Legislature(2019 - 2020)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
03/14/2019 03:30 PM Senate COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Overview: Road Belt Inter-tie - Expanding Alaska's Infrastructure and Development | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL AFFAIRS STANDING COMMITTEE
March 14, 2019
3:30 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Click Bishop, Chair
Senator Chris Birch, Vice Chair
Senator Mia Costello
Senator Elvi Gray-Jackson
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Lyman Hoffman
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
OVERVIEW: ROAD BELT INTER-TIE - EXPANDING ALASKA'S
INFRASTRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
JASON HOKE, Executive Director
Copper Valley Development Association
Glennallen, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided on overview of the Road Belt Inter-
Tie.
JOHN DUHAMEL, Chief Executive Officer
Copper Valley Electric Association
Glennallen, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided on overview of the Road Belt Inter-
Tie.
BRUCE CAIN, President
Copper Valley Chamber of Commerce
Glennallen, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of the Road Belt Inter-
Tie.
ACTION NARRATIVE
3:30:12 PM
CHAIR CLICK BISHOP called the Senate Community and Regional
Affairs Standing Committee meeting to order at 3:30 p.m. Present
at the call to order were Senators Costello, Gray-Jackson,
Birch, and Chair Bishop.
^OVERVIEW: Road Belt Inter-Tie - Expanding Alaska's
Infrastructure and Development
OVERVIEW: Road Belt Inter-Tie - Expanding Alaska's
Infrastructure and Development
3:30:57 PM
CHAIR BISHOP announced that the committee will hear an overview
of the Road Belt Inter-Tie (RBIT).
3:31:33 PM
JASON HOKE, Executive Director, Copper Valley Development
Association, Glennallen, Alaska, said he has been the regional
ARDOR (Alaska Regional Development Organizations) through the
Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development
(DCCED) for the Copper Valley Development Association for 10
years. He explained that the organization is quasi-governmental
and works to advocate as a liaison between public and private
business as well as state and federal government. He added that
he is also the Programs Director for the Ahtna Inter-Tribal
Resource Commission in charge of energy and biomass resources.
He commenced with his RBIT overview and reviewed the slide Not
RBIT'S First Rodeo. He said RBIT was studied in the 80s and 90s,
noting that RBIT was partially funded by the legislature to some
degree. RBIT was looked at by the Alaska Energy Authority when
the Susitna-Watana Dam project considered RBIT as well. The
Copper Valley Electric Association has everything written or
studied about RBIT on its website.
3:33:11 PM
He reviewed the slide Current Project Proposed Transmission Runs
as follows:
• Phase 1:
o Sutton-Glennallen-Delta Junction.
o 286 miles at 138 kilovolts (kV) to 245kV range.
• Phase 2:
o Gakona-Tok-Delta.
o 227 miles at 65kV.
• RBIT could utilize preexisting Rights-of-Way (ROWs) with
the exception of approximately 100 miles of gaps.
• RBIT completes a bus loop around the road system of
interior Alaska and connect to the "Railbelt" electrical
transmission line.
• The RBIT electrical grid will be the size of Montana.
MR. HOKE explained that RBIT could utilize all of the
preexisting ROWs; where Matanuska Electric Association (MEA)
runs and Copper Valley Electric comes in, where Alaska Power and
Telephone (AP&T) runs out and Golden Valley Electric Association
(GVEA) runs down. There's only about 100 miles of gaps that span
between the lines. RBIT is not reinventing the wheel and
breaking new territory. RBIT is something that already exists.
He detailed that RBIT will complete a bus loop around the road
system for the interior of Alaska to connect to the Railbelt. A
bus loop is where power can go one way or it can come back
another. For example, when an avalanche occurs someplace along
the Railbelt, power can come from the other direction. RBIT will
electrify an area the size of Montana that is currently
supported by small microgrids.
3:35:01 PM
SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON asked him to explain the difference between
Road Belt and Railbelt.
MR. HOKE answered that the Road Belt follows the road system and
Railbelt is a term used for many years regarding the railroad.
RBIT will follow the road.
SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON noted that regional power utilities'
nomenclature for the region used the term Railbelt.
MR. HOKE replied that RBIT will follow the road.
He reviewed the Current Concept slide for RBIT detailing that
phase-1 runs along the road to Glennallen and up to Delta, and
Fort Greely. Phase-2 would follow the Tok Cutoff to Tok and up
to Delta Junction creating an additional loop. He noted that the
larger map displayed on the Current Concept slide shows several
potential mining sites, renewable energy sites, pump stations,
military bases, and communities that can be served that are
currently on an island with microgrids.
CHAIR BISHOP pointed out that the mining sites are historical
mining districts so if the bigger mines open, they are not a one
off, there already is a history of mining for the last 100-plus
years.
MR. HOKE concurred with Chair Bishop.
SENATOR BIRCH recalled past discussions on RBIT via the Railbelt
Energy Fund, noting that he worked with Alyeska Pipeline at one
time. He asked if the Alyeska Pipeline pump stations are tied
into Copper Valley Electric and if one of the pump stations has
been retired.
3:38:08 PM
JOHN DUHAMEL, Chief Executive Officer, Copper Valley Electric
Association, Glennallen, Alaska, explained that Alyeska Pipeline
semi-retired Pump Station 12 some time ago. He confirmed that
Copper Valley Electric does provide power to Alyeska Pipeline.
SENATOR BIRCH noted that Alyeska was trying to electrify their
pump stations rather than having them operate off jet fuel.
MR. HOKE pointed out that pump stations 8 and 9 are both
isolated, stand-alone facilities generating power.
He noted that one thing he failed to put on the Current Concept
map was the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program
(HAARP) that is owned by the University of Alaska. It is a
facility that burns 600 gallons of fuel per hour. RBIT can
provide considerable savings to the university system for HAARP.
He addressed the slide Public Planning and Vetting Process as
follows:
• Copper Valley Regional Energy Plan with Alaska Energy
Authority (AEA) number-one priority.
• Statewide energy planning with AEA top priorities.
• Copper Valley Regional CEDS (Comprehensive Economic
Development Strategy- U.S. Economic Development Authority
(USEDA)) top priority.
• Statewide CEDS top priority (with USEDA and Alaska
Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic
Development).
• Ahtna Tribal Energy Plan number-one priority (Office of
Indian Energy Policy and Programs, U.S. Department of
Energy).
• Tanana Chiefs Conference Energy Planning Priority (Office
of Indian Energy Policy and Programs, U.S. Department of
Energy).Tanana Chiefs Conference CEDS Top Priority.
• Fairbanks North Star Borough CEDS top priority.
MR. HOKE said he is a firm believer in the Five Ps: "Proper
planning prevents poor performance. He opined that RBIT has been
planned and vetted through and through both locally and
regionally.
He noted that RBIT is the number one priority for the Copper
Valley Regional Energy Plan, a top priority for the Copper
Valley Regional Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy
(CEDS) with the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA)
and the Alaska Division of Economic Development, and a priority
three for the statewide CEDS. RBIT is also a top priority for
the Ahtna Tribal Energy Plan, Tanana Chiefs Conference CEDS, and
the Fairbanks North Star Borough CEDS.
3:40:57 PM
He reviewed the slide Support and Resolutions as follows:
• Alaska Federation of Natives' only energy resolution in
2017 was RBIT.
• Native organizations impacted and supportive of this
project effort are approximately:
o 12 tribal governments;
o 12 village corporations,
o 4 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANSCA)
corporations (Ahtna, CIRI, Doyon, Chitina);
o Ahtna Intertribal Resource Commission;
o Tanana Chiefs Conference;
o Copper River Native Association;
o Chickaloon Native Village [Nay'dini'aa Na' Kayax'] and
many more.
• CVEA, AP&T, MEA, Golden Valley, and the APA (Alaska Power
Association) signed board resolutions supporting RBIT.
• Copper Valley Development Association (ARDOR).
• Copper Valley Chamber of Commerce.
• Meetings and discussions indicative of support with the
communities that are impacted by RBIT.
MR. HOKE said energy is the tie that binds. When energy is
squeezing the state, Alaskans seem to come together to try and
fix it. When RBIT was addressed in the 90s, no one talked to
Alaskans to see how they felt about RBIT, Now, most of the
communities impacted by RBIT have been approached to see how
they feel. He opined that 97 percent of all business deals are
negotiable and can be worked out, and that is part of what the
engineering process for RBIT is all about.
3:42:51 PM
He discussed the slide Current Costs and Consumptions Inhibiting
Development as follows:
• Most communities in this project area are paying 300-500
percent more than the national average which is
$.12/kilowatt hour (kWh).
• Communities are electrified by multiple microgrids
consuming approximately 4 million gallons of diesel per
year. Emissions and other issues plague these small grids.
• Power Cost Equalization (PCE) does not cover commercial
electricity which is approximately 60 percent of all
electrical consumption in these communities.
• Electrical costs directly correlate to business and
resident closure and relocation.
He noted that a lot of times when a generator goes out, it's
going to be a long time before someone can work on it.
3:44:21 PM
MR. HOKE addressed the slide Economic and Natural Resource
Development as follows:
• Cheaper electrical power opens the door for Business
Retention and Expansion (BRE) and allows business plans to
pencil out.
• It is necessary infrastructure for economic development.
• Timber and lumber industry (e.g. OSB manufacturing, lumber
mills, biomass pellet and brick plants, etc.)
• Mining operations that could open benefit: Fort Knox, Pogo,
Stellar Mine, Ahtell Creek Mine, Tetlin Mine, Fourth of
July Creek Mine, and others.
• Tourism, fishing, and transportation industry benefits.
• Alyeska Pipeline benefit with cheaper energy for pumping
oil and cathodic protection at its non-grid connected pump
stations 8 and 9.
He summarized that businesses in the Road Belt region cannot
grow without cheaper energy. An executive with Doyon Limited
wrote eight business plans based on their microgrid and none of
the plans penciled out. Electricity costs were too high for an
Oriented Strand Board (OSB) manufacturer in the Glennallen area
to start up. Multiple other things are queued up, biomass plants
for bricks and pellets, lumber mills, but they just won't happen
without RBIT. Mining operations in traditional mining districts
can benefit from cheap power, creating jobs and revenue for the
state. The City of Valdez significantly expanded its port with
plans for expansion that requires a lot of power and RBIT is
needed to keep their power cost down.
He said he forgot to mention a regional agricultural program,
Tonsina North Agriculture Land Project, a project set up by the
State of Alaska. He noted that the federal government paid $2.7
million to divert an underground pipeline for the project in
2002. RBIT will help the Tonsina Project develop agriculture as
well as other processing facilities and food hubs that require
massive amounts of electricity.
3:47:18 PM
He reviewed the slide Military Benefits and Build Up as follows:
• Energy is national security.
• Military bases that would benefit from RBIT:
o Black Rapids Training Facility,
o Donnelly Dome Range,
o Fort Greeley,
o Eielson AFB,
o Fort Wainwright,
o Clear Lidar AFB.
• Redundant and reliable energy necessary. Currently an 80
megawatts (MW) bottleneck at Eva Creek on the Railbelt.
RBIT offers a redundant loop with more power capacity.
• Reduced cost for military with cheaper energy and
redundancy.
• Signs of continued defense buildup and growth.
• 25 percent renewable needed and can be supplemented with
RBIT.
MR. HOKE opined that military benefits from RBIT is the big
kahuna. Energy is national security. All military bases are in
dire need for more power. He noted that the commander of U.S.
Pacific Command (PACOM) told him that the military is under
mandate to have 25 percent renewable for most of their funding
and RBIT opens renewable energy sources.
He discussed the slide Other Information as follows:
• Hierarchy of needs for infrastructure:
o Energy,
o Transportation,
o Communication.
o Already have two of the three.
• New industry and economic development means potentially new
revenue for the state.
• The region is an Unorganized Borough and the legislature is
the governing body.
• RBIT is about people making hard choices:
o Groceries or electric bill.
o Stay in homeland or migrate outside.
MR. HOKE said the Road Belt region already has the road for
transportation, fiber optics and fourth generation (4G)
broadband cellular network technology, but it lacks cheap
energy. He said RBIT is not just about industry; the project is
about people.
3:50:33 PM
SENATOR BIRCH asked if the Unorganized Borough within the Road
Belt has indicated an appetite for a mill rate assessment like
Anchorage and Fairbanks have.
MR. HOKE answered no.
SENATOR BIRCH said he realizes that the legislature is the
governing body for the Unorganized Borough but he has never
detected any appetite from the Unorganized Borough for any sort
of mill rate assessment to provide for schools and
infrastructure.
MR. HOKE pointed out that the State of Alaska receives
approximately $34 million annually from the Trans-Alaska
Pipeline System (TAPS) running through the Copper Valley.
SENATOR BIRCH noted that the legislature is currently taking
about the topic that Mr. Hoke noted.
MR. HOKE addressed the slide What's Needed as follows:
• Support from the Alaska State Legislature.
• Reconnaissance study estimated at approximately $2 Million
"soup to nuts" for engineer's report.
• Outcome of the proposed RBIT reconnaissance study would be
an actionable document to define a path forward for project
development, a timeline and milestones table, beneficiaries
and project participants, and indicative pricing and
budget, (9 months).
• Total cost of project estimates:
o Phase 1:
square4 Approximately $200-$300 Million (about 2 F-22s).
o Phase 2:
square4 Approximately $100 Million (about an Abrams
Tank).
• Where's this coming from?
o The expectation is that U.S. Departments of: Defense,
Energy, Interior, Commerce, and Agriculture, along
with Alaska state agencies, would be approached to
contribute toward project deployment and construction,
as well as beneficiary utilities, communities, and
organizations.
MR. HOKE disclosed that the Denali Commission is open to the
idea of setting up an account for RBIT.
He summarized that the legislature's support, whether verbal or
written, will go far for RBIT.
3:53:31 PM
SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON asked if the federal government has been
approached regarding RBIT.
MR. HOKE answered that the federal government has been
approached to some degree.
SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON asked the degree to which RBIT has been
discussed with the federal government.
MR. HOKE answered that U.S. Senator Murkowski assisted the
previous year in hearings with the Office of Indian Energy.
However, the federal definition of Indian country inhibited any
money from being spent on energy going across other lands
besides Native owned lands.
He said the [U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural
Development Innovation Center] is coming to Alaska to talk to
telecommunication and electric utilities about federal
government programs for building broadband fiber and
transmission line infrastructure.
He added that Anne Hazlett, Assistant to the Secretary for Rural
Development at the USDA, has been approached and she indicated
that RBIT is a great project.
He asked if Senator Gray-Jackson wants more examples of the
federal government being approached about RBIT.
3:55:00 PM
SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON answered yes.
MR. HOKE detailed that Joe Balash, Assistant Secretary of the
Interior, has been approached on several occasions regarding
multiple funding sources for RBIT.
He said John Torgerson, Denali Commission Interim Federal Co-
Chair, indicated that an account can be set up for a project in
which multiple federal agencies through different projects and
programs could be used toward RBIT.
He added that the Office of Electrification (OE) with the U.S.
Department of Energy has programs that can possibly contribute
towards RBIT.
He said has been working with U.S. Senator Sullivan's office and
Mr. Niemeyer, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy,
Installations, and Environment. Assistant Secretary Niemeyer
stated during his confirmation hearing that he would be working
with people involved with RBIT if the infrastructure was
necessitated for the military. He reiterated that RBIT addresses
a people need and said he believes it is the number-one need for
military support and the defense of the country.
SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON opined that RBIT is not a just a good
project, RBIT is a much-needed project. She said a lot of people
who do not experience the high cost of energy realize how
significant and urgent this is. She noted that she worked for
the City of Akutan and knows the cost of energy in rural Alaska.
3:57:23 PM
CHAIR BISHOP thanked Mr. Hoke for his presentation. He asked Mr.
Duhamel to proceed with his presentation on RBIT.
MR. DUHAMEL explained his multiple roles regarding the Road Belt
Intertie (RBIT) Concept as follows:
• Copper Valley electric Association - CEO.
• Alaska Power Association - Director.
• APA Hydropower - Chairman.
He said his role is the validation from the utility community
for RBIT. The Alaska Power Association has already sanctioned
RBIT and submitted a resolution from the board to Mr. Hoke and
the stakeholders in the RBIT concept. He added that he is also
the chairman for the APA Hydropower group and represents
hydropower interests as well. He said the community of utilities
obviously supports RBIT quite heavily. The resolution from the
Matanuska Electric Association (MEA) and Golden Valley Electric
shows that the two adjoining utilities believe that RBIT is a
good project.
3:58:31 PM
MR. DUHAMEL described the slide Transmission vs Distribution as
follows:
• Distribution Power:
o Lower Voltages.
o Power moves to end user:
square4 Residential,
square4 Commercial,
square4 Industrial.
o Managed and maintained by the utility.
• Transmission and Sub-transmission Power:
o High Voltages.
o Moves power between communities (substation to
substation).
o In Alaska, both utilities and the state manage
transmission.
• Road Belt Intertie is Transmission/Sub-transmission Only:
o State managed.
• Like airports and roads, transmission is infrastructure.
He explained that utilities label power that is moved around as
either distribution power or transmission or sub-transmission
power. Under a distribution system, utilities push lower voltage
power to the residential, commercial, or industrial end users.
He explained that distribution power is managed by utilities, it
is not something that the utilities consider as a state or
federal infrastructure. Transmission power is different. High
voltage lines with big structures keeps the lines in the air.
The infrastructure for transmission power is expensive, as Mr.
Hoke indicated. A reconnaissance study for RBIT would determine
some accuracy in the project's numbers, but the numbers are
large because the infrastructure will move large amounts of
power to different communities.
MR. DUHAMEL reiterated that power transmission is
infrastructure, the same as airports and roads. He opined that
moving power from one utility to another, from one community or
another, is a role that is bigger than the utility, either as a
state role or federal role. The electric utilities' vision with
RBIT is that the project is transmission only with some sub-
transmission and RBIT would be state managed.
4:01:25 PM
He addressed the slide Electric Power System Overview as
follows:
• Transmission:
o 230/138kV,
o High Voltage Direct Current (DC).
• Sub Transmission:
o 69/45kV.
• Distribution:
o 14.4/7.2kV.
He said the reconnaissance study for RBIT will determine what
the power system will look like.
He reviewed the slide Power Principles as follows:
• A grid is a network of interconnected power lines.
• The bigger the grid, the more resilient it becomes:
o Fluctuations are absorbed more easily with a bigger
grid.
• Some renewable energy sources fluctuate significantly:
o A bigger grid allows more renewable energy sources.
• Power can move in any direction:
o Depends on where generated and where used.
• Quantities of Scale is key to cheaper power.
He explained that a bigger grid is important. A small
fluctuation in a small grid can bring the entire system down.
For example, one tree could take Copper Valley Electric's entire
system down for its 3,800 customers whereas a larger grid would
hardly see a blip on the system when a tree gets into a line. A
larger grid is resilient and allows a utility to give a more
reliable product to the customer by adapting to any problem or
breaks in the transmission or distribution system.
MR. DUHAMEL noted that renewable energy, especially with wind
and solar, fluctuates. Variable energy is still good energy, but
fluctuations need to be controlled. The bigger the grid the more
fluctuations can be controlled and that allows for more
renewable energy. Power moves in any direction, so transmission
with a loop feed allows power to be rerouted in the opposite
direction. That means reliability goes up, customers don't have
outages, and the system can adapt to problems much more easily.
He said quantities of scale is important. RBIT not only benefits
the area that the project is claiming, the project actually
benefits everywhere. For example, if a generator in Anchorage
can run more efficiently because it is feeding more customers,
then the base cost is spread out over more people and the cost
comes down. Thus, RBIT not only does a great thing for the area
it serves, the project actually brings cost down in the Railbelt
as well.
4:05:42 PM
He reviewed the slide RBIT Concept as follows:
• Not a New Concept.
• Alaska Energy Policy Task Force Finding in 2003.
He referenced a map that shows that the window of opportunity is
entirely composed of isolated grids. When power can not be
generated within the isolated grids, there is no power at all.
RBIT will bring the isolated grids together.
SENATOR BIRCH addressed redundancy and asked if direct current
(DC) power has a possible role in RBIT.
MR. DUHAMEL answered that direct current technology is changing
daily and getting better. The project's reconnaissance study,
via an electrical engineer, will determine which one of the
technologies will be best for RBIT to move energy with the most
efficiency. High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) is normally best
for moving a lot of power over great distances, but that is
something that the project does not have a need for. He opined
that the need for a HVDC system might occur if power was being
moved from the North Slope down to the Anchorage area.
4:09:09 PM
He reviewed the slide Concept Benefits as follows:
• Grid Resilience:
o Larger the grid, better reaction to fluctuations.
• Overage of capacity, shortage of customers.
• Bring together isolated grids for mutual benefit.
• Provide a looping route for major power generators in the
Railbelt.
• Allows more renewable opportunities:
o Wind,
o Solar,
o Hydro:
square4 Delta,
square4 Tiekel River.
• Brings the cost of power down for the entire grid.
• Give choices to areas that otherwise have no choices for
power use.
MR. DUHAMEL explained that grid resilience is the basic premise
of why utilities support RBIT. There is a lot of natural gas
generation that is not running at its full efficiency because
the isolated grids do not have a lot of customers to push power
to. A larger grid can better utilize power plants and push the
cheapest, most efficient plants to take advantage of over-
capacity generation.
He said the isolated grids have the single option of diesel
fuel, which has issues due to expense, difficulty, and
emissions. RBIT will provide choices for a utility to run some
of its own power and to build renewable energy. RBIT will
provide a grid that is more resilient and can absorb renewable
energy, or power can be purchased right from the grid.
He noted that the federal government could set renewable goals
and those goals are not going to be achieved unless the power
system can get more renewable energy.
He summarized that RBIT will bring the cost of power down to the
window of opportunity and Anchorage because power plants will be
used at their highest efficiency.
4:12:25 PM
MR. DUHAMEL discussed the slide Why Support RBIT as follows:
• Legislative support gives credibility to the concept.
• Helps the project approach the congressional delegation,
federal departments and the White House.
• RBIT will grow renewable opportunities (wind, solar, hydro)
to meet renewable goals.
• Legislative support helps RBIT's requests for federal funds
(to expand the grid) with more credibility.
• Legislative support revitalizes a concept that has already
been validated.
• Legislative support will help Alaska get federal
infrastructure funds.
He said the utilities will go to Washington, D.C. to get funding
for RBIT, there is no expectation for the state to fund the
project. The utilities' job is to convince federal agencies that
RBIT is something that is good for the state and a good
utilization of infrastructure dollar. The legislature's support
of RBIT gives credibility to the concept when the congressional
delegation, federal departments, and the administration are
approached for federal funds.
4:14:20 PM
SENATOR BIRCH recalled that Fort Greely had a small
demonstration nuclear plant. He asked if the nuclear power plant
generated power and how widely was the power distributed.
SENATOR BISHOP explained that Fort Greely was the first
operational nuclear power plant in the United States. It
provided power for the Fort Greely military base and the Allen
Army Airfield. He noted that a nuclear power plant was proposed
for Galena as well.
SENATOR BIRCH noted that a Toshiba 4S Nuclear Battery was
proposed for Galena.
SENATOR BISHOP asked if all the rights-of-way for RBIT had been
acquired.
MR. DUHAMEL answered that rights-of-way for RBIT will be
addressed in the project reconnaissance study. For example,
there is distribution right-of-way between Copper Valley
Electric and MEA. There is only a three-mile gap, but the gap is
distribution. Transmission demands different structures and
requirements. Distribution rights-of-way are 30 feet wide
whereas transmission rights-of-ways are 100 feet wide. All land
agreements for RBIT will have to be reestablished. Road and
pipeline rights-of-way can be considered for the project. Land
work and right-of-ways work are one of the reasons for the
estimated expenses. He conceded that a lot of rights-of-way and
possibly even some purchasing of lands are necessary for the
project.
4:18:11 PM
CHAIR BISHOP asked if $25 million to $50 million will be
required for a project-ready estimate on a Class-5 Final
Investment Decision (FID).
MR. DUHAMEL replied that he does not know, but $50 million may
be in the ballpark.
CHAIR BISHOP announced that the next presenter is Mr. Bruce Cain
with the Copper Valley Chamber of Commerce and Ahtna, Inc.
4:20:14 PM
BRUCE CAIN, President, Copper Valley Chamber of Commerce,
Glennallen, Alaska, testified in support of RBIT. He said the
Copper Valley Chamber of Commerce has designated RBIT as its
number one priority for economic development. He pointed out
that the chamber's businesses do not qualify for the state's PCE
and they are paying up to $1.00 per kWh. He opined that
consideration must be given about having infrastructure in place
for a better life for future generations.
4:25:59 PM
CHAIR BISHOP asked if there were any closing comments.
MR. HOKE advised that the first initial reconnaissance study for
RBIT was submitted by Dryden & LaRue, an engineering firm that
does transmission lines project services. The estimate was
approximately $2 million.
CHAIR BISHOP thanked Mr. Hoke and Mr. Duhamel for the
presentations.
4:27:56 PM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Bishop adjourned the Senate Community and Regional Affairs
Standing Committee meeting at 4:27 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| RBIT- Jason Hoke.pdf |
SCRA 3/14/2019 3:30:00 PM |
Road Belt Inter Tie |
| Alaska Interie Project- DuhamelSenate.pdf |
SCRA 3/14/2019 3:30:00 PM |
Road Belt Inter Tie |