Alaska Governor Parnell, in a public statement, supported the Alaska Energy Authority (AEA) which has chosen a remote site on the Susitna River as its preferred location for a hydroelectric project. According to Parnell: “In order to provide low-costs electricity for the interior and the Railbelt and to meet the state’s goal of having half of Alaska’s electricity generated by renewable resources by 2025, we must invest in a large-scale hydro project.” The Alaska legislature passed an energy bill earlier this year which set a state goal for 50% renewable energy (a definition that includes hydropower). The Susitna River dam is located about half way between Anchorage and Fairbanks, which make for an easy tie-in with the existing electrical grid on the Railbelt, as Alaska’s main population corridor is known. The new dam project will require significant state subsidies and is likely to utilize some form of municipal debt financing.
