Dunleavy signs bills aimed at modernizing energy production, delivery in Alaska’s Railbelt

What you need to know:

• Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy signed three energy bills aimed at addressing energy shortages and improving delivery systems in Alaska's most populous regions.
• Two of the bills, House Bill 50 and House Bill 307, have specific impacts for Mat-Su. House Bill 50 deals with technology related to coal production, a subject the Mat-Su Assembly addressed in a resolution early this year. House Bill 307 addresses energy transmission in the Railbelt corridor, which stretches through Mat-Su.
• The bills are part of a broader strategy to modernize and diversify the state's energy portfolio, Dunleavy said.

By Yereth Rosen, Alaska Beacon

Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Wednesday signed three energy bills passed by the Legislature in response to looming energy shortages and delivery problems in the state’s most populous region.

Dunleavy said the bills are part of a wider strategy of modernizing Alaska’s energy portfolio and systems of delivery, making them more diverse and dependable.

“Over the past two years, we’ve passed several bills that will transform Alaska’s ability to tap into its world-class energy for decades to come,” the governor said at the signing ceremony, held at the Alaska Energy Authority office in Anchorage.

The first measure he signed into law on Wednesday was House Bill 50 , which started out as legislation authorizing the state to make money by capturing, storing and sequestering carbon gases but was expanded as elements of other energy bills were added.

Related : UAF study calls for a coal-fired power plant in Southcentral Alaska

The carbon-capture section of the bill creates a regulatory framework for that enterprise, and the mature Cook Inlet oil and gas basin, in Southcentral Alaska, is the region most likely to first serve that purpose, Dunleavy said.

Another part of the bill concerns the Regulatory Commission of Alaska. That section expands the commission’s jurisdiction to include natural gas storage. The bill also authorizes a system of reserve-based lending, through which the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority would be able to help finance known natural gas fields in Cook Inlet that currently lack the investment they need to be developed. The bill also modifies the state’s geothermal leasing program, allowing for larger total lease holdings and making other changes intended to induce more development.

The second bill Dunleavy signed on Wednesday, House Bill 307 , consolidates management of the energy transmission system that serves Alaska’s Railbelt, the corridor that runs from Fairbanks to the Kenai Peninsula. The bill eliminates “wheeling rates,” the charges added for energy as it is transported between segments of the system. Through an expanded tax exemption and other provisions, it also aims to open access to the system to energy produced by independent producers like solar farms.

Senate Majority Leader Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage, said energy experts have been hoping since the mid-20th century to establish such a unified system for the Railbelt.

“Here we are, 70 years later, and we’re finally accomplishing something,” said Giessel, who was one of the legislators speaking at the bill-signing ceremony.

The bill “represents unity,” she said, reflecting interests, concerns and recommendations from a widely diverse group of energy producers, utilities, consumer advocates, labor advocates and others.

“Alaskans have to come together to unify in our vision, or we’re not going to get things accomplished,” she said.

The third energy measure that Dunleavy signed on Wednesday was House Bill 273 , which creates an energy fund as a subsidiary of the Alaska Housing Finance Corp. The Alaska Energy Independence Fund is intended to help finance sustainable energy to benefit homeowners and businesses and attract federal money available through the Inflation Reduction Act .

Alaska Beacon is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Alaska Beacon maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Andrew Kitchenman for questions: info@alaskabeacon.com . Follow Alaska Beacon on Facebook and X .