The energy climate

With 16 percent of the country’s landmass and less than 0.3 percent of its population, Alaska’s unique geography has driven development of its energy supply infrastructure — power plants, power lines, natural gas pipelines, bulk fuel tank farms and related facilities.

Alaska has more than 150 islanded, stand-alone electrical grids serving rural villages, and larger transmission grids in Southeast Alaska and the Railbelt. The Railbelt electrical grid stretches from Fairbanks through Anchorage to the Kenai Peninsula and provides roughly 79 percent of the state’s electrical energy. 

Powered by wood until 1927, Fairbanks switched to coal after the railroad provided access to the Nenana and Healy coalfields.

Until recently, the Anchorage and Matanuska-Susitna Valley areas enjoyed relatively low-cost heating and power (by Alaska standards) since the development of the Eklutna Lake hydropower plant in the late 1940’s and major Cook Inlet oil and gas discoveries in the 1960s. 

Completed in 1986, the AEA-owned Willow–Healy Intertie transmission line now carries power from diverse energy sources to the Fairbanks area. 

Nearly 73 percent of the Railbelt’s electricity comes from natural gas, mostly supplied by one monopoly producer. Major power generation facilities along the Railbelt include Chugach Electric Association’s (CEA) 332-MW natural gas-fired plant west of Anchorage at Beluga, Anchorage Municipal Light and Power’s (ML&P) 120 MW natural gas-fired Combined Heat and Power plant in Anchorage, CEA and ML&P’s 204 MW natural gas-fired power plant in Anchorage and Golden Valley Electric Association’s (GVEA) 181 MW facility near Fairbanks fueled by naphtha from the Trans-Alaska pipeline system. Homer Electric Association (HEA) has three natural gas fired power plants at Nikiski, Soldotna and Bernice Lake that total 204 MW and Matanuska Electric Association’s (MEA) 171-MW dual-fuel (gas or diesel) generation station near Eklutna was added in 2015. 

The 120 MW, AEA-owned Bradley Lake hydroelectric plant near Homer has been a low-cost source of electricity for the Railbelt since 1991. In 2017, AEA financed an expansion that will boost annual production by an estimated 10 percent. 

Nearly 73 percent of the Railbelt’s electricity comes from natural gas, mostly supplied by one monopoly producer.

Wind farms have also sprouted up on the Railbelt, including 17.6 MW on Fire Island near Anchorage, 24.6 MW at Eva Creek near Healy and 1.9 MW at Delta Junction. 

Today, a about 2,000 MW of installed power generation capacity exists along the Railbelt, a region with an average annual electric load of about 600 MW. The six Railbelt utilities are currently studying the benefits of coordinating dispatch of power generation from all sources to maximize efficiencies and cost savings, though investments in the Railbelt’s transmission system may be required to realize all of those potential benefits. 

During the early 1980s, the state completed a total of four hydropower projects to serve Ketchikan, Kodiak, Petersburg, Valdez and Wrangell. At 76 MW, the “Four Dam Pool” projects displace the equivalent of about 20 million gallons of diesel for annual power production. Additional southeast hydro facilities are currently being developed in Juneau and Prince of Wales Island communities. 

Southcentral Alaska’s heating needs are met almost exclusively by ENSTAR Natural Gas Company, which moves the gas from the Cook Inlet gas fields through over 300 miles of pipelines, and a little over 3,000 miles of distribution mains to the Kenai Peninsula, Anchorage and Matanuska Valley areas. 

With some notable exceptions, most of Alaska’s remaining power and heating needs are fueled by diesel barged from Lower 48 suppliers or transported from refineries in Nikiski, North Pole and Valdez. After freeze-up, many remote communities rely on fuel stored in tank farms, or pay a premium for fuel flown in by air tankers. State and federal authorities continue to support programs to fix leaky tanks, improve power generation, generation efficiency and develop local renewable energy sources such as wind, biomass and hydro.

Related Resources

Alaska HistoryHydroRailbeltRural AlaskaWind