CSHJR 27(ENE): Supporting a comprehensive energy and economic strategy for the state; affirming the principle of energy equity and committing to a future-oriented energy strategy for the state; encouraging state agencies to aggressively pursue opportunities to develop and process critical minerals; supporting the development of the hydrogen industry in the state; directing state agencies to coordinate energy and economic planning; and encouraging the creation of a task force to explore energy and mineral development, including hydrogen energy.
00 CS FOR HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 27(ENE) 01 Supporting a comprehensive energy and economic strategy for the state; affirming the 02 principle of energy equity and committing to a future-oriented energy strategy for the 03 state; encouraging state agencies to aggressively pursue opportunities to develop and 04 process critical minerals; supporting the development of the hydrogen industry in the 05 state; directing state agencies to coordinate energy and economic planning; and 06 encouraging the creation of a task force to explore energy and mineral development, 07 including hydrogen energy. 08 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 09 WHEREAS the state possesses vast natural wealth, including oil, gas, minerals, 10 renewable energy resources, and environmental assets, that has long underpinned the state's 11 economic prosperity and offers unmatched opportunities for future development; and 12 WHEREAS the Alaska State Legislature has urged and continues to urge the United 13 States Congress to honor the terms of the Mineral Leasing Act and the Alaska Statehood Act 14 that provide for the state receiving an 88 percent share of all bonuses, royalties, and rentals
01 received by the federal government from oil and gas exploration, development, and 02 production in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the National Petroleum Reserve in 03 Alaska; and 04 WHEREAS President Trump's executive orders issued on January 20, 2025, and 05 March 20, 2025, direct federal agencies to unlock the state's development potential by 06 expediting permits, restoring access to resource lands, and prioritizing critical mineral 07 production and infrastructure investment for national energy and security resilience; and 08 WHEREAS the Southcentral region of the state will be importing, from a foreign 09 country, gas for heat and electricity as soon as 2028; and 10 WHEREAS the 2022 - 2027 Alaska Statewide Comprehensive Economic 11 Development Strategy defines a shared framework for advancing the economic engines of the 12 state, including the oil and gas, mining, seafood, tourism, and air cargo industries, as well as 13 high-growth emerging sectors, including critical minerals processing, hydrogen fuel 14 production, sustainable energy production, mariculture, aerospace, and manufacturing, in 15 order to support a strong business climate and entrepreneurial ecosystem, develop a prepared 16 workforce, and build a resilient, future-ready economy; and 17 WHEREAS the Alaska Federation of Natives has affirmed that reliable and 18 affordable energy is foundational to the prosperity, resilience, and sustainability of Alaska 19 Native communities and has called on the state to ensure that any future energy transition, 20 whether from oil and gas or toward renewable and critical mineral development, proactively 21 includes rural and Indigenous communities in energy planning, infrastructure investment, and 22 local workforce development; and 23 WHEREAS North Slope oil projects in the state, including projects under 24 construction in Willow and Pikka, are projected to increase oil production to over 600,000 25 barrels a day; and 26 WHEREAS the state holds over 35,000,000,000,000 cubic feet of proven natural gas 27 reserves, which could supply domestic and Pacific markets for generations; and 28 WHEREAS the state possesses significant potential for hydrogen energy production 29 derived from natural gas with carbon management, renewable energy resources, and emerging 30 geologic hydrogen opportunities, and for hydrogen derivatives such as ammonia, methanol, 31 and sustainable aviation fuel suitable for domestic use and export to Asia and Pacific markets;
01 and 02 WHEREAS the state possesses significant potential for hydrogen production derived 03 from natural and stimulated geologic hydrogen production, with associate opportunities, but 04 currently lacks adequate policy frameworks for underground storage, leasing, including lease 05 and royalty payments, and regulation of exploration and production for both hydrogen and 06 associated secondary production of helium; and 07 WHEREAS the state's mineral resources, including copper, cobalt, graphite, rare 08 earth elements, and gold, are essential to energy systems, national defense, and advanced 09 manufacturing and are prioritized for immediate development under federal executive orders; 10 and 11 WHEREAS the current administration published projections estimating that 93 12 percent of new energy capacity in 2025 would come from renewable energy and storage 13 projects; and 14 WHEREAS the state's renewable energy potential is among the highest in the world, 15 including over 10,000 gigawatts of potential wind, hydro, geothermal, solar, wave, and tidal 16 energy; and 17 WHEREAS advanced nuclear technologies, including small modular reactors and 18 microreactors, offer the state a reliable, nonintermittent, zero-carbon baseload energy source 19 capable of supporting industrial development, lowering energy costs, and strengthening long- 20 term statewide energy security; and 21 WHEREAS the strategic deployment of nuclear microreactors in rural regions of the 22 state at military installations and in emerging industrial hubs would provide stable power 23 essential for national security operations, Arctic readiness, and the development of critical 24 mineral and rare earth projects across the state; and 25 WHEREAS collocating energy-intensive industries, such as oil and gas refining, 26 mining and ore processing, data centers, fish processing, and clean hydrogen production, with 27 the state's hydroelectric and renewable energy systems could reduce energy costs statewide, 28 benefit statewide communities, position production for shipment to Pacific markets, and 29 generate long-term economic growth; and 30 WHEREAS rural regions of the state, which are home to over 200 isolated 31 microgrids, face some of the highest energy and food costs in the United States and will
01 benefit from the state's diversified energy development strategy, proximity to resources and 02 energy, and investments in low-cost energy, infrastructure, and workforce pathways; 03 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature affirms its commitment to a 04 diversified energy and economic strategy that includes exploration, development, and 05 production of fossil fuels, renewables, and critical minerals and value-added manufacturing to 06 unleash a new era of state prosperity and opportunity for all regions and future generations; 07 and be it 08 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the federal 09 government to provide project and financial support and permitting coordination for the 10 development of the state's natural gas resources and to disburse previously appropriated funds 11 for critical energy and infrastructure projects that affect every state resident; and be it 12 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature endorses the goals of the 13 2022 - 2027 Alaska Statewide Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy to strengthen 14 the existing economic engines of the state while building new sectors and supports immediate 15 alignment between federal executive orders and the 2022 - 2027 Alaska Statewide 16 Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy to streamline permitting and infrastructure 17 for resource projects; modernize regulations; facilitate access to federal funding and project 18 financing; coordinate energy and economic development strategies across agencies; and align 19 investments, education, and workforce development to create career-oriented opportunities for 20 state residents and future generations; and be it 21 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature recognizes that hydrogen 22 industry development is a unique hybrid activity, combining mineral, geothermal, and oil and 23 gas exploration and development, power generation, industrial processing, and subsurface 24 storage and carbon capture and utilization storage management, and encourages the 25 evaluation of statutory and regulatory frameworks to ensure clear authority, predictable 26 permitting, and coordinated oversight of hydrogen development; and be it 27 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature affirms the principle of 28 energy equity and commits to a future-oriented energy strategy that integrates rural and 29 Indigenous community priorities into state energy planning; ensures that energy investments 30 provide direct benefits to underserved regions, including affordable local power and heat; 31 builds regional energy plans that support resilience and lower costs through local and clean
01 energy sources; and advances workforce development and infrastructure investment to enable 02 local participation and leadership in emerging energy and resource industries; and be it 03 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature encourages state agencies 04 to aggressively pursue opportunities to develop and process critical and rare earth elements 05 using the state's clean energy to produce the world's lowest-carbon strategic minerals, which 06 are vital to national defense, the health of the national supply chain, and the secure production 07 of essential products for the nation; and be it 08 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature directs state agencies to 09 coordinate energy and economic planning to create, by 2035, 1,200 new scalable ventures and 10 associated jobs in energy and emerging sectors generating economic activity, with the goals 11 of retaining the next generation of state residents and attracting to the state more than 30,000 12 working-age people; lowering the cost of energy for households and industry to below 13 national averages; increasing the affordability of and access to housing and health care in the 14 state and increasing financial resilience in communities across the state; building the grid and 15 industrial base to support the state's role as an exporter of clean energy and value-added 16 critical mineral products; creating, by 2035, more than $5,000,000,000 of growth in the state's 17 economy and more than $400,000,000 in new public revenue; leveraging federal and state 18 investments in critical infrastructure, including roads, ports, railroads, pipelines, broadband, 19 and utilities, to align projects that would provide economic development opportunities; and be 20 it 21 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature encourages the governor 22 to work with the legislature to establish a task force, working group, or similar organizational 23 review to, before the beginning of the Thirty-Fifth Alaska State Legislature, provide 24 recommendations to the legislature to advance energy and mineral sector development in the 25 state; and be it 26 FURTHER RESOLVED by the Alaska State Legislature that the task force also 27 review hydrogen energy development in the state, including hydrogen produced from natural 28 gas, renewable energy resources, and geologic sources, as well as hydrogen derivatives, 29 including ammonia, methanol, and sustainable aviation fuel, and evaluate options for 30 addressing hydrogen development, including 31 (1) the classification of hydrogen-related activities for purposes of land
01 leasing, subsurface rights, and resource management; 02 (2) the use of existing oil and gas units, depleted reservoirs, and other geologic 03 formations for underground hydrogen storage and associated carbon storage; 04 (3) the coordination of land access, leasing, and rights-of-way necessary to 05 support hydrogen production, storage, transmission, and export facilities; 06 (4) the alignment of hydrogen development with in-state energy security, price 07 stability, and industrial growth; and 08 (5) assessing whether the divisions of the Department of Natural Resources 09 responsible for oil and gas development, geological and geophysical surveys, and mining and 10 land are currently able to perform hydrogen resource assessments, and, if not, what is required 11 to build the capacity necessary to perform hydrogen resource assessments. 12 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Donald J. Trump, President 13 of the United States; the Honorable Pete Hegseth, United States Secretary of War; the 14 Honorable Douglas Burgum, United States Secretary of the Interior; the Honorable Chris 15 Wright, United States Secretary of Energy; and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the 16 Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Nicholas Begich, U.S. 17 Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.