"Sustainable Spending & State of Alaska Fiscal Planning"

Click here for full presentation.

This weekend about 70 are gathered in Seward at the Windsong Lodge for the Institute of the North's Annual Alaska Dialogue.  The focus is on "Developing Criteria for Energy Decision-Making".

The Dialogue is being chaired by Sen. John Coghill, Co-Chair of the Senate Committee on In-state Energy, and Rep. Doug Isaacson, Co-Chair of the House Energy Committee.   The purpose is to develop concrete criteria to help guide the development of state energy policy. I previously described the effort here.

Last evening's session was focused on putting information in the room important to understanding current state energy issues, the opportunities and the constraints going forward.  One of the most significant constraints is the state's fiscal situation.  Those supporting state energy projects often think of the state as the ultimate funding source for such efforts.  The state, however, rapidly is running out of the capacity to support such efforts.

The slides for my presentation on Alaska's current fiscal situation and the options for going forward are available here.  It helped start the session with a dose of reality.