Palin pushes for dam project

UPI ^ | 1/26/2009

[markomalley]

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's push for half of the state's electricity to come from renewable energy by 2025 revived hopes for a giant dam project, observers say.

The Anchorage Daily News reported Monday that a mammoth hydro project like the Susitna dam would create jobs.

"We may have to make a big investment here for this generation but it will pay off for the next generation," said Joe Balash, the governor's special assistant for energy.

The Daily News said the Republican governor is planning to start the process by asking lawmakers to approve bringing the six Railbelt energy utilities into a single new power corporation, which would be needed for the project, officials say.

"We know for sure that it's big, it's going to take a long time and there's not a single one of the electric utilities in the Railbelt today that can do it themselves," Balash was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

[markomalley]

Another good move for Sarah.

Not bad for a trailer trash Barbie idiot (per the MSM, at least /sarc off).

[sagar]

Pork

[ArrogantBustard]

I don’t see it as good ... but I’m not in Alaska.

[Billg64]

bump

[Monsieur Poirot]

ping

[AngryJawa]

But...but the endangered Red-bellied Grizzly Snail population would be decimated! Evil Rethuglican pseudo-woman! [/typical greenbat]

[markomalley]

Pork

Is it pork if they aren't asking Murtha (or Stevens -- oops, too late on that one) for Federal assistance? And if they can pay for it...

[Kimmers]

Great.....another dam government project

[Virginia Ridgerunner]

In other excellent news...

Sarah Palin has her own PAC called SarahPAC

[thackney]

From last year...

Alaska Shakes the Dust Off Discarded Susitna Project
http://enr.construction.com/news/powerIndus/archives/080611.asp
06/11/2008

The federal government first researched the Upper Susitna River as an energy source in the 1940s and the state spent $134 million studying its potential. In 1984, it submitted a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission application for a license to build two dams at a cost of $5.5 billion. It withdrew the application a year later when the price of oil dropped and funding sources disappeared.

The most recent proposal envisions a two-dam operation capable of providing 1,620 MW. Watana Dam, an 840-ft-high rockfill dam, would be built first and could yield 750 MW. An underground powerhouse would house six 170-MW turbines. A second dam at Devil’s Canyon, a concrete, double-curvature, thin-arch structure, would be added if capacity is warranted. Its powerhouse would hold four 150-MW Francis turbines.

[thackney]

http://www.legfin.state.ak.us/BudgetReports/GetBackupDocuments.php?Year=2008&Type=proj&Number=50454&NumberType=LFD

[traderrob6]

Yea, may work out like Hoover dam.

[thackney]

Entrance to Devil's Canyon

[Logical me]

You go girl! Refreshing to learn that at least we have a winning conservative.

[Names Ash Housewares]

You know what they will say...
Since Sarah is a Christian, they will call it a “God” dam.

[Logical me]

I don’t see it as good ... but I’m not in Alaska.

Are you saying hydro electric is not the answer to all greenieees problems? Or lack the understanding how efficient this type of electricity is compared to any other type including wind and solar.

[Dilbert San Diego]

It doesn’t matter to the enviro extremos how efficient hydro electric power is. To them, only solar and wind are acceptable sources of energy. Dams allegedly damage the environment, so to them, they aren’t allowable.

It’s interesting that the enviros are all up in arms about importing so much foreign oil, but are against so many things that could help.

They are against more domestic oil production and drilling
They are against nuclear power
They are against development of oil shale field
They are against more coal mining
They are against coal slurry pipelines
They are against hydro electric projects
They are against more oil and gasoline refineries
They are against coal gasification
They are against coal fired power plants
They are against natural gas fired power plants

I think the only things they would allow are wind and solar power.

[ArrogantBustard]

I’m not a huge fan of “renewables” generally. Much more a fan of nukes.

But it’s NMP. It’s in Alaska ... and I’m not.

[ArrogantBustard]

I’m not a huge fan of “renewables” generally. Much more a fan of nukes.

But it’s NMP. It’s in Alaska ... and I’m not.

[jdub]

what would they do in winter? I realize that the water at the bottom of the lake doesn’t freeze, but there isn’t any running in to replace what goes through the turbines.