FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTVF) – Lowering energy costs was the topic of the Greater Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce’s weekly luncheon on Tuesday. Curtis Thayer, executive director of the Alaska Energy Authority (AEA), explained how to do that.

Numerous projects and programs are being funded to help Alaska achieve a more affordable future. “Five years ago … our budget was $21 million,” Thayer said. “Our state budget is now $713 million.” That’s an increase of almost 4,000 percent, but Thayer claimed it was an increase of 2,600 percent.

These funds will now be put towards a more affordable future. Over lunch, a number of projects and programs were discussed, some targeting energy costs in rural areas and others targeting the Railbelt.

One of these projects is called the Dixon Diversion Project. This project will raise the water level of Bradley Lake and increase electricity production at the hydroelectric plant near Homer. Currently, this plant produces 10% of the electricity that goes into the Railbelt, saving an estimated $20 million per year. The project will cost $342 million. “That’s a lot of money, but it’s cheaper than importing natural gas from Cook Inlet,” Thayer said. However, it would increase electricity production by 20%, which could save an estimated $40 million per year. That means the savings would recoup the costs in less than a decade.

AEA hopes to make a decision on the implementation of the project next fall.

Upgrades are also planned for the Railbelt. These projects include a transmission line connecting Quatrz, Soldotna and Sterling. Another project involves upgrading the transmission lines toward Fairbanks.

While the current lines have been in use for decades, “they’ve reached the point where they need to be upgraded,” Thayer said. The AEA wants to replace the old lines with high-voltage direct current lines that would increase resilience and redundancy. These lines would run between Kenai and Beluga and then to Fairbanks. A second line would also be built from south-central Alaska to Healy. This would create a reserve that would avoid power outages in an emergency and reduce dependence on imported natural gas from Cook Inlet.

Associated with this project are possible upgrades to the Alaska Intertie.

Other programs and projects mentioned during the lunch included efforts to improve and reduce energy costs in rural communities, as well as renewable energy projects and expanding electric vehicle infrastructure.

However, one program aims to reduce energy costs and keep defense infrastructure functioning. The Black Rapids Training Site (BRTS) Defense Community Infrastructure Pilot Program was created to extend transmission lines to the BRTS to avoid replacing diesel generators that are at the end of their life. These end-of-life generators also put the site’s operations at risk, according to Thayer. “We could have lost this military training site, and now we’ve given it new life for the next 30, 40, 50 years,” Thayer said.

While these projects will take time to complete, Thayer believes they will both boost the economy and reduce energy costs for decades to come.

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