An 89 million dollar federal grant for a coal plant in the Susitna watershed
The Department of Energy selected Terra Energy Center Corporation of Anchorage, an affiliate of Flatlands Energy, for an 89 million dollar grant to study a 1,250 megawatt coal fired power plant west of Skwentna, with a 60 mile pipeline carrying its carbon dioxide to Beluga for injection into a depleted gas reservoir. The money funds a viability assessment rather than construction, and Terra must match it.
How the public reaches this
The grant selection carried no public comment period. Comment rooms open later, when the mine, the plant, the pipeline and the injection well each need their own permits.
Timeline
Sources
Every document a fact on this page was checked against.
How this decision moved
One dated line per material change, oldest first.
2026-08-06 Tracked, with two figures corrected against the reporting. A reader described this as an 89 million dollar grant to Flatlands Energy for a 400 megawatt plant. The recipient named is Terra Energy Center Corporation, an affiliate of Flatlands, and the plant described is 1,250 megawatts. It belongs on this docket because Railbelt power is what the region's data center proposals are competing for, and because of how far it is from being real. There is no finalized design, no permitted coal mine and no signed power purchase agreement with any utility, and the site sits more than 60 miles from the nearest transmission line. It also depends on the West Susitna Access Road, put at over a billion dollars and not counted in the project's costs. The Susitna River Coalition and the Alaska chapter of the Sierra Club have both objected.
2026-08-12 Re-verified against the Department of Energy selection page for the coal recommissioning announcement. The award is $89 million for engineering and design of a 1,250 megawatt coal plant built as five 250 megawatt circulating fluidized bed trains, with carbon capture sized to take more than 90 percent of the carbon dioxide, an estimated 8.26 million tonnes a year. Engineering is targeted to finish in 2027 and the plant is projected operational in 2031. This money studies the plant. It does not build it.
2026-08-16 Re-verified against the Anchorage Daily News account of the selection. The $89 million is for engineering and design of a 1,250 megawatt coal fired plant with integrated carbon capture west of Skwentna, matched dollar for dollar by the developer. No design is finalized, no coal mine is permitted, no utility has signed a power purchase agreement, and the site sits more than sixty miles from the nearest transmission line.
2026-08-20 The Department of Energy's Alaska funding awards page is no longer resolving, so this check fell back to the published account of the June 4th selection and found nothing new since. The $89 million is for engineering and design of a 1,250 megawatt coal fired plant with integrated carbon capture west of Skwentna, matched dollar for dollar by the developer. No coal mine is permitted and no utility has signed a power purchase agreement.
2026-08-26 Checked and unchanged. The $89 million Department of Energy selection under the Restoring Reliability Coal program stands as reported on June 4th, for feasibility work on the proposed 1,250 megawatt Terra Energy Center west of Skwentna, with a 60 mile pipeline to Beluga for carbon injection. Terra Energy Center Corp. has to match the federal money. The project still has no finalized design, no permitted coal mine and no signed agreement with a utility to buy the power. The department's own Alaska awards page returned nothing today, so the June reporting remains the operative record.
2026-08-30 Re-verified against the Department of Energy's own selection record. Terra Energy Center Corporation of Anchorage holds an $89,000,000 federal award inside a project the department values at $190,375,155, with $101,375,155 in non federal cost share, for engineering and design of a 1,250 megawatt coal fired plant built as five 250 megawatt circulating fluidized bed trains with carbon capture on better than 90 percent of emissions. The record targets FEL-3 engineering completion in 2027 and an operating facility in 2031. No permit application has been filed.
2026-09-03 Checked and unchanged against the Department of Energy's own selection record. Terra Energy Center Corporation of Anchorage still holds an $89,000,000 federal award inside a project the department values at $190,375,155, for engineering and design of a 1,250 megawatt coal fired plant with carbon capture aimed at more than 90 percent of its carbon dioxide, an estimated 8.26 million tonnes a year.
2026-09-07 Re-verified against the Department of Energy's own selection page. The Alaska Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage Coal Commissioning Project, with Terra Energy Center Corporation of Anchorage as recipient and $89 million in federal funding, is still listed as selected for negotiation rather than awarded. The project's own plan is to finish FEL-3 engineering in 2027.
2026-09-11 Re-verified against the Department of Energy's own selection page. The Alaska Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage Coal Commissioning Project is still listed at $89,000,000 with Terra Energy Center Corporation of Anchorage as the selectee and the facility sited in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. The page is a list of selections and says nothing about the award being finalized. What it does say about timing is that the project aims to complete FEL-3, or Class 3, engineering in 2027, so no construction decision is near.
2026-09-17 Checked and unchanged. The Department of Energy's own selection page still lists the Alaska Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage Coal Commissioning Project at $89,000,000 to Terra Energy Center Corporation of Anchorage, and still describes it as a selection rather than an award. The page puts the aim at completing FEL-3 and Class 3 engineering in 2027.
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Alaska AI Docket, An 89 million dollar federal grant for a coal plant in the Susitna watershed.
Tracked since August 6th, last verified
September 17th. https://alaskaaihq.com/docket/terra-energy-center-doe-grant/ · Reuse permitted under
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Questions about this decision
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What is An 89 million dollar federal grant for a coal plant in the Susitna watershed?
The Department of Energy selected Terra Energy Center Corporation of Anchorage, an affiliate of Flatlands Energy, for an 89 million dollar grant to study a 1,250 megawatt coal fired power...
Who decides An 89 million dollar federal grant for a coal plant in the Susitna watershed?
U.S. Department of Energy made the selection; the plant itself needs state and federal permits nobody has applied for yet
Can I comment on An 89 million dollar federal grant for a coal plant in the Susitna watershed?
The grant selection carried no public comment period. Comment rooms open later, when the mine, the plant, the pipeline and the injection well each need their own permits.
Where is An 89 million dollar federal grant for a coal plant in the Susitna watershed?
Susitna River watershed, west of Skwentna
Has An 89 million dollar federal grant for a coal plant in the Susitna watershed been decided?
It is pending a decision. The Department of Energy's Alaska funding awards page is no longer resolving, so this check fell back to the published account of the June 4th selection and found...
What happens next with An 89 million dollar federal grant for a coal plant in the Susitna watershed?
No further date is published. It is pending a decision and the record is checked against its source every day.
What changed on An 89 million dollar federal grant for a coal plant in the Susitna watershed?
The Department of Energy's Alaska funding awards page is no longer resolving, so this check fell back to the published account of the June 4th selection and found...
What kind of decision is An 89 million dollar federal grant for a coal plant in the Susitna watershed?
A grant, decided by U.S. Department of Energy made the selection; the plant itself needs state and federal permits nobody has applied for yet.
When did An 89 million dollar federal grant for a coal plant in the Susitna watershed start?
Tracked since August 6th, 45 days ago. The earliest date on its record is June 4th.
Where can I read the sources for An 89 million dollar federal grant for a coal plant in the Susitna watershed?
Anchorage Daily News, U.S. Department of Energy. Every one is listed with its date on the decision page.
Beats
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