A second power link to Kenai would run under Cook Inlet

The Alaska Energy Authority on Thursday began screening companies that could build and lay a power cable across the floor of Cook Inlet, a $413 million project meant to give the Kenai Peninsula a second electrical connection to Anchorage.

Today a single transmission path links the two, and the authority's project page says the Cook Inlet Power Link would eliminate that "single point of failure." The cable "would give us redundancy on the Cook Inlet that we do not have," AEA Executive Director Curtis Thayer told a joint hearing of state lawmakers Aug. 20, when he also said it would give utilities more flexibility as Southcentral faces uncertainty over future natural gas supply and cost, Alaska News reported.

The prequalification and request for information asks cable makers and installers to show their experience and give nonbinding price estimates by Dec. 15. It is not an invitation to bid. Companies that qualify could compete in a later procurement, though AEA says it may instead negotiate directly.

The route

The cable would run about 40 miles under water from near Nikiski on the Kenai Peninsula to near Beluga on the inlet's west side, with overland lines to converter stations in Soldotna and Beluga. It would be Alaska's first high-voltage direct current project, Alaska News reported in August, carrying 100 megawatts with an option to reach 200.

On the way, it would cross GCI's Kodiak Kenai Fiber Link, Alaska Communications' Alaska-Oregon Network and Hilcorp's Tyonek W10 pipeline.

Working in Cook Inlet

The solicitation asks companies to weigh the risks of working in Cook Inlet, including tidal currents, seabed variability, turbidity and seasonal environmental constraints, which it says are expected to affect the final route. It asks how they would keep ice from scouring the cable where it comes ashore, and what noise their equipment makes, since Cook Inlet has noise limits because of marine mammals.

Money and time

AEA lists $206.5 million from a federal Energy Department grant and $62.5 million secured, and says another $142.5 million is required.

If enough qualified companies respond, a competitive procurement would start around June 2027, with a contract awarded by year's end. Installation would run through 2030 and 2031, and the cable would enter service in December 2031. The federal grant requires the project be fully completed by Aug. 31, 2032.