Wednesday, April 29, 2026
Home Blog Page 135

Department of Energy hits brakes on $3.7 billion in ‘green’ grants issued by Biden in his final hours

Suzanne Downing
-
25
Department of Energy hits brakes on $3.7 billion in ‘green’ grants issued by Biden in his final hours

The US Department of Energy on Friday announced the cancellation of 24 clean energy projects totaling over $3.7 billion in federal financial assistance, citing economic and national security concerns. The move is part of a new federal energy direction under the Trump Administration and targets decisions made largely during the last weeks of President Joe Biden’s term.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement that the grants, issued by the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, failed to meet standards for economic viability, energy security, and return on investment for taxpayers.

“While the previous administration failed to conduct a thorough financial review before signing away billions of taxpayer dollars, the Trump administration is doing our due diligence to ensure we are utilizing taxpayer dollars to strengthen our national security, bolster affordable, reliable energy sources and advance projects that generate the highest possible return on investment,” Wright said.

Nearly 70% of the 24 canceled awards were signed between Election Day 2024 and President Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025. Many were linked to carbon capture and sequestration or industrial decarbonization efforts, including projects in the cement, food, and energy sectors. No grants to Alaska were made during that period. Only $99 million had been disbursed when the decision was made.

High-profile recipients whose funding was withdrawn include Exxon Mobil’s hydrogen project in Baytown, Texas, and a Kraft Heinz decarbonization initiative.

In a press release, the DOE stated that the decision followed an “individualized financial review” guided by a Secretarial Memorandum issued earlier this month. That policy document, “Ensuring Responsibility for Financial Assistance,” outlined a case-by-case review process for DOE grants to “identify waste of taxpayer dollars, protect America’s national security, and advance President Trump’s commitment to unleash affordable, reliable and secure energy.”

Many of the rescinded grants were part of climate initiatives backed by the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. Earlier this year, over $130 million in grants allocated to clean energy projects in rural Alaska were frozen following an executive order from President Donald Trump.

Supreme Court clears way for energy projects with NEPA decision. Alaska stands to gain big

JERA signals interest in Alaska LNG as global buyers head north for talks in Anchorage

Suzanne Downing
-
24
JERA signals interest in Alaska LNG as global buyers head north for talks in Anchorage

Japan’s largest liquefied natural gas importer, JERA Co., has indicated interest in buying LNG from the Alaska LNG project.

The news, first reported by Bloomberg, was leaked just before private companies and government officials head to Alaska for a week of energy talks and possible deals, as well as a summit roundtable meeting with Sen. Dan Sullivan.

JERA, also the largest power producer in Japan, has submitted its written expression of interest, which is particularly notable as the company is among the world’s most influential LNG buyers and often serves as a bellwether for broader demand trends in Asia.

The company’s decision to explore a deal with Alaska adds weight to the state’s hopes of becoming a new player in global LNG markets amid shifting geopolitical dynamics and growing demand for stable energy supplies in East Asia. Already, Thailand and India are said to be interested in purchasing and Alaska LNG.

Thailand signals it could import up to 5 million tons of Alaska LNG per year

The Alaska LNG project, which includes a gas treatment plant on the North Slope, an 800-mile pipeline to Southcentral Alaska, and a liquefaction and export facility in Nikiski, has been a stop-and-go project for over a decade. The company that is now the majority owner of the project, Glenfarne, is now entering the front-end engineering and design phase of the project, the last step before a final investment decision.

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy and other state leaders have emphasized the importance of the LNG project as a means of diversifying Alaska’s economy and providing long-term revenue streams beyond oil.

Global energy leaders, policy experts, and investors from across four continents will convene in Anchorage next week for the 2025 Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference, a major summit hosted by Gov. Dunleavy. Now in its fourth year, the event has grown into one of the most significant forums for discussing the future of sustainable energy in the Arctic and beyond.

The weeklong gathering will feature participants from at least 10 countries and a wide range of sectors, from traditional oil and gas to advanced nuclear, digital infrastructure, and renewable technologies. Sessions will explore the policy, investment, and innovation needed to power the global energy transition—while also spotlighting Alaska’s strategic role in that evolution.

  • Governor’s Energy Cabinet Lunch: Gov. Dunleavy will host a high-level lunch featuring three key federal officials — Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin — who are expected to share perspectives on federal-state cooperation and national energy priorities.
  • Keynote Address by Alex Epstein: Best-selling author and founder of the Center for Industrial Progress, Alex Epstein, will deliver a keynote speech. Epstein is widely known for his controversial but influential views on the moral case for fossil fuels in the context of modern energy policy.
  • Global LNG Spotlight – Glenfarne Presentation: Gov. Dunleavy will introduce Brendan Duval, CEO of Glenfarne Group, in a dedicated session focused on the company’s global LNG strategy and interest in Alaskan energy assets.
  • Nuclear Energy Panel: A featured session titled “From Development to Deployment: Public Policy and Private Sector Drivers for Advanced Nuclear Energy” will bring together representatives from the Nuclear Energy Institute, BWXT Advanced Technologies, Westinghouse, and Radiant. The discussion will center on how emerging nuclear technologies can complement Alaska’s remote energy needs and bolster US energy security.
  • Data Infrastructure and Energy Demand: Leaders from DigitalBridge and Corley Energy will speak on “The Intersection of Data and Energy Demand,” addressing the surging power requirements of data centers and the role of sustainable energy in powering the digital economy.

The conference is expected to generate a lot of dialogue around energy innovation, Alaska’s resource potential, and the strategic decisions shaping energy futures worldwide.

The Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference will take place in downtown Anchorage, with sessions open to registered attendees and media coverage throughout the week.

US Senator Dan Sullivan will lead a roundtable discussion with Interior Secretary and National Energy Dominance Council Chair Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Environmental Protection AgencyAdministrator Lee Zeldin, Gov. Mike Dunleavy and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, along with representatives from Alaska’s resource development sectors and trade unions, on Sunday, June 1 at 9:30 am. The roundtable will focus on implementation of President Trump’s Executive Order 14153, “Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential,” and the opportunities and unique challenges in responsibly developing Alaska’s natural resources.

Glenfarne taps Worley for final engineering and cost estimate on Alaska LNG Pipeline
Glenfarne won’t need the $50 million guarantee from state agency for gasline; will do it with private funds
Agreement approved: AGDC board says OK to a deal with Glenfarne to build Alaska Gasline
India added to list of countries now showing interest in investing in Alaska LNG
Janet Weiss: Alaska’s LNG moment: Powering the Railbelt, fueling the world
Thailand signals it could import up to 5 million tons of Alaska LNG per year

Supreme Court clears way for energy projects with NEPA decision. Alaska stands to gain big

Suzanne Downing
-
15
Supreme Court clears way for energy projects with NEPA decision. Alaska stands to gain big

On Thursday, the US Supreme Court issued a unanimous 8-0 decision in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, which limits the scope of the National Environmental Policy Act and restricts federal agencies from considering indirect environmental effects, such as downstream greenhouse gas emissions, when evaluating infrastructure projects. 

The decision could accelerate energy and transportation developments nationwide, with profound implications for Alaska, which has been targeted under Democrat administrations.

Alaska had joined 22 other states in an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to limit NEPA’s reach. Alaska argued that expansive interpretation hinder state sovereignty and economic development.

“The Supreme Court made the right call in this case. The courts should not create new law or policy. The courts should simply decide if something is constitutional or not,” said Gov. Mike Dunleavy.

The ruling says NEPA can only require agencies to assess the environmental impacts directly related to the project under their jurisdiction. For example, an agency that is weighing the permits for an industrial access road to a drilling pad does not need to evaluate the broader environmental consequences of the drilling itself, just the road.

The case was brought to the court after a lower court had blocked an 88-mile railway in Utah, which was being built to transport crude oil. The lower court demanded the consideration of environmental impacts of the oil itself.

  • Justice Brett Kavanaugh, writing for the majority, said NEPA is a procedural statute meant to inform agency decisions, not to serve as a tool for courts to impose additional requirements.
Justice Department cuts ties with American Bar Association over biased judicial nominee reviews

Justice Department cuts ties with American Bar Association over biased judicial nominee reviews

Suzanne Downing
-
14
Justice Department cuts ties with American Bar Association over biased judicial nominee reviews

US Attorney General Pam Bondi has informed the American Bar Association that it will no longer receive special access to information or participate in the judicial nomination process, citing longstanding concerns over political bias in the organization.

In a letter addressed to ABA President Mary Smith Bay, Bondi criticized the organization for what she described as a “demonstrable” pattern of favoring nominees from Democrat administrations.

The letter ends a decades-long tradition of privileged involvement in vetting federal judicial nominees.

“For several decades, the American Bar Association has received special treatment and enjoyed special access to judicial nominees,” Bondi wrote. “Unfortunately, the ABA no longer functions as a fair arbiter of nominees’ qualifications.”

Bondi noted that in previous administrations, the ABA had been granted early notice of potential nominees and had influence over whether a nomination would move forward based on its internal ratings. That era, her letter made clear, is now over.

“The Office of Legal Policy will no longer direct nominees to provide waivers allowing the ABA access to non-public information, including bar records,” Bondi wrote. “Nominees will also not respond to questionnaires prepared by the ABA and will not sit for interviews with the ABA.”

The decision aligns with longstanding conservative criticisms that the ABA’s judicial evaluation process lacks neutrality and disproportionately favors liberal legal perspectives. Conservative lawmakers have frequently cited cases where conservative nominees were rated poorly, while liberal counterparts with similar or less experience received higher marks.

While the ABA is still free to offer its opinions on judicial candidates, Bondi wrote that it will now be treated “like other activist organizations.”

The Alaska Bar Association plays a similar gatekeeping role in state judicial nominations. Judicial selections in Alaska are made through the Alaska Judicial Council, a constitutionally established body that evaluates applicants for judgeships and sends nominees to the governor. The Alaska Bar Association gets to appoint three of the seven members of the judicial council, a role established by the Alaska Constitution. Along with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court as the head of the judicial council, this has ensured that liberal judges rule the courts of Alaska.

Keeping up with the Trump court wins

Suzanne Downing
-
8
Keeping up with the Trump court wins

With at least 250 lawsuits filed against President Donald Trump in the first 100 days of the Administration — averaging about three lawsuits per business day — it is a challenge to keep up with them all.

Trump has secured a series of recent victories in the courts. Here are some of them:

  • A federal appeals court reinstated Trump’s authority to impose tariffs on foreign goods. The decision temporarily allows for a 10% universal tariff on most imports and a 30% tariff specifically targeting Chinese goods. A lower trade court had blocked the tariffs, saying that they exceeded presidential authority, but the appeals court granted a pause on that ruling pending further review.
  • The US Supreme Court ruled the president may remove the heads of independent federal agencies without cause, such as the National Labor Relations Board.
  • The Supreme Court also upheld Trump’s decision to end Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans, reversing a previous court order that blocked the policy. The ruling affects approximately 350,000 Venezuelan nationals in the country.
  • The Supreme Court sided with Trump in a dispute over federal staffing authority, allowing the termination of 16,000 probationary federal employees. The lower court had previously halted the firings.

No other administration has faced a comparable volume of lawsuits in such a short period. For example, the Obama Administration faced 12 nationwide injunctions over eight years, and President Joe Biden had 14 injunctions over four years, while Trump’s second term has seen 20–30 injunctions in his first 130 days in office.

Hostile neighbor: State of Washington sues Trump over his emergency order that helps Alaska economy
Supreme Court sides with Trump on deportation of Venezuelans
Here come the lawsuits: Washington’s AG sues to undo Trump’s ban on child sexual mutilation

Just in: Anchorage listed on Department of Homeland Security’s ‘sanctuary city’ list

Suzanne Downing
-
74
Just in: Anchorage listed on Department of Homeland Security’s ‘sanctuary city’ list

The US Department of Homeland Security has released its first official list of sanctuary jurisdictions under “Executive Order 14287: Protecting American Communities from Criminal Aliens,” and among the names is Anchorage.

The designation comes as part of a sweeping directive from President Donald Trump requiring DHS to identify local and state governments that, in the department’s view, obstruct the enforcement of federal immigration laws. The list, published publicly for the first time on Wednesday, includes dozens of cities, counties, and states accused of limiting cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or providing legal protections to individuals in the country illegally.

Anchorage has positioned itself as a “welcoming city,” a term of art used by former Mayor Ethan Berkowitz in 2017 to emphasize that city services, including police protection, are available to all residents regardless of immigration status.

This stance, while not explicitly declaring sanctuary status, mirrors sanctuary city policies by ensuring illegal immigrants feel safe and protected by the city from immigration officials.

In addition, the Anchorage School District has recently made a policy to prevent immigration enforcement officers from entering any school district property without a fully vetted warrant.

In a sharply worded statement, DHS said sanctuary jurisdictions “deliberately and shamefully obstruct the enforcement of federal immigration laws,” and accused them of “endangering American communities” by refusing to cooperate with federal authorities. According to the department, Anchorage’s policies restrict communication with federal immigration officers and limit local law enforcement’s ability to comply with ICE detainer requests. This may be in reference to the school district.

“Sanctuary cities protect dangerous criminal aliens from facing consequences and put law enforcement in peril,” the DHS release stated. Each jurisdiction on the list, including Anchorage, will receive a formal notice of non-compliance and a demand to revise policies to conform with federal law.

The Municipality of Anchorage has in recent years adopted measures intended to limit local involvement in immigration enforcement, citing concerns about civil rights and community trust.

In particular, city guidelines have restricted police from inquiring about a person’s immigration status or holding individuals solely on federal detainer requests without a judicial warrant.

The list published by DHS is subject to regular updates and may change as jurisdictions modify their policies. According to the department, the inclusion of Anchorage means the city could face administrative consequences, including potential restrictions on certain federal funds if compliance is not restored.

Local officials had not yet issued a response to the designation as of Wednesday evening. The DHS directive makes clear that jurisdictions wishing to be removed from the list must demonstrate full cooperation with immigration enforcement going forward.

Anchorage’s inclusion places it squarely in the national spotlight and in the same category as California, which identifies as a sanctuary state for illegals. Importantly, even Juneau, as liberal as it is, was not included on the list.

Read the list at this link.

Murkowski speaks at luncheon in Fairbanks, while outside, Trump supporters show the flag

Suzanne Downing
-
35
Murkowski speaks at luncheon in Fairbanks, while outside, Trump supporters show the flag

While it was a Chamber of Commerce and University crowd inside the event center in Fairbanks to hear from Sen. Lisa Murkowski on Wednesday, outside there was another event going on — about 30 people had arrived with Trump flags to send a message to Murkowski that Donald Trump won the presidency again, and still has their support. We have photos:

Room with a view: A multi-media tour of scenic Mayor Suzanne LaFrance Autonomous Zone (SLAZ)

Suzanne Downing
-
27
Room with a view: A multi-media tour of scenic Mayor Suzanne LaFrance Autonomous Zone (SLAZ)

When tourists arrive in Anchorage and check into one of the downtown hotels, they’re often greeted with two starkly contrasting views. On a clear day, they might catch a glimpse of majestic Mt. McKinley on the horizon. But every day this summer, without fail, what greets them closer to ground level is another sprawling homeless encampment, just steps from where the Saturday Market sets up and directly beneath the Ramada by Wyndham.

As part of our continuing series on Anchorage’s worsening vagrancy crisis, we invite you on a photo and video tour of what has become the city’s unofficial welcome mat. This is the reality visitors encounter in downtown Anchorage — a visual story of what life looks like under Democrat leadership in Alaska’s largest city.

Below the video and images, you can find links to our tours of other vagrant encampments around Anchorage in recent weeks, as Mayor LaFrance continues to oversee the decay of the largest city in Alaska.

Welcome to La Franckorage: A multi-media tour of summer in Alaska’s largest vagrant encampments
Photo tour: Democrats blasted Bronson for Centennial Park campground. They ushered in Anchorage trail system’s Wild, Wild West
Mayor LaFrance recreating LBJ’s ‘Great Society’ in Anchorage with ‘10,000 homes in 10 years’
Video: Come with us as we walk through the Suzanne LaFrance Autonomous Zone (SLAZ)
Welcome to La Franckorage: A multi-media tour of summer in Alaska’s largest vagrant encampments
Welcome to downtown Anchorage: A pictorial tour of how Mayor LaFrance is managing the visitor season

Palmer’s Arthur Keyes appointed Farm Services Agency director

Suzanne Downing
-
6
Palmer’s Arthur Keyes appointed Farm Services Agency director

Arthur Keyes has been appointed by the US Department of Agriculture to serve as Alaska’s executive director of the Farm Service Agency.

Keyes, owner of Glacier Valley Farm in Palmer, has years of Alaska agricultural experience, including serving as the director of the Alaska Division of Agriculture from 2016 to 2019.

Keyes was a produce manager for the Carrs supermarket chain until 2002, when he began working as a full-time farmer.

The Farm Service Agency serves a number of programs, including loans, price support, and commodity programs to stabilize farm income and promote agricultural productivity. The work includes direct and guaranteed loans for farm ownership, operations and emergency loans and disaster relief programs to help farmers recover from natural disasters or economic losses.

Eric Koan named USDA’s Rural Development director for Alaska
1...134135136...1,778Page 135 of 1,778

About us

Must Read Alaska is news of people, politics, policy, culture, and happenings in Alaska.

Contact
4021 West Hill Road,
Homer, AK 99603
[email protected]

The latest

Anchorage Seeks to Establish New Public Safety Advisory Commission

907 0
Anchorage, AK is one of the most dangerous cities...

1,000 Alaskans Protest Genocide of the Unborn

The 907 0
On Saturday, April 25, about one thousand Alaskans gathered...

Opinion: Haines Assembly Member’s $10K Offer Draws a Line on Taxpayer Funding

907 0
By Brenda JosephsonHaines is a small community with a...

© Must Read Alaska