At the start of the 2017 legislative session, a budget deficit of hundreds of millions loomed over the coming months in Juneau. Around that time, an Alaska politician assured me that in spite of the ongoing failure to deal with our systemic revenue shortfall, he wouldn’t let Alaska’s fiscal trajectory “look like the last scene of Thelma and...
Gov. Mike Dunleavy published Administrative Order 360 in early August to reduce “administrative and economic burdens associated with regulatory compliance.” But the order is more likely to slow down rather than speed up decisions we need for sustainable energy, as well as weakening protections for the ecosystems Alaskans depend on. It requires...
In October, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources decided it's in the state's best interest to give a company the right to explore for methane (a.k.a natural gas) in two areas of the largely undisturbed Susitna Valley. The Susitna River and its many entangled tributaries are arteries of the Cook Inlet watershed and support salmon runs of all...
The Big Beautiful Bill, passed in early July with the approval of all of Alaska's federal congressional delegation, ends tax credits that could have paid for up to 40% of the cost of all wind and solar projects in Alaska until 2033. Now, projects will need to start construction by July 4, 2026 to qualify. The federal government has made it clear...
For over a decade, the central peninsula has grown accustomed to the ritual of Alaska Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) presentations at the Nikiski Community Rec Center. The Alaska LNG (AK LNG) project would build an 800-mile pipeline from North Slope natural gas fields to an export terminal in Nikiski. For many years, its various backers have been...
On October 8, the Alaska LNG project will be in Nikiski, presenting its efforts to build an 800-mile pipeline from North Slope gas fields to an export terminal in Cook Inlet. The project's proponents–the private developer Glenfarne and the state-owned Alaska Gasline Development Corporation–owe Alaskans answers to some fundamental...
Editor's note: This story was updated Oct. 10 with additional information about the used baler the Kenai Peninsula Borough is planning to purchase, and on Oct. 14 with updated information about aluminium recycling at Central Peninsula Landfill After the 33-year old baler machine at Soldotna's Central Peninsula Landfill broke in December 2024,...
A year ago, the developers of the planned Puppy Dog lake solar farm in Nikiski signed a contract to sell solar power to Homer Electric Association (HEA) for less than the current cost of HEA's gas-generated power. The solar project was planned to meet about 12% of HEA's annual electrical needs, and would save Homer residents incrementally more...
It isn't much use now to debate how and why we ended up with the grotesque act of national self-harm known as HR1, aka “the Big Beautiful Bill.” The bill passed early this month with approval of Rep. Nick Begich III, Sen. Dan Sullivan, and a decisive yes vote from Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Here are some of the ways the bill will affect Inletkeeper's...
**PRESS RELEASE** New Report: Alaska Faces Nation’s Highest Energy Burden, Hitting Rural and Low-Income Communities Hardest Anchorage, AK - A new report, "Energy Burden in Alaska: Understanding Energy Burden for Alaska Communities and Charting a Path Forward," reveals that Alaska faces the most severe energy burden in the U.S., with rural and...
