Time to Look at Susitna Hydro Once More

It’s time for Alaska to reconsider the Susitna-Watana Hydroelectric Project

An artist's rendition of the proposed Watana Dam on the Susitna River. (Image courtesy Alaska Energy Authority)For decades, the Susitna–Watana Hydroelectric Project has occupied a liminal space in Alaska’s energy conversations — too large, expensive and controversial to move forward, yet too potentially transformative to fully dismiss. In many ways, it has become shorthand for the state’s uneasy relationship with mega-projects that promise to re…

Time to look at Susitna hydro once more

It was in 1982 that I first reported in detail on the Susitna hydroelectric project for the Daily News-Miner. One of the articles in that series was headlined, “Look to 2050 to see Susitna benefit, experts say.” The thinking at the time was that the project could last for centuries, but as early as 2010, hydro would appear to be more favorable than coal or natural gas, and the advantage would grow as the decades passed. You could write a book ab…