Deadline Wednesday for dam plan

Wednesday is the deadline to comment on the Proposed Study Plan for the Susitna-Watana Hydroelectric Project.

Since filing the proposed plan on July 16 with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Alaska Energy Authority has worked with stakeholders and resource agencies incorporate feedback and changes into the plan.

Included in the federal filing were 58 individual studies that focus on many resource areas, including: geology, water quality, ice processes, geomorphology, instream flow, aquatic resources, wildlife, salmon and fish species, botanical resources, recreation, aesthetics, cultural resources, socioeconomics, subsistence, transportation, project safety and more. This is in addition to the historical data gathered from the 1980s Susitna River project and the 18 studies conducted this summer.

People can file comments online at FERC.gov. People should reference either Project P-14241, the July Proposed Study Plan, or the updated draft documents in their comments.

Located at River Mile 184 above Devils Canyon, the Susitna-Watana Hydroelectric Project would be an estimated 700-feet tall, 39-miles long, and 2-miles wide. The project is expected to provide long-term, stable electric rates for generations of Alaskans while diversifying the state’s energy portfolio and moving Alaska toward its goal of using 50 percent renewable energy for 2025.

Preliminary studies include three generating units with an installed capacity of 600 megawatts. The powerhouse, dam and related facilities, expected to be online by 2023, will be linked by transmission lines to the Railbelt Intertie and produce an annual average of 2.5 million megawatt hours.