Alaska Energy Authority board votes Nov. 5 on a new look at the shelved Susitna dam

The Alaska Energy Authority's board will vote Nov. 5 on whether to take a new look at the Susitna-Watana dam, the roughly 705-foot hydroelectric project the state shelved more than a decade ago.

"Time is of the essence," the resolution before the board says. A federal clean electricity tax credit, if it applies, could cover up to half of the dam's eligible cost, but certain construction milestones must be met before the end of 2033 to get the maximum.

The authority's 2014 cost estimate of about $5.5 billion works out to about $9 billion today, the resolution says. Tax credits could bring the cost back near $5.5 billion, it says, so the dam could generate power for about 6.5 cents a kilowatt-hour, close to the cost at the authority's Bradley Lake hydro plant, the Railbelt's cheapest power.

The dam would produce about 60% of the Railbelt's current electricity demand, the authority told the Legislature in a January letter. The resolution attributes rising Railbelt power costs to dwindling Cook Inlet natural gas, noting that Golden Valley Electric Association's published residential rates in the Interior are nearly 35 cents a kilowatt-hour. Producers told lawmakers in September that Southcentral won't have enough gas to get through the winter of 2029 without imported liquefied natural gas or North Slope gas.

The resolution wouldn't approve construction or a license application. It would authorize Executive Director Curtis Thayer to review whether the tax credits apply and what studies and permits remain before the authority could apply for a federal license.

At the board's July 21 meeting, Board Chair Clay Koplin suggested the board consider a resolution in November to move the project forward, saying legislators and the governor's office had asked many questions about the dam, according to draft minutes. Alaska faces rapidly rising energy costs, he said, and new industries, Department of War installations and other growing needs in the Railbelt change the calculus. He said the authority wouldn't make the final decision. That would be up to the governor, the Legislature and stakeholders.

Railbelt utilities wrote to Gov. Mike Dunleavy in May 2025 supporting the dam. The state's Alaska Energy Security Task Force recommended updating its costs and economics and making a go or no-go decision on licensing.

The Talkeetna-based Susitna River Coalition opposes the dam, saying it would harm the river's five salmon species, caribou migration and the tourism and fishing businesses that depend on the river. "In an era when dams across the country are being removed, building a new dam of this size and scale is questionable both from an economic and ecological standpoint," the coalition says.

The authority spent about $200 million on licensing, including 58 studies, before the project stopped, the resolution says. Gov. Bill Walker put it on hold in December 2014, and work ended in 2017, about two-thirds of the way through federal licensing, according to the January letter. No state money has been spent on it since 2019, the letter says.

The board will take public comment by phone at the meeting. Written comments are due by 4 pm Nov. 4.