Alaska Conservation Voters

Conservation Watch

Announcement!
Alaska Conservation Alliance's Legislative
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Alaska Conservation Voters
works to protect Alaska's environment through public education and advocacy, and supports pro-conservation candidates for public office.

“It's like the chicken-and-the-egg problem. If we got the egg, what does the chicken look like?”
--- Rep. Beth Kerttula (D-Juneau) speaking about working on the gas and oil tax bill without seeing the natural gas pipeline contract. (Juneau Empire, 3/9/06)

• Renewable Energy

In Every Issue

• On the Move
• Hot Bills
• Hearings this Week

With wholesale diesel prices rising as high as $6 per gallon in some of Alaska’s most remote and impoverished communities, an adequate, reliable, and reasonably priced supply of electrical energy for Alaska is no longer just a good thing—it is necessary element to the future health of our people, our communities and our economy. The Alaska Legislature’s 2003 Alaska Energy Policy Task Force agrees, with legislative findings that cite the need to “identify and evaluate long term fuel resources” and “increase the proportion of renewables in long term fuel sources.” Governor Murkowski likewise noted that “without a doubt, the number one concern in Rural Alaska right now is the high cost of energy.”

Alaskans, particularly in rural communities, rely in large part on natural gas and diesel to generate electric power. 88% of communities using the Power Cost Equalization fund, a state program intended to subsidize electricity costs in rural Alaska, rely on diesel to create their electricity. With the price for this dependency steadily increasing, many often impoverished, rural Alaskan households now spend as much as 40 percent of their annual income on electricity, hot water, heating and cooling—a staggering figure when juxtaposed to the 6% used for electricity by Anchorage residents.

While it may be difficult to completely displace diesel usage in rural Alaska, steps are already being taken to supplement energy costs with renewable alternatives. Kotzebue, for example, began using wind energy in 1997 and is now displacing over 100,000 gallons of diesel every year. Other communities, such as St. Paul, Wales, Pilot Point, Port Heiden, Selawik, Toksook Bay and Kasigluk, have added wind turbines to supplement their energy usage and locations such as Chena Hot Springs are now harnessing geothermal power.

Alaska possesses vast amounts of resources in the form of wind, geothermal, biomass, solar, tidal, wave and hydropower that could be harnessed with current technologies. With virtually no fuel costs and with increasingly affordable and efficient technologies coming to the forefront, renewable energy has the potential to impart significant environmental, health, and economic benefits to struggling rural communities.

Other states and nations understand this and are working successfully to develop their renewable energy resources. In fact, over 35 other states have some form of renewable energy policy. Alaska thus far has no such policy.

According to a report by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, it was noted that renewables have the potential to create three times as many jobs as the same level of spending on fossil fuels. The renewable energy industry could be a source for a wide range of employment opportunities, ranging from high-tech manufacturing to maintenance jobs, which in turn stimulate local economies and help communities dealing with failing finances.

One of the greatest difficulties for communities hoping to utilize renewable energy technologies is the high, up-front capital cost. A number of proposals now pending before the legislature would help address this roadblock.

HB 445 by Majority member Rep. Bill Thomas (R-Haines) would create a source of funds to build renewable energy projects and immediately begin to displace fossil fuels and stabilize energy costs in communities. The bill sets up a grant program with funding tied to oil production. While oil has been used to fund our government for many years, little has been done to leverage those benefits to address investments in long term energy sources. Though it is debatable just how long it will be before we “run out of oil,” Thomas’ bill pushes the state to think in terms of what can be done now to address problems in rural Alaska and prepare for the future. HB 445 passed quickly from the House Labor and Commerce Committee last week without objection and has now been referred to the House Finance Committee.

Another approach, advanced by Minority Leader , Rep. Ethan Berkowitz (D-Anchorage), is HB 335. A unique element of Berkowitz’s bill is the proposal to establish a loan fund for alternative energy with a production credit system that would lower a borrower’s repayment obligation by 1.9 cents for every kilowatt hour (kWh) produced by the project. Added to the already existing federal production tax credit (PTC), HB335 would translate into millions of dollars in savings for renewable energy producers and would create a means for decreasing loans up to 20%. As written, the bill’s production credit would provide a strong, long-term incentive for 15 years.

Other bills are also in the mix. For example, SB 283 by Republican Senator Dyson would set up an Energy Task Force to look at the big picture and make recommendations, including alternative energy options. Republican Rep. Jay Ramras has also introduced two bills on the topic. One would set up an Alternative Energy Project Loan Fund (HB 196). The other, HCR 3, now in House Rules, encourages the Administration to work “to increase the production of renewable energy in Alaska and bring the benefits of renewable energy to all of its citizens.” Last but not least, Rep. Harry Crawford introduced two bills last year to encourage efforts to develop hydrogen as an alternative fuel source (HB 9) and provide funding for the Fire Island wind project (HB 164).

These bills represent an important step towards alleviating communities’ dependence on fossil fuels and creating a renewable energy policy in Alaska. We expect that any final legislation on this topic will incorporate the best ideas into one bill – probably a Majority sponsored vehicle.

With its vast array of resources, Alaska is poised to become a world leader in renewable energy – if we make the right policy choices today. Whether it is done to improve the day-to-day lives of our residents, or to bolster local economies through new jobs and investments, the day has come to forge ahead with the creation of state policies to promote the development of renewable energy technologies.

The stage is set. It’s time for action and it's time for one of these bills to make it all the way through the legislature.

What can you do?

To keep renewable energy bills moving and to encourage legislators to pass bills that stimulate the development of renewable energy projects in Alaska, letters of support can be sent to both your local Representative and Senator or to the heads of committees that will be hearing the bills. For example, two bills that have moved this session are HB335 and HB445. Both of these bills will be heard next in House Finance, so letters in support of the bills and renewable energy projects can be addressed and sent directly to the co-chairs of the House Finance Committee– Representatives Chenault and Meyer.

For more information check out:

Renewable Energy Alaska Project

"Dollars from Sense: The Economic Benefits of Renewable Energy" - National Renewable Energy Laboratory

"Wind Brings Power to the People of Rural Alaska," Anchorage Daily News

"Powering Rural Alaska," Alaska Newspapers Inc.

On the Move

HB318 Limitation on Eminent Domain - Reps. McGuire (R-Anchorage), Holm (R-Fairbanks), Hawker (R-Anchorage)
At the hearing held on Thursday, March 9, the Senate Judiciary committee listened to public testimony and continued their discussion with staff about bill details and intentions. The bill was heard and held to allow for potential amendments.

HB324 Ban Orange Hawkweed & Purple Loosestrife - Rep. LeDoux (R-Kodiak)
HB324 was heard again in the House Finance Committee on Tuesday, March 7. Despite some concerns regarding the means by which the ban would be enforced, the bill passed from the Committee and was referred to the House Rules Committee. As written, the bill would make knowing cultivation, distribution and importation of the two species a class A misdemeanor.

HB445 Alternative Energy Grant Fund - Rep. Thomas (R-Haines)
HB445 had its first hearing in House Labor and Commerce Committee on Monday, March 6. Public testimony and discussions amongst committee members noted the potential of renewable energy to alleviate energy problems in rural Alaska while creating jobs and attracting new investments. A Committee Substitute was adopted to alter the definition of "alternative energy project" and the bill passed out of committee. It will be heard next in the House Finance Committee.

Hot Bills

Bills move at a rapid pace this time of year. You can obtain up-to-date legislative information on the BASIS website. The following chart notes the status of a few bills of importance to the conservation community.

Hearings this Week

Click on the date in the table below to get the most current schedule information for that day, or check the BASIS hearing schedule. Once a bill has been heard in a particular committee it may be brought up again without public notice or listing on the weekly committee schedule. You can click on a committee name to see a list of its members.