We are all aware of the looming natural gas shortage in Alaska. It fuels most of the electric grid. Imported natural gas will mean higher gas prices. This will mean higher electricity bills.
Chugach Electric Association is preparing for the declining natural gas supplies. It is investigating wind, solar, and hydropower. These are clean, renewable power sources. However, President Trump phased out tax credits for wind and solar power. Developers pulled out of more than ten projects overnight.
Chugach turned to hydropower. Where could they put a dam? The location can’t be too remote. It shouldn’t have salmon spawning upstream of the dam. That requires expensive work to make sure fish can get past the dam.
Chugach chose four sites for further study after a couple years of research. Two are in the Matanuska River Valley: at Boulder Creek, which is part of the Chickaloon River and on Caribou Creek in Glacier View.
Each site would have a dam and a powerhouse. Canyons would be flooded to form reservoirs. The reservoir at Boulder Creek would cover over two hundred acres and send water through about two miles of tunnel to a powerhouse. The reservoir at Caribou Creek would flood a greater area and generate twice as much energy.
If both hydropower projects went into full production, they could generate about 87 giga-watts of electricity per year. This equates to about 10% of the power needed in Palmer.
Each site has challenges according to Senior Regulatory Consultant Samantha Owen from McMillen, Inc. Chugach chose McMillen to do the studies.
In Glacier View, it’s the unstable ground. Owen says that they got about ten calls right away when they announced the studies of Caribou Creek.
She also says there are landowners downstream of Boulder Creek who expressed concerns.
Chugach is in the early stages of gathering information. They placed stream gauges at the sites in April to measure water flow. They are doing environmental and engineering studies to be ready to start construction by 2033. In 2033 tax credits for hydropower start to decrease.
At both the Boulder Creek and Caribou Creek sites Chugach wants to use only state permitting instead of going through the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, known as FERC.
Owen said, “We would like to remove one more layer of bureaucracy, while doing all the required studies before committing to a project.”
Although the proposed dams would be in Glacier View and Chickaloon, the power would be owned by Chugach Electric Association. Matanuska Electric Association would need to partner with Chugach or purchase the power to benefit Mat-Su residents.
Chugach Electric will hold meetings to hear from people in the area. If you would like to be on the stakeholder engagement list, contact Samantha Owen at owen@mcmillen.com or 305-409-5201.
In other news, Palmer Fire & Rescue will be conducting a training exercise on a structure on Palmer Fishhook near the intersection with the Glenn Highway on Sunday starting at 9 a.m.
Captain Graham and Chief Prevost will supervise the burn of the structure and its components. This training area will be hazardous. They ask people to keep out of the area and to avoid flying drones over it.
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Tune in at 89.7 in Palmer, 89.5 in Sutton, 88.3 in Chickaloon and Glacier View or online at bigcabbageradio.org.
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This Page Two article was reported by Kendra Zamzow and produced by yours truly, Lee Henrikson. If you have an idea for a Page 2 topic, please email us at page2@radiofreepalmer.org.
That’s it for today and the news on Page Two on Tuesday May 12, 2026.
[image: Caribou Creek Nov. 12 2021 – photo credit K. Zamzow]