Alaskanomics

DNR Issues Preliminary Approval for Eva Creek Wind Project; Golden Valley Electric to build "largest wind project in Alaska"

The Alaska Department of Natural Resources has issued preliminary approval of Golden Valley Electric Association's (GVEA) Eva Creek Wind project, to be located near Healy, Alaska. The approval comes as four separate decisions:

• A 25 year lease of approximately 43 acres for wind turbines and support facilities
• Sale of about 310,000 cubic yards of materials from state-owned sites for road and pad construction. This sale would be advertised competitively at a public auction.
• An easement for GVEA to construct access roads to its turbines and facilities
• An easement to DOT so GVEA can realign and upgrade an existing access road. This anticipates that GVEA will enter into an agreement with DOT to operate and maintain the road.

Public comments are due August 15, and barring any significant changes required as a result, the approvals will be issued shortly thereafter.

The Eva Creek Wind Project, planned for completion in September 2012, will generate 24 megawatts of power and, according to GVEA, save its members $13.6 million over the next 20 years.

New Report Estimates "Technically Recoverable" Lower 48 Shale Gas Reserves at 750 Trillion Cubic Feet

There are 750 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas in the undeveloped portions of shale discoveries in the Lower 48, according to a U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) report issued this month. The 750 tcf estimate of "technically recoverable" reserves does not include 35 tcf of already proven reserves, 20 tcf of inferred reserves in actively developed areas, or the 56 tcf in undiscovered reserves estimated by the USGS. The report estimates that less than 3% of the Lower 48 shale gas resources have been produced, but notes that "substantial drilling" will be needed to maintain and increase production.

Alaska's "Top 100" Companies Employ One-Third of Alaska Workers; $4.3 billion in wages

The Alaska Department of Labor reported on the Top 100 Private Employers in the July issue of Alaska Economic Trends.These ten companies employ one-third of Alaska workers and have a combined payroll of $4.3 billion.

The list has changed quite a bit since 1985, when ARCO, BP and Alyeska Pipeline were in the Top 10, along with Alascom, two banks, two grocery chains, and two health care organizations. Providence, which was on the Top 10 list in 1985, has been in the number one spot for the past ten years.  

Alaska's Unemployment Rate Lower than U.S. for past 31 Months; Outside job seekers "likely" to look for work here

Alaska's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for May was 7.4%, compared with a national rate of 9.1%. Alaska has long had a higher unemployment rate than the U.S., but in late 2008, the U.S. rate surged past Alaska's. Since then, Alaska's unemployment rate has bounced around the 8% mark, while the U.S. rate has been closer to 10%. Alaska's unemployment rate is lower than 31 other states, so the Alaska Department of Labor suggests that our good job market "likely means more new job seekers" will come to Alaska from other states. For more information, see the July issue of Alaska Economic Trends, published by the Alaska Department of Labor. 

Alaska's Resources are World Class

In a presentation to the Arctic Imperative Summit last month, Alaska's Commissioner of Natural Resources (DNR) Dan Sullivan shared information with a local, national and international audience about Alaska's resources. If Alaska were a country, according to DNR research, the state would be a leader in a number of important resources:

• Coal: 2nd in the world, with 17% of the world's resources
• Copper: 3rd in the world, with 6% 
• Lead: 6th in the world, with 2%
• Gold: 7th in the world, with 3%
• Zinc: 8th in the world, with 3%
• Silver: 8th in the world, with 2%

We also have 17% of U.S. Forest Land, and around 40% of U.S. water resources. Read the full presentation here.