Economic Development
RSSEconomic development in Alaska is the set of efforts to grow jobs, investment and industry across the state. It takes in workforce training, business attraction, tourism marketing, land deals, and financing through agencies like the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA).
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July 2026
Cordova's co-op wants a data center to soak up unsold hydropower
Cordova has more hydropower than buyers, and a weak fish season is pushing rates up. The co-op's fix: a data center in a warehouse storage bay.
by Melinda Communities.News3mo ago1 min read
Utqiaġvik gets a new credit union branch, the northernmost in the world
Global Credit Union opened the world's northernmost branch in Utqiaġvik on July 9, offering home and vehicle loans to residents who previously had limited in-person banking options.
by Melinda Communities.Newsadded 3mo ago2 min read
Fairbanks rally targets data centers as Air Force pursues Eielson lease
Air Force is exploring AI data center leases at Eielson while a community group rallies Saturday against 15 proposed statewide data centers over power grid and revenue concerns.
by Melinda Communities.Newsadded 3mo ago2 min read
Alaska won up to $160M to hunt critical minerals with AI and microbes
UAF will lead a new NSF innovation engine — up to $160M over 10 years — using AI and microbes to find Alaska's critical minerals. SCIENCE!!
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
A salmon hatchery wants to grow at Sitka's old pulp mill site
Sitka may lease a second lot at its old pulp mill site to the nonprofit behind much of Southeast's salmon hatchery production — room for the fish supply to grow.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Kenai council grants Tidewater LLC 10-year first right of refusal on Denina Point Estate
Kenai City Council unanimously gave developer Tidewater LLC a 10-year first right to buy the city-owned Dena'ina Point Estates parcel and committed $54,219 toward subdivision costs.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min readFrom 
Juneau's Áak'w Landing project shrinks to a third its size
Huna Totem cut its Áak'w Landing development to a third its planned size after costs jumped from $150M to $250M+ — though all the promised public features stay.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Juneau invites Goldbelt to partner on Eaglecrest with two firm conditions
Juneau invited Goldbelt to invest in Eaglecrest Ski Area if it keeps city ownership and the deal stays separate from Goldbelt's West Douglas cruise dock proposal.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min readFrom 
More from Economic Development
Alaska's investment arm hands its director more power over public money
AIDEA gave its director a standing $4.5M fund and the power to pick which projects get vetted with public money — faster, but with less board and public visibility.
by Melinda Communities.News4mo ago2 min read
Juneau sets two conditions for any Eaglecrest deal with Goldbelt
Juneau told Goldbelt it will keep owning Eaglecrest Ski Area and won't tie any deal to the corporation's separate cruise dock proposal.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
A developer wants to build homes and shops on a city lot in Kodiak — if the city sells
A developer wants to build six apartments and six shops on a vacant Kodiak city lot — a $1.6M project. First the council has to decide whether to sell the land.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Alaska's best shot at a new federal fertilizer grant is an idle Nikiski plant — if it can get the gas
A new $500M federal program funds fertilizer plants. Alaska's one real candidate — the idled Nikiski plant — is stuck on Cook Inlet's gas shortage, not on money.
by Melinda Communities.News4mo ago2 min read
June 2026
Murkowski backs bill to open banking to Alaska cannabis businesses
Alaska's weed shops are legal, licensed, taxed — and still can't get a bank account, running on cash since 2014. Murkowski wants to end the duffel-bag era.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Federal money built Alaska's recent growth — now it's receding fastest here
Federal dollars drove about half of Alaska's economic growth since 2015. Now the federal workforce is shrinking faster here than almost anywhere — and rural Alaska feels it most.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Why Alaska is giving out-of-staters more kings as the runs falter
Alaska just doubled out-of-staters' king limit in Southeast even as kings struggle elsewhere — because these are treaty-quota ocean fish, and visitors foot much of the state's fishing-budget bill.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Anchorage Assembly weighs $254K economic development grant to AEDC
The Anchorage Assembly will vote on a $254,000 grant to the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation to fund economic development work through 2026, including a federal economic strategy.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min readFrom 
Coming up
Energy in the North: Robert Venables on Southeast Conference Economic Development
KUAC FM 89.9 and KUAC online
Class
Fairbanks North Star Borough — Economic Development Commission
Meeting
AIDEA Investment Manager Proposals Due
Public notice
Applications re-submitted to Serve Alaska: FY2027 Competitive AmeriCorps State and National Grants: RFP 27AC-C
Public notice
Applications Submitted to Serve Alaska: AmeriCorps Planning Grants RFP Public Notice 2026
Public notice
About Economic Development
Economic development in Alaska takes in the efforts to grow jobs, investment and industry across the state. It includes workforce training, business attraction, export help for small businesses, land deals and financing through agencies such as the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA).
AIDEA finances projects, pays dividends to the state general fund and receives state land for industrial development, and the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation sets the rules for affordable housing awards. Recurring questions concern state land transfers for development, critical minerals research led by the University of Alaska Fairbanks, cruise port and waterfront projects in Juneau, and training programs that let rural workers stay in their home communities.
Alaska Native corporations such as Goldbelt, Huna Totem and Chugach, and tribal organizations such as Cook Inlet Tribal Council, build and run many of these projects. Federal grants fund much of the training and research, and diversification away from oil and gas runs through these efforts.
More from Economic Development
AHFC board to set affordable housing award criteria June 24
Alaska Housing Finance Corporation's board votes June 24 on the rating system that determines which affordable housing projects get state funding, a decision that shifts which communities and project types win tax credits and grants.
by Alaska Newsadded 5mo ago2 min read
Labor department hosts Fairbanks skills event Wednesday
Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development hosts a skills and employment event Wednesday, June 3, in Fairbanks through its Job Center Network.
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago1 min read
May 2026
Alyeschem breaks ground on North Slope methanol plant
Alyeschem broke ground May 15 on Alaska's first Arctic petrochemical plant at Prudhoe Bay, converting natural gas into methanol with AIDEA's $70 million financing and operations expected by late 2027.
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago2 min readFrom 
AIDEA board approves $11 million dividend to state general fund
AIDEA board approved an $11 million dividend to the state general fund for fiscal year 2025, down $6 million from the prior year as the authority declared 42 percent of statutory net income instead of the maximum 50 percent.
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago1 min readFrom 
JAG Marine takes over Ketchikan Shipyard after state ends Vigor's 20-year run
AIDEA replaced Vigor Alaska with JAG Marine Group to operate the state-owned Ketchikan Shipyard after 20 years, citing poor performance. JAG projects adding 100 or more jobs over two years.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 5mo ago2 min read
Alaska LNG faces tax competition from Canadian projects with federal support
Canada landed its big LNG project the old-fashioned way, by quietly stacking tax breaks for investors years before anyone broke ground, and Alaska's Senate spent Wednesday flipping through the recipe to see what's worth copying.
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago2 min read
AIDEA attacks environmental group before report release
AIDEA issued a press release April 9 attacking environmental group SalmonState's credibility before SalmonState published any report, calling the group funded by left-wing donors to oppose resource development.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 5mo ago1 min readFrom Sullivan-backed federal work drives Alaska shipyard training deal
AIDEA, JAG Marine Group, and Generations Southeast signed a workforce training agreement January 13 to prepare Alaskans for shipyard jobs tied to federal icebreaker and Coast Guard maintenance work Senator Dan Sullivan has promoted.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 5mo ago2 min readAlaska eyes $3B carbon revenue from 600,000 burned acres
Alaska plans to earn over $3 billion by replanting 600,000 burned acres as carbon offsets over 20 years. • Work requires 5,000 tree planters yearly plus nurseries and equipment, creating seasonal jobs. • Carbon market collapsed in 2024 but is recovering, with oversupply ending in 18 to 24 months.
by Bill AlaskaNews5mo ago2 min read
Stack Energy Plans Multi-Gigawatt Data Center Near Prudhoe Bay
Stack Energy plans $20 billion data center south of Prudhoe Bay with 10,000 construction jobs starting 2026. • Off-grid facility uses local natural gas, targets operations by late 2028. • Waste heat could power large-scale Alaska greenhouses. • Company pays state taxes and partners with Alaska Native groups on workforce training.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 5mo ago3 min read
Alaska energy conference closes with call to protect economic freedom
Dunleavy and business author Wade say Alaska must cut regulations to compete for investment and jobs. • Wade argued over-regulation keeps poor nations poor, citing special economic zones as a model. • Dunleavy said a major energy project awaits legislature approval and could create thousands of jobs. • Wade told energy industry reliable, affordable power is essential to human flourishing.
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago2 min read
Alaska House passes bill creating Alaska-Ireland Trade Commission
Alaska House voted 38-0 Wednesday to pass HB 278, creating a nine-member Alaska-Ireland Trade Commission to support economic and cultural ties between the two regions.
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago1 min read
