Power poll says ‘go green'

August 21, 2007

By Russell Stigall

Frontiersman

MAT-SU - Many of the Mat-Su Valley's electric users would like to see their energy come from renewable resources.

In a recent Mat-Su Borough poll, 88 percent of those questioned said they wanted their power to come from sources like wind, hydroelectric and geothermal.

Alaska is not the only state struggling with its energy future. Many states have passed regulations placing requirements on the amount of energy that comes from renewable resources. However, states vary on their current renewable energy output, usually depending on the abundance of the state's renewable energy resouces.

While the Valley's Matanuska Electric Association plans to build a vast majority of its new generation fueled by coal and natural gas, it also plans to build 5 megawatts of new renewable energy generation by 2015.

This 5 megawatts, added to their share in the Eklutna Lake hydroelectric facility, will bring Matanuska Electric Association's renewable energy profile to 24.5 megawatts, about 10 percent. MEA currently gets about 13 percent of its power from renewable sources. This total lags behind the state as a whole, but is competitive with other Railbelt utilities; Homer Electric Association, 33.7 percent; Golden Valley Electric Association, 9.25 percent; Municipal