Chris Shultz

Public Works

Lake Chelan Holden Village, Operating A Micro Grid

Chris Shultz is currently the Public Works Manager at Holden Village where his duties include running a small hydro plant to trouble shooting problems with the Village septic system and everything in between. He is currently working on designs to upgrade the distribution system and the generation plant at Holden. Prior to moving to Holden with his family Chris worked 27 years in the Electric Utility Industry, 12 years with LA Dept of Water and Power and 15 years with Tacoma Power. Chris received a BSEE degree from Cal. State University, Sacramento in 1983 and a MSEE in Electric Power from USC in 1987.

IEEE-Northwest Energy Systems Symposium

University of Washington

Seattle, WA 98195

April 30-May 1, 2014

Abstract: Holden Village is surrounded by the Glacier Peak Wilderness and can only be reached by boat or on foot. It is a 70 year old Mining Town that is currently a Lutheran Retreat Center that has been running a hydro powered micro grid with mostly volunteer staff and 100 year old generators for the past 50 years. The presentation will cover how they keep the power on in the Village when power output varies from 300KW in the Summer to 30KW in the winter. Holden Village is also facing mine remediation work that will have a major impact on the operations of the Village. The presentation gives an overview of the remediation plans and infrastructure improvements to the Village