.us/OnlinePublicNotices/Notices/View.aspx?id=224224), primary document, 2026-06-17. - Exactly one of the 278 rows on the Department of Energy's Genesis Mission awards list is an Alaska institution, the University of Alaska Fairbanks project AURORA-AI led by Richard Wies. [U.S. Department of Energy](https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2026-07/GM-RFA-Awards-List.pdf), primary document, 2026-07-22. - Cordova has about 2,600 residents. [National Laboratory of the Rockies](https://www.nlr.gov/news/detail/program/2026/in-alaska-a-data-center-inside-a-power-plant-inside-a-microgrid), report, 2026-03-05. Slides and the deck PDF are linked from the canonical page.