Gov. Bill Walker smiled, sat down and lifted his pen.
“This is a sweetheart piece of legislation,” he said shortly before affixing his signature to House Bill 143, a bill that allows state funding of the new Sweetheart Lake Hydroelectric Project.
HB 143, supported by Rep. Cathy Munoz, R-Juneau, permits the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority to borrow up to $120 million on behalf of Juneau Hydropower Inc. and loan it to the company.
JHI plans to construct an 111-foot-tall concrete dam generating 19.8 megawatts of electricity at a lake southeast of Juneau.
Overland and undersea cables would connect the powerhouse to existing transmission lines that link Juneau and the Snettisham Hydroelectric Project.
Electricity from the project would power Kensington gold mine and a new “district heating” system for downtown Juneau.
With state capital project spending all but vanished as a result of budget cuts, dam construction is expected to bolster Juneau’s construction industry.
“This is really the SLAM of the next few years for our community,” Muñoz said, referring to construction jobs created by the erection of the State Library, Archives and Museum.
[Grand SLAM: New state museum opens]
With that in mind, Friday’s bill signing was held at the Juneau union hall of the plumbers and pipefitters in Lemon Creek.
“We need to be doing more of this kind of thing even in challenging times,” Walker said, “and we are in challenging times. We can’t afford some of these things, but some we can.”
In addition to AIDEA financing, Juneau Hydropower is nearing approval of its permit from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. At the signing ceremony, Juneau Hydropower CEO Keith Comstock said FERC is awaiting the input of only one final agency, the marine mammal program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
• Contact reporter James Brooks at james.k.brooks@juneauempire.com.
Related stories about the project:
CEO: Hydropower will bring the heat
House votes for Sweetheart Lake funding
Feds, state and AEL&P chime in on Sweetheart Lake dam plan
More legislative stories:
House adjourns without deficit fix, Alaska has 36 months of savings remaining
Legislator files ethics complaint against governor
Senate rejects call for veto override; Legislature poised to adjourn with no action
