Homer Electric Association

A combination of adverse economic conditions and uncertainty over the future of federal solar investment tax credits threw the project into limbo earlier this year.

Voting for HEA board candidates closes on May 1.

Power was restored to the Soldotna area within roughly an hour.

A downed high voltage line in Sterling on top of smaller outages kept power out longer in that area.

If it’s built, the 45-megawatt solar farm in Nikiski would be the biggest in Alaska.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski requested the appropriation, which is for a Kenai Peninsula Borough and Homer Electric Association project that will turn methane from the Central Peninsula Landfill into fuel.

As a result of high winds Sunday and Monday, Homer Electric Association customers experienced power outages throughout the Kenai Peninsula. A spokesperson for the utility company says over 5,000 outages were reported.

Homer Electric Association cites the pressures of inflation on services and materials for the rate hike. It goes into effect on Jan. 1

Homer Electric General Manager Brad Janorschke said in a presentation this week that the utility is working on a variety of renewable energy efforts, including wind, solar, geothermal and a project to use methane from the Soldotna Landfill.

Windy conditions continue to cause power outages across the central Kenai Peninsula. Communities from Nikiski to Clam Gulch are affected.