00                      HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 52                                                                     
01 Urging the Municipality of Anchorage to expedite a project to convert methane gas from                                  
02 the Anchorage Regional Landfill to an energy source for Anchorage.                                                      
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
04       WHEREAS, for three years, the Anchorage Regional Landfill has been flaring                                      
05 methane gas in an amount that could be converted to 2.5 - 3 megawatts of electricity, which is                          
06 enough energy, to power 2,200 homes in the area; and                                                                    
07       WHEREAS the flaring of methane gas is a waste of energy; and                                                    
08       WHEREAS, in 2008, the Alaska State Legislature created the renewable energy grant                               
09 fund to be administered by the Alaska Energy Authority; and                                                             
10       WHEREAS the Alaska Energy Authority recognized the critical importance of                                       
11 converting the methane gas being flared at the Anchorage Regional Landfill into a usable                                
12 source of energy and awarded a grant of $2,000,000 to be used for that purpose; and                                     
13       WHEREAS the sources of energy in Anchorage are in question in the next few years,                               
14 resulting in increasing concern about the availability of energy by consumers in that area; and                         
15       WHEREAS Anchorage residents are being warned of future energy emergencies; and                                  
16       WHEREAS the need for a reliable, affordable, and renewable source of energy for                                 

01 Anchorage increases daily; and                                                                                          
02       WHEREAS the large volume of methane gas at the Anchorage Regional Landfill that                                 
03 is dispersed into the atmosphere should be converted to residential energy as soon as possible;                         
04 and                                                                                                                     
05       WHEREAS a project to convert methane gas from the Anchorage Regional Landfill                                   
06 to energy could serve as a model for the state;                                                                         
07       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the Municipality of                                      
08 Anchorage to expedite a project to convert methane gas from the Anchorage Regional                                      
09 Landfill to useable energy; and be it                                                                                   
10       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature encourages accelerated                                       
11 governmental cooperation among affected agencies to assist in the conversion of methane gas                             
12 from the Anchorage Regional Landfill to usable energy.                                                                  
13       A COPY of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Daniel Sullivan, Mayor of                              
14 the Municipality of Anchorage.