Bill for Susitna hydro study funding moves to Finance

AEA would be required to give an initial report on the project by February 2009 and a final report by June 2010. If the report is positive further work on feasibility will likely be commissioned, Johnson said. A similar bill in the senate, by Sen. Joe Thomas, R-Fairbanks, was taken up by the Senate Resources Committee Feb. 13 for an initial review.

Considerable work was done on a Susitna hydro project in the 1980s by the Alaska Power Authority, the predecessor to the Alaska Energy Authority. A large two-dam project was envisioned but the power generated would be more than utilities in Southcentral and Interior Alaska could absorb. The project was shelved when its economic feasibility looked doubtful.

Johnson said that demand for electricity has now grown and that natural gas, which is now used to generate electricity, is dwindling in supply. There are also mining projects, such as the proposed Donlin Creek and Pebble mines, which could need large amounts of power. One of the key objectives of a new look at Susitna will be whether a scaled-down or phased hydro project, sized to fit the region’s power needs and then grow in increments, might be possible.