16 Nov
Happy Friday Alaska! The sun is shining here in Anchorage and now is the perfect time to take a break from the morning rush and catch up on some news making headlines across the state.
Glass Recycling is Back in Anchorage!!
Op-Ed: Susitna dam is not the best answer for energy
Healy Coal Plant restart deal draws no comments, no opposition
Proposed Mat-Su Valley coal lease (the Canyon Creek lease) might get public comment period extended
31 Aug
Happy Friday Alaska! Here are some conservation related articles that have been making headlines across the state. So grab your favorite hot beverage (this rainy weather is perfect for hot beverages!) and catch up on the news as we head into Labor Day weekend.
Fire Island Wind turbines brought the juice Thursday morning
Angry Mat-Su fishermen demand more salmon for their streams
15 Jun
Happy Friday Alaska! Here are some articles making headlines across the state this week:
I know I’ve shared this on Facebook already this week but it’s such great news so I wanted to share it again- Halibut bycatch reduced by nearly 700,000lbs!
Polar bear researcher wins conservation prize
Mat-Su Assembly won’t expand coal study
Escaped Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center brown bear found dead
4 Apr
Spring is in the air in Alaska and with it comes the end of the 90-day legislative session. This year’s legislative session is set to adjourn on April 15th and Alaska legislators still have plenty of work to do- much of it on energy.
As we go into the final 2 weeks of session, the Senate has finally unveiled their version of oil tax plan. Introduced on Tuesday in the Senate Finance committee, this bill offers some substantial structural changes to the current ACES tax plan. The new proposal sets up different taxes for oil and gas production and attempts to encourage new production. Oil and gas company representatives will be invited to testify on the bill and the Senate hopes to push the bill over to the House as soon as possible. For more details on the Senate oil tax plan, click here.
Three bills attempting to provide relief for high energy costs in the Interior are also progressing through the Legislature. These bills would provide short term relief through home heating vouchers and would also provide credits for natural gas storage and exploration. Representative Steve Thompson and Senator Joe Thomas, both from Fairbanks, have been working to get versions of these bills passed in both the Senate and House. With less than two weeks left of the session, it is unsure whether the bills will make it through both entities in time.
At a lunch and learning session last week, legislators heard about energy efficiency from Jonathan Westeinde, founder of Windmill Development Group Ltd. While Alaska now requires that 25% of public buildings be 15% more efficient by 2020, according to Jonathan Westeinde, our goals might be too low. “Ten to 20 percent is the low hanging fruit. We should look at 40 to 50 percent” says Westeinde. Read more about his presentation by clicking here.
And finally, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) began holding scoping meetings last week on the proposed Susitna-Watana Hydroelectric Project. Hearings were held in the Mat-Su Valley on March 27th and 28th and were well attended. The chief concern among residents was the impact to salmon. Residents are also concerned about moose browse, caribou populations and ice conditions that will be affected by the dam. The Alaska Energy Authority estimates the project costs at $4.5 billion and hopes to start operating in 2023.
Here are some upcoming events to put on your calendar:
April 19th-20th: 4th Annual Business of Clean Energy. For more info, go to http://www.BCEAconference.com.
April 23rd: Got HVAC? Join Green Star and CEA for free information workshop about energy efficiency and your HVAC. Click here for more info.
8 Mar
Katy Parrish, former Alliance Climate Change Coordinator, last month secured a big win for climate change in the state of Alaska. On February 15th, the Kenai Borough Assembly became the third assembly in Alaska to adopt a resolution strongly urging Alaskan U.S. Senators Murkowski and Begich and U.S. Representative Young to prioritize a National Clean Energy Policy. Anchorage passed a similar resolution in August and the Mat-Su Borough Assembly followed suit in January. All of the resolutions focus on the facts that the Department of Defense has determined that climate change is a threat to our national security and that Alaska has unlimited renewable energy resources for development. These local resolutions support the Western Governors Association’s call to action to mitigate climate change presented to Congress in June.
This strategy, encouraging local governments to pass resolutions, has been used in the past to influence federal delegations. The idea is to get enough local support from local government bodies to encourage Alaska’s U.S. Senators and Representative to support and act on national clean energy policy. In addition to concerns over the connection between climate change and national security, the resolutions also state that ‘efforts to reduce pollution and to promote cleaner energy sources will increase demand for natural gas and help create favorable conditions for bringing Alaska’s natural gas to market.’ Additionally, the resolutions state ‘statewide efforts to reduce carbon pollution, to increase energy efficiency, and to produce renewable energy provide numerous local benefits by creating new jobs that cannot be exported, developing reliable local power, cutting energy bills and saving taxpayers money.’ Local government bodies are not only concerned about the environmental effects of climate change but are encouraged by the economic opportunities presented by clean energy legislation.
Copies of the resolutions can be found here:
Alaska Conservation Blog 