By ROBERT SEITZ
House Bill 368 was introduced on Feb. 20, and it looks like a Renewable Portfolio Standards bill with dates extended from earlier dates in previous RPS bills, requiring 35% “clean energy” by 2036 and 51% by 2051.
There are, however, some things to pay attention to in this bill.
There is requirement to begin reporting about the progress for “clean energy” beginning March 1, 2026. This Act takes effect July 1, 2024 and there are a number of requirements that are to be met soon.
The greatest failing of this bill is that there is no provision to control or limit the cost of energy that is added to the Railbelt. Cheap energy should be the goal. Rather than an RPS bill, it would be more profitable to all to have a bill that has the Railbelt utilities map out a plan that would be a guide for the future development. Without energy storage in the Railbelt, this clean energy bill is much less important than securing additional Cook Inlet natural gas.
This guide should investigate first the ability to add pumped hydro to the system as an energy storage mechanism, which would benefit the wind and solar energy sources to allow all excess energy generated to be stored. atteries would not be effective storage devices for Alaska, but are very effective for Kauai, Hawaii as the sun is there every day for about the same amount of time all year, and it will be warm enough for no one to be at risk to freeze if the power is interrupted.
Alaska is a different sort of place; a place in which people can suffer and die when the energy sources are not present when the days are dark and cold.
The next step would be to identify stable base energy sources such as hydroelectric dam, geothermal source or nuclear reactor which would be likely candidates to add to the system. Each of these energy sources must be estimated for size and for the timeline for when each can be brought on line and estimate the cost/kwh for each. These are all non-CO2 sources so should eliminate decarbonization discussions. In the course of this effort, the Railbelt utilities need to consider the amount of expansion to the energy sources that is required to accommodate whatever additional electrification will be needed.
Then the entire Railbelt needs to be evaluated for where the system needs to have microgrids formed to provide resilience to those portions of the Railbelt transmission and distribution which could be without power upon disruption of the transmission lines during earthquakes, fire, or wind and ice. Each of these microgrids would probably contain wind and/or solar sources supplemented by a battery energy storage system and then some base source of power such as a diesel generator, methanol fueled generator or maybe even a small geothermal generator. The identification of these microgrid locations would be sites made available for utilities or IPP to propose installation of necessary equipment some of which would be wind or solar (variable energy sources.)
At this stage, the Railbelt utilities will be able to work out what transmission line additions and changes are necessary to build out for the future system. To install the transmission lines to upgrade the system required by HB368 could well be a waste of time when a full understanding of where the energy sources will be installed is not yet known.
As we develop our long term energy plan, the first thing that is needed is to secure future Cook Inlet natural gas production and distribution. From comments I have read, those working on solutions to get more Cook Inlet natural gas is that the natural gas is subject to pricing as a commodity on the world market.
Some way to decouple Cook Inlet natural gas from the commodity market and ensure future price to the Railbelt utilities through contracts, using reduced royalties, streamlined permitting and favorable taxation to bring all parties together in mutual agreement, must be found. This will help secure our energy reliability and resilience, and allow proper engineering for whatever the future Railbelt system needs to be.
Encourage you legislators to find solutions to our Cook Inlet Gas supply problem and to resist entanglement with a renewable portfolio standard for our Railbelt Electrical utility.
Wind and solar would not provide “sustainable” energy without an energy storage. Cook Inlet natural gas will ensure continued energy for life safety and a growing economy. Let’s do what is sensible.
Robert Seitz is a licensed PE Electrical Engineer and lifelong Alaskan.
