Alaska News Daily Brief, Wednesday, October 14

Alaska News, Wednesday, October fourteenth. Plenty got announced this week, and very little of it is final. Most of what you'll hear today is still somebody's call to make.

0:12Trump says Taiwan will buy 30% of Alaska LNG gas, the share in a 2025 letter

A presidential rally in Wasilla brought big promises for the gas line, and the Interior got its first-ever power emergency alert. At yesterday's rally in Wasilla, President Trump said Taiwan will buy 30 percent of the gas from the planned Alaska LNG pipeline. LNG stands for liquefied natural gas. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Taiwan will also invest 4.4 billion dollars in the project. Trump said those purchases would run 20 years. Lutnick said the deal came together over the past week. Neither man said whether anything had been signed. That 30 percent share matches a letter Taiwan's state-owned gas company signed with the state's gasline corporation in March of twenty twenty-five. That letter was nonbinding. It covered 6 million metric tons of gas a year for 20 years. And it put no dollar figure on any investment. Two weeks ago at the White House, Trump and Lutnick said South Korea would finance just over 50 billion dollars of the project. South Korea said it had only agreed to review the investment, and it protested the announcement. Yesterday, Lutnick said South Korea has committed 50.1 billion. Trump also said the 800-mile line has every permit it needs. The federal record backs that up for federal permits. But the state still has to sign off before anyone builds on state land. The natural resources commissioner first has to decide in writing that the developer can pay for the project. The developer asked for that on October second, and there's no date for a decision. The project still hasn't made a final decision to build its first phase, the in-state pipeline. A federal report this month listed no long-term contracts. The rally was for Senator Dan Sullivan, who faces Democrat Mary Peltola on November third. Peltola has also backed the pipeline.

2:05Golden Valley issues its first energy emergency alert, warns of possible outages

In the Interior, Golden Valley Electric is asking members to cut their power use now. The co-op issued its first-ever energy emergency alert on Monday. One generating unit broke down unexpectedly. Two others were already down for planned maintenance, which the co-op does before winter demand climbs. That leaves Golden Valley with just one unit as backup. If demand outruns supply, the co-op would start rolling outages of 30 to 60 minutes. Those would move zone by zone, with a text alert to each zone. Golden Valley says it could jump straight to that step. The squeeze has been building for years. Golden Valley used to buy gas-fired power from Anchorage-area utilities. Cook Inlet gas shortages cut that off. A September board report counted five events at this same alert level since January. The board has approved a battery system estimated at about 130 million dollars. Members' share should be around 18 million after loan forgiveness and tax credits. The battery could help cover short stretches, up to 2 hours, when there isn't enough power. The co-op is also looking at a used turbine that burns naphtha, a petroleum product, with spending capped at 80 million dollars. Golden Valley says those projects will take time, and the supply problems will continue in the meantime. The co-op's website shows the current alert level and which outage zone you're in.

3:39State commission again proposes beach seines for Cook Inlet setnet permits

Down on the Kenai Peninsula, the state is taking another run at letting Cook Inlet setnetters fish beach seines, a net pulled in from shore, instead of gillnets. The Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission proposed that as a permanent rule yesterday. Written comments are due November sixteenth. The commission tried the same change as an emergency rule in June. It failed on a 1 to 1 vote. Chair Rick Green voted for it, and Commissioner Tracy Welch voted against. The Board of Fisheries voted in May to swap setnets for seines in its plan for late-run Kenai kings. Supporters say seines let fishermen catch sockeye while releasing kings alive. In twenty twenty-four, two experimental seine permits caught almost 21,000 salmon and released all 16 kings. But Fish and Game said whether seines could be used this year was up to the entry commission. The east side setnet fishery was closed at the start of the season. State staff also warned fewer permit holders could fish, because not all of them have onshore state land leases. The Kenai River Sportfishing Association supports the switch. The Kenai Peninsula Fishermen's Association says it means losing their traditional setnets. Seafood processors oppose it too. After comments close, the commission can adopt the rule, change it, or do nothing.

4:57Cordova Planning Commission approves permit for rental cabin built without a permit

Now, quickly, around the state. In Cordova, the planning commission approved a permit for a rental cabin that was built without one. To keep the cabin standing, the owners have until November second to hook up to city utilities. They also have to fix septic systems the state hasn't approved.

5:17Trump endorses Wilson

President Trump endorsed Bernadette Wilson for governor. Trump also went after two of Wilson's Republican rivals. And Trump told the rest of the Republican field to unite behind Wilson.

5:29Mat-Su Assembly weighs $2.5 million grant to refrigerate the ice at Big Lake rink

The Mat-Su Assembly holds a hearing October twentieth on taking a 2.5 million dollar grant to refrigerate the ice at the Big Lake Lions rink. The rink runs on natural ice right now, and a week of 45-degree weather can melt it. When that happens, teams have to go play somewhere else.

5:49Supporters line up as protesters prepare for Trump rally in Wasilla

In Wasilla, yesterday's Trump rally for Senator Sullivan and Congressman Nick Begich closed roads around the venue. Protesters planned their own separate gathering at Newcomb Park.

6:00After ending builder's contract, Mat-Su weighs $573,155 to finish Academy Charter design

The Mat-Su Borough ended its contract with the builder of Academy Charter's new high school back in August. Now the borough wants to pay the designer 573,155 dollars to finish the plans for the school.

6:16Murdoch gives $500,000 to No on 2 as repeal side reports $279,000 from Aurora

Ballot Measure 2 would repeal Alaska's top-four primary and ranked choice general election. Voters decide November third. Kathryn Murdoch gave 500,000 dollars to No on 2, the campaign fighting the measure. On the other side, Repeal Now, the group backing the repeal, reported 279,000 dollars from Aurora Action Network. Both numbers come from the campaigns' latest filings.

6:42Kodiak Electric's 20-year Coast Guard energy contract is worth $31.3 million

In Kodiak, the electric co-op has a 20-year, 31.3 million dollar contract to upgrade heating, lighting and water systems at the Coast Guard base. No other company could have competed for the job.

6:56Kenai accepts $3.1 million FAA grant for new airport perimeter and security fence

Kenai's city council accepted a 3.16 million dollar Federal Aviation Administration grant for a new perimeter and security fence at the airport. The city's 5 percent share, 166,172 dollars, is covered by the 247,500 dollars it already spent designing the project.

7:16Juneau seeks new purpose for stalled $1 million tourism loan fund

Juneau set aside a million dollars in cruise fees to lend tour operators for clean technology. The city never worked out how to lend it. Now Juneau's visitor industry director is asking a city task force for ideas on what to do with the money. The task force meets Thursday at 5:30 pm.

7:36Two regulators object as RCA lets Fairbanks, Juneau power cost cuts stand

State regulators let lower power cost charges stand for customers of Golden Valley in the Interior and for customers in Juneau. Two of the commissioners objected. They said the cuts belong in the utilities' requests to raise rates, which are still pending.

7:50Valdez school board asks city for $15.1 million, a 29% increase over this year

Valdez's taxable property value jumped 56 percent, and the school board wants a share of it. The board is asking the city for 15.1 million dollars. That's nearly 29 percent more than this year, and the city council makes the call.

8:06State approves Haines barge landing that its forestry division says could also ship timber

In Haines, the state approved a 25-year lease for a barge landing on Lutak Inlet. The state forestry division says the landing could also be used to ship out timber. If you're on Golden Valley power, look up your outage zone on the co-op's website now, since it could skip straight to rolling outages. Setnet comments are due November sixteenth. Also today: Trump pardoned two Anchorage diesel shop owners onstage in Wasilla, and the state wants to log near Fairbanks along the Chena River. That's all for this edition of the Alaska News daily brief. The full stories are at Alaska News dot com. And that's the way it is, Wednesday, October fourteenth, twenty twenty-six.