Wayne Dyok and other officials with the project set 87 river miles north of Talkeetna also said this week that the cost estimate for the Susitna-Watana Hydroelectric Project has risen to $5.7 billion, a $500 million increase from the last estimate and one that comes at a time when the governor is considering cutting such mega-projects.
Legislators will likely discuss details of the hydroelectric project after they convene next month to consider whether it should receive funding to move forward, leaders said on Wednesday.
“Do we waste money and walk away from it, or should we put our shoulder to the stone and push forward because we know in the long term this is the answer for sustainable, lower-cost energy?” asked Sen. Anna MacKinnon, R-Eagle River and incoming co-chair of the Senate Finance Committee.
Getting the project to the phase during which it would file a license application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will require another $100 million, said Sarah Fisher-Goad, executive director of the energy authority, during an update on the dam on Tuesday. Fisher-Goad said the authority is looking at how to advance the licensing effort with less money.
Another $230 million is needed for detailed engineering and geotechnical work to take the state to the point of construction in 2018. Michael Lamb, chief financial officer for Alaska Energy Authority, said he believes the state should pay for the upfront costs.
Economist Gregg Erickson recently released a report for the Alaska chapter of Trout Unlimited, a dam opponent, that said the project costs were underestimated.
image credit Alaska Energy Authority
