Energy Department plans up to $150 million for Alaska transmission line

WASHINGTON, Oct 5 — The U.S. Department of Energy announced its intent to deploy up to $150 million in Defense Production Act (DPA) funding for a second high-voltage connection between Southcentral and Interior Alaska, which the department said would strengthen grid infrastructure essential to national defense.

The Alaska Energy Authority's Beluga-Healy Transmission Project combines the DPA funding with $268 million in non-federal funding, for a planned total investment of $418 million, the department said. About 223 miles of new transmission line will be built between Beluga and Healy, giving grid operators an additional pathway to move power between Alaska's most densely populated communities and major military installations, according to the department.

"This project will not only support the major U.S. military expansion currently underway in Alaska, but also mining and other resource development critical to our national security," U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said.