By ROBERT SEITZ

The Alaska Industrial Export and Development Authority is considering a loan to HEX/Furie to support 5 years of drilling. HEX ha stated it needs relief from the 12.5% royalty payment, which would provide lower price gas and leave HEX some margin to allow some profit so it could keep on drilling and producing.

The problem has been stated but the State of Alaska has still not taken action to ensure increased production of natural gas in Cook Inlet. Just standing by and letting our Cook Inlet gas run out so we can import LNG makes no sense.  

This is our most critical emergency which demands immediate action.  Even if we get more production going on the Norh Slope we still need cheap energy on the Railbelt to be able to support that activity.

I have been pushing on this issue of Increased Cook Inlet Gas production for more than a year now, and we still have no viable action yet. That the greatest benefit of Cook Inlet gas is not for its value to the Permanent Fund, but as an energy source for the Railbelt communities. The Crisis is even more urgent than it was last year.  I am extremely disappointed in the will and motivation of Alaskans to get this important thing done.  Every department, every agency (AEA, AIDEA, RCA, DNR, Alaska House and Senate members) and citizen of Alaska should be working to get things in place to ensure that this increased production of Cook Inlet Gas is accomplished immediately.

As for other aspects of Railbelt energy,  I agree with Alex Gimarc’s Oct. 18 column in Must Read Alaska, “Gov.  Dunleavy’s Eklutna decision was reasonable,”  with my focus on the point that the Eklutna Lake level may have to increase, which in my mind gives room for “pumped hydro” as a means to provide that increased level behind the dam. I think the action retains the water supply and electrical power generation capability. 

Now I will address the advancement to more renewables on the Railbelt System.  In my column, “Power transition if more complicated than many realize,”  I brought up a number of problems that utilities are faced with as they have greater penetration of renewable energy that are inverter based resources.  

Just as modern vehicles with enhanced electronics provide more problems as the various features fail to function properly, all these complexities with the addition of more and larger arrays of wind and solar installations. Sustainable, reliable or resilience have nothing to do with decarbonization when living in Alaska. We need power and energy systems that will keep on working no matter what the weather brings, or volcanic eruptions or earthquakes. If something does happen, we need to be able to quickly restore operation to an acceptable level. The utilities and the IPP’s need to have these complexities well worked out between themselves before committing to any utility scale additions to the Railbelt. The communications and the controls will be and complicated. The more complex and complicated the system, the more likely to have failure.

Some of the reason I favor pumped hydro and geothermal for additions to the Railbelt system is for the rotating machines and the inertia they would provide with their operation, that would result in more normal response for an electrical system. I have been considering the use of rotating condensers, which might be power by renewables and energy storage device to also provide high inertia rotating machine interface with the utilities. I encourage everyone to look at interfaces other than inverters as a way to have a better system.

And as the new legislative session will be upon us soon, I will continue to advocate against mandated growth of renewables incorporated into the Railbelt and definitely I advocate against any form Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPF). All the examples across the nation where RPF and RTO have been established, the electrical prices have risen, the system operations have been complicated, and the interaction of all the new entities involved with the grid systems have multiplied and added additional complexity. Electricity is not getting cheaper with the addition of wind and solar.

If Alaska begins building a gas line from Prudhoe Bay and it gets as far as Fairbanks, that would do a lot of good for the state. I’ve been waiting 46 years for a gas line through Fairbanks. All the problems with expensive fuel oil, and high particulate pollution from the burning of wood for heat would be greatly reduced. One great benefit would be the ability to have a natural gas-fueled power plant to feed the Intertie from the other direction.

Now to end where I started, with the increased production of Cook Inlet gas and the part we all have to play in it.  Let’s all get behind this and support whatever actions are necessary to get the aid the affected producers need to get that gas to market.  Are we ready for another cold winter?

Robert Seitz is a professional electrical engineer and lifelong concerned Alaskan.