Conservation Watch 2011 #4- Energy Issues Dominate Week 3
2011 #4: Week three of the session is dominated by Energy issues. The House will be hearing updates on SB220, last year's energy omnibus bill, and Senate Resources hears a bill that would open up state forests to logging.
Energy Issues Dominate Week 3
The slow start to the session is over and the lights are staying on longer at the capitol building in Juneau. Committees are starting to hear and move, for the most part, non-controversial bills. However, most legislators are still learning the issues in preparation for March and April, when things will get lively.
One issue representatives on the House Resources committee are beginning to look at is significant reform to the oil and gas tax structure. Things are only beginning to ramp up on this issue and we can expect movement on this in the coming weeks. While we wait and see what happens on oil tax issues, Voters has been watching the building during a mostly energy focused week.
One Year Forward: A SB 220 Update
One interesting part of SB 220, last year’s energy omnibus bill, required the Governor to report on the progress on implementing the legislation in one year. Well, it has been a year and AEA, AHFC and other agencies are now making that report. Here are the highlights. The Dept. of Transportation has collected energy usage information from all state agencies and construction to retrofit buildings will start this summer. Alaska Energy Authority is still accepting grants for the Emerging Energy Technology Fund for the first round of funding (although AEA’s calling it “Round Zero”) and the Denali Commission is expecting the fund to be successful enough that it is offering $2.4 million to the state if it matches those funds. And everyone including Gwen Holdmann with Alaska Center for Energy and Power, Hannah Gustafson with Renewable Energy Alaska Project, and Sara Fisher-Goade with Alaska Energy Authority, mentioned the need to support energy efficiency within the commercial sector.
House Energy committee will be hearing the administration’s SB 220 update this week. Listen in on Tuesday or Thursday at 3p.
Energy Efficiency: Successes and Improvements Needed
AEA and Alaska Housing Finance Corporation appeared before the House Energy committee last week for the feel good hearing of the session to date. Both agencies are making great strides in energy efficiency across the state. AEA presented one striking example of success. In Emmonak, a boiler tune-up and new controls on drying machines saved the washeteria over 6,000 gallons of diesel fuel and $21,000 a year. AHFC reported similarly stunning results. Since April 2008, the state has funded over 17,000 home retrofits saving, on average, $1,500 each year for each household. You can find links to the presentations AEA and AHFC delivered here.
The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner published a great story reporting on the hearings.
Logging the South East State Forest
Senate Resources heard a bill Monday that would open about 23,000 acres of state lands to logging. In some forums state foresters have stated the focus would be to harvest second growth in the regions andthe bill presented by the Governor does include a fair amount of second growth acreage. However, it also includes a fair amount of old growth as well. Voters will be watching the progress of the bill closely.
A Key Hearing
