HomeMy WebLinkAboutMOALttrofSupportMUNICIPALITY OF ANCHORAGE
Phone: 907-343-7100
Office of the Mayor FAX: 907-343-7180
Mayor Dan Sullivan
November 3, 2009
To: Alaska Energy Authority
Renewable Energy Fund, Round III
Re: Ormat's application for support of geothermal exploration at Mount Spurr
This letter is to support the Ormat application for a $2 million grant from the Alaska Renewable
Energy Fund. The development of a utility -scale 50-100 MW geothermal plant on Mt. Spurr
would be an excellent increment of true renewable energy.
We support this project for the following reasons:
1. Alaska must build up to 1,000 MWs of new generation in the next twenty years in the
Railbelt to replace aging power stations
2. The State of Alaska, as well as local governments and Railbelt utilities must come up
with short and long term solutions to base -load generation that would decrease
dependence on rapidly depleting natural gas reserves in the Cook Inlet
3. The State of Alaska, as well as local governments and Railbelt utilities, have indicated
that they will strive to get 50% of their power from renewable resources in order to both
fight climate change as well to reduce Alaska's reliance on economically volatile and
unpredictable fossil fuels
4. It is likely that the federal government will require Renewable Portfolio standards in the
relative near future.
The project meets all those needs and therefore, if successful, will provide the ratepayers of
Anchorage as well as of other communities in the Railbelt with base -load, reliable, affordable
and fixes -price power. Further, this project will create both direct local job opportunities as well
large scale opportunities for local services, both in the development and construction phase as
well in the long term operation and maintenance phase.
We urge that the AEA grant Ormat Resources $2 million to share some of the high exploration
costs inherent in a project of such nature.
Sincerely,
Dan Sullivan
Mayor
P.O. Box 196650 :• Anchorage, Alaska 99519-66.50 •: http://www.muni.org