DOE plans Defense Production Act money for a second Railbelt line between Southcentral and Interior Alaska
Serguey Asael Shinder1 min readThe US Department of Energy announced on 5 October that it intends to use Defense Production Act (DPA) funding for a second high-voltage connection between Southcentral and Interior Alaska.
The project. The Alaska Energy Authority's Beluga-Healy Transmission Project would build about 223 miles of new line between Beluga and Healy. DOE would contribute up to $150 million in DPA funding, alongside $268 million from non-federal sources, for a planned total of about $418 million; DOE calls that figure a preliminary planning estimate. The line would give grid operators a second path to move power between Alaska's most populated communities and its major military installations, serving roughly 75% of the state's population.
Why the Defense Production Act. DOE says $1 billion in federal funding has been appropriated for energy projects deemed critical to national security, and that Presidential Determination No. 2026-10 identifies transmission lines and conductors, substations, and power-control and protection equipment as essential to national defence. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the project would support the military expansion under way in Alaska as well as mining and other resource development. Katie Jereza, Assistant Secretary for the Office of Electricity, said the line would provide a critical second route.
What it is not yet. The release describes an intent to deploy the funding; it does not describe a signed agreement or a construction schedule.