At the Anchorage news conference held Thursday, Stephen Ball, Coeur Alaska’s general manager, called the prospect “exciting.”
“From our perspective, the opportunity to bring clean hydropower to Kensington is a root driving force for us. It gives us the opportunity to get off of diesel power and onto clean energy,” Ball said. Beyond Kensington, Mitchell said, there is an opportunity for Juneau’s electric utility, Alaska Electric Light and Power., which calls for a 25% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2032, Mitchell said.
Construction is expected to start next year, with operations starting two or three years after then, Mitchell said.The initial application for a license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission was filed in 2009. From then until 2016, the process went through numerous permitting steps, including an environmental impact statement. All required permits were completed by 2016, Mitchell said.