FERC opens comment period on plan to raise Bradley Lake dam 16 feet

Bradley Lake Expansion Application Accepted for Filing

The reservoir that supplies roughly a tenth of the Railbelt's annual power would see its normal maximum operating pool elevation rise about 16 feet under an application federal regulators have now opened for public comment, protests and motions to intervene. Anyone seeking to comment, protest or intervene in the Alaska Energy Authority's proposal for the Bradley Lake Hydroelectric Project must file with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by 5 p.m. Eastern on Aug. 28.

AEA filed the request June 30; the commission accepted it for filing in a notice signed Wednesday by Secretary Debbie-Anne A. Reese. The project sits on the Bradley River in the Kenai Peninsula Borough, on federal land managed by the US Bureau of Land Management.

What the Application Changes

Three changes make up the request: a new diversion dam routing Dixon Glacier meltwater into Bradley Lake, spillway and embankment work raising the normal maximum operating pool about 16 feet, and a 0.3-megawatt micro-hydro turbine in one of the dam's fishwater release valves. Installed capacity would rise only from 119.7 megawatts to 120.0 megawatts, while average annual generation would climb roughly 38 percent. That combination is why the commission treats the request as a non-capacity amendment: a license change that adds output without materially adding nameplate capacity.

Projected Gas Displacement and Climate Concerns

AEA has framed the expansion as gas displacement, saying in February that it expects to displace "approximately 1.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas annually," offsetting about 7.5 percent of projected unmet Railbelt demand by 2030. The claim ties the project to broader Railbelt efforts to reduce dependence on declining Cook Inlet natural gas supplies. An April opinion piece in the Homer Independent Press argued AEA's environmental analysis omits climate scenarios that could alter Dixon Glacier melt over the license term.

How to Weigh In

The first page of any filing should include the docket number P-8221-124. Filings must bear in all capital letters the title "COMMENTS," "PROTEST" or "MOTION TO INTERVENE," name the applicant and project number in the heading, and set forth their evidentiary basis. Only parties who file a motion to intervene become parties to the proceeding. Brief comments of up to 6,000 characters may be filed through FERC's eComment system without registration, and paper copies may be mailed in lieu of electronic filing; comments emailed to commission staff are not considered part of the record. The commission's Office of Public Participation can assist filers at (202) 502-6595 or [email protected].