The federal government is Alaska’s dominant landlord, with nearly 63% of the state – an area bigger than the state of Texas – under its control. The ability to use those lands – and the incredible resource wealth under them – to provide economic opportunity for Alaskans have been under siege during this administration.   President Biden and his administration have issued an incredible 66 administrative or executive orders designed to stymie development on them. The day he assumed office, an executive order put a halt to activities in the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).  Late last…

In an effort to keep the Biden administration from doing more damage to Alaska’s future economy, two Alaska Native corporations have sued the EPA. The reason for their suit is the EPA’s pre-emptive veto of the proposed Pebble Mine project in Southwest Alaska.  The plaintiffs contend the EPA’s actions were illegal, and want the courts to uphold the decades-old NEPA process as the overarching rule of law.  That process – culminating in a final environmental impact statement in June, 2020 – showed the proposed copper, gold, molybdenum and rhenium mine would not harm the nearby Bristol Bay fishery.  That fishery…

After eight ignored requests or cancelled appointments, the North Slope Iñupiat finally got their meeting with Interior Secretary Deb Haaland in Washington, DC yesterday. For a federal administration talking a good game about being the most in-touch with Indigenous voices and values, their indignation toward the regional representatives of tribal organizations, Native village corporations and various government bodies spoke much louder for the past 42 months. With the Secretary finally in the same room as the Iñupiat delegation, they pressed her on why her department has ignored their positions on marrying environmental stewardship with responsible development of their ancestral lands.  Even…

The Anchorage Assembly is at it again, potentially sacrificing always-on electricity production in the name of special-interest pandering. We’ve written before about the Assembly’s obsession with removing the Eklutna Dam, which provides approximately 6% of Anchorage’s power, but 90% of its drinking water.  They say they’re acting in the best interests of the Municipality, but putting power and water at risk to 275,000 people isn’t good public policy. Next Tuesday, they’re formalizing their resolution to oppose the reauthorization of a 1991 agreement that the hydro/water project’s owners have spent five years studying and completing the mitigation and enhancement plan for. …

Earlier today, the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC) announced it had entered into a Gas Sales Precedent Agreement (“GSPA”) between AGDC subsidiary 8 Star Alaska LLC and Great Bear Pantheon, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pantheon Resources. The announcement is huge news for advocates of the Alaska LNG pipeline project, which would deliver gas from Alaska’s North Slope to a terminus in its southcentral region. Aside from hundreds of Alaska jobs, there is long-term potential for exportability of North Slope gas.  First and foremost, however, having a firm supply of gas makes it easier for the AK-LNG project to complete…

With the radicalization of America’s energy system by ENGOs and ideologues an ongoing issue, utility boards have become a relatively new battleground.  Thankfully, people are waking up to their importance, and voting in numbers not historically seen in utility elections. Last Friday night saw a fundamental shift in the ideology of Alaska’s largest electric utility.  After a month-long election process, ratepayers won, as the current board chair of Chugach Electric was bounced from his seat.  The new board member, Dan Rogers, has a background in power generation, and is a former Chugach Electric employee.  His knowledge of energy, coupled with…

With Alaska’s legislative session constitutionally mandated to end at 11:59 PM on Wednesday night, there are still plenty of items for the 60 men and women serving the state to consider. When it comes to energy legislation, the most pressing pieces involve how to deal with a potential Cook Inlet natural gas supply crunch.  Whether incentivizing producers to explore and drill more or supporting the construction of additional storage to hold imported natural gas, delaying approval of some sort of plan would be irresponsible.  Grid upgrades are also being discussed, albeit for reasons we won’t always agree with legislators on. …

With less than 10 days to go in Alaska’s legislative session, the ‘controlled chaos’ typical for this time of the year began in earnest late last week.  As reported previously, a State Senator with an anti-oil history, Bill Wielechowski (D-Anchorage) tried to introduce an amendment to a bill that would have targeted Hilcorp’s S-Corporation tax status.  The cost to Hilcorp would have been in the hundreds of millions of dollars a year, money they let the Legislature know would be met with cutbacks to its ongoing investment in the state’s oil and gas fields. Although the amendment passed the Senate’s…

Mary Peltola, Alaska Democrat and its lone member of Congress, sure changed decided to forget who she represents in a hurry. Peltola earned praise for being the prime co-sponsor of legislation (HR 6285) to take back Congress’ authority when it comes to oil and gas development in the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A).  The resolution drew the ire of environmentalists when it was introduced last November, and Peltola was a prime target of their angst. Then, this week Peltola made a move that originally had veteran Alaska politicos bewildered.  She…