Regulation
J.D. Tuccille | 10.21.2024 7:00 AM
Alaska is an energy behemoth with massive reserves of oil, natural gas, and petroleum. It also, oddly, faces a looming natural gas shortage—not good for a state where half of electricity production depends on the stuff. The problem is that most natural gas deposits are far from population centers and pipelines to transport the gas don't yet exist and may never be built. So, to get gas to Alaskans, you need to transport it by ship. But federal law requires that only U.S.-flagged liquid natural gas (LNG) carriers be used, and there aren't any.
Alaska really is a powerhouse. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the state's "proved crude oil reserves—about 3.2 billion barrels at the beginning of 2022—are the fourth-largest in the nation." It's "recoverable coal reserves are estimated at 2.8 billion tons, about 1% of the U.S. total." And, most impressively, Alaska's "proved natural gas reserves—about 100 trillion cubic feet—rank third among the states."
With that much natural gas to draw on, it's no wonder the state gets about half of its total electricity from generators powered by natural gas, with roughly three-quarters of power to the main Railbelt grid coming from gas. Nevertheless, the lights could soon flicker—and a lot of people's furnaces and stoves sputter—because of lack of access to the vast natural gas reserves.
"Alaska........