Energy
DOE new energy tech grants
The U.S. Department of Energy will provide additional research funds toward two experimental new river- ow energy systems being developed in Alaska. These include a $2.3 million grant to Igiu- gig Village Council, in partnership with the Ocean Renewable Power Company of Maine, for continued work on a river current turbine system at Igiugig, and $1.3 million to the Alaska Center for Energy and Power (ACEP) at University of Alaska Fairbanks, for work with Renergé, Inc. on a hydroelectric water current energy harvester technology.
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Deal signed on Fairbanks LNG
The boards of the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority and the Interior Gas Utili-
ty agreed on a contract to sell the AIDEA-owned Fairbanks Natural Gas utility to the IGU, a new utility building a natural gas distribution system around North Pole, east of the Interior city. The deal was signed June 13, for a price of $54 million. The negotiations were protracted. One nal sticking point was a request by IGU to evaluate a proposal for a modular LNG plant in Southcental Alaska developed by Siemens as an alternative to rebuilding the small LNG plant near Port MacKenzie, in the MatSu, that is now used to make and truck LNG to Fairbanks. AIDEA will nance the purchase by IGU with a zero-interest loan for 15 years, after which a 0.25 percent interest would be paid for 35 years.