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December rollout for state energy plan Alaska Energy Authority to hold public meetings to vet plan for lowering energy costs in local communities across the state Eric Lidji Petroleum News
The state expects to roll out a short-term plan to reduce energy costs in Alaska at the start of December, the state energy coordinator told lawmakers on Oct. 21.
The plan is designed to help communities prioritize local energy projects, Steve Haagenson told the Alaska Renewable Energy Task Force, a joint committee.
Tailored to distinct regions and individual communities, the plan will compare current costs for energy produced from diesel fuel against probable costs for energy created from alternative sources. This “focusing tool” is meant to help communities choose projects, as well as guide state lawmakers and the private sector in funding and business decisions.
“We may have to do some partnering between these two entities,” Haagenson said.
Gov. Sarah Palin appointed Haagenson to be the first state energy coordinator in March 2008. Through the position, Haagenson also became the executive director of the Alaska Energy Authority, a public corporation of the state.
Over the summer, Haagenson and a team from the Alaska Energy Authority traveled to nearly 30 communities learning about energy habits, untapped fuel sources and the local attraction or objection to different energy projects.
The plan to be unveiled in December will include a detailing of all the energy used in Alaska for electricity, heating and transportation, compiled by the Institute of Social and Economic Research, an arm of the University of Alaska Anchorage.
Haagenson said the Alaska Energy Authority would hold 12 to 15 public meetings in rural Alaska starting in January, after releasing the new plan. He said the meeting will allow communities to question the “assumptions and methodology” of the plan.
Concerns about overload Haagenson said the Alaska Energy Authority has substantially increased its activities since the passage of a bill earlier this year creating a renewable energy grant fund.
The program puts the Alaska Energy Authority as the lead agency in charge of funneling state dollars to renewable energy projects. Various proposals thrown around this summer included spending $21 billion on energy projects over the next seven years.
Haagenson expressed concern about that increased workload impacting the Alaska Energy Authority and permitting agencies in the state Department of Natural Resources.
“We definitely have bumped the ceiling on what we can produce. … I got the egg in our mouth. We closed our jaw back together. But if you give me an egg that’s ten times bigger next year, I’m not sure how we’re going to handle that,” Haagenson said. l
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