A new study shows major energy savings if an in state gas pipeline is built. The Alaska Gasline Port Authority commissioned study looked at savings that would result from a pipeline from the North Slope to Valdez, with a spur from Glennallen to Anchorage. The project also includes export of liquefied natural gas, including shipment along the Yukon River and to remote communities like Yakutat and Bethel. Port Authority project manager Bill Walker laid out the study results at a press conference in Fairbanks yesterday, saying switching from diesel to natural gas would result in major energy cost reductions even in a remote community like Bethel.
Walker said Fairbanks would have the cheapest gas of any community because of its proximity to the gas line and North Slope, resulting in a low transportation tariff. The study also includes estimates of cost savings for individual consumers.
The estimate is for people who live on a gas distribution network in the city, and is based on projected oil and gas prices. The energy savings report is one of three – the voter created public gas line group has commissioned to vet the proposed in state pipeline project. Walker said the studies are dispelling negative myths about a state financed gas line to Valdez.
Walker said it’s time for the state to sever the AGIA contract with Trans Canada in favor of a state owned Port Authority project. The North slope to Valdez line hinges on exports to Asia, where gas is more valuable than in the shale gas flooded North American market. He said the AGPA project requires a $4 billion investment by the state.
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Dan Bross is a reporter at KUAC in Fairbanks.
