Alaska2026Passed Legislature
HB312
Alaska State Energy Policy and Green Energy Grant Fund Updates
Last scannedSep 12, 2026, 4:46 AM
In one sentence
This bill updates Alaska's state energy policy, directs a portion of carbon offset revenue to the green energy grant fund, expands the definition of green energy resources, adjusts loan terms for large projects, and sets rules for sharing excess fund earnings.
What it does
- Requires that twenty percent of revenue from the carbon offset program be deposited into the Green Energy Grant Fund instead of being called renewable energy funds.
- Updates state law so specific commissions must consider the official state energy policy when performing their duties.
- Allows loans for large green energy projects with at least $5 million in total state involvement to have terms up to 50 years and interest rates up to three percent lower than standard rates, but not less than one percent.
- Expands the legal definition of 'green energy resources' to include nuclear reactors, natural gas extracted and processed in Alaska, landfill gas, digester gas, waste heat recovery, wave power, tidal power, river in-stream power, hydropower, low-emission nontoxic biomass, dedicated energy crops, and other resources meeting specific emission limits.
- Sets rules for sharing excess fund earnings with community revenue sharing or assistance funds if the amount is under $30 million, or splitting it between communities and energy projects if over $30 million.
Who it affects
- State agencies that manage the Green Energy Grant Fund and must consider state energy policy.
- Companies applying for grants to build wind, solar, nuclear, natural gas, biomass, or other qualifying green energy projects in Alaska.
- Communities that may receive shared revenue from fund earnings if specific financial thresholds are met.
Limits and unknowns
- The full text of the new state energy policy goals is not included in the provided excerpt.
- The exact effective date of this law is listed as a provision but no specific calendar date is given in the source material.
- The final amount of money available for grants depends on future fund earnings and legislative appropriations.
Plain language
Terms to know
- Green Energy Resources
- Energy sources including wind, solar, geothermal, waste heat recovery, hydrothermal, wave, tidal, river in-stream, hydropower, low-emission nontoxic biomass, dedicated energy crops, landfill gas, digester gas, nuclear reactors, and natural gas extracted and processed in Alaska.
- Carbon Offset Program Revenue
- Money earned from a state program designed to reduce carbon emissions, twenty percent of which is now deposited into the Green Energy Grant Fund.
- Clean Coal Technology
- A method for deriving energy from coal that captures at least 90 percent of carbon dioxide and reduces sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and particulate matter emissions below current federal standards.
Official record
Sources
Official summary
STATE ENERGY POLICY; GREEN ENERGY An Act relating to a state energy policy; relating to the green energy grant fund; and providing for an effective date.
Official activity
Bill history
- (H) REFERRED TO ENERGY1644
- (H) ENE, RES1644
- (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS1644