June energy updates
This month, there are two big things going on in the Alaskan energy world: the legislature is nearing the end of their special session focused exclusively on legislation to give tax breaks to the AK LNG project, plus three pieces of news from GVEA (two great, one not so great). Legislators (especially Interior delegation members) could really use feedback from constituents urging them not to rush AK LNG legislation that could hurt Alaskans without all the info. You can find the link to take action on that below. In this newsletter, you’ll also find a little GVEA voting jingle from one of our staff members, and some fun pictures of birds we’ve been seeing. Happy June!
Alaskans will lose big with rushed AK LNG legislation.
Because Governor Dunleavy and AK LNG advocates want Alaskans to subsidize this megaproject with tax cuts based on economic speculation, the legislature is now in special session lasting up to 30 days, until June 19th.
The House Finance committee just passed HB 381 on Friday, a bill that would be a huge tax giveaway to the project without offering Alaskans meaningful economic and energy rate protections. There is no way to know exactly how much Alaskans are being asked to give up because even the most basic information is still unknown.
You still have a few more days to write or call your legislators to tell them not to rush into passing a misguided bill that fails to protect Alaskans.
Cost estimates continue to shift dramatically. After months of maintaining that a decade-old estimate of $46 billion was accurate, Glenfarne now says the overall project cost of $44.5 to 54.5 billion. But those numbers aren’t based on detailed analysis. On the engineering scale they use to evaluate these kinds of projects, 5 being the least accurate, their overall estimate is only Class 4 — that means the scope is less than 15 percent defined.
Though the House rushed their bill through a vote, some Senate Finance committee members remain skeptical of project proponents’ claims. Senator Stedman (R-Sitka) called the original cost estimate “complete garbage,” and suggested that the committee only consider Glenfarne’s new numbers with a standard 20 percent in contingency funding added on — an average of $18 billion for the pipeline, and $60 billion overall.
Legislators need to stop taking Glenfarne’s back-of-the-napkin guesswork seriously. They shouldn’t consider giving away tax subsidies for AK LNG before Glenfarne and AGDC have shared accurate overall cost estimates for this project. AGDC’s representatives told legislators Glenfarne won’t even have that information before the middle of 2027.
Tell your legislators to pump the breaks on tax cuts worth billions, and put Alaskans first.
Take Action
New wind projects, rate hikes, and GVEA election wins, oh my!
New wind for the Interior!
At the end of May, the GVEA Board voted to sign a Term Sheet with Amaresco for development of 36 MW wind energy in Delta. This is very good news for clean energy and energy security in the Interior. The decision at Tuesday's meeting came after years of advocacy by community members and consideration by the board, ever since Mike Craft first proposed it.
Though the delays over the last year mean the agreement comes too late to take advantage of the Biden-era tax credits revoked by the Trump administration, the costs still pencil out, bringing lower cost energy to the GVEA service area than any other alternative. Amaresco expects to have all permitting done by this fall, site construction to begin in 2027, and power production by 2028 or sooner. The Term Sheet is not the final contract between GVEA and Amaresco, but does set the outline for the final agreement such as the size and location of the installation, and the price for the power. GVEA will not be taking on any construction costs or production risks, but will be buying wind power from Amaresco once it is installed.
This addition of new energy is crucial, as GVEA recently had to raise member rates due primarily to the rise in fuel prices from the war in Iran. Adding more low-cost, locally sourced energy sources to our energy mix is a great way to guard against future fuel price instability. Delta Wind is an excellent first step, and we’re excited to see what’s next, since energy shortages still pose a very real threat.
For more information and to get involved with local renewable energy issues: fbxclimateaction.org/renewable-energy-working-group
Phil and Dave win their GVEA elections!
In other good news, we’re very happy to report that Phil Wight and Dave Messier have won their respective elections for the GVEA board! Both are extremely qualified candidates (Dave having already served on the board for 9 years, and Phil as an energy historian and former chair of the GVEA Member Advisory Committee), and have a lot of great concrete ideas for how to lower rates, increase reliability, and bring on new clean power.
We helped get out the vote for these elections by knocking over 1400 doors with dozens of canvassers. Thank you so much to all the folks who helped make this outcome a reality!
For fun, check out FCAC’s own Aurora Bowers in the Honeybucket Stringband singing a little GVEA election ditty: https://www.facebook.com/reel/987154330364108
Check out these birds we’ve been seeing!
Birds in Utqiagvik
Spring swans in a slough by Moose Creek
Unexpected duck in Aurora’s backyard puddle
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