2,196 research outputs found
True Cost of Electricity in Rural Alaska and True Cost of Bulk Fuel in Rural Alaska
In this analysis, we compile data from several sources to estimate the true cost of electricity in rural Alaska. The true cost includes expenses listed on the utilitiesā books plus costs paid by other entities in the form of explicit and implicit subsidies.
Our focus is on the nonfuel costs of power. Fuel costs are quite volatile and are tracked carefully by AEA on a monthly basis. The concept of āFuel costā typically includes the price paid at the point of delivery into a bulk storage tank. We do include here as contributed resources the estimated subsidies to the fuel delivery system for electricity due to provision of bulk fuel storage by, for example, the Denali Commission.Prepared for
Alaska Affordable Energy Strategy
Neil McMahon, Project ManagerTrue Cost of Electricity in Rural Alaska / Introduction / Data Sources / Data Issues and Caveats / Data Compilation Notes / Non-Booked Contributed Resources / Analysis / Results / Caveats on Interpretation of Results / Appendix to True Cost of Electric Service in Rural Alaska / True Cost of Bulk Fuel in Rural Alaska / Methodology / Bulk Fuel Program Cost Compilation and Cost Allocations / Results / Appendix to True Cost of Bulk Fuel in Rural Alask
Benefits and Costs to Rural Alaska Households from a Carbon Fee and Dividend Program - Final Report
This paper analyzes the benefits and costs of a carbon feeāandādividend (CFD) policy to
individual rural Alaska households. The three study area regions are the Bethel Census Area,
the Kusilvak Census Area, and the Northwest Arctic Borough. These three regions have the
stateās highest fuel prices and very cold climates.
The CFD policy consists of two elements.Ā Ā The first is a fee of 10 per ton in each subsequent year. The second is the
complete return of all fees to households in the form of dividends, which are estimated to
equal 150 for each child (up to two). The annual dividends would
increase in future years commensurate with the nationwide total amount of fees.
Baseline conditions.Ā Ā The study area has a total population of about 32,000 people, many of
whom live in large households with low cash income. Fuel prices averaged $6.62 per gallon in
January 2015.Citizens' Climate Education CorporationSummary / Introduction / Dividends to households / Carbon fees paid by households / Discussion / References / Appendix A. Residential electricity use per househol
Benefits and Costs to Rural Alaska Households from a Carbon Fee and Dividend Program
This paper analyzes the benefits and costs of a carbon feeāandādividend (CFD) policy to
individual rural Alaska households. The three study area regions are the Bethel Census Area,
the Wade Hampton Census Area, and the Northwest Arctic Borough. These three regions have
the stateās highest fuel prices and very cold climates.
The CFD policy consists of two elements.Ā Ā The first is a fee of 10 per ton in each subsequent year. The second is the
complete return of all fees to households in the form of dividends, which are estimated to
equal 150 for each child (up to two). The annual dividends would
increase in future years commensurate with the total amount of fees.Citizens' Climate Education CorporationSummary / Introduction / Dividends to households / Carbon fees paid by households / Discussion / Reference
Socioeconomic Impacts of Potential Wishbone Hill Coal Mining Activity
The purpose of this study is to assess some of the significant socioeconomic effects of potential
coal mining activity at Wishbone Hill. The analysis scenario assumes a 16-year period of startup
and mine production using two known deposits that are currently permitted by the State of
Alaska for mineral exploration. āMine Area 1ā would be mined during years 2-7 and āMine
Area 2ā would be mined during years 8-16. Mining would only take place at one of these areas
during any given time. We considered four kinds of effects: Jobs and income, fiscal impacts,
property values, and traffic.Matanuska - Susitna Borough Economic Development DepartmentIntroduction / Coal Mining Scenario / Projected Jobs and Income / Fiscal Impacts / Property Values / Traffic / References / Appendix: Notes on Methodolog
Economic Importance of Sportfishing in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough
We have estimated the economic benefits of sport fishing activity occurring within the
Matanuska-Susitna (Mat-Su) Borough, using data from year 2007. Our estimates are
based on the recent study entitled, Economic Impacts and Contributions of Sportfishing
in Alaska, 2007. 2 It contains estimates of angler spending patterns within three regions:
Southcentral, Interior, and Southeast. We also used year 2007 data from the ADFG
annual Statewide Harvest Survey (SWHS).3 These data allow us to allocate economic
benefits to the Mat-Su Borough.Matanuska-Susitna Borough Ecnomic Development DepartmentSummary / Introduction / Methods / Results / Reference
Benefits of the Southcentral Rail Extension to the Municipality of Anchorage
The proposed Southcentral rail extension to Port MacKenzie is likely to generate significant
economic benefits for the residents of Anchorage. These benefits are due to a combination of
reduced transport costs, the ability to ship bulk commodities over shorter distances, and
economical access to industrial land. We considered and analyzed these benefits under a set of
assumptions about job creation, transportation costs, land use considerations and future mineral
development. Our major findings include the following:
Jobs
ā¢ Port MacKenzie. The rail extension will generate new jobs for Anchorage workers by
stimulating industrial development and jobs at Port MacKenzie. Under a base case scenario
with a rail extension and ferry service, Anchorage residents would gain 730 average annual
jobs and 267 million
per year by 2040. A large share of these potential tax revenues, roughly proportional to
Anchorageās share of state population, would likely flow into the Anchorage economy,
sustaining hundreds of direct jobs and reducing property tax burdens that would otherwise
stifle private sector job creation.
Regional Competitiveness
ā¢ New Economic Opportunities. Port MacKenzie and the rail extension, operating together,
are a significant new strategic asset for the entire regional economy. This infrastructure will
create expanded opportunities for mineral, timber, and energy resource development, and the
export of bulk commodities by rail through Port MacKenzie constitutes a new economic
sector for the Southcentral regional economy. As the regionās commercial and financial hub,
Anchorage will gain jobs and income from all of this activity.
ā¢ More Efficient Land Use. The rail extension allows for higher-valued use of land in
Anchorage. The rail extension will allow for railroad-dependent industrial development to
take place at Port MacKenzie. This development would allow limited existing industrialzoned
land throughout Anchorage to be used for other, higher-value uses such as commercial
development, while still meeting the regional economyās need for industrial land.
Fiscal Benefits
ā¢ New State Revenues. As noted above, revenues to the State of Alaska from new resource
development would grow steadily, reaching $267 million per year by 2040. These revenues
will reduce the need for other taxes, stimulating capital formation and job creation by the
private sector.
ā¢ Higher Local Tax Base. Local governments will also see higher tax revenues from a
higher-valued property tax base. The stimulated new development will increase the tax base
and reduce the need to raise taxes on homeowners or existing businesses.
Other Benefits
ā¢ Port of Anchorage. The industrial and mineral development stimulated by the rail extension
to Port MacKenzie will likely increase both the volume and the value of cargo going through
the Port of Anchorage. For example, if large mines are developed, the goods and equipment
used by the mines for development and operations will flow through Anchorage.
ā¢ Rail Shipping Costs. The unit cost of shipping on the Alaska Railroad is likely to fall as
fixed costs of roadbed maintenance and administration are spread over a higher volume of
shipments.Matanuska - Susitna Borough Economic Development DepartmentIntroduction / Two Municipalities, One Regional Economy / Overview of Potential Benefits to Anchorage from the Rail Extension / Benefits from Construction and Operation of the Rail Extension / Benefits from Industrial Development at Port MacKenzie / Benefits from Employment of Anchorage Residents due to Railroad-Dependent Mineral Development / Appendix: Notes on Methodolog
Benefit-Cost Assessment of the Port Mackenzie Rail Extension
Costs
We assume that the Port MacKenzie rail extension would cost 200 million and 300 million for
different route options. The time horizon runs 50 years from 2012 to 2061. O&M costs are
assumed to be 1.5 million per year, with a net present value of 301.1 million.
Benefits
The rail extension would provide two distinct types of benefits: 1) It reduces the cost of
rail transportation; and 2) It is likely to stimulate significant new mines and other major
development. These benefits come from a diverse mix of potential projects ā thus a strength of
the rail extension is that its economic viability does not depend on any one project.
Reduced transportation costs
Relative to Seward, using the extension would save 140.7 miles per one-way trip.3
Assuming an average cost savings of 6 cents per ton-mile and a 5.0% real discount rate, we
estimate that using the extension would save $572 million in avoided rail costs, avoided port
costs, and avoided railroad and road upgrades. These savings are shown in the table and figure
on the following page.
In addition to the above, we estimate that about 22,000 train crossings of Pittman Road
and other roads would be avoided by the extension, saving motorists up to 64,000 vehicle-hours
of travel time delay between now and 2061.Matanuska- Susitna BoroughExecutive Summary / Introduction / Benefits from Reduced Transportation Costs / Fiscal benefits to State of Alaska / Community and Regional Economic Impacts / Reference
Economic Analysis of an Integrated Wind-Hydrogen Energy System for a Small Alaska Community
Wind-hydrogen systems provide one way to store intermittent wind energy as hydrogen.
We explored the hypothesis that an integrated wind-hydrogen system supplying
electricity, heat, and transportation fuel could serve the needs of an isolated (off-grid)
Alaska community at a lower cost than a collection of separate systems. Analysis
indicates that: 1) Combustible Hydrogen could be produced with current technologies
for direct use as a transportation fuel for about $15/gallon-equivalent; 2) The capital cost
of the wind energy rather than the capital cost of electrolyzers dominates this high cost;
and 3) There do not appear to be diseconomies of small scale for current electrolyzers
serving a a village of 400 people.United States Department of Energy.
DOE Award Number: DE-FC26-01NT41248Introduction / Executive Summary / Experimental Methods / Results and Discussion / Conclusion / Bibliography / Appendix: Associated Excel Workbook
Incarceration Rates and Single Motherhood
Traditionally, the family unit consists of a mother, a father, and one or more children. There are many instances throughout the United States where this traditional family structure is not found. One of these situations, the single motherhood situation, occurs when a father figure is absent and the mother has to provide for her children on her own. Could the lack of a father figure in a childās life cause them to be more likely to break the law and become incarcerated? Is there a causation between a stateās single motherhood rate and their incarceration rate, or are the two merely just correlated? Do a stateās urban percentage, political affiliation, and poverty rate have an impact on incarceration rates? These are the questions that this research study seeks to address
Benefits of the Cook Inlet Ferry to the Municipality of Anchorage
The purpose of this study is to examine the economic benefits of the Cook Inlet Ferry to the
Municipality of Anchorage. The Cook Inlet Ferry is currently being built at the Ketchikan,
Alaska shipyard. The U.S. Navy has financed construction of the ferry as a prototype military
landing craft for northern, ice-filled waters. The Matanuska-Susitna Borough paid for Ferry
engineering, design, and outfitting with federal transit monies. Following short-term Navy
testing of the craft, it will be transferred to the Borough to provide ferry service in Cook Inlet.
The Borough will provide operating and maintenance information to the Navy on an ongoing
basis. The Borough will operate the ferry, which will provide regular service between Anchorage
and Port MacKenzie as well as service to other points on Cook Inlet. The Ferry is expected to be
operational by 2010.Matanuska - Susitna Borough Economic Development DepartmentIntroduction / Two Municipalities, One Regional Economy / Potential Benefits of the Cook Inlet Ferry / Economic Impacts on Anchorage of Industrial Development at Port MacKenzie / Conclusion / References / Appendix: Notes on Methodolog
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