Report of the Alaska Legislature's energy act - Energyboom

Click here for more Coverage of the Alaska Legislature's energy act

The Alaska Energy Authority (AEA) has recently published two reports as part of their efforts to update the state’s energy policy. 

The first report provides Alaskan communities with resources to build their own locally relevant energy plans based on their available resources.

The new report, ‘Alaska Energy Pathway,’[pdf] was released by the administration of Alaska Governor Sean Parnell. The new report reaffirms a previous goal to meet 50% of Alaska’s electric power needs through renewable energy resources by 2025, but the key substantive policy difference is a new goal to achieve a 20% increase in energy efficiency and conservation by 2020.

Energy efficiency is a cost-effective way to reduce the need for new energy sources in the first place – an important goal that the Palin plan lacked.  It is a notable improvement, but the plan relies too heavily on fossil fuels to truly move Alaska toward a clean energy future.
Click on above link for full story.

Alaskans mourn death of former Gov. Walter Hickel - Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner - The voice of Interior Alaska since 1903

SITKA, Alaska - Alaskans on Saturday mourned the loss of former Gov. Walter J. Hickel and remembered him as a visionary and a maverick.

Alaska Democrats, meeting for their convention in Sitka, had a moment of silence in honor of Hickel, who served as Interior secretary under President Richard Nixon until Hickel was dismissed for objecting to the treatment of Vietnam War protesters.

A ripple of "Oh!" and "Oh, my God" rippled through the audience as word of his death, at age 90, was announced Saturday morning.

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner - No easy path Report outlines costs methods of renewable energy conversion

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner - No easy path Report outlines costs methods of renewable energy conversion
The Alaska Energy Authority has completed an informative and useful study of the state’s energy challenges. It’s also rather daunting.

The study, presented this week at an energy conference in Fairbanks, described both the problems Alaska faces in trying to move to renewable energy sources and some ways it can try to overcome those problems.

Among the more interesting items in the report are estimates of how much it would cost to substantially increase the use of renewable energy sources, such as hydroelectric, geothermal and wind plants, throughout Alaska.


Click links above for full story.

Congressman Young states favorable AK-BC Intertie position, Wrangell Sentinel

Wrangell Sentinel - the oldest continuously published paper in Alaska.
Alaska’s lone U.S. House Representative visited Wrangell Apr. 14 and Petersburg Apr. 15 to discuss various topics with residents including hydropower development, the recently passed health care bill, Sealaska and timber production.


Republican Don Young used a meeting with members of the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce to reaffirm his decision to run for a 20th term in the House.
“I am running, and will run hard,” Young said.


Young said that hydropower is as important to Southeast residents as the gas line is to the rest of Alaska. He said that hydropower development should be a priority.
“There should be an abundance of hydro power,” he said.


He said that developing an intertie between Southeast communities as well as between Alaska and British Columbia would benefit the local economy.

Click link above for full story in the online edition of the Wrangell Sentinel

VoteVets.org

I was asked to post this by an Iraq veteran. It makes a lot of sense, whether you agree with climate change or not. America needs to become less dependent upon middle east sources of energy. We have it all here in Alaska from oil & natural gas to a rich renewable energy portfolio. We can choose to have a secure, economic future.

Northwest BC Transmission Line can help small Southeast AK and Northwest BC towns

The upcoming Northwest (BC) Transmission Line portends some exciting and positive changes to both Canada and Alaska in the North Coast Mountain Region. This development can bring a change to Alaska, Northwest BC and Yukon. Turning them from basically third-world condition into producers and contributors for a green, renewable, less oil dependent North America. The benefits of opening this region of Alaska are to it's citizens and to our sister Pacific Northwest and Western states.

Take a look at this video, which envisions some of its benefits to Northwest BC First Nations, to Alaskans and Yukon.

State dangles incentives for open season takers, Tim Bradner, Ak Journal of Commerce

Click to read full Alaska Journal of Commerce story

The state is offering a set of special natural gas royalty and tax terms as inducements for North Slope producers to sign pipeline capacity contracts during an open season set by TransCanada Corp. that will begin May 1, state officials told state legislators in a briefing.

The incentives could be worth more than $20 billion in value to producers over the life of capacity agreements signed, assuming the entire 4.5 billion cubic feet per day of capacity is subscribed, according to estimates by Black & Veatch, a consulting firm working with the state.

TransCanada is proposing a 1,500-mile, 48-inch pipeline from the North Slope to its Aeco hub in Alberta that could cost as much as $41 billion, the pipeline company estimates.

The state endorsed TransCanada over the rival Denali pipeline group led by BP and ConocoPhillips after the Calgary-based pipeline company agreed to meet certain state goals regarding tariff structure and expansion terms.