$150M in Federal Funds for Beluga-Healy Electrical Intertie
Photo Credit: Brandon Olafsson | Adobe Stock
The US Department of Energy awarded a grant of up to $150 million to the Alaska Energy Authority (AEA) for the Beluga-Healy Transmission Project. By providing a second high-voltage connection along the Railbelt, the project is meant to strengthen electrical transmission between Southcentral and the Interior.
The project is expected to cost $418 million altogether. AEA Executive Director Curtis Thayer says the federal grant is meant for engineering, planning, and permitting. The remaining $268 million could come from AEA financing, state funding, or other federal grants. Construction isn’t expected until after 2030.
More Capacity, Resiliency, and Redundancy
The Beluga-Healy Transmission Project consists of a 223-mile, 230-kilovolt overhead electric transmission line running from the substation near the main Chugach Electric Association generating station at Beluga, through West Susitna, where a new substation will be constructed, toward Willow, and north to connect to existing infrastructure in Healy. The Beluga-Healy project will integrate into AEA’s Cook Inlet PowerLink transmission project, a 38-mile underwater high-voltage DC cable between the Kenai Peninsula and Anchorage, already in development.
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“The second transmission line between Beluga and Healy is a long-needed upgrade to the Railbelt grid, providing additional capacity, resiliency, and redundancy for the Interior of Alaska, including the five military installations connected to the GVEA system,” says Travis Million, President and CEO of Golden Valley Electric Association (GVEA).
The new federal funds are awarded through the Defense Production Act to accommodate increasing demand for electricity associated with the $7 billion “Fighter Town USA” recapitalization program planned for Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson as well as expansions at Clear Space Force Station, Fort Wainwright, Eielson Air Force Base, Fort Greely, and the US Army Northern Warfare Training Center.
US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright says his visit to Alaska in August included a briefing from AEA and the state’s congressional delegation on the need for energy infrastructure. “This project will not only support the major US military expansion currently underway in Alaska but also mining and other resource development critical to our national security,” says Wright.
“We thank Alaska’s congressional delegation and the Department of Energy for recognizing the importance of strengthening the Railbelt transmission system,” says Thayer. “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. The Beluga-Healy project complements ongoing efforts to establish a critical second pathway for moving power across the Railbelt, strengthening reliability and resilience for approximately 75 percent of Alaska’s population, including seven military installations that depend on reliable electric service.”
Thayer adds that he was aware last week that Alaska was in the running for a large grant through a Department of Energy program intended to benefit defense readiness, but he didn’t know until Monday that AEA had won.
