Alan Weitzner, Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) Executive Director and Curtis Thayer, Alaska Energy Authority Executive Director were the guest speakers at the July 21st Kenai and Soldotna Joint Chamber Luncheon. They updated the Kenai Peninsula on what programs the groups are working on.
Weitzner said:
“Our mission is to promote, develop and advance the economic growth and diversification in Alaska by providing various means of financing and investment. Ultimately, we have put in place several loan programs, different financing programs that are all targeted on advancing economic development job growth within the state.”
Weitzner said that 338 grants were distributed to Kenai and Soldotna businesses, through AK Cares, for a total of $15,391,221:
“One of the other programs that we also were able to put in place was the AK Cares program to ultimately distribute $282 million in COVID relief funds directly targeted for small businesses to 5,750 Alaska businesses. Overall, under that program and with Tim (Dillon’s) help from the local community, the Kenai Peninsula, actually, 1,053 businesses were assisted through that program. About $52 million was advanced to the Kenai Peninsula businesses. What I would highlight is through the efforts of Tim and his organization’s staff, that is very close to the numbers of for businesses that were reached within Anchorage.”
AIDEA is getting involved with other projects locally and across the state. They include resource development projects like the Ambler Access Project, HEX Cook Inlet, and the Section 1002 Area Leases. AIDEA also partners with the Alaska Energy Authority, which aims to reduce the cost of energy through programs and projects across the Kenai Peninsula and Alaska, as a whole.
AEA programs and services include Railbelt energy, power cost equalization, rural energy and renewable energy. Local projects of interest include the Bradley Lake Hydroelectric Project near Homer, the SSQ Transmission Line, which delivers Bradley Lake hydroelectric generated power, the Quartz Creek Substation, and the Electric Vehicle Fast-Charging Corridor which would go from Homer to Fairbanks.
AEA also engages in energy planning, and one of the future projects includes a $21 million USDOT award to construct a 715,000 square-foot $220 million cargo and cold storage facility at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. Thayer told the Chamber of Commerce Luncheon that the award was the largest bill grant awarded on the west coast. The AEA was given the award in September 2020 with begins to begin construction in the second half of 2021, according to Business Wire.
