I am very curious what the long term energy plan is for Southcentral Alaska. According to Ethan Berkowitz and others it is one of the biggest issues facing our community right now. As he stated, we need cheaper energy and nothing is being done about it. Gwen Holdman also talked about energy needs and pointed out that Alaska is filled with opportunity. She shared great ideas about geothermal and other energy sources, but at this point it doesn’t seem as though the state is seriously pursuing any of them. By some estimates Cook Inlet gas supplies might be available through 2020. Demand for this gas could exceed supply by as early as next year. So is the plan to increase supply from existing wells? Drill new wells and build new storage facilities? Is the plan to get natural gas from the North Slope or from LNG imports? With high oil prices the state is set to have a $3.4 billion dollar surplus and Alaska already has another $11 billion in savings. I am sure the state plans on spending some of that money. But I’m not sure if those plans include ways to meet our energy needs. Any plans for using renewable energy sources? The Chakachamna hydro project and the Susitna Dam projects have been studied for years. Cost estimates for building the Chakachamna project are about $1.6 billion. Will either of these projects move forward? The state should be using some of that surplus to fund one of these projects and they need to do it now. All of these projects will take a long time before they are ready to supply us with energy. The time to start is now, not 2020 when we are out of natural gas.
Matt Freiberg
Alaska does need a long-term energy plan. Some of the presenters mentioned many different forms of renewable energy that may one day be practical for Alaska and wean us from our dependency on oil but I thought I would share what Gwen Holdman told me about one form that Ethan Berkowitz suggested. Ethan suggested that every Alaskan household should have a heat pump installed and that by using one our homes would always be kept to minimum temperatures of about 45ºF. Alaskans have in the past lost power for days at a time in the deep of winter but if home temperatures could be kept at least above freezing we might not experience major damage that could be caused by the freezing temperatures. I asked Gwen Holman about the logistics of using a heat pump. Our low ground temperatures makes them not very practical for Alaskan homes. You might recoup your costs if you stay in your home for about 15 years since heat pumps can cost around $10,000!
ReplyDeleteShari Durocher