AIDEA pushes IEP choice to January

The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority is aiming to choose a private-sector partner for its Interior Energy Project at an upcoming meeting in January 2014.

The staff of the public corporation is “running parallel tracks,” according to Executive Director Ted Leonard. One track is examining the term sheets of the three competing project proposals while the other is conducting due diligence on project components.

By conducting a “quick, hard negotiation” with whatever partner the board chooses, AIDEA will be able to maintain its schedule, Leonard said at a Dec. 18 board meeting.

At the December meeting, the board heard presentations from the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, the Alaska Gasline Development Corp. and the Alaska Railroad Corp., as part of due diligence efforts. The latter two entities could potentially be competitors or collaborators on any effort to truck liquefied natural gas to the Interior.

AIDEA is currently weighing turnkey proposals from MWH Americas Inc., Pentex Alaska Natural Gas Co. LLC and Spectrum Alaska LLC. The AIDEA staff had previously suggested it might recommend one of those proposals to the board at its December meeting, but is now looking to make such a recommendation on Jan. 14.

The delay will allow AIDEA to consult with Golden Valley Electric Association, which could participate in the project as both a partner and a consumer. The electric cooperative is a major energy user in the region, but also holds a long-term gas supply contract.

GVEA plans to give AIDEA its comments on the three term sheets by the end of the month, Leonard said. GVEA has previously said that it expects to purchase between 1.5 billion cubic feet and 2.5 bcf annually from any project, but said the exact amount would depend on the plant offering a “commercially reasonable” fixed price.

—Eric Lidji