Energy & Mining

Juneau’s mining subcommittee is tasked with revamping the city’s mining ordinance. Both environmentalists and mine advocates are looking for a seat at the table.

The Sitka Assembly has agreed to take a harder look at a proposed ordinance that would allow the Electric Department to offer discounted rates for new, large customers.

At least one resident who lives in a community near where Pebble would be developed is still deciding whether the mine is a good idea.

Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., on Thursday lamented that the refuge drilling proposal isn’t drawing public outrage like it did more than a decade ago.

Hydro One had requested the Regulatory Commission of Alaska waive the requirement that the Canadian company obtain an Alaska business license. The RCA refused,restaring the process from scratch.

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski released Wednesday legislation that would open part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. Murkowski’s part of the bill would lift the ban on drilling in the so-called 1002 area, along the coastal plain of the refore. It would split revenues 50-50 between the state and the federal government.

State will explore marketing, financing and investment with China for the $45 billion mega-project

A deregulation bill aimed at boosting energy production on federal lands cleared a U.S. House committee Wednesday. Known as the SECURE American Energy Act, H.R. 4239 would remove several limits on Arctic drilling, undoing former President Barack Obama’s decision to close off most Arctic waters to leasing. 

JPSS-1 satellite features instruments that can see through clouds, determine sea surface temperatures, detect rising river levels, and spot small fires before they become big ones. It can also observe the Arctic Ocean and Alaska’s North Slope, something that geostationary weather satellites cannot do.

In Alaska, North Slope crude rose to more than $63 a barrel by Monday.