With a Railbelt natural gas crunch looming, the legislative session had a special focus on energy bills

Budding trees and bushes are seen successful beforehand of nan Alaska State Capitol connected Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

State lawmakers passed respective power bills this convention aimed astatine updating nan Railbelt’s electrical grid and speeding up nan modulation to renewable energy. But astatine slightest 1 notable renewables measure failed. Alaska Public Media’s authorities government newsman Eric Stone and ambiance alteration newsman Kavitha George followed nan advancement during nan past legislative session, which ended May 16.

Listen:

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This question and reply has been lightly edited for magnitude and clarity.

Casey Grove: It seems for illustration location were bills addressing utilities and electrical grids and cleanable power this session. Why is location specified a attraction connected Alaska’s power systems correct now?

Eric Stone: The large driver is that nan Railbelt — that’s everyone from Homer and Seward connected up to Fairbanks, astir 70% of nan state’s organization — is facing an power crunch. As galore group know, Cook Inlet earthy state shaper Hilcorp has told utilities it expects accumulation to diminution — it’s not arsenic economical arsenic it erstwhile was to drill there. And that intends Railbelt utilities are scrambling to find different power sources to support nan lights connected and support homes heated for this large swath of Alaska. Utilities are looking astatine importing earthy state — that’s 1 action — but location are besides a batch of opportunities to make our grid much businesslike and put successful renewable power sources. 

And much broadly, arsenic folks astir nan globe effort to decarbonize, a batch successful nan power world is changing. Gov. Mike Dunleavy said coming astatine nan Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference that he wants to make judge Alaska isn’t near out:

Gov. Mike Dunleavy: “It’s my dream and it’s my extremity that Alaska is an absolute leader crossed nan globe successful everything from microgrids, really to sequester carbon. How do you merge things for illustration ember and star and upwind truthful that it benefits everybody?”

And that’s what a batch of these bills focused connected this session.

CG: What’s an illustration of a measure that passed to beforehand renewable energy?

Kavitha George: One measure that almost everyone is excited astir is nan organization star bill. So, 1 action for homeowners who want to little their electrical bills is to instal star panels connected their roof. That powers your location and you tin really waste immoderate excess powerfulness backmost to your utility. But that’s not an action for everyone, for illustration renters, aliases group who person shady roofs. Community star is simply a measurement that theoretically, anyone tin get successful connected nan benefits of small-scale solar. By partnering pinch their utility, a bunch of neighbors tin bargain successful connected a mini star task together. They salary a benignant of subscription interest to beryllium a portion of nan project, and past arsenic nan task generates powerfulness which gets sold backmost to nan utility, they each stock successful nan earnings, which fundamentally show up arsenic a discount connected their electrical bills. 

A measure to modulate organization star projects and make it easier to get them disconnected nan crushed passed nan Senate unanimously and had a large separator successful nan House.

ES: And I’ll jump successful present pinch different illustration — nan greenish bank. You mightiness person heard of this idea. They’re popping up astir nan country. Basically, it’s a measurement for nan authorities to thief supply backing for renewable power projects. 

And Alaska will beryllium joining nan ranks present beautiful soon acknowledgment to House Bill 273, which sets up a greenish slope wrong nan Alaska Housing Finance Corporation. And it comes astatine a bully clip — nan Biden management conscionable announced successful April that AHFC and nan Alaska Energy Authority will get much than $60 cardinal for community star projects and financial assistance for rooftop solar aimed astatine low-income and disadvantaged households. Gov. Dunleavy called retired nan greenish slope measure today:

Gov. Dunleavy: “It will unlock tens of millions of national dollars from nan Inflation Reduction Act. Creation of this money will thief Alaskans compete for historical national backing opportunities to amended nan power floor plan of their homes and businesses.”

And of course, it’s 1 point to build a caller star workplace aliases upwind turbine, but it’s different point wholly to get powerfulness wherever it needs to go. Casey, you and I talked astir this a week aliases truthful ago, but there’s different measure that fundamentally makes it cheaper to move powerfulness astir connected nan Railbelt, from Homer to Fairbanks. That’s House Bill 307.

And speaking of moving power, I’d beryllium remiss not to mention nan caller high-voltage powerfulness statement crossed Cook Inlet nan Alaska Energy Authority is looking to build. That was announced past fall. Half of nan $400 cardinal task is funded by nan feds done nan Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, nan different half from nan authorities complete nan adjacent 8 aliases truthful years. And it’ll beryllium fundamentally a 50-mile undersea high-voltage cablegram moving nether Cook Inlet from nan Kenai Peninsula retired to Beluga.  In summation to moving powerfulness up nan Railbelt, it’s besides expected to beryllium benignant of a backup powerfulness statement successful lawsuit different 1 has to beryllium taken offline, for illustration what happened during nan Swan Lake occurrence successful 2019. And if there’s money near over, it would besides salary for battery-based powerfulness retention successful Anchorage and Fairbanks. 

There’s astir $66 cardinal successful authorities and national backing for that this year. 

So, yeah, tons happening connected renewables — arsenic Anchorage Democratic Sen. Bill Wielechowski put it, “the Railbelt is going green, and it’s retired of necessity.”

CG: Let’s talk astir thing that didn’t walk — nan renewable portfolio standard. Kavitha, what is simply a renewable portfolio modular and why was it truthful controversial?

KG: A renewable portfolio standard, besides known arsenic an RPS is simply a argumentation that tells utilities they must meet definite targets for renewable power by a group time. This session’s measure said that Railbelt electrical utilities would person had to root 25% of their power from renewable sources by 2027, 55% by 2035 and 80% by 2040. And again, nan thought is to alteration nan dependency connected earthy gas, which is becoming much scarce — and if utilities commencement to import it, will go rather expensive. A national study earlier this twelvemonth really showed that hitting a renewables target of astir 75% by 2040 would beryllium nan slightest costly way forward. 

This measure had a batch of support from cleanable power advocates, lawmakers connected some sides of nan aisle and moreover Governor Dunleavy. But it’s decidedly faced guidance from awesome utilities who are not connected committee pinch nan penalties they would look for failing to meet these targets. In January, Republican Senator Jesse Bjorkman of Nikiski said very publically that he was going to artifact nan measure by not letting it walk retired of nan Senate Labor & Commerce committee, which he chairs. And that’s precisely what happened, it sat successful committee and ne'er went overmuch further than that, moreover connected nan House side. 

Clean power advocates I’ve spoken to said they were disappointed nan RPS failed, but they stay hopeful that pinch much acquisition and outreach, it has different changeable adjacent year. Utilities are still not rather astatine nan constituent wherever they are locking into contracts to import earthy state and truthful there’s a small much runway to make a large push for renewables.