August 11, 2010 - Damariscove Island; Alaskan gas supply

Uninhabited Damariscove Island, near Boothbay Harbor, Maine.  The ocean waters near Damariscove Island have been selected as a test site for offshore wind energy production.

Alaska is facing a dilemma over how to ensure continued gas supply to the Anchorage area.  For years, gas fields near Cook Inlet have produced enough gas to supply consumers in Alaska's most populous area.  However, production is declining so rapidly that some reports suggest a need for imports within the next five years.  Options include imports from Asia, or pipeline projects from the North Slope southward.  There are two pending international pipeline proposals -- TransCanada and Denali -- but it is not clear that those lines will be built, let alone whether they would include offramps for Alaskan consumers.  Serving Anchorage from a dedicated gas pipeline from the North Slope would be even more expensive for ratepayers.

Tomorrow night may be movie night for those following the Cape Wind offshore energy project.  See this Boston Globe interview with Robbie Gemmel, director of "Cape Wind: The Fight for the Future of Power in America."  Here is a link to his website, which he also calls "Cape Spin".  The movie has a sneak preview Thursday night in Dennis, MA.

The federal Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future toured Wiscasset, Maine, yesterday, looking for solutions to the problem of how (and where) to store spent fuel and nuclear waste from the former Maine Yankee nuclear power plant.