112 Answers in Palmer, and Where They Go
22 legislative candidates were in a Palmer theater on October 4th as the crowd answered a question on AI data centers.
The deck
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The story
57 of 112 chose "Outlaw them entirely." 47 chose strict regulations and 8 chose allow. That's a room with its tally on screen, not all of Mat-Su.
On Mat-Su land, the question's "state" is three rooms. DNR is deciding whether AIDEA gets about 19,950 acres near Houston. AIDEA lists data centers among possible uses and says none is proposed. The University of Alaska leased 829 acres at Port MacKenzie.
The third is the Legislature, where data center bill SB 250 passed the Senate 14 to 5 and stalled in a House committee. Early voting opens October 19th.
Pictured are the room's phones, the Houston land, the Port MacKenzie parcels, a gavel on SB 250 and the voting calendar.
Should only the Legislature set the rules for data centers on state land?
What we verified
65 CLAIMS, EACH RE-FETCHED FROM ITS SOURCE BEFORE THIS DECK SHIPPED
The Mat-Su Sentinel held its Flip the Script State Edition candidate forum on Sunday, October 4th, at the Glenn Massey Theater in Palmer.
The State Edition forum drew about 200 residents.
22 candidates for the Alaska Legislature attended the State Edition forum.
The forum's candidates were running for Alaska House Districts 25 through 30 and Senate Districts M and O.
Audience members at the forum answered live polling questions on their phones.
The live polling results appeared on screen in real time.
The forum format did not ask candidates to debate one another.
A second Sentinel forum, the Borough Edition, was held Thursday, October 8th, at the Palmer Depot.
The Borough Edition forum brought together about 150 residents.
The State Edition asked the room whether the state should restrict large AI and data center development in areas like Mat-Su, and 112 responses were recorded.
57 of the 112 forum respondents chose to outlaw large AI and data center development entirely.
47 of the 112 forum respondents chose to allow large AI and data center development but with strict regulations.
8 of the 112 forum respondents chose to allow large AI and data center development without restriction.
The Sentinel reported that about half of forum participants favored prohibiting large AI and data center developments.
69 forum respondents chose no state subsidy for a gas pipeline, against a printed question total of 127.
The Sentinel reported that 55 percent of forum participants opposed using any state money to build a natural gas pipeline.
Asked which energy source Alaska should prioritize, 52 forum respondents chose both natural gas and renewables equally.
51 forum respondents said Alaska should prioritize natural gas from a pipeline.
28 forum respondents said Alaska should prioritize renewables such as wind, solar, geothermal and tidal.
52 of 105 forum respondents opposed state funding for the West Susitna Access Road.
101 of 111 forum respondents said Alaska residents fishing for personal use and subsistence should get priority when fish runs are limited.
House District 25 supplied the largest group of State Edition respondents, with 29 people.
53 State Edition respondents placed themselves in Senate District M, the largest Senate group in the room.
Alaska DNR proposed conveying approximately 19,950 acres of state land near Houston to the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority.
The proposed AIDEA conveyance near Houston is filed under ADL 234762.
DNR's decision on the Houston conveyance was issued as a preliminary decision, which becomes the final finding and decision if no significant change is required.
DNR extended the public comment period on the Houston conveyance to September 14th.
The University of Alaska gave public notice on January 30th of its intent to lease four parcels of land near Point MacKenzie.
The U.S. Department of Energy selected Terra Energy Center Corporation for $89,000,000 in federal funding.
The DOE-selected Terra project covers engineering and design of a 1,250 MW coal-fired power plant with carbon capture in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.
The Alaska Senate passed SB 250, a data center bill, 14 to 5 on reconsideration on May 16th.
SB 250 was heard and held in the House Community and Regional Affairs Committee on May 18th and did not pass the House before the session ended.
Alaska's general election is on November 3rd.
Early and in-person absentee voting for the general election begins October 19th.
UAF's drone icing tower is formally called the Supercooled Water Experimental Arctic Tower, or SWEAT.
The SWEAT ice tower stands about 16 feet tall.
Coda Consulting of Ottawa, Canada, built the SWEAT tower.
The SWEAT tower opened in early 2025.
The SWEAT tower currently lacks a horizontal component for creating wind scenarios.
UAF's aerospace engineering degree added a robotics track in 2026.
UAF's aerospace engineering degree program is entering its fourth academic year.
DNR said it was reviewing more than 2,100 public comments on the proposed AIDEA land transfer.
A legal memo by Legislature attorney Alpheus Bullard warned that the AIDEA conveyance may raise legal issues.
Senate Resources Committee Chair Cathy Giessel signed a September 9th letter raising concerns about the AIDEA land transfer.
Five members of the Senate Resources Committee signed the September 9th letter on the AIDEA transfer.
The senators' letter asked Natural Resources Commissioner John Crowther to clarify whether the state could protect the public interest after the transfer.
As of late September, DNR had not issued a final decision on the AIDEA conveyance and said any final decision would address public, agency and legislative feedback.
The Mat-Su Borough Assembly unanimously approved a resolution formally opposing the state plan to transfer nearly 20,000 acres to AIDEA.
The Assembly resolution called for industrial projects to go instead to land at Point MacKenzie or in the West Susitna.
At an August 13th Houston City Council meeting, an ordinance to block data center construction within city limits failed 4 to 2.
Houston City Council member Jeffry Brasel said there was zero transparency in the land transfer process.
The AIDEA proposal for the Houston parcel lists scalable data centers among possible uses, though AIDEA says no specific projects are proposed or approved.
Terra Energy leased 829 acres of University of Alaska land at Port MacKenzie.
Terra Energy signed a 20-year lease with the University of Alaska in late May.
SB 250 was sponsored by Sen. Löki Tobin of Anchorage and would have regulated data centers' use of utility electricity and required decommissioning plans.
Republican governor candidate Dave Bronson said he is a big believer in data centers.
Republican governor candidate Treg Taylor said of data centers that Alaska needs to embrace it.
Treg Taylor said data centers in Alaska should bring their own energy.
Republican governor candidate Bernadette Wilson said she will never allow Alaska to be littered with hyperscale data centers.
Democratic governor candidate Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins said he supports a moratorium on data center development in Alaska until the Legislature passes a regulatory framework.
The Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly voted 6 to 1 on August 27th for 2027 legislative priorities that include a moratorium on commercial data centers on municipal or state-owned land.
Enstar applied to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission on September 17th to convert the nearly depleted Kenai Loop field into underground gas storage.
Enstar's reservoir simulation indicates a maximum working gas inventory of about 20.5 bcf at Kenai Loop.
AOGCC has tentatively scheduled a public hearing on Enstar's Kenai Loop storage application for November 12th.
The city of Houston, Alaska, lies at about 61.608 degrees north and 149.774 degrees west, along the George Parks Highway near the Little Susitna River.
Beats
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