Sunday, December 19, 2010

BC's North Coast Power Corp given go ahead to investigate Alaska Interconnection

TRANSMISSION LINE INVESTIGATED TO JOIN NW BC WITH SE ALASKA
Merv Ritchie - Terrace Daily Online

North Coast Power Corp has been given the go ahead by BC’s Integrated Land Management Bureau to investigate the Iskut River Valley for a grid interconnection to Alaska. The Northwest Transmission Line (NTL) is presently planned to extend to Bob Quinn Lake. North Coast Power will be investigating the route to join this new grid with a connection to the present grid in SE Alaska at Tyee Lake, which currently connects the communities of Petersburg, Wrangell and more recently, Ketchikan and now Metlakatla with a submarine cable.

For full story click here.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Senator Murkowski Introduces Bills to Boost Hydropower Generation | Renewable Energy World

Senator Murkowski Introduces Bills to Boost Hydropower Generation | Renewable Energy World
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S. 7/14/10 (PennWell) --

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has introduced two pieces of legislation aimed at increasing the production of electricity from renewable hydropower and creating jobs in America’s energy sector. The "Hydropower Improvement Act" and the "Hydropower Renewable Energy Development Act" would boost federal support for hydropower projects.

The Hydropower Improvement Act, co-sponsored by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash; Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash; and Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, aims to increase the capacity of our nation’s hydropower sources to generate clean, renewable electricity by up to 75,000 megawatts.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Could MacKenzie Gas Gain Momentum from British Petroleum's Gulf Oil Spill

http://www.alaskadispatch.com/dispatches/energy/5264-could-mackenzie-gas-gain-momentum-from-gulf-oil-spillCould MacKenzie Gas Gain Momentum from British Petroleum's Gulf Oil Spill?

Alaskans Mourn the loss of former Governor Walter J. Hickel - Fairbanks Daily Newsminer

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner - The voice of Interior Alaska since 1903
SITKA, Alaska - Alaskans on Saturday mourned the loss of former Gov. Walter J. Hickel and remembered him as a visionary and a maverick.

Alaska Democrats, meeting for their convention in Sitka, had a moment of silence in honor of Hickel, who served as Interior secretary under President Richard Nixon until Hickel was dismissed for objecting to the treatment of Vietnam War protesters.

A ripple of "Oh!" and "Oh, my God" rippled through the audience as word of his death, at age 90, was announced Saturday morning.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Alaska's lone Congressman speaks of his support for an Alaska-BC Intertie, the Wrangell Sentinel

Wrangell Sentinel - the oldest continuously published paper in Alaska.

Alaska’s lone U.S. House Representative visited Wrangell Apr. 14 and Petersburg Apr. 15 to discuss various topics with residents including hydropower development, the recently passed health care bill, Sealaska and timber production.


Republican Don Young used a meeting with members of the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce to reaffirm his decision to run for a 20th term in the House.
“I am running, and will run hard,” Young said.


Young said that hydropower is as important to Southeast residents as the gas line is to the rest of Alaska. He said that hydropower development should be a priority.
“There should be an abundance of hydro power,” he said.

Click above link for full Wrangell Sentinel story.

Alaska's lone Congressman speaks of his support for an Alaska-BC Intertie, the Wrangell SentinelWrangell Sentinel

Wrangell Sentinel - the oldest continuously published paper in Alaska.

Alaska’s lone U.S. House Representative visited Wrangell Apr. 14 and Petersburg Apr. 15 to discuss various topics with residents including hydropower development, the recently passed health care bill, Sealaska and timber production.


Republican Don Young used a meeting with members of the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce to reaffirm his decision to run for a 20th term in the House.
“I am running, and will run hard,” Young said.


Young said that hydropower is as important to Southeast residents as the gas line is to the rest of Alaska. He said that hydropower development should be a priority.
“There should be an abundance of hydro power,” he said.

Click above link for full Wrangell Sentinel story.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Telling the Northwest Transmission Line story



This is an excellent explanation of what is transpiring in the North Coast Mountain region of British Columbia, Alaska and Yukon. Have a view of this video, it may not fit your view of how things may be, but it definitely promises to change things for a number of folks who live marginally and love the region in which they live. This means jobs for those who wish to remain on the land they love.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

BBC News - Canada's 'secret land' Yukon woos tourists

BBC News - Canada's 'secret land' Yukon woos tourists
As Vancouver gears up for its second stint as Olympic host with the Paralympics beginning on 12 March, one northern Canadian territory is hoping the lasting legacy of the Games will be a boost to tourism.

The government of Yukon spent just under 3m Canadian dollars (£1.9m) trying to educate people about their territory during the Winter Games, promoting it as a great place to travel, invest and do business.

"The people that go to the Olympics are our kind of people," says Sheila Dodd, who works in economic and tourism development for Whitehorse, Yukon's capital.

First nation leads Northwest economic revival - Vancouver Sun

First nation leads Northwest economic revival
An isolated first nation on the northern British Columbia coast is emerging as a new economic powerhouse leading the rebirth of the Northwest's forest industry.

There are no roads to the village of Lax Kw'alaams and most British Columbians would be hard-pressed to find it on a map.

But in the last decade, this village, 30 kilometres by boat north of Prince Rupert, has levered its own forest resources to build a solid financial balance sheet and focus on building a northwestern empire of wood with a global reach. From the verge of bankruptcy, it has transformed itself into an economic engine for the region; its logging operations are pumping millions of dollars into the economies of Prince Rupert and Terrace.

Click above link for full story in the Vancouver Sun

Thursday, March 11, 2010

B.C. group touts green economic solution

B.C. group touts green economic solution

B.C. could pull in about $4.3 billion annually and eliminate its debt over several years by tapping into and selling its vast green-energy potential, said a report released yesterday.

Bio-energy, run-of-river, wind, geothermal, tidal, wave and solar energy could all be developed to help the environment and to work towards wiping out B.C.'s debt in 15 years or less, said the B.C. Citizens for Green Energy's 76-page report.

"B.C. is widely recognized as having a natural abundance of renewable green energy resources. However, this natural abundance is currently going virtually untapped as are the economic and environmental benefits that developing them could bring to our province," said the report, titled A Triple Legacy for Future Generations: B.C.'s Potential as a Renewable Green Energy Powerhouse.

Read more by clicking above link. To go to the greenenergybc website.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

SitNews - Prince Rupert Turns 100 By DAVE KIFFER

SitNews - Prince Rupert Turns 100 By DAVE KIFFER

Ketchikan, Alaska - On March 10, The City of Prince Rupert is celebrating the centennial of its incorporation in 1910.

The events will begin with a pancake breakfast at the Masonic Hall from 8 to 10 am. At 9:45, there will be a children's parade on Third Avenue from City Hall to Nisga'a Hall and at noon a Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the North Coast Meeting and Convention Center featuring Dr. Bill Hick.

For full story read click on link above to read this story in sitnews.us

Monday, March 8, 2010

Canada, U.S. switch positions in Beaufort Sea boundary dispute - "All of a sudden, we have this almost perfect opportunity for a win-win..."

Canada, U.S. switch positions in Beaufort Sea boundary dispute

Just days after the Conservative government's throne speech pledged to resolve several outstanding Arctic territorial disputes, polar experts have revealed an unexpected twist in the long-running disagreement over the Canada-U.S. border in the southern Beaufort Sea.

For decades, the two countries have been deadlocked over where to draw the maritime boundary off the coasts of Alaska and the Yukon — a conflict that has flared occasionally when it came to fisheries management and oil-and-gas exploration.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

CBC News - North - Feds failing wind energy industry, Whitehorse engineer says

CBC News - North - Feds failing wind energy industry, Whitehorse engineer says
A Whitehorse engineer who organized a wind energy conference in Ottawa this week says governments should spend more money on alternative energy industries, not on infrastructure and bailing out car manufacturers.

J.P. Pinard, who hosted the 2009 Wind-Diesel Workshop on Monday and Tuesday, said the federal government cut incentive programs this year for wind energy, including a wind subsidy program and a plan to assist northern communities wanting to supplement diesel-generated power with wind energy.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story/2009/06/03/wind-energy.html#ixzz0hQNeOf0z or click above link.

CBC News - North - Yukon Energy urged to release alternative power studies

CBC News - North - Yukon Energy urged to release alternative power studies=

The Yukon's public power utility should release feasibility studies it had done on wind and geothermal energy, says NDP MLA Steve Cardiff.

Cardiff is calling on Yukon Energy Corp. to release the studies, which he said the utility has been withholding to date.

"These studies were paid for with public funds. The energy corporation belongs to Yukon citizens," Cardiff told CBC News on Friday.

For full story visit CBC North by clicking the link above

PR-CANADA.net - AltaLink, L.P.: Western Alberta Transmission Line to Provide Much Needed Reinforcement to Alberta's

PR-CANADA.net - AltaLink, L.P.: Western Alberta Transmission Line to Provide Much Needed Reinforcement to Alberta's

Click above link for story

Friday, March 5, 2010

CBC News - North - Liard First Nation renew land battle

CBC News - North - Liard First Nation renew land battle

The Liard First Nation has filed lawsuits against three governments, reigniting a years-old battle over its traditional territory in the Yukon and northern British Columbia.

The Watson Lake-based First Nation filed lawsuit documents this week with the Yukon Supreme Court, British Columbia Supreme Court and the Northwest Territories Supreme Court, demanding compensation for mineral resources it claims the governments have taken over the years.

"This is a direct response to the high level of activity on the lands by government and industry, and the lack of consultation of our community," Chief Liard McMillan told CBC News on Thursday.

Click link above to read the full story on CBC North

A sinking feeling about AGIA and plan B by Andrew Halcro - Alaska Dispatch guest op-ed

A sinking feeling about AGIA and plan B

This week we arrive at the annual ritual of spring break on the legislative calendar, when lawmakers will shove aside their pressing state business to attend the annual Energy Conference in Washington D.C.

The conference hosts policy makers from oil and gas states and provinces, while providing a forum to meet with federal regulators, congressional members and the ability to be briefed on the latest energy trends.

For full story click the link above to Alaska Dispatch.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Proponents, critics seek 'clarity' from Victoria on clean power strategy

Proponents, critics seek 'clarity' from Victoria on clean power strategy

Both proponents and critics of private-sector power development are ready for a quick shift into post-Olympic mode as the provincial legislature reopens this week.

The British Columbia government has promised to introduce a Clean Energy Act that may emerge as a highlight in the introduction of Tuesday's budget, if only because the government is facing a huge deficit as the global recession continues to resonate through the provincial economy.

Click link above to read the full story in the Vancouver Sun.

Sunday, February 28, 2010

2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics

Congratulations to Canada and British Columbia for a successful hosting of the 2010 Winter Olympics!

Monday, February 22, 2010

BC Hydro subsidiary battles U.S. poacher

BC Hydro subsidiary battles U.S. poacher
Efforts by a Wall Street financial giant to poach employees and business from a lucrative government-owned energy trading operation in Vancouver are proving expensive for British Columbia taxpayers.

BC Hydro subsidiary corporation Powerex has lost 10 energy trading team members in a continuing employee raid by New York-based financial services firm Morgan Stanley, according to an internal memo obtained by The Vancouver Sun...

Click link above for entire story from the Vancouver Sun

Saturday, February 20, 2010

SitNews - Canadian Tsimshian Was A Leader For Alaska Native Rights By DAVE KIFFER

SitNews - Canadian Tsimshian Was A Leader For Alaska Native Rights By DAVE KIFFER

Ketchikan, Alaska - Although the vast majority of the leaders in the Alaska Native civil rights movement were Tlingits, one of the founders and early leaders was a Tsimshian, originally from Canada, named Peter Simpson.

Simpson was one of the founders of the Alaskan Native Brotherhood in 1912, the only non Tlingit among the early advocates. And many in the Native community consider him one of the forces behind Native land claims efforts...

Click link above to access the full story in Sitnews.com

GE Energy Finance Unit May Expand B.C. Wind Farm (Update1) - BusinessWeek

GE Energy Finance Unit May Expand B.C. Wind Farm (Update1) - BusinessWeek

Feb. 14 (Bloomberg) -- General Electric Co.’s energy finance unit said it may double the capacity of a wind farm in British Columbia, increasing its bet on renewable-power in Canada’s westernmost province.

GE and Vancouver-based Plutonic Power Corp. last year bought the unfinished, 144-megawatt Dokie Ridge Wind Project, the first equity investment in wind energy in Canada for both companies.

“British Columbia has tremendous natural resources that are ideal for large-scale renewable energy projects,” Alex Urquhart, who runs the energy financial services unit, a division of Fairfield, Connecticut-based General Electric’s GE Capital division, said in a statement today.

Click link above for full story

Friday, February 19, 2010

Arctic gas by 2017 February 21 - Petroleum News

Arctic%20gas%20by%202017%20-%20February%2021,%202010 - Petroleum News
Canada’s Mackenzie Gas Project could be onstream as early as 2017 and Alaska’s North Slope project could be delivering gas to Lower 48 markets three or four years later, predicts consultant Ziff Energy Group.

And, regardless of the enormous capital costs to develop Arctic gas and compete with abundant shale gas supplies, the two projects are tied to expectations for gas prices in the 20 years after they are completed, not what happens over the next decade, the Calgary-based firm said.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Electricity: A new industrial pillar for the B. C economy - Vancouver Sun

Electricity: A new industrial pillar for the B. C economy
To say that the atmosphere in Vancouver is electric is something of a double entendre. Certainly, thousands of visitors surging through the streets to take in the Olympic Games and related activities have recharged our sleepy little town, but a series of announcements tied to Premier Gordon Campbell's clean-energy program this week may do more in the long run to bring power to the people.

Click links above for full story

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Northeast transmission line would create 'energy corridor' that could boost our clean power exports, Liberals say - Vaughn Palmer, Vancouver Sun

Northeast transmission line would create 'energy corridor' that could boost our clean power exports, Liberals say - Vaughn Palmer - Vancouver Sun

Following the push to build a new transmission line into northwestern B.C., the provincial Liberals want to extend the power grid to the northeast as well, as part of what they are calling a "northern energy corridor."

"New transmission infrastructure will link northeastern B.C. to our integrated grid," declared the speech from the throne last week.

The move was touted as a way to "provide clean power to the energy industry" and to "open up new capacity for clean power exports to Alberta and Saskatchewan."

Monday, February 8, 2010

Whitehorsestar.com - Leaders discuss salmon, caribou, pipeline

Whitehorsestar.com - Leaders discuss salmon, caribou, pipeline
Whitehorse Star - Whitehorse, YK
Alaska Governor Sean Parnell and Yukon Premier Dennis Fentie met in Whitehorse recently to discuss issues ranging from the Yukon River salmon fishery, the Porcupine Caribou herd, the Skagway port, natural gas to possible wind and hydro options.

Click the link above to read details in the Whitehorse Star.

Parnell, Premier Fentie meet in Whitehorse - Juneau Empire

Parnell, Premier Fentie meet in Whitehorse - Juneau Empire

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Terrace Standard - The last run to Eurocan

Terrace Standard - The last run to Eurocan
ON FRIDAY Jan. 22, after nearly 17 years on the road with Excel Transportation Inc. Mark Penner completed his last wood chip run to the soon-to-be-closed Eurocan.

With his truck loaded from Pacific Inland Resources in Smithers, Penner hit the ever-familiar Hwy37 South towards the pulp and paper mill in Kitimat which will make its last paper tomorrow, and officially close Jan. 31 after 40 years of operation.

“A lot of people don’t know what they’re going to do,” said Penner of his fellow workers who will be out of a job this Friday Jan. 29 when the Terrace Excel terminal will close its doors after 24 years of service.

Terrace Standard - Power line twinning cost probed

Terrace Standard - Power line twinning cost probed
THE PROVINCIAL government is estimating how much it might cost to build the Northwest Transmission Line’s towers so that more lines could be added if demand to move power increases.

Making provision for expansion makes sense when building any kind of large infrastructure project, said provincial energy minister Blair Lekstrom about the plan to build the line 335km from the Skeena substation near Terrace up Hwy37 North.

“I think with a lot of the infrastructure you build in B.C. you build with a view for the future at the most economical cost,” Lekstrom said last week.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Alaska gas could bypass Alberta - Calgary Herald

Alaska gas could bypass Alberta
In a potential blow to Alberta's petrochemical sector, the proposed Alaska pipeline could bypass the province depending on the outcome of an open season filed Friday by the main sponsors -- Calgary-based TransCanada Corp. and Irving, Texas-based Exxon-Mobil Corp.

The partners formally submitted their intention to solicit shipping commitments for the proposed pipeline to the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the first time in Alaska history that a regulatory application has been filed for natural gas development on the North Slope.

Sunday, January 31, 2010

World Sentinel | General Biofuels Canada Agrees to Acquire Land in the City of Terrace for New Wood Pellet Plant

World Sentinel | General Biofuels Canada Agrees to Acquire Land in the City of Terrace for New Wood Pellet Plant
The City of Terrace and General Biofuels Canada have reached an agreement on terms to purchase property for a wood pellet facility in Terrace, British Columbia. General Biofuels Canada will be utilizing wood supply obtained throughout the region to manufacture premium wood pellets. The wood pellet facility will be operating with an initial capacity of 150,000 – 200,000 metric tonnes per year, growing to a capacity of up to 500,000 metric tonnes per year in the next several years. David Smith, Vice President of Corporate Development of General Biofuels, states: "General Biofuels Canada is committed to developing a significant presence in the wood pellet industry in northern British Columbia. We´re excited to be working with the City of Terrace and look forward to a successful project."

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Terrace Standard - Hyder students go to Stewart school

Terrace Standard - Hyder students go to Stewart school
BEAR VALLEY School in Stewart has had an increase of three students this year from neighbouring Hyder, Alaska after their school shut down due to low enrollment.

Lauren Burch, superintendent of the Southeast Island School District in Alaska, located in Thorne Bay explains that due to dwindling enrollment the school could no longer operate.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Terrace Standard Editorial - Go green

Terrace Standard - Go green
IT’S BEEN a mystery as to why Prime Minister Stephen Harper chose a visit to Washington D.C. last September as the place to announce he’s willing put up to $130 million into the much-planned Northwest Transmission Line running up Hwy37 North.

But consider that American President Barack Obama wants to put billions into ‘green’ power and then look at a map.

As now planned, the Northwest Transmission Line would stop at a place called Bob Quinn on Hwy37 North. Barely 95 kilometres to the west sits the Alaskan Panhandle, a location hydro-electric proponents say contains 3,000 megawatts of viable projects. That’s roughly one-third of B.C. Hydro’s entire output.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

CBC News - North - Hydro expansion will be 'rate neutral': Yukon Energy

CBC News - North - Hydro expansion will be 'rate neutral': Yukon Energy
Yukon Energy Corp. says customers won't pay a cent for millions of dollars in anticipated environmental benefits from its Mayo B hydroelectric expansion project.

The public utility's $160-million plan to build a new power plant and a connecting power line, still needs regulatory approvals from the Yukon Utilities Board, Yukon Environmental and Socio-Economic Assessment Board, and the Yukon Water Board.

The power plant itself will cost $120 million, while another $40 million will be spent on building the Carmacks-Stewart transmission line, which will connect Yukon Energy's Mayo-Dawson hydro grid to the Whitehorse grid.

Yukon Energy president David Morrison said despite the plan's pricetag — making it the most expensive project in the territory's history — electrical ratepayers will pay about $36.5 million.

Spread out over time, the project's costs will not cost ratepayers a cent, Morrison said.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Ketchikan supplements with diesel generation KRBD - Ketchikan

KRBD - Public Radio in Ketchikan, Alaska - Local News
Deanna Garrison
KETCHIKAN, ALASKA (2010-01-07) Beginning Friday, Ketchikan Public Utilities will start operating diesel generators at a cost of $36,000 a day. KPU says a surge in electricity usage and dry weather last year is causing the utility to rely on costly diesel power.

Friday, January 8, 2010

CBC News - North - Too costly to hook up to northern B.C. power line: Yukon Energy

CBC News - North - Too costly to hook up to northern B.C. power line: Yukon Energy

Terrace Standard - Big push for Alaska-B.C. power line

Terrace Standard - Big push for Alaska-B.C. power line
AMERICAN PROPONENTS of a power line connecting Southeast Alaska with B.C. providing access to the North American electricity market say they need their governor to speak to B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell.

They’re convinced a groundswell of support in southeastern Alaska can now be transformed into action on a senior political level, says Paul Southland, a Wrangell, Alaska resident and key backer of the ACEcoaltion with ACE standing for Alaska Canada Energy. The key now, says Southland, is the planned Northwest Transmission Line which would run north of Terrace up to a place called Bob Quinn on Hwy37 North.
 

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