Wind farm proposed near Little Mount Susitna

Alan Bailey

for Petroleum News

Following receipt of an application by Little Mount Susitna Wind LLC to lease state land on the south side of Little Mount Susitna for the construction of a wind farm, Alaska’s Division of Mining, Land, and Water solicited interest from other parties who may consider developing the site for similar purposes. This solicitation of interest is required before a lease can be issued. Little Mount Susitna Wind is a wholly owned subsidiary of Alaska Renewables, a Fairbanks based company, founded in early 2021.

The proposed lease would encompass about 19,200 acres and would last for 40 years. The concept involves the development of about 450 acres within the lease area, which lies 35 to 40 miles northwest of Anchorage. The project would connect via new transmission lines into Chugach Electric Association’s existing power transmission lines - Chugach Electric has transmission lines that extend around to Anchorage from the utility’s aging gas-fired Beluga Power Plant on the west side of the Cook Inlet.

Any other entity interested in a similar development in the same area had to submit a lease application and development plant to the Division of Mining, Land and Water by June 24.

- ALAN BAILEY