Every year, the Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District, or KPEDD brings together industry leaders and stakeholders from around Alaska. It’s for the Industry Overview Forum – a full day’s worth of panels, networking and industry updates. It aims to equip attendees with strategies for developing a locally grown and sustainable workforce.
This year, presenters highlighted mariculture, workforce development and healthcare. But one topic rose above the rest: energy. Where to find it, how we use it and ways to get more of it.
On the Kenai Peninsula, Kara Moriarty says Alaska’s historic energy resource – oil and gas – remains an economic boon. She heads the statewide oil and gas trade association, the Alaska Oil and Gas Association, and shared stats from an internal study of the industry.
“There are about just over 1400 direct jobs and just over $200 million in wages here on the Kenai,” she said. “So we know that it is clearly a significant portion of your community, something that, you know, it's no secret to you here.”
But lately, oil and gas has shifted from the energy option to an energy option.
It’s been more than three years since Hilcorp, the dominant oil and gas producer in Cook Inlet, warned it might not be able to supply utilities with natural gas beyond existing contracts. Those contracts had different expiration dates – Homer Electric Association’s was up in 2026. Chugach Electric’s is good through 2028.
A state report published around the same time concluded Cook Inlet gas demand could outpace supply by 2027. As that date’s gotten closer, stakeholders from around the state have searched for solutions.
Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche recapped his work reviewing energy project proposals as chair of a Southcentral mayoral group, including what would happen in the unlikely event all the projects came online.
“Is that easy to understand?” he asked the crowd. “That if you shifted the amount of gas that’s generating electricity to other generation that it would give us another decade before impending cold and dark?”
Homer Electric Association General Manager Brad Janorschke said utilities will stick together in tough times.
“We may disagree, but we will never, ever let one of our peers go dark,” he said.
And, through a video, Sen. Dan Sullivan plugged President Donald Trump’s executive order “Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential.”
“What’s in it for the Kenai?” he asks. “I would say a lot, because one of the areas that this focuses on a lot, it says it is the policy of the United States to get the Alaska LNG Project over the goal line, permitted and done.”
The looming gas crunch has prompted a flurry of new proposals – from the state’s largest solar farm, to tidal turbines, to volcanic geothermal leases. But none loom quite as large as the Alaska LNG Project. If built, the $44 billion project would clean natural gas on the North Slope and then send it through an 800-mile pipeline to Nikiski to be liquefied and shipped overseas.
Its hefty price tag has stalled work for decades. But renewed interest from the White House and foreign markets has helped keep it in the spotlight.
Bruce Jackman is the general manager of Marathon Petroleum’s Kenai refinery. He questioned how anyone on the peninsula could not support the pipeline project.
“We're all for it,” he said. “Bring that gas down. Bring it to market. Me, personally, lifelong resident of the Kenai Peninsula – wow. Can you imagine what that would mean to this, to this community, if we had that amount of gas coming into Cook Inlet?”
Hilcorp Alaska’s Trudi Hallett agreed.
“The next five years is really what's in front of my face,” she said. “But long term, absolutely, I think that's something that would really help Southcentral, and we need to all be on the same page and get it done.”
But some remain skeptical – about high costs, lack of binding offtake agreements and feared adverse environmental impacts.
All of this year’s Industry Overview Panels are available to stream on KPEDD’s YouTube channel. More information about the organization’s work can be found on KPEDD’s website.
