Golden Valley Electric Association of Fairbanks has asked for mediation of a Nov. 7 lawsuit filed by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority over alleged lack of access for AIDEA to the Healy Clean Coal Project, which is owned by the state authority.
AIDEA's suit asks for $167 million in damages. "Mediation has the best chance for a solution. It will allow both parties to come to the table and resolve complex issues," stated a Nov. 10 GVEA press release.
The electric utility filed a brief with the state Superior Court asking for a mediation procedure.
AIDEA has been working with Homer Electric Association on a plan to get the clean coal project, a 50-megawatt coal-fired power plant, back into operation. It has been shut down since late 1999 after a commercial dispute developed between AIDEA and Golden Valley over its operation.
GVEA was the plant operator and had contracted to buy power from the clean-coal plant. The facility was built in 1997 and operated for a year and a half testing new coal-burning and emissions-control technologies for the U.S. Department of Energy, which contributed $117 million toward the $297 million cost of the plant.
After negotiating for several years on a plan to restart the plant with GVEA, the state authority asked for proposals from other operators. Last October, Homer Electric indicated interest in operating the plant and purchasing its power. Since then, the Kenai Peninsula utility has been working on engineering studies related to restarting the plant.
In its lawsuit, AIDEA claims that GVEA violated the terms of a 2000 settlement agreement by refusing to negotiate a ground lease for the plant and not allowing access to facilities on GVEA-owned land that are related to the plant operation.
Tim Bradner can be reached at tim.bradner@alaskajournal.com.
