The Susitna Hydroelectric Project (commonly called the Susitna Dam or the Susitna-Watana Dam) was a proposed

hydroelectric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined a ...

project along the

Susitna River The Susitna River (; aht, Sasutna’; tfn, Susitnu) is a long river in the Southcentral Alaska. It is the 15th largest river in the United States, ranked by average discharge volume at its mouth. The river stretches from the Susitna Glacier to ...

in southern

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S ...

. The project, which originally consisted of two dams along the river, was proposed as early as the 1960s by the

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation The Bureau of Reclamation, and formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and opera ...

to supply electricity to the railbelt region of Alaska (areas served by the

Alaska Railroad Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

), including the cities of

Anchorage Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring ...

and

Fairbanks Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the ...

. At the time, it was known as the Devil's Canyon Dam, for its location just upstream of Devils Canyon, a -deep gorge and whitewater rapids formed by the Susitna River. When oil prices and state revenue (based on taxes levied on oil extraction) declined, the plan was put on hold. When oil prices rose to then-record highs in 2008, the rising price of electricity in Alaska caused a revival of interest in the proposal. The Susitna Hydroelectric project, to be built by the Alaska Energy Authority, was projected to cost $5.2 billion. A dam would be built on the Susitna River about north of Anchorage, forming a reservoir. The dam would consistently produce between 280 and 300

megawatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after Jame ...

s of power, or about 2,800

GWh A kilowatt-hour ( unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a unit of energy: one kilowatt of power for one hour. In terms of SI derived units with special names, it equals 3.6 megajoules (MJ). Kilowatt-hours are a common b ...

per year. The dam would be designed to accommodate a future height increase to . Electricity from the dam would supply about two-thirds of Alaska's population. The alternative is use of natural gas as fuel for generators. Whether to build a natural gas pipeline is also at issue. The Susitna river, which drains into the

Cook Inlet Cook Inlet ( tfn, Tikahtnu; Sugpiaq: ''Cungaaciq'') stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage in south-central Alaska. Cook Inlet branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm at its northern end, almost surrounding Anchorage. On its ...

, is a major

salmon Salmon () is the common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of ...

spawning ground. The site of the proposed dam is upstream of the breeding grounds of salmon, but if the dam is constructed the pattern of flow in the river will change due to operation of the dam. On June 29, 2016, Alaska's governor

Bill Walker Bill Walker may refer to: Australian rules football * Bill A. Walker (1886–1934), Australian rules footballer for Essendon * Bill Walker (Australian footballer, born 1883) (1883–1971), Australian rules footballer for Fitzroy * Bill J. V. Walke ...

vetoed the construction of the dam. The reasons were both environmental and economic.

Notes

External links

Alaska Energy Authority reports on Susitna

Coalition for Susitna Dam Alternatives

* ttp://dec.alaska.gov/air/anpms/pm/pm2-5_fbks.htm Fairbanks winter air quality fails to meet EPA standards
Ground Truth Trekking technical information on the dam plus Ground Truth journey
Hydroelectric power plants in Alaska Buildings and structures in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska {{MatanuskaSusitnaAK-geo-stub Proposed hydroelectric power stations Proposed renewable energy power stations in the United States