Vance announces Railbelt transmission project at Fairbanks rally

The U.S. Department of Energy announced Monday that it intends to provide up to $150 million in Defense Production Act funding for the Alaska Energy Authority's Beluga-Healy Transmission Project, a planned 223-mile line that would give the Railbelt grid a second high-voltage connection between Southcentral and Interior Alaska.

The project would combine the federal money with $268 million in non-federal funding, for a planned total of $418 million, according to the department's announcement. The department said the line would lower electricity costs and strengthen grid reliability for about 75% of Alaska's population.

Vice President JD Vance announced the project the same day at a Fairbanks rally for Sen. Dan Sullivan. "I am especially excited to announce the Alaska Rail Belt Transmission Project, which is going to devote $400 million to building out your state's power grid," Vance said, according to a transcript. Vance's $400 million figure is close to the project's planned total; the federal share in the department's announcement is up to $150 million.

"And we got it because of Dan," Vance said. In a joint release, Sullivan, Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Rep. Nick Begich welcomed the funding. Sullivan said he had "pushed hard for this project," and Murkowski said the delegation "has been pushing for this for years."

The 230-kilovolt line would run from the Beluga substation through West Susitna, where a new substation would be built, toward Willow and north to Healy. "Today, the Railbelt relies on a single transmission corridor from Homer to Fairbanks, with limited ability to reroute power when a major transmission line is disrupted," Alaska Energy Authority CEO Curtis W. Thayer said in the release. The department also tied the project to national defense, saying it would serve major military installations as well as population centers.

Sullivan, a Republican who won the seat in 2014 and was reelected in 2020, faces Democrat Mary Peltola in the Nov. 3 election.