HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024.08.01.01 Dixon Diversion Pitch Sheet (Final)DIXON DIVERSION
PROJECT
Expanding Alaska’s Largest Hydropower Project
Status: Preliminary studies and
engineering
Dam Modification: 14 ft raise
Tunnel: 4.7 miles, 14 ft diameter
Annual Energy: 190,800 MWh
Natural gas offset: 1.5 to 1.6 bcf/yr
Cost: $342 Million
(Need $7.5 million to complete
feasibilty study)
PROJECT SUMMARY
Benefits Opportunities
Reduction in Cook Inlet Natural gas
demand by 1.5 bcf/yr
190,800 MWh/yr of additional
energy (increase Bradley Lake by
50 percent)
Additional stored energy to
regulate non-firm renewables
Power Sharing Agreements with
Railbelt Utilities provide stable long-
term returns via revenue stability
and market risk mitigation
Lower long-term energy costs
The Dixon Diversion project is a significant expansion of the Alaska Energy Authority
(AEA)-owned Bradley Lake Hydroelectric Project (Bradley Lake). The project will
convey water from the toe of the Dixon Glacier via a diversion dam and a 4.7-mile-
long tunnel into Bradley Lake. Diverted water will flow through the existing
hydroelectric power plant connected to the Railbelt. This project also includes
modifications to the Bradley Lake Dam to raise the full pool height by 14 feet. The
combination of additional water diverted from the Dixon Glacier Basin and additional
storage capacity in Bradley Lake will lead to an increase in energy (Continued on back)
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Storage hydro is dispatchable year-
round, allowing utilities to regulate
additional renewable resources
Utilizing existing Bradley
infrastructure allows for
development of a huge resource
on an extremely small footprint
Revenue Bonds
United States Environmental
Protection Agency Climate Pollution
Reduction Grants
Funding Options
DRAFT
August 1, 2024
813 W Northern Lights Blvd.
Anchorage, AK 99503
PROJECT STATUS
www.akenergyauthority.org
info@akenergyauthority.org
T: (907) 771-3000
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of 190,800 megawatt hours (MWh) annually (over a baseline of ~400,000 MWh/
yr). This would equate to an approximately 50 percent increase in energy from
Bradley Lake , which supplies ~10 percent of the Railbelt’s electric demand. By
utilizing existing infrastructure, this renewable resource can be developed with
a small footprint. The Dixon Diversion project will construct just one mile of new
road, utilize less than five acres for the diversion dam, convey water through an
underground tunnel, and cover less than 200 acres of land at higher lake levels.
2024-2025
Studies
2026-2027
Licensing
2027-2030
Construction
SCHEDULE
PROJECT OVERVIEW (CONT)
FISCAL YEAR FUNDING SOURCE TBD
2024 7.00
2025 7.00
2026 14.00
2027 305.00
2028 3.00
2029 3.00
2030 3.00
Total 342.00
AEA continues to assess the Dixon Diversion project, which would fortify Alaska’s
energy security by increasing overall renewable generation and mitigating
exposure to fuel price volatility and supply-side disruptions. The project could
be operational by the end of the decade and will offset the equivalent of
approximately 1.5 to 1.6 billion cubic feet (bcf) per year of natural gas
consumed for electricity production. An offset of this magnitude is equal
to about 7.5 percent of the Railbelt’s unmet natural gas demand projected
for 2030. Hydroelectric power is cheap and reliable energy that will lower the
cost of electricity for all Railbelt consumers (75 percent of Alaska’s population),
and indirectly lower the cost of energy for Power Cost Equalization (PCE)
recipients. The storage component of this project allows Railbelt utilities to
reliably dispatch renewable power year-round.
FUNDING PLAN ($MILLIONS)
Total Project Cost: $342 million
Potential Sources of Funding: Revenue bonds, Railbelt utilities, tax credits
depending on timing and eligibility